Learn How to Draw an Eagle Head (Easy & Fun)
Art and drawing are skills anyone can learn. It just takes time and practice. And by keeping things fun, you’ll be more likely to want to practice more often.
The bald eagle is the national symbol in the United States, and has been since 1782. It has also been a spiritual symbol for native people for much longer.
Upsplash has several good reference photos for your drawings. It’s always a good idea to use a reference for your drawings.
Let’s grab some supplies and get ready to have some fun learning how to draw an eagle head, step by step.
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Art Supplies
Paper or Cardstock
Easy Eagle Head Drawing Step by Step
Step 1: Start with Simple Shapes
We will begin like we always do by roughing in our shapes and main parts of the eagle. Draw an oval for the head shape. We will use this as our guideline.
To learn more about this technique, take a look at How to Use Shapes to Draw.
Step 2 – Eagle Beak Drawing
Next, rough in the top section of the beak.
Draw in the eye where the top of the beak attaches to the head.
Now draw the bottom part of the beak.
Don’t worry about adding details or making it perfect at this point. We are only drawing the rough sketch.
Refine the shape of the head by drawing in some feathers. When you’re done with this step, the eagle’s head should be a bit larger than your original guideline.
Add a section of feathers right above the eye.
Draw in the bottom section of the beak. And add in the line on the top section of the beak.
Start adding in the details for the beak. Notice how the top and bottom sections connect around the line for the bottom of the beak.
Eagle Eye Drawing
For your eagle’s eye, draw a circle around the outside.
Also add circles for the pupil and highlight.
Now it’s time to add in all of the extra details. Draw some zigzag lines for the feathers around the eye and beak.
Add in a bit more detail to the beak to make it more interesting.
Next draw in the bottom part of the body.
At this point it’s a good idea to clean up some of the extra pencil lines. For this step, I like using a click eraser.
Add in a few more layers of feathers.
You’ll want to add in some indication of feathers on the body as well.
Easy Eagle Head Outline
Making your eagle head outline is really easy to do. Simply trace over your pencil lines with a black pen or marker. I used a Pitt Artist pen for mine.
You can make your lines thin, thick, or a variation of line weights. How you choose to make your eagle head outline will depend on your artistic style. Don’t worry if you don’t know what this is yet. You style will develop over time with practice.
When you’ve finished you eagle head outline, erase all the pencil lines with a Pink Pearl eraser. This will help clean up your drawing and make it look less messy.
I went back in with the black marker and thickened up the lines where the head and the bottom meet.
Eagle Drawing – Beak Color
Now it’s time to start adding in some color. I’m using Prismacolor colored pencils for my drawing, but you can use whatever brand you want.
Begin by adding a layer of Canary Yellow (pc916) to the entire beak and around the eye.
Cream (pc914) was added to the eye for the base color.
Next, add in some darker areas using Yellow Ochre (pc942).
Finally, add some darker areas with Light Umber (pc941).
Light Umber was also used to add in some texture to the beak under the eye, and to add some darker areas to the eye itself.
Eagle Head Drawing with Color
Light Umber (pc941) was used to add some darker areas underneath the layers of feathers. Adding the darker colors will help create some depth in your drawings.
Notice how the lines are made with smooth strokes. This will help the feathers to look like they are smooth.
Continue working on the feathers until you’ve added some color to each section.
For the body of your eagle drawing, add a layer of Light Umber to the entire area.
Then, using Dark Umber (pc947), start adding in some darker areas. Let some of the lighter brown show through.
Keep working your way around the body until you are happy with how it looks.
Still using the Dark Umber, add in some darker areas on the eagle’s head. Make the area around the eye darker, and add some of the darker brown to the beak as well.
A white Gelly roll pen was used to add the highlights to the eyes.
You can finish up your eagle with a nice background, or leave it the way it is. A waving flag would look really nice or maybe you have a better design for the background. If you do, let us know in the comments.
The best way to get good at drawing an eagle is to do several drawings. Repetition has many benefits for creativity, skills, and artistic style. Try doing an art challenge and see how many different eagles you can draw in a week.
Final Thoughts & Next Steps
Now that you know how to make an easy eagle head drawing, what’s next? If you want to get really good at drawing eagle heads you should draw more of them. The more you draw the better you’ll get.
Art and drawing are skill. And developing skills takes practice and repetition. Creating art every day will give you the best results. Even if it’s only for a few minutes each day. Make your creative time part of your daily routine. And make sure you’re having fun.
Try doing a challenge and see how many eagle head drawings you can do in a week. You’re creativity will improve along with your art and drawing skills.
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