Happy Hedgehog Awareness Week!
I’ve always loved those cute critters and I know I shouldn’t show favouritism, but… Henry the Hedgehog is totally my favourite character to draw. Sorry Freddie!
Hedgehog Awareness Week is organised every year by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and aims to highlight the problems faced by hedgehogs and ways you can help them. It’s happening right now and to celebrate I thought I’d share two really quick and easy ways to draw hedgehogs, so you can have your own spiky little friend too.
Got a pencil and paper handy?
Then let’s get started 🙂
Simple Hedgehog
1. Start by lightly drawing a flattish oval shape. Use light strokes to start with as you draw the basic shapes, then once your hedgie starts to take shape you’ll go over it with darker lines.
2. At one side, near the top draw a rough circle to form the shape of your hedgehog’s head and nose.
3. Along the bottom edge add in two legs. It’s basically another couple of oval shapes, but slightly angle the bottom forward to suggest some cute little feet. Don’t put the front leg too far forward, or you’ll run out of room for the face.
4. Add a zig-zag line around the rest of the oval to complete the outline. You can use darker lines now as your hedgie is almost finished.
5. Now for the finishing touches. Go over the face outline in a darker stroke, adding in a nose and a smiley mouth. A simple circle works for the eye, and add an ear behind that too. Then finish it all off with a few more zig-zaggy lines to suggest the spines.
6. If you want to add some colour, grab colouring pencils or pens. Otherwise, you’re done and all your hedgehog needs now is a name!
Sleepy Hedgehog
1. Start by drawing a squished heart shape. This will become your hedgehog’s face. Again, use light strokes to draw the basic shapes then go over them darker later.
2. About halfway up, draw an arc that roughly mirrors the bottom of your heart. Just under that add your hedgehog’s nose. Try an oval with a slightly pointed bottom edge.
3. At either side of your heart add in the ears. I tend to make them kinda big as it seems cuter. (I blame Dumbo for making oversized ears adorable!) Then finish off the face with a smile – so your hedgie is having nice dreams – and for closed eyes, a couple of curved lines works. Why not add a few eyelashes too.
4. Now draw a faint oval around the heart, keeping it quite near the top.
5. To finish off, use a darker stroke to draw a zig-zaggy edge over your oval, the top of the face between the ears, and along the bottom edge of the face too if you want. Then add a few more to give your hedgehog more spines.
6. Again, if you want to add some colour, do that now and your sleepy hedgehog is ready for bed!
I’d love to see your new hedgehog friends, so why not share your drawings on Facebook or Instagram – and feel free to tag me.
And if there’s an animal chum you’d love to learn to draw, be sure to let me know in the comments below.
– Fi
P.S. Here’s the obligatory legal stuff: This tutorial and the hedgehog designs are copyright © 2018 Fox + Finch / Fiona Robertson. Please play fair and use this tutorial for personal, non-commercial purposes only.