How to Draw a Bat

In this sketchbook challenge, we’ll take a look at drawing bats.  This tutorial will demonstrate how to draw a flying bat step by step.  We’ll take the same approach that we have in other tutorials and break the process down into easy steps in which we draw simplified shapes.

 

By placing the shapes together, the drawing of the bat will develop. This approach can be applied to any drawing that you may want to undertake.  Let’s get started…

Step One – Draw the Body of the Bat

We’ll begin by drawing two shapes that will define the body of the bat.  Both of these shapes are ovals and should overlap each other slightly.  The smaller oval is placed just inside the larger oval on the right side.  This shape will become the head of the bat.  We’ll develop the larger oval as the body.

Step Two – Draw the Wing Structure and Ears

Now, we can build off of the ovals that we drew in the last step and develop the bat a little further.  We’ll draw a couple of lines outward from the body for the wings.  Be sure to keep these lines from being perfectly symmetrical, since this would not be how a bat would appear in reality.  The lines that you draw here can also be looser.  Stay away from making stiff marks, which will make your drawing look stiff as well.  We’ll also need to draw a couple of shapes for the ears of the bat.

 

Step 3 – Develop the Wings Further and Add Details to the Face

Next, lines can be drawn from the bends in the wings and brought downward.  These lines will indicate the segments in the wings of the bat.  We can also draw a few details on the face like the mouth, a bit of a snout, and an eye.  The ears also receive a bit of attention in this step as well.

 

Step 4 – Finish Off The Wings and Add Some Legs

Now, let’s finish off the wings by adding a line to indicate the bottom of them.  This line will curve inversely, making contact with the segment lines that we drew in the previous step.  We’ll also add some legs to the bat and a few more details to the face.

 

Step 5 – Finish the Drawing of a Bat

Now we have enough information in the drawing to finish it.   Marks can be made to indicate the furriness of the bat’s body.  By concentrating these marks, you can also create shadow on the underside of the bat.

 

You may decide to go over your guidelines with a darker medium and erase any pencil lines that may be left in order to increase the contrast in the drawing.