Please PAUSE the "How to Draw a Guinea Pig" video after each step to draw at your own pace.
For the first few steps, don't press down too hard with your pencil. Use light, smooth strokes to begin.
Step 1: Draw a circle as a guide for the guinea pig's head. The circle doesn't have to be perfect. It's just a guide. Leave enough room on the right side for the body.
Step 2: Draw a curved line on the left side of the circle as a guide for the guinea pig's muzzle.
Step 3: Draw a curved line similar to a backward letter C inside the circle on the top right side as a guide for the guinea pig's ear.
Step 4: Draw a bigger circle on the right side of the guinea pig's head as a guide for the back portion of the body. This circle should be bigger and placed lower than the first circle. Don't worry too much about it being perfect. But don't place the circle too far away, otherwise your guinea pig will be too long.
Step 5: Draw two lines that connect the two circles to complete the guide for the guinea pig's body.
Step 6: Draw two short, angled lines under the body as a guide for the guinea pig's feet.
That's it for the initial sketch! From this point on, press harder with your pencil to get a more defined sketch.
Step 7: Draw the guinea pig's eye inside the head on the top left side. The shape of the eye is basically a circle. Inside, draw a smaller circle to represent glare. Draw another circle inside the eye, in the middle, and shade it in for the pupil. Shade in the rest of the eye, including the iris. When shading the iris, use a value that's lighter than the pupil by not pressing down too hard with your pencil. Now that you have the guinea pig's eyeball down, draw a couple of lines to the left to complete the eye shape. Draw a few more lines around the eye for extra detail. Draw the lines closely above and below the eye. They should follow the basic shape of the guinea pig's eye.
Step 8: Draw the nose inside the head. The guinea pig's nose basically consists of a tiny, dark slit with a few lines surrounding it.
Step 9: Use the curved line on the left as guide to draw the rest of the guinea pig's muzzle. Follow the basic path of the line as you draw the muzzle but make it a bit more square. Draw lightly at first to get the shape right. Draw a curved line underneath for the guinea pig's lower lip. Use quick, short strokes to represent the guinea pig's fur as you darken the lines for the muzzle.
Step 10: Use the C-shaped line on the right as a guide to draw the guinea pig's ear. Use a series of curved lines to flesh out the inner and outer ear structure as you follow the path of the guide. Use quick, short strokes for the fur around the base for the ear.
Step 11: Use the original circle as a guide to draw the rest of the guinea pig's head. Use quick, short strokes as you follow the edge of the circle.
Step 12: Use the line on the left as a guide to draw the guinea pig's front feet. Lightly sketch the shape of the leg as you follow the path of the line. When you get the structure of the leg right, darken the lines using quick, short strokes. Draw a few curved lines at the tip for the toes. At the end of the toes, draw tiny angled lines for the guinea pig's nails. Draw the front foot on the other side the same way. Most of it is hiding behind the body, so only draw the toes and nails.
Step 13: Use the line on the right as a guide to draw the guinea pig's hind leg. Draw the top part of the leg by following the bottom part of the circle and adding quick, short strokes as you go along. Draw the guinea pig's toes and nails at the tip. The hind leg on the other side is completely hidden by the body.
Step 14: Use the remaining lines as guides to draw the rest of the guinea pig's body. Simply darken the guide lines to create the top part of the body. Some guinea pigs have longer hair. You can use longer strokes throughout the body for this guinea pig variation. Use quick, short strokes at the bottom for a shaggier look underneath.
Step 15 (optional): For a cleaner look, erase as much as you can of the initial guide lines. Don't worry about erasing them all. It's okay to leave some behind. Also re-draw any final sketch lines that you may have accidentally erased.
Final Step (optional): Add some shading to your guinea pig drawing to give it more dimension and volume. Pick the direction of the light source when shading so that the shadows are consistent with it. Vary the pressure on your pencil to get different degrees of tonal value.
Add a cast shadow underneath. This helps ground the guinea pig so it doesn't appear to be floating.
You can add more value throughout your drawing for extra detail. Add the value by using strokes that go in the general direction of the guinea pig's fur. Try to shade evenly as you add value for a smooth, even look instead of a rough, gritty texture. It's always a good idea to use reference for accuracy. Guinea pigs have a variety of patterns on their coats, so feel free to add any markings you like to your drawing. If you have a pet guinea pig, try to duplicate its coat pattern on your drawing. Don't forget to pause the "How to Draw a Guinea Pig" video to draw at your own pace.
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