Sheep Drawing (Sketching + Vector)

A stunned sheep drawing is the subject of this quite entertaining drawing lesson! Most of the cartoon animals found on this site have been drawn a few times by your host, me. This is even more accurate when we take a look at the sheep.

I must have drawn 10 different versions of this cute and adorable character. My goal was to come up with something unusual and original for this particular tutorial. That's why I created a character with blue skin and lots of wool around the head.

Step 1

First, I have sketched my character using a piece of paper and a pencil. I still enjoy the flexibility of a good old drawing made with basic tools.

Step 2

Next I have scanned my illustration and import it into my vector software. I need to add black outlines using irregular lines made with pointed ends. Round shapes can be used for the eyes and pupils.

Step 3

To create colors, all I needed to do was to add some solid shapes behind the lines. You are right, sheep are not grey. But if I want to add some reflection later, I need to have a colored background to apply white shapes to.

Step 4

Using the gradient tool, I now change the colors of plain shapes using two different tones for each element. I already have a small sense of depth, but that's not enough for me.

Step 5

So I decided to create a third layer that will contain stronger shadows. These new elements can be dark and placed on areas not affected by the (virtual) light source. 

Step 6

Using the transparency tool, I need to partially hide the top part of each shadow. I want this effect to be subtle. Otherwise, the illustration might be difficult to read.

Step 7

To create reflection, I need to draw new shapes colored in white. I like to keep a small space between these shapes and the outlines. 

Step 8

Once again, I need to select the transparency tool to hide the bottom part of each white shapes. Notice how the colors are now closer to white (and the one from a real sheep).

Step 9

Black outlines are fine, but modifying the colors of these lines can give more depth to the illustration. Now my sheep drawing is finished and I can move on with the creation of another cool cartoon character that you can learn how to draw! :)

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