In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Dhole in 6 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.
The images above represent how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.
Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.
At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the Dhole.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw a Dhole - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Draw the head and face using a shape almost like a baseball diamond, with sharper angles leading to the dhole’s dog-like snout. Two lines leading down from the eyes show the snout, ending in a dark semi-circle shape for the nose.
Step 2: Add the ears. These are larger than most normal domestic dogs’ and look more like foxes’ or coyotes’ ears.
Step 3: Draw the neck. Dholes have a very shaggy ring of hair leading down the neck to the body.
Step 4: Draw the upper body and tail. Again, their shape is very dog-like, with a hump above the hind legs where the tail begins. The tail, however, is much fluffier and longer than a regular dog’s. Think of a fox’s tail.
Step 5: Draw the lower body and two legs. The front legs slope down in one smooth line, ending in a paw. The hind legs are thicker and more curved to show the haunches of the dhole, before becoming thinner and slanting slightly down to the paws. Don’t forget a bowed line for the stomach and underside.
Step 6: Lastly, draw the other pair of legs. These will be the same as the other legs but slightly behind them, out of view.
Interesting Facts about the Dhole
The dhole is a type of wild dog that can be found in Southeast Asia. These wild dogs are known to be very social and often are found in large families that will break into smaller packs for hunting. Focused on the good of the families, they let the pups eat any food they kill first.
Did you know?
- Dholes, sadly, are an endangered species but there are efforts being made to keep them safe
- Dholes are able to jump as high as 7 feet or 2.1 meters straight up into the air and are also really great swimmers!
- When the dholes are hunting in their packs they will speak to each other by making yip sounds and whistling, but also will communicate by growls, whines, and even their body language
- When the dholes hunt in packs because it makes them stronger and able to hunt animals that are 10 times larger than their own body weights such as tigers or water buffalo
- Dholes are different from other types of canid species because they have 40 teeth instead of 42 and the females have teats, and will produce 12 pups in one litter
- Dholes have a similar life span to some house dogs, and will live to be around 10 years old
How to Draw a Dhole – Step-by-Step Tutorial