HOW TO DRAW

How to Draw Spooky Bats

For your Halloween Creations

Adding bats to anything improves the late-in-the-year atmosphere.

There are many ways of drawing spooky bats, but this is a good one to start with — very quick and effective.

The shallow curves of an ‘m’ are frequently used to suggest flying birds and we recognise it because it’s like an agreed short cut that our brain has approved.

Start with some of them flying at different angles.

Practice on scrap paper another fatter ‘m’ with a long tail — on the diagonal.

And the mirror image on the other diagonal. As above.

Add the fatter ‘m’ with a long tail to the bird on one side, and on the other side with the tails meeting at a point. As above.

Add a head — which is a circle with a couple of sticky-up bits (above left) — to the bat’s body (above right)in the v-bit.

Fill in with black ink or whatever medium you are using.

And you have fast-flying, get-in-your-hair, spooky bats for all your Halloween creations!

You could add eyes with white pen or paint, or stick on googly eyes depending on the effect you want. I tend to leave my bats eyeless and mysterious.

All drawings and paintings by Susan Alison

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Read more from me: © Susan Alison 2021