How to Draw Ostrich — Free Practice Sheets

An ostrich is easy to recognize but surprisingly easy to draw out of proportion. Its body is heavy and rounded, its neck is long and slender, and its head is small. The legs are long and set apart, with one often angled slightly back. This page explains a reliable order for drawing those parts and describes how the practice sheets let you trace, copy onto a grid, place a silhouette inside a bounding frame, and complete a partly blank drawing.

Start With the Body, Then Build Upward

Begin with the largest shape: a bulky oval for the body. Keep it wide rather than tall, and add a rounded plume at the rear where the tail feathers gather. This oval anchors everything else, so check that it sits comfortably in the middle of your page before adding details.

From the front of the body, draw the neck rising upward. The neck should be long and slender, clearly narrower than the body, and it should not lean so far that the head drifts outside your planned space. At the top, place a small head with a visible large eye and a beak. The head stays small relative to the body; that contrast is what makes the drawing read as an ostrich.

1. Draw a wide oval for the body and a rounded plume at the rear.
2. Add a long, slender neck rising from the front of the body.
3. Place a small head at the top with a large eye and a beak.
4. Sketch two long legs from the lower body, angling one slightly back.
5. Outline the feet with visible toes, then add feather texture lines.

Legs, Feet, and Feather Texture

The two legs descend from the lower body and should be long enough to support the heavy shape above. Give each leg a distinct foot with visible toes. A natural stance usually has one leg slightly behind the other, which also helps the drawing look balanced rather than stiff.

Feather texture comes last. Light lines across the body and tail suggest volume without turning the drawing into a scribble. Keep the neck and legs smoother, since the contrast between feathered body and bare limbs is part of the bird's character.

1. Check that both legs reach the ground line you intended.
2. Separate the feet into visible toes.
3. Add light feather lines across the body and tail plume.
4. Leave the neck and legs comparatively smooth.

Using the Four Practice Sheet Formats

The trace sheet asks you to follow the reference outline first, then repeat the contour independently. The grid sheet asks you to copy the reference onto a blank grid using matching intersections, which trains you to judge where each part sits. The bounding frame and center guide help you place the overall silhouette before adding identifying details. The partial sheet gives you the left portion and asks you to complete the blank right-hand portion from the full reference.

Each format targets a different skill, so compare your result with the separate full reference sheet rather than expecting a pixel-perfect match. Drawings can differ and still be correct if the visible features and proportions hold together.

1. Trace the outline, then redraw it without tracing.
2. On the grid, match each part to the same intersections.
3. Use the frame and center guide to position the silhouette first.
4. Complete the blank side of the partial sheet from the full reference.

Checking Your Drawing

Compare your drawing against the reference by asking whether the long neck extends upward from a bulky feathered body, whether the head is small with a visible large eye and beak, and whether two long legs with distinct feet are present, one slightly behind the other. These are the identifying features; small differences in angle or feather pattern are acceptable.

1. Confirm the body is bulky and the neck is long and slender.
2. Confirm the head is small with an eye and beak.
3. Confirm two long legs with distinct feet, one angled back.

Check your work

• The body is bulky and rounded with a tail plume at the rear.
• The neck is long and slender and rises from the front of the body.
• The head is small and includes a visible large eye and a beak.
• Two long legs descend from the lower body, with one angled slightly back.
• Each foot shows visible toes.
• Feather texture lines appear on the body and tail without obscuring the outline.

Worked example

ostrich: Trace the reference outline, then practise the contour independently. Compare with the separate full reference sheet.

Common mistakes

• Drawing the head too large for the body. Shrink the head and eye so the small head contrasts with the bulky body.
• Making the neck short or thick. Lengthen the neck and narrow it so it reads as slender against the body.
• Placing both legs in the same position. Angle one leg slightly back so the stance looks natural and balanced.

Questions and answers