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For me, a deer is the symbol of autumn—the time when the males of this timid species turn into the real kings of the forest, with a crown of antlers on their heads. Of all the deer species, my favorite is the red deer—not as big as a moose, but more regal looking. 

In this realistic deer drawing tutorial, I’ll show you how to draw a deer step by step: from the sketch, torso, legs, and details of the head to a pair of beautiful antlers.

Coconut tree

Draw bed

This realistic deer drawing can also serve as an inspiration or as a base if you’re looking for deer logo designs. Did you know you don’t need any special design software to create a professional deer logo? Using the Placeit logo maker you can create a logo in minutes, without leaving your browser. Scroll down after this tutorial to find some top deer logos like this one.

This is a simple tutorial about how to draw a deer. If you want to learn more about deer anatomy and various species, you’ll be interested in the tutorial below:

Deer Skeleton and Their Silhouette

In this tutorial we’re going to learn about the majestic deer. No matter if it’s a huge moose, or a small and timid roe deer, after this lesson you’ll know how to draw every one of them with correct anatomy and colors – and those beautiful antlers of theirs.

Every anatomy lesson should start from a skeleton of the animal. This way you’ll understand which poses are natural and which aren’t. As you can see, deer have a strong, long neck, thin legs similar to a horse, and a powerful chest. However, they’ll never look as noble and proportionate as horses.

Skeletons are useful, but they don’t need to be learnt by heart – they’re hidden under muscles, after all. What we really need are proportions and a pose. Choose one of them and we can go further!

Let’s start with a silhouette of a red deer or an elk (wapiti). They’re almost identical, so we’ll treat them as one for this part of the tutorial.

Now you can draw a pose for your chosen species. I chose a red deer, as they look so powerful and noble (in fact, the Polish name for this deer is “noble deer”). If you want to learn more about the movement and different poses,  horse anatomy  comes in handy.

The antlers usually grow as simple spikes the first year, and then gain more prongs (tines). The amount of tines isn’t strictly connected to the age, rather to the condition of the buck, since they’re testosterone driven.

Draw the Antlers

Freshly grown antlers are “alive”, filled with blood and covered with a velvet that makes them look soft. Right before the mating season (usually autumn) the antlers get dry and die, and the velvet is being rubbed away. After the mating season the antlers are being shed.

The antlers are characteristic to each species and they’re the easiest way to distinguish deers. They’re made of bone, they’re full, not empty inside, and they’re being shed every year. Females don’t grow antlers, with one exception – the reindeer.