How to Draw > How to draw a peacock

Is it any wonder so many of us want to learn how to draw peacocks? If there was ever an animal that could inspire an artist, or even an aspiring artist, the amazing feathers of a peacock in full display would do it.

Just below on this page we'll show you how to draw a very simple peacock, but that's just the first step. You should know that the bird below is the male peacock, also known as the Indian Peafowl. Female peacocks (known as pea hens) do not have anywhere near the plummage (ie, the feathers) that the males do. Pen hens are mostly brown, with a white chest, but the peacocks still find them quite attractive.

how to draw, drawing

how to draw, drawing

Practice how to draw a peacock here:

Peacocks behave quite a bit like turkeys in the wild. They roam in groups, and tend not to fly very much at all. They can be spooked into flying into a tree for safety, though, and will probably let out a loud warning call to other group members to warn them. In the wild, in South Asia, they will often sleep as a group in trees to stay safe from predators. While most of the wild peacocks in the world live in South Asia, there are also a small wild populations of feral peacocks living in southern California.

The "spots" in the peacock's tail are called "eyespots". Both sexes have a "crown", which is the spray of feathers coming out of their head. Males' bodies are nearly solid blue, with their tails (also called their "trains") being predominately green. From beak to tail they are about 4 feet long. They typically "display" their feathers only to court females, but will display sometimes when no female is around. The display is more than just opening their tails up like a fan -- they also shakes their tail feathers, which causes a rustling, almost rattling sound that also helps to flash their feathers in the light.

Drawing peacocks is almost certainly going to involve using colors -- there are not a lot of reasons to do a study of them in pen and ink or even black and white photography. While you can use any medium you want, the best results will come from paints and pencils or crayons that have "saturated" colors -- in other words, rich, un-watered-down colors. Use long flowing strokes to suggest how their feathers arch and bend.
