11 Realistic Drawing Ideas of Rabbits and Hares
In this blog post I share 11 drawing ideas of rabbits and hares. I found most of these trickier to draw than I thought they’d be!
I found them harder to draw than cats and big cats and I think it was mainly because of their side-facing eyes, which made drawing them front on challenging.
I used the DK Our world in Pictures Animal Book which is such a great resource.
I’ve been looking for a decent reference book on animals for ages (as I much prefer drawing from a book than from a screen), and this one is packed full of great pictures.
Here are some quick tips for drawing rabbits and hares
1.Start with the top of the head - but make sure to leave enough space for the ears if they’re facing up.
2.Really check proportions, as the ears and eyes can be much bigger/higher/lower than you think. I use my pencil to measure or check angles.
3. Spend the longest on ears and eyes, getting those right made such a difference to my drawings and paintings.
I hope you enjoy the pictures and they give you some inspiration and ideas.
Lop-Eared Bunny Rabbit
This was one of my favourites to draw. I really like the angle, and found the downward-facing ears easier to draw than the more common upward facing ears on other rabbits.
I enjoyed using pencil and shading to suggest the softness of the fur.
Eastern Cottontail
I drew this one first and wasn't that pleased with it, it was only when I added colour that it really came to life. I was particularly pleased with the eye.
I enjoyed adding colour with acrylic brush markers (link) and picking out all the different shades of browns, greys, creams and even adding pink and black. The colours and marks added texture too.
Cute-Bunny with Upright Ears
I was really pleased with this one and added lots of shading to represent the softness of the fur. You’ll notice a lot of these are pencil/black and white compared to my cats and big cats, because there’s not as much variation in colour or pattern!
European Hare
I love the sense of movement in this one and found this one easier to draw than a lot of the other rabbit and hares, as all the features were bigger, and I found the proportions easier to work with.
Cape Hare
I used pastel pencils for this drawing and a chalk pen around the eye and tail - I found these mediums leant themselves really well to this picture.
I accidentally spilt some turmeric tea on it - and was worried I'd ruined it but it actually added a nice stain!
European Rabbit - Painting
This one took me the longest of all the pictures. I sketched it in pencil first and then used a mix of acrylic ink and watercolour. I created this for my youngest daughter’s bedroom, as rabbits are her favourite animal.
European Rabbit - Line Sketch
I tried to be freer with this one and kept my eyes of the book, barely looking at the page. I drew this one really quickly and enjoyed keeping it simple.
Snowshoe Hare
This one was nice to draw as it was in-between some of the rabbits and hares in proportion. I enjoyed adding colour to it, as on first glance it appeared just white - so it was nice to pick out the pinks, creams and greys in the fur and paws.
Arctic Hare
This one was quite nice to draw, I enjoyed drawing the face as the eyes are large and the ears are at a nice angle to draw.
Lop- Eared Bunny Under a Blanket
I thought this would be easy but it took me ages. I always start with the top of the head when draining any animal, it was the eyes that took me the longest to get right.
Cute Baby-Bunny Rabbit
This one is my kids’ favourite - it’s head is just so big in proportion to it’s body and they love it’s big ears and eyes. I kept checking proportions on this one and I spent longer on the ears adding shading to create texture.
I hope you enjoyed this blog and all the drawings and paintings.