How to Draw a Reindeer in 7 Easy Steps!

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Drawing a reindeer is easy with the right tips. With our step by step instructions you can easily draw a lifelike reindeer. This template is perfect for Christmas cards, birthday invitations, wall tattoos or picture stories.

For the drawing you need a pencil, an eraser, an eraser-proof drawing pencil and good colored pencils.

Welcome to our delightful drawing adventure where you’ll learn how to draw a reindeer in just 7 easy steps! This tutorial is perfect for children and beginners who are eager to explore the world of art. Our simple step-by-step guide will help you create a charming reindeer using basic shapes and techniques.

Designed for children ages 8 and up, this drawing guide emphasizes creativity and fun. By following these steps, you’ll develop your artistic skills and gain confidence in drawing animals. So gather your materials and let’s embark on this artistic journey together!

Step 1: Head and muzzle

To begin, draw two circles on your paper to outline the reindeer’s head. The larger circle will form the main part of the head, while the smaller circle represents the muzzle. Position them close together so they touch or slightly overlap. Tip: Use light strokes so you can easily erase and adjust if needed.

Step 2: Hull

Next, sketch the reindeer’s torso using a rounded rectangular shape. Make sure to capture the gentle hump that occurs around the shoulder blades, giving your reindeer a natural and realistic posture. This shape forms the basis for the reindeer’s body.

Step 3: Legs

Now it’s time to draw the legs. Use elongated shapes for the legs, adding small circles at the joints where the hind legs slightly bend. These circles will help you maintain correct proportions and joint positioning. Begin to outline the hooves at the bottom of each leg.

Step 4: Horns, neck and tail base

Sketch the antlers extending from the top of the head, giving them an organic and branching appearance. Connect the head and torso with a neck, ensuring a smooth transition. Remember to add a small tail at the base, giving balance to your reindeer’s form.

Step 5: First final contours

With a drawing pencil, start finalizing the contours of the head, torso, and antlers. Focus on the fur texture, especially around the neck, by adding small, jagged lines to mimic the reindeer’s natural coat. This will add depth and realism to your drawing.

Step 6: Finishing the silhouette

Complete your reindeer’s silhouette by detailing the legs, tail, face, and ears. Use confident strokes to define the shapes and contours, ensuring each element is well-proportioned. Pay attention to the ears’ placement to capture the reindeer’s alert expression.

Step 7: Removing the guides

Carefully erase all light pencil guides that are no longer needed. This will help your final lines stand out, giving your reindeer a clean and polished appearance. Tip: Be gentle while erasing to avoid smudging the final outlines.

Step 8: Coloring

In the final step, bring your reindeer to life with color. Use shades of brown and tan to reflect the natural colors of a reindeer’s coat. Experiment with shading and highlights to add a three-dimensional effect, making your reindeer look realistic and vibrant.

Your Reindeer Drawing Is Complete!

Congratulations on completing your reindeer drawing! You’ve successfully followed each step and brought your reindeer to life with vibrant colors and realistic details. Keep practicing and exploring the world of drawing with other animal tutorials on our site.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, check out our other guides on how to draw animals like rabbits and bears. Keep nurturing your artistic skills and have fun on your creative journey!

Tips for an Even Better Reindeer Drawing

The single most important – and most often misjudged – part of a reindeer is the antlers. Real reindeer antlers are not the simple Y-shape that many beginners draw. They’re long, sweeping branches with multiple smaller forks, asymmetric between left and right, and they curve forward rather than straight up.

A useful rule of thumb: the antlers should be roughly as tall as the reindeer’s entire head and neck combined. Each antler has a main beam that curves up and forward, with two or three smaller branches (called tines) splitting off at the top. The two antlers should look like cousins, not twins – one always slightly different from the other.

For the body, keep the legs long and slim, the chest deep and the belly slightly tucked – reindeer are built for endurance, not bulk. The fur should be drawn in short, soft strokes, with a noticeably thicker collar of fur around the neck and chest (the mane).

The eyes are large, soft, and almond-shaped, with long lashes. Add a small white highlight in each eye for instant gentleness – very different from a deer in alarm.

Rudolph or Realistic? Two Reindeer Styles

The same reindeer drawing can become two completely different characters with just a handful of changes:

• Rudolph (the storybook reindeer): Bright glowing red nose, big round eyes with sparkles, a small smile, soft brown fur with a cream-colored belly, and a red leather harness with golden bells around the neck. Antlers can be slightly stylized and friendly-looking.
• Realistic reindeer: Black, slightly down-curved nose, calm eyes, mottled brown-and-grey winter coat with a paler chest, no harness. Antlers more rugged with extra small tines. Stands quietly in a snowy landscape.
• Sleigh team reindeer: A row of three or four reindeer in profile, all with red leather harnesses connected by reins, manes flowing as if mid-flight. Front reindeer: Rudolph with the lit nose.
• Baby reindeer (calf): Big head, oversized eyes, much smaller antlers (or none yet), wobbly legs, and white spots on the back. Storybook gold.

Build a Christmas Scene with Your Reindeer

A reindeer in front of the right background instantly tells a story:

• Snowy forest at night: Tall pine trees in dark blue silhouette, soft white snow on every branch, a starry sky above. The reindeer stands knee-deep in snow.
• Pulling Santa’s sleigh: Combine with our Santa drawing tutorial. Add a curving sleigh behind the reindeer, a few wrapped gifts, and dotted motion lines to suggest flight.
• Northern lights (aurora): Wavy bands of green, pink, and purple in the sky behind the reindeer. Magical and a great chance to practice gradient coloring.
• Frozen lake at sunset: Pink-orange sky reflected in flat blue ice. The reindeer stands at the edge of the ice.
• Rudolph in front of a glowing house: A small wooden cabin in the background with warm yellow window light and a smoking chimney. The reindeer’s red nose mirrors the warm color.

Color Palette Suggestions

Most reindeer art falls into one of three palette families:

• Classic Christmas: Warm brown body, white belly and muzzle, pale gray antlers, bright red nose, deep red harness. Festive and instantly recognizable.
• Winter realism: Cool grey-brown body, almost-white winter coat, dark hooves and nose, no harness. Quiet and atmospheric.
• Storybook pastel: Soft beige body, pink cheeks, lilac antlers, mint-green harness with golden bells. Perfect for nursery decoration or Christmas cards for younger children.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Identical antlers. Symmetrical antlers look fake. Even slightly different shapes immediately make the drawing feel real.

2. Antlers pointing straight up. Real reindeer antlers sweep up and then forward. Vertical antlers turn your reindeer into a moose.

3. The nose is too small. If you’re drawing Rudolph, make the red nose big. A tiny nose looks like a wound, not a glowing beacon. Add a yellow halo glow around it for the magical effect.

4. Legs that are too short. Reindeer have noticeably long, slim legs – longer than their body is deep. Stubby legs read as a generic deer or a cartoon dog.

5. Forgetting the hooves. Each leg ends in a clearly split hoof, drawn as a small inverted V. Without it, the foot looks like a sock.

6. The mane fur is missing. Reindeer have a thick fluffy mane along the chest and front of the neck. Without it, the neck looks too thin and the silhouette wrong.

All tutorials and images are copyrighted by happycolorz GmbH. Interested in using it? Please send a mail to info@colomio.com.

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