How to Draw an Easy Unicorn
Learning how to draw a unicorn is easy and fun. We’ll show you step by step how to sketch, outline, and color your unicorn drawings with markers.
The unicorn is a mythological animal that resembles a horse with a single horn on the top of it’s head. They’ve appeared in artwork since early Mesopotamian art. Unicorns are also referenced in the Bible.
Learning to draw a unicorn can feel intimidating or overwhelming. But we’re here to help with that and make things easier for you.
By breaking things down into an easy to follow step by step process, you’ll be drawing unicorns in no time. Be sure you’re having fun and enjoying your creative time.
Let’s grab some supplies and get ready to have fun learning to draw a unicorn the easy way.
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Art Supplies
- Thin black marker
- Paper or cardstock
- Markers
- Pencil
- Click Eraser, Pink Pearl Eraser
- White Gelly Roll pen
Unicorn Sketch Practice Exercise
Doing a sketching exercise is great for warming up and getting familiar with what you’re going to be drawing.
To do a unicorn sketch practice exercise, get yourself a piece of paper and something to sketch with. Then bring up some references to look at.
Set a timer for three or five minutes. And sketch as many unicorns as you can before you run out of time.
Another option is to do as many sketches as you can before your paper is filled up and you run out of room. If you’re using this method, just be mindful of how much time you’re spending on your sketches.
It shouldn’t take you longer than five or ten minutes to complete this exercise. Keep your unicorn sketches quick and loose.
One of the benefits that I really like from doing this exercise is that it helps to decide how to draw something. There are tons of different ways to draw just about anything.
You can draw stuff cute, cartoony, realistic, or exaggerated. And you can draw something from many different angles.
After completing this quick sketch practice session, you’ll have a better idea of how you want to draw your unicorn.
How to Draw a Unicorn Step by Step
The easiest way to learn how to draw a unicorn, or anything, is by breaking it down into basic shapes. This makes drawing something new less intimidating and it helps get past the blank page barrier.
For the head we need to start with a circle that has a smaller overlapping circle for the nose and mouth.
Then we can add a triangle shape for the ear. And another circle for the eye. I drew the eye kind of big because I want my unicorn to look cute. And things are always cuter with big eyes.
Next, add the details for the eye. You need to add the iris and pupil. A small reflection can be added as well.
Now we can start drawing the shape of the mane. Like with everything, there are a lot of different ways to draw this. So don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.
Then draw the shape of your unicorn’s nose.
And then you can draw out the rest of the shape for its head.
Add some details to the inside of the ear. And draw a nostril and the neck.
Now you can draw the horn. Make sure it looks like it’s coming out of the top of the head by starting it at the top of your original circle.
Finish drawing the shape of the mane on the top of your unicorn’s head. And draw a second ear.
If you want your unicorn to be a girl, add some eyelashes. You could also add a bow to the main if you wanted it to look more feminine.
Finish up your unicorn drawing by continuing the mane down the back of the neck and adding in the rest of the body. Make any changes to your drawing before moving on to the next step.
Unicorn Outline
After you’re finished with your unicorn drawing, you can add an outline. How you choose to do this will depend on your artistic style. Which will be slightly different for everyone.
To make your unicorn outline, just trace over your pencil lines with a thin black pen or marker.
You can make your lines thick, thin, or a combination of the two. Or you could use a different color other than black.
Do whatever you think looks good. If you’re not sure, or if you haven’t developed your style yet, you need more practice.
But don’t worry, it will come with practice and time.
Use an eraser to remove an pencil lines and clean up your drawing.
How to Draw a Unicorn with Markers
I’m using markers for my unicorn drawing but you can use whatever medium you prefer.
Learning how to draw a unicorn with markers is easy if you follow a couple of simple rules.
First, use alcohol based markers so you can blend the colors together. Sharpie, Bic, and Copic are all alcohol based markers, as are many others.
Second, use two or three similar colors to create depth in your drawings and make them look more interesting. And by using similar colors you’ll be able to make smooth transitions of color.
For example, the main for my unicorn drawing has three different pinks in it. I used light pink, medium pink, and dark pink.
For the eye light blue and medium blue were used.
This helps create depth and prevents your drawings from looking flat.
We have an entire tutorial on How to Use Markers for Beginners.
A white Gelly Roll pen was used for the highlights and for the stars in the background.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
Now that you know how to draw a unicorn, what’s the next step? Well, from here you’ll need to practice. If you want to get really good at using markers you should spend some time using them.
If you want to get good at drawing unicorns you should draw several of them. Challenging yourself to a series of drawings is a great way to improve.
Be creative and have fun. The process of creating art should feel relaxing and bring you joy.
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