How to Draw a Hawk | Envato Tuts+

Final product image — What You'll Be Creating

In this tutorial, I will show you a simple yet very effective method to draw a majestic hawk in flight. Follow me to learn how to draw a hawk in just a few steps—from the basic "skeleton" to the body, wings, and feathers.

This is a very basic tutorial. If you want to learn in depth about drawing birds and wings in general, you may be interested in my other tutorials:

1. How to Sketch a Hawk

Step 1

Draw the basic skeleton of the body: the oval torso, the neck, and the tail.

Step 2

Add the head and the tail.

Step 3

Sketch the basic rhythm of the wings.

Step 4

Draw the legs. You can safely start at the knees, because in birds they function basically as hips most of the time.

Step 5

Add the talons.

Step 6

Draw the structure of the wings—an arm with one long finger.

Step 7

Draw the length and position of the last primary feather (starting at the wrist) and the secondary feather (starting at the elbow).

Step 8

Outline the basic planes of the primaries and secondaries.

Step 9

Add the outline of the minor feathers.

Step 10

Sketch the position of the feathers.

Step 11

Draw the open beak.

2. How to Draw the Details of a Hawk

Step 1

Draw the details of the head.

Step 2

Draw the details of the talons.

Step 3

Outline the body.

Step 4

Outline the primaries and secondaries—one half first, then the other.

Step 5

Outline the rest of the feathers.

Step 6

Once you're done with the guide lines, draw the final lines over them. You can use an ink liner for this, so that you can safely erase the guide lines later.