Please PAUSE the "How to Draw a Rooster" 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 front part of the rooster's body. The circle doesn't have to be perfect. It's just a guide. Leave enough room on the top right and the left to draw the rooster's head and long tail.
Step 2: Draw an arc on the upper right side of the circle to finish up the guide for the rooster's body. The end result should be a shape similar to an egg. In this case, the egg comes before the chicken!
Step 3: Draw another circle above the body on the right side as a guide for the head. Roosters have small heads, so draw a small circle. Don't place the circle too high or your rooster will end up with a long neck.
Step 4: Draw a triangle-like shape on the right side of the rooster's head as a guide for the beak.
Step 5: Draw a couple of lines that connect the rooster's head and body to form the neck.
Step 6: Draw a long curved line on the left side of the body as a guide for the rooster's tail.
Step 7: Under the body, draw an L-shaped line as a guide for the rooster'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 8: Draw the eye on the top part of the rooster's head by first lightly sketching a circle. Then darken the circle and make the top part flatter so it's more of a half-circle. Shade the inside of the eye except for a tiny circle to represent glare. Push harder with your pencil near the middle of the eye for the darker value of the pupil. Draw a couple of lines around the rooster's eye for extra detail.
Step 9: Use the triangle shape as a guide to draw the rooster's beak. Draw a curved line near the middle of the triangle for the mouth. Then add the top and bottom part of the beak, making sure that the tip points down slightly. Draw a small oval at the top for the rooster's nostril.
Step 10: Draw the crest or comb on top of the rooster's head. First draw two curved lines for the sides of the comb. Then draw the curved spikes in between the sides to finish up the comb. Draw the individual spikes different lengths and thicknesses, with the longer ones being in the middle.
Step 11: Draw the loose skin under the rooster's beak, which is called a wattle. First lightly sketch a U-shaped arc, then darken the line and make it more angular.
Step 12: Draw the rest of the rooster's head using the initial circle as a guide. Draw a line around the rooster's eye for the fleshy part inside the head. Add a few shorter strokes below the eye for the detail inside the head.
Step 13: Use the L-shaped line at the bottom as a guide to draw the rooster's feet. Lightly sketch the shape of the leg as you follow the path of the line. Roosters have three toes that point forward and one that points backward. It also has a spur higher up on the leg. When you get the structure of the rooster's foot right, darken the lines. You can make the spur on the foot longer if you'd like. Add the talons at the end of the toes too. Now draw the rooster's foot on the other side using the first foot as a guide. LIghtly sketch the shape of the foot first to get the structure right. Then darken the lines and add the rooster's toes and the spur at the top. Draw the talons at the end of each toe as well.
Step 14: Draw the first part of the rooster's body using the initial shapes as guides. On the left side of the original circle, draw a curved line for the feathers that overlap and drape over the wing. Use quick, short strokes inside that shape for the detail of the fine feathers in the back.
Step 15: Inside the original circle on the lower right side, draw a series of lines for the rooster's folded wing. Use quick, short strokes for the feathers as you draw the lines that go in the same direction. The lines should be short at the top, and they should gradually get bigger toward the bottom of the circle.
Step 16: Draw the neck by darkening the lines that connect the rooster's head to the body. Draw the bottom part of the neck feathers as quick, short strokes. Add some strokes inside too for the neck detail.
Step 17: Use the curved line on the left side as a guide to draw the rooster's long tail feathers. Drawing the tail feathers can be tricky, so be sure to pause the video to draw the rooster at your own pace. Draw a long curved arc near the middle of the initial line for the first tail feather. Then draw two even longer feathers overlapping each other at the top of the guide line. Add another feather under the top two, a feather under the first middle one and one in between these two. Now draw a few feathers near the bottom part of the initial guide line for the base feathers. Your feathers don't have to look exactly like this. These are guidelines, not rules. Continue adding curved lines under the feathers you just drew to finish the base. Draw them using different widths and lengths. Add as many or as few as you want. Draw more curved lines in between the base and tip of the rooster's feathers to get a thicker, fuller tail.
Step 18 (optional): For a cleaner look, erase as much as you can of the initial guide lines. Don't worry about erasing all of them. 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 rooster 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 rooster so it doesn't appear to be floating.
You can add more value throughout your rooster drawing for extra detail. Use different degrees of value on different parts of the rooster like the head, body or tail. You can even color your rooster drawing if you'd like. It's always a good idea to use reference for accuracy. You can add a lighter value across all of the rooster's tail feathers for a sleek and shiny look. Don't forget to pause the "How to Draw a Rooster" video to draw at your own pace.
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