As a Nigerian who is only familiar with domestic animals and pets, the first time i came across the word Groundhog i wondered What is the meaning of Groundhog even before i found out that it was an animal. Just like i wondered i am sure you must be wondering what is the a Groundhog? So, before we move to how to draw a Groundhog let us understand what a Groundhog is.
What is a Groundhog?
The groundhog (Marmota monax), is an animal known with so many nick names among which is woodchuck. A Groundhog is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska. It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Its scientific name for species (monax) is likely derived from a Native American word for “the digger”. Today, most Americans refer to the animals as groundhogs. Yet, in British English, they’re referred to as woodchucks. Groundhogs have other common names as well, including whistle pig and land beaver.
How To Draw A Groundhog.
We now know what a Groundhog is and the other names that it is being called in different countries, how then do we draw a Groundhog? You need to know that drawing an Groundhog has to do with shapes, knowing your shapes and understanding how to draw them perfectly. Kindly follow these easy steps below to understand how to draw a Groundhog.
First step: Use part of an oval to start with for the head (what we are drawing is not a complete or smooth oval shape), making bumps and indents for the nose, mouth, and chin. The top should stick out a little more than usual.
Second step: Draw two oval shapes, one oval shape inside the other for the eye (while drawing know that one oval shape has to be bigger than the other). After you are done with the eyes, draw two triangles with no bottoms inside each other for one ear (just like you did for the eyes, one triangle should be bigger than the other), and a bump on top of the head for the other. Make small connecting lines coming in from the right side of the head for the nose and mouth.
Third step: For the body of your Groundhog, draw a slightly bumpy semi-circle coming off the head so that there appears to be a small hump on the back of the Groundhog. Be careful so you do not draw the bump too high or too low, it has to be neatly shaped to bring out the shape of the Groundhog you are drawing.
Fourth step: For the front leg, draw the first leg down from the head and make lines for the toes. Still drawing, come back up and make the line nice and wavy as you move to the left and up, stopping near the end of the body.
Fifth step: Moving forward, draw the other front leg behind the first, starting to the right of the first when coming down.
Sixth step: As we know by now that a Groundhog has four limbs it is time to move to the hind leg. Draw the hind leg to be much thicker than the front leg, making the ankle thinner than the foot or leg.
Seventh step: The second hind leg would be mostly hidden, drawing the second hind leg, it would take shape as a triangle coming out the bottom of the body with a small curve for the heel
The final step: The Groudhog has a tail and that is next and final thing to add to our drawing. Draw the tail so that the end is pointed instead of round.
Now your Groundhog is now done!