Mule Deer Standing on a Rocky Hillside Coloring Page

A mule deer stands square to the viewer, and its most obvious feature is the ears, which are far wider and rounder than any other deer on the site. Fine hair strokes run down the chest and along the underside of the body, giving texture to an animal that is otherwise left open. Its antlers fork upward in the branched pattern the species is known for. The setting is what lifts this sheet. A rocky slope rises behind on the left in slabs and ledges, and the whole bottom third fills with alpine growth: spiky rosettes, round flower heads with many narrow petals, tufted grasses and scattered stones. That foreground band carries more detail than the animal does. Work it in several tones so the deer stays the lightest thing on the page and stands out against all the texture below and behind it. The upper right stays mostly clear. This is a middle difficulty sheet, harder than the cartoon deer and much easier than the patterned portraits.