Baba Yaga is perhaps one of the most striking characters in Russian folk tales, although she is a negative hero. A grumpy character, the ability to use witchcraft items and potions, flying in a mortar, a hut on chicken legs - all this makes the character memorable and unique. And although, probably, everyone imagines what kind of old woman this is, not everyone knows how to draw Babu Yaga. That's what we’ll talk about in this article.
The folklore image of Baba Yaga
Everyone read Russian folk tales in childhood, it is from them that Baba Yaga is known to us. Therefore, if you decide to start drawing this old woman, you should turn to children's books to understand what this character is. So, let's characterize Baba Yaga: she lives in a dense impenetrable forest, her dwelling is a hut on chicken legs. She is subject to witchcraft and, in addition, she knows how to fly in a mortar, sweeping her traces with a broomstick. If we talk about the character of Baba Yaga, then this is not always a harmful and evil old woman, in some tales she admonishes the hero and gives him magic objects, for example, a guiding ball of thread or a magic horse. Not only poets and writers, but also artists such as Ivan Bilibin, Ivan Malyutin, Viktor Vasnetsov, and others have repeatedly addressed the image of Baba Yaga.
The Image of Baba Yaga in Art
Of course, the image of this character is very interesting not only to ordinary readers, but also to people of art: artists, writers, musicians, poets and directors. This hero of Russian fairy tales inspired the composer Mussorgsky to create the musical play Hut on Chicken Legs. Baba Yaga. " Everyone knows the canvas of the Russian artist Vasnetsov, which is called "Baba Yaga." We must not forget about the beautiful paintings of Bilibin. Even in the movie, the image of this old woman was captured, and her man, the wonderful actor Georgy Millar, played.
Appearance of Baba Yaga
In order to answer the question of how to draw Baba Yaga and convey her image as accurately as possible, it is necessary to pay attention to her appearance and distinctive features. In Russian fairy tales, she, as a rule, was depicted as a bony old woman with a large hump, a wrinkled face, a long, hooked nose, on which a wart was necessarily present. But little attention was paid to the description of clothes, Baba Yaga could be dressed in a sarafan, dress or skirt, so you can dream up on the details of the wardrobe.
We draw Baba Yaga from the cartoon
Perhaps this is one of the simplest options for drawing a fairy-tale old woman with a pencil. This image is taken from the 1979 Soviet animated film Baba Yaga Against.
You can draw Babu Yaga in a mortar or on a broomstick, the forms for drawing are very simple, so even a small child can master them. Let's try to draw an old woman who flies on a broomstick. First, draw an oval with a pencil, this will be the head of the grandmother, then draw successively the nose, eyes and mouth.
Do not forget about the
scarf on the head of my grandmother, he was polka dots. Hair is pulled out from under the scarf a bit, we draw the details and remove the excess lines. After the head of Baba Yaga is drawn, you need to determine the location of the stick from the broom, that is, make a sketch of it. Only after this can you start drawing the body of the old woman. We make a sketch of the figure of the grandmother, she is slightly tilted forward and holds her hands on the broom. We draw the broom itself, and only after that draw the hands and feet of Baba Yaga.
How to draw Babu Yaga in a mortar
This picture will be a little more complicated than the previous one. First you need to imagine the image of Baba Yaga in a mortar, in the hands of her broom. If it’s hard to imagine, you can search for a picture with a similar image or see illustrations for Russian folk tales in which there is such a fairy-tale hero. Tales will help to answer the question of how to draw the stupa of Baba Yaga. First, you should sketch on paper an approximate silhouette of the old woman and the outline of the stupa. You need to do this without clicking on the pencil. Gradually add details, such as a scarf, hair fluttering in the wind, which are knocked out from under it. We draw a face, highlighting the characteristic features of this character: a hooked nose, a protruding chin, a tooth sticking out of the mouth, and thick, crooked brows. Do not forget to draw a wart on the nose. Next, draw bony hands with long thin fingers, which Baba Yaga tenaciously holds his broom. Do not forget to pay attention to the grandmother's mortar, you can draw a wooden texture, add a crack, pay attention to the little things - we draw wrinkles on the face and folds on the clothes. In the process of drawing with the eraser, we gradually remove excess parts and lines.
How to draw Babu Yaga with a pencil in stages
In order to convey the image of this old woman as accurately as possible, let us once again recall all of her distinguishing features. Let's talk about how to draw the face of Baba Yaga. We will divide this lesson into several stages, so it will be more convenient to navigate.
- The first stage - we draw a facial contour. It can be a little careless and angular, it’s not scary, because an evil face always looks somehow angular and rude. We outline the hair contour.
- The second stage - on the face without pressing the pencil we draw barely noticeable parallel lines, eyes will be located at this level. Let's draw two circles, the cap line is located a little higher. Sketch the visible ear. You should also designate the nose, it is hooked in Baba Yaga, and the mouth.
- The third stage - we begin to draw the details. It needs consistency and attention. Let's start with the headdress of the old woman. It can be a scarf, scarf or hat. Then we go to the face, draw wrinkles, folds, eyebrows, chin, mouth. Next, draw the old woman's gray hair.
- The fourth stage. Let's look at the picture, at the image that turned out. Now the challenge is to make this image natural and vibrant. To do this, add more small details, draw each fold and wrinkle on the face of the grandmother. On a hooked nose you can draw a wart - an integral part of a harmful old woman. We add details on the headdress: on the hat we draw leaves, a spider or a beetle. If this is a scarf, then we draw a pattern, do not forget about the folds. In an ajar mouth we will draw some teeth.
- The fifth stage. We pay attention to the eyes of the old woman, draw the pupils, they should be small, this will add aggression to the face of Baba Yaga. With the appearance of the eyes, the image immediately comes to life. We will carefully look at the drawing: maybe something needs to be painted on or, conversely, removed extra lines. That's all, Baba Yaga came to life.
A hut on chicken legs
An integral attribute of this fabulous character is his home. Each self-respecting Baba Yaga has a hut, but not a simple one, but on chicken legs. Let's talk about how to draw the house of Baba Yaga. In general, such a dwelling is not just an invention; in ancient times, in Russia, huts were placed on hemp, the roots of which were chopped off and looked very much like chicken legs. Thus, people tried to protect the wooden house from decay.
Step by step drawing of a hut on chicken legs
- First step. Let's start with the front wall of the hut, for this it is necessary to depict logs lying on each other. Do not forget to draw a window with carved shutters. They do not have to be symmetrical; this will add credibility to the pattern. On the window you can draw a sitting cat, a web, in which a spider sits, or pots. At the bottom we add a carved board that will hang over the chicken legs, on which the hut will stand.
- Stage Two. We draw the side walls and mark the places of the cuts - they are round. We draw annual rings, add cracks in the tree, moss. If the hut is “in front”, then you can draw a door, it is old and rickety. Near the entrance you can depict a stupa with a broom.
- Stage Three. Now you can proceed to drawing the roof, it is a boardwalk. We decorate the roof with carved skates, under which you can depict an attic window. The boards covering the house can be carved below. A beautiful hut turns out, but do not forget that this is the home of Baba Yaga, so on the roof you can draw a crow's nest or a bat.
- The fourth stage. Now we draw the chicken legs on which the hut stands, starting from the knotted knees and gradually moving to the paws themselves. Draw chicken skin - rough and rough. Toes are arranged like this - three are directed forward, and one is directed back. We depict claws on them. That's the whole answer to the question of how to draw the hut of Baba Yaga. The main thing, depicting the house of a fairy-tale old woman, do not forget about the proportions so that the paws on which the hut stands are not too short or, conversely, long.
- Stage Five. For those who want to decorate their drawing, we recommend using gloomy dark tones, because the dwelling of Baba Yaga should be scary and scare the terrible on lost travelers.
Some tips
Much has already been said about how to draw Babu Yaga, but, summing up, I want to give some advice to beginning artists. In order to faithfully portray this fairy-tale hero, you need to better study his character, habits, the place where he lives, characteristic features. Of course, Russian folk tales will help in this best of all. And do not be upset if you could not draw the character or his house the first time, you need to try again, and your imagination will help you with this.