How to Draw a Sheep in 7 Easy Steps!

Share

---

A sheep should not be missing from any drawing of a farm. The woolly animal is not difficult to draw and our tricks can help to make it look especially realistic. With this tutorial you can draw a great sheep step by step and have a template for a farm or children’s story illustration.

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

Welcome to our delightful tutorial on how to draw a sheep in just 7 easy steps! This guide is perfect for children and beginners, making it accessible for ages 8 and up. Whether you are new to drawing or just looking for a fun project, you’ll find this tutorial simple yet rewarding.

Throughout this lesson, you’ll learn the basics of using simple shapes and guidelines to create a whimsical sheep. This method not only makes drawing easier but also helps in understanding proportions and forms. Grab your pencils, and let’s start bringing your sheep to life!

Step 1: Head and mouth

Let’s begin by drawing the sheep’s head and mouth. Start with two small circles on top of each other; the top circle represents the skull, while the slightly smaller bottom circle represents the mouth area. These circles will serve as guidelines for shaping the face. Tip: Keep your pencil strokes light so you can easily erase them later.

Step 2: Hull

Next, sketch the body of the sheep using an elongated oval shape. This oval forms the main hull of the sheep, providing a good base to build upon. Ensure the oval is proportionate to the head for a balanced look. Tip: Imagine the oval as a fluffy cloud, which will help you capture the essence of a sheep’s woolly body.

Step 3: Legs

Now it’s time to work on the legs. Draw four lines extending from the bottom of the oval to represent the legs. Use small circles as joints to guide the natural posture. At the end of each leg, sketch small rectangular shapes for the hooves. Tip: Keep the legs slightly bent to give the illusion of movement or a natural stance.

Step 4: Neck and ears

Sketch the neck and ears next. Draw a short neck connecting the head to the body. For the ears, draw two elongated oval shapes on either side of the head. These features add personality to your sheep, so feel free to experiment with sizes to match the style you prefer.

Step 5: First final contours

With the basic shapes in place, switch to a drawing pencil to refine the contours. Start with the head and body, using slightly wavy lines to mimic a fluffy texture. Avoid straight lines to capture the woolly appearance of a sheep. Tip: Don’t rush this step; take your time to detail the fluffiness.

Step 6: Face

Complete the sheep’s face by adding details like eyes, nose, and mouth. Use the drawing pencil to accentuate these features, giving your sheep a friendly or curious expression. Darken the outlines of the legs and hooves to enhance their definition.

Step 7: Removing the guides

Now, carefully erase the underlying guidelines with your eraser. Be gentle to avoid smudging your work. Removing these guides will reveal a cleaner and more polished drawing. Tip: Use a soft eraser and small, circular motions for best results.

Step 8: Coloring

Finally, add color to your sheep! Use white and grey colored pencils to shade the wool, and a light pink for the ears. Introduce hatching techniques to create shadows, enhancing the sheep’s three-dimensional effect. Tip: Blending with a stump or cotton swab can soften transitions between shades.

Your Sheep Drawing Is Complete!

Congratulations on completing your sheep drawing! You’ve learned how to use basic shapes and guidelines to create a charming animal. We hope you enjoyed the process and feel inspired to explore more drawing tutorials.

If you’re eager to continue your artistic journey, check out our other tutorials on drawing farm animals or dive into more challenging projects. Happy drawing!

Tips for an Even Better Sheep Drawing

The whole charm of a sheep drawing comes from the contrast between the fluffy wool and the simple, smooth face and legs. Beginners often draw the wool too neatly – the trick is to let it look slightly chaotic.

Real sheep wool is drawn with a continuous cloud-like line: a series of small, irregular bumps connected together, like a child’s drawing of a cloud. The bumps should never be the same size, and the line should occasionally tuck inward before bumping out again. Larger sheep have more bumps; smaller lambs have fewer, fluffier ones.

Inside the wool, you don’t need to draw individual curls everywhere – that overwhelms the picture. Instead, add 5–8 small spirals or comma-shapes scattered across the body to suggest texture, and let the rest stay clean white space.

The face, ears, and legs are deliberately drawn smooth and simple to contrast with the wool. The face should be a small oval or rounded rectangle hanging slightly forward from the wool. Add two long droopy ears on the sides – sheep ears are noticeably longer than most people think.

Sheep Variations

The basic sheep template adapts beautifully to other breeds and ages:

• Cute lamb: Smaller, with proportionally bigger head and oversized eyes. Wobbly thin legs. The wool is sparser and softer-looking. Pure storybook charm.
• Ram (male sheep): Larger, more muscular body, and most importantly – large curled horns spiraling outward from the head. The signature rugged look.
• Black sheep: Same shape, but the wool is dark grey or black. Add a pure white face for striking contrast. A great metaphor drawing.
• Highland / Scottish sheep: Long shaggy wool that hangs down toward the ground, often hiding the legs. Brown or cream-colored. Looks like a walking carpet.
• Sheared sheep: Same body but with the wool removed – just a smooth pink-skinned body with a few visible patches of stubble. Great for a “before/after” pair drawing.
• Sheep with wool patterns: Add stylized swirls, hearts, or stars throughout the wool for a fantasy or storybook look.

Farm Scenes & Companions

A single sheep is sweet; a small farm composition is unforgettable:

• The flock: 3–6 sheep at slightly different sizes (perspective trick) on a green hillside. Some grazing, one looking up at the viewer.
• Sheepdog herding: A small black-and-white border collie running behind the sheep. Add motion lines and a few clumps of grass kicked up.
• Sheep in the barnyard: Rustic wooden fence in the background, hay scattered on the ground, maybe a chicken or two for variety.
• Lamb with mother: Small lamb nestled against the side of a bigger sheep. Both looking forward. Tugs at the heart.
• Sheep on a hilltop: A single sheep silhouetted against a rolling green hill with a single tree and a soft cloudy sky.
• Christmas nativity sheep: Small sheep kneeling in straw beside a manger. Often paired with a star above.

Color Palettes That Work for Sheep

• Classic farm sheep: Cream-white wool with light grey shadows, pink-beige face and legs, black ears tips and hooves.
• Storybook pastel: Pure white wool, pale lavender face, blush-pink ears, soft mint background. Nursery-perfect.
• Rustic countryside: Off-white wool with warm yellow-tinted shadows, weathered brown face, muted earthy ground tones.
• Black sheep / dramatic: Deep charcoal wool, white face highlight, glowing yellow eyes. High contrast.
• Highland breed: Warm cream-and-brown shaggy coat, almost no visible legs, soft grey misty background.

Adding Wool Texture That Doesn’t Look Flat

A flat white sheep has no soul. A few easy tricks add fluffy depth:

• Add soft grey shadow along the underside of the body and behind the legs. The top stays bright white.
• Use tiny circular pencil strokes in shadow areas instead of a solid grey fill – this preserves the wool feel.
• Leave a highlight of pure white on the upper back and head. This creates the “glowing” sunlit look.
• Add a soft lilac or blue tint in the deepest shadow areas. White wool is rarely just “less bright white.”

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. The wool outline is too smooth. A perfect oval looks like a cotton ball, not a sheep. Always use a bumpy, cloud-like edge.

2. Bumps are all the same size. Real wool has tiny bumps mixed with bigger ones. Variety is what reads as fluffy.

3. The face is too cute or too detailed. Keep facial features simple – small black dot eyes, small nose, soft smile. Over-detailed faces make the wool look fake.

4. Forgetting the floppy ears. Sheep ears droop down and slightly back, not perky upward. Pointed ears turn your sheep into a goat.

5. The legs are too thick. Sheep have remarkably thin, almost spindly legs hidden under the wool. Drawing chunky legs makes the wool look pasted on.

6. Pure white with no shadow. A sheep without any shadow becomes invisible against a light background. Even a thin grey edge is enough.

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

More ideas for drawing

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

More Crafting Ideas

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•