Howling Wolf Coloring Page

This howling wolf coloring page sets one wild animal against a moon so big it barely fits on the sheet. The wolf throws its head straight back with its eye shut and its mouth open, and rings of sound roll up toward the sky. Its neck and chest fill the lower half of the page with long, pointed layers of fur.

It is a good page for bigger kids who want something calm to work on that still looks tough. Fur takes patience, so plan on an hour or a bit longer. Good pencils help here.

Reading the drawing

The mane is built in three tiers, one over another, and each has a jagged lower edge. A pale tier sits at the throat, a mid tier runs below it and the widest one drapes over the shoulders. Short curved marks show which way the hair lies.

On the head you will find a darker mask along the top of the muzzle, pale fur on the cheek and a torn fringe where those two meet. The ear is pressed back. There is a small dark nose at the tip, a row of sharp teeth on each jaw and a long tongue resting in the lower jaw.

The background has three layers of its own. Rocky peaks rise far away, a clump of pines stands off to the right and a broken cliff runs along the bottom, right under the wolf.

Howling wolf coloring page fur techniques

Never color fur in one direction across the whole body. Follow the flow. Each pointed tuft has a root and a tip, so start at the root and flick your pencil toward the tip. Lift off at the end of each stroke, which leaves a thin, tapered line.

1. Lay a pale gray or tan over each tier.
2. Add darker strokes at the top of every tier, right where it slips under the layer above.
3. Leave the tips light. That makes each tuft lift away from the next one.
4. Finish with a few long strokes in your darkest color.

The contrast between tiers is what makes the coat look deep. If two layers come out the same value, darken the lower one along its top edge.

Moonlight and mood

Most people color the moon plain yellow, and that works fine. Try a pale cream with soft gray craters and you get a colder, stiller night. A huge orange moon near the horizon gives a very different feeling, with more heat and more drama.

Whatever you choose, the moon is your light source. It sits behind the wolf, so the edge of the head and muzzle should catch a thin rim of light, while the chest stays in shadow. This effect is called rim lighting, and film makers love it.

Use deep navy or dark purple for the sky, and leave the tiny stars white. Press lightly on the far peaks so they fade back, and save your darkest greens for the pines.

Wolf facts

Here is the twist. Wolves do not howl at the Moon at all, and its phases have no effect on their calls. They howl to gather the pack, usually before and after a hunt, and to find each other in storms or on strange ground. In the right conditions a howl can carry across an area of about 50 square miles.

The average wolf pack in North America has around eight members. That thick look on the page is true to life too. Winter fur has a dense undercoat with long, coarse guard hairs over it, and it does not collect ice from the wolf's breath. Read more in the wolf article on Wikipedia.

More to try

Listen to a recording of wolves online, then color while it plays. It sets the mood fast, and it is a neat way to hear how each voice shifts as the group joins in.

Writers can take this somewhere else. Tell the story of the last hour before this howl. Who is the wolf calling, and do they answer? A classroom could turn the page into a lesson on how animals talk across long distances, with sharks, whales and birds to compare.

Into dark, moonlit scenes? The werewolf coloring page and the moon and stars coloring page make a good pair with this one.

Questions