Please PAUSE the "How to Draw a Raven" 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 raven's body. The circle doesn't have to be perfect. It's just a guide.
Step 2: Draw a long arc on the lower left side of the circle to finish up the guide for the raven's body. The end result should be a shape similar to an egg.
Step 3: Draw another circle above the raven's body on the right side as a guide for the head. This circle should be about half the size of the first one. The edges of the circles should touch.
Step 4: Inside the circle, draw two intersecting lines. These lines will help you place the raven's facial features later.
Step 5: Draw a triangle-like shape on the right side of the head as a guide for the raven's beak.
Step 6: Draw a couple of lines that connect the raven's head and body to form the neck and draw an arc for the tail. The arc for the tail should be long, narrow and similar to a triangle.
Step 7: Under the raven's body, draw a couple of lines as guides for the 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 upper right side of the raven's head using the lines as guides for placement. The shape of the eye is similar to a football. Draw a small circle inside to represent glare and a dot in the middle for the pupil. Shade in the rest of the eye. Use a value that's lighter than the pupil. Add a few small lines around the eye for extra detail.
Step 9: Use the triangle shape as a guide to draw the raven's beak. Make the top of the beak curve more as you darken it. Draw a line near the middle of the triangle for the mouth opening. The two lines come to a point on the right. Darken the bottom portion of the triangle for the lower part of the beak. Use quick, short strokes to represent feathers at the base of the raven's beak. If you want to draw a crow, make the beak smaller and thinner and with fewer feathers at the base.
Step 10: Use the circle as a guide to draw the rest of the raven's head. Follow the path of the circle as you darken the lines. Use quick, short strokes for the feathers. Add longer strokes at the bottom for the shaggy neck feathers and smaller lines within the head for extra detail. Don't draw the long neck feathers if you are drawing a crow.
Step 11: Draw the raven's wing inside the body by lightly sketching out a curved line. When you get the shape of the wing right, darken the line. Draw a row of feathers near the middle of the wing. The feathers are lines similar to the letter J with a diagonal orientation. Draw smaller lines above that for another row of feathers.
Step 12: Draw more lines within the raven's wing for the detail of the feathers. Draw a series of long lines that are close together near the bottom of the wing.
Step 13: Draw the body and the tail by using the rest of the lines as guides. Follow the path of the initial arc as you darken the lines to create the raven's tail feathers. Leave a gap on the bottom of the body where the base of the feet will be.
Step 14: Use the lines at the bottom as guides to draw the raven's feet. Draw the base feathers at the top of the foot. Then follow the path of the line as you make the top of the foot thicker. Draw the toes at the bottom by using the flat line as a guide. Add the talons at the end of the toes. Draw the foot on the other side using the first foot as a template. Only draw the visible portion since most of it is hiding behind the foot in the front.
Step 15 (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 raven 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. Don't worry too much about the shading if you're going to add more value to your drawing later.
Add a cast shadow underneath. This helps ground the raven so it doesn't appear to be floating.
You can add more value throughout your raven drawing for extra detail. Ravens are black, so press down on your pencil to get a darker value. Vary the pressure on your pencil to get different degrees of tonal value and create a shine on the feathers. Adding the dark value can be very time-consuming, so be patient and take breaks. Try to add the dark value uniformly throughout the body for smooth, sleek feathers instead of a rough-textured look. Add the dark value using strokes that go in the general direction of the raven's feathers. It's a good idea to use reference to be as accurate as possible. Remember to PAUSE the "How to Draw a Raven" video any time you need help along the way.
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