The peacock has a bold and colorful display that's actually not that difficult to draw.
A peacock is a member of the pheasant family. It has a unique and brilliant plumage that it uses to attract females through mating rituals and courtship displays. The tail feathers of peacocks create a train that is greater than the bird's body length. While the colors and shapes of this bold train might intimidate would-be artists, the peacock is actually one of the simpler birds to draw, consisting of many uncomplicated, repetitive shapes.
Instructions
1. Make a light dot in the center of your drawing paper, marking exactly where you want your peacock's head to be. In this spot, draw a teardrop, approximately the size of your fingernail. The pointy end of the teardrop should aim toward the southeast end of your paper. Draw a tiny dot inside this teardrop to signify the eye of the peacock.
2. Draw another teardrop directly 2.5 inches above the tear drop you just drew (the peacock's head). This teardrop should have its narrow end pointing north. Color in a small circle in the bottom part of the teardrop. This represents the "eye" at the top of the middle feather of the peacock.
3. Examine your picture of a peacock as a guide. Draw a backwards number "6" starting from the bottom of the peacock's head. It should be an inch high. Erase the inner curlicue of your "6." This is the body of the peacock.
4. Mark how far down you want the arch of plumage to extend, consulting your picture. Draw half an arch from your top teardrop down to slightly past the peacock's right side. Repeat this half-arch shape on the left side of the body. Consider having your peacock turned slightly like in the picture here and draw one side of the plumage larger than the other.
5. Draw seven teardrop shapes along the right side of this arch. Draw seven teardrop shapes on the left side of this arch. These represent the "eyes" at the top of the feathers. Draw 18 tiny marks around each teardrop you just drew. This will make your feathers truly look like feathers.
6. Draw a smaller arch behind the bird's neck. Add long lines that will represent the spines of the feathers, extending them out from the smaller arch.
7. Fill in the rest of the bigger arch with more teardrop shapes, locating them on the spines of the feathers.
8. Draw in the rest of the peacock's body by joining the partial "6" to the bottom of the peacock's head. Study your picture to help guide you. Draw two small lines out of the peacock's body to represent legs. Draw three smaller lines coming out of each line to represent feet.
9. Draw the small tuft of plumage at the top of the bird's head.
