How to draw a Good Enough unicorn…three ways!

Ah, unicorns. Symbols of beauty, purity, and truth… with magical healing powers and the ability to attract virgins. Doesn’t every business want something like this? Whether it’s a new product or service, the system that will solve all your problems, or that exciting new business approach, SOMEWHERE out there is the unicorn that will show up for our businesses and make everything okay… no, better than okay: magical.

Sure, some folks say that unicorns are mythical creatures and you’re better off basing your work in reality. However, as someone who comes from a nonprofit management background, I go for the bigger vision of what’s possible… and I tend to see the good in things and work with that. Idealistic? Maybe. But then again, it’s also my job… and magical things happen when we work with the best in people. (That’s my reality.) So, if you’re ready to introduce a bit of magic into your own process, read on!

How to draw a Good Enough unicorn:

Three (and a half) Tips:

A unicorn is basically a horse – usually an especially beautiful horse – with a horn coming out of its forehead. Sadly, I did not spend hours doodling horses as a child, so horses are a bit challenging for me to draw. Solution? Draw the head! Can you tell by step four that what I drew was supposed to be a unicorn? Then the approach was Good Enough to get the idea across! Hooray!

When drawing a unicorn’s head, there’s a fine line between drawing something horse-like and drawing something dog-like. (Because let’s be honest… at step two this drawing could easily have turned into a boxer dog!) When drawing the head, be sure to draw a long enough slope from the roundess of the forehead to the bridge of the nose. Shorter slopes (like step two) read more like “dog,” and overly-long slopes read more like “crocodile.” Play with that length to see what reads “horse” to you.

Another key element to a horse’s head (to my eye) is the rounded cheek. When drawing that bottom line of the head, give it an upward sweep towards the ear area to give your unicorn that equine look.

Don’t forget the horns and the mane! A unicorn’s horn comes out of the center of its forehead, or third-eye area. Place the horn too low and you’ll have more of a rhinoceros-icorn going on. Place it too high/on top on the head and it might look like a party hat. And, of course, a unicorn’s got to have a fabulous, flowing mane! After drawing the horn in step three, I added a bit of bangs to the mane, partially covering the base of the horn, just to give my unicorn a full head of hair. You may prefer for your unicorn to have a full-on hairstyle in the front, with the horn peeking out. In that case, draw the mane in step three instead of the horn, then add the horn in step four.

What about a full-body unicorn?

Oh… I was afraid you were going to ask that. ;^)

Yes, there will be times where you’ll want to draw a full-figured unicorn instead of just the head. Here’s my take on drawing a full-bodied unicorn:

Well, perhaps this is what happens if a unicorn marries a shetland pony: you get a Shetland Pony-corn. The main thing throwing off this image as a full-on unicorn for me is the legs: they are way too short, not horse-like enough. Ooh… can you see my inner critic starting to come to the surface? I could! That’s why I whipped up this last drawing:

How I REALLY draw a Good Enough, full-figure unicorn:

Voila! Stick-figure unicorn. By letting go of my need to make it look “right,” the legs end up being the right length! And if you can tell that it’s supposed to be a unicorn just from looking at it, then that drawing is Good Enough! (And it certainly allows me to have more fun drawing the thing!) ;^)

… and that’s it! What does YOUR unicorn look like? Draw yours up, Tweet it out to @jeannelking #goodenough, and give us something magical to wish for! ;^)

Want to have fun drawing AND inspire others to pick up the pen at the same time? Got something you wish you could draw, but you’re not sure how to approach it? Tweet your drawing or idea to @jeannelking and tag it with #goodenough: it could be featured in an upcoming “how to draw good enough” blog post!

Looking forward to seeing what you draw forth!

2 Comments

Philip Mizener says:

October 4, 2013 at 9:16 am

Greetings Jeannel,

Loved it! That last one once again, set us free to draw “Good Enough!” Thanks again!

Phil Mizener

1. Jeannel says:
  
  October 4, 2013 at 9:32 am
  
  Ah, may that stick figure unicorn bring you lots of sunshine and rainbows today, Philip! ;^)