Few ghostly pets are as beloved and instantly recognizable as Zero, Jack Skellington’s loyal canine companion from Tim Burton’s classic, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” With his flowing, sheet-like body, glowing jack-o’-lantern nose, and floppy ears, Zero is a perfect blend of spooky and sweet.
His simple yet expressive design makes him an absolute joy to draw for artists of all ages and skill levels. Capturing his ethereal, floating form can seem tricky, but it’s much easier than you might think.
Many fans who want to sketch their favorite Halloween Town resident get stuck on how to make him look like he’s actually floating, or how to get the proportions of his simple face just right.
It’s easy to make him look flat or stiff, losing the graceful, ghost-like movement that defines his character.
The key is to break his unique form down into basic, manageable shapes and then build upon them layer by layer.
This guide is designed to walk you through every step of how to draw Zero the dog, from his cheerful pumpkin nose to the tip of his ghostly tail.
We’ll cover the essential supplies you’ll need, explore his simple anatomy, and provide a detailed, easy-to-follow drawing tutorial.
By the end, you’ll be able to create an adorable drawing of Zero that looks like he flew right off the screen. Let’s gather our art supplies and bring this wonderfully spooky pup to life on paper!
Table of Contents
Getting to Know Zero Before You Draw
Before we start sketching, let’s take a closer look at Zero’s design. Understanding his key features will make the drawing process much smoother and your final artwork more authentic. Zero’s charm lies in his simplicity, so paying attention to these few defining details is crucial.
The Core Anatomy of a Ghost Dog
Zero isn’t a regular dog; he’s a ghost! His body is less about bone and muscle and more about flow and movement. Think of him as a white sheet gracefully drifting in the wind.
- The Head: Zero’s head is a simple, rounded shape, almost like a teardrop on its side. It’s smooth and lacks any complex features, aside from his iconic ears.
- The Ears: His ears are long, floppy, and expressive. They are made of the same sheet-like material as his body and often float and trail behind him. They are one of the key ways he shows emotion.
- The Body: This is the most “ghostly” part of him. His body is essentially a flowing white sheet that tapers from his head down to a wispy point. There are no legs to worry about, which makes drawing him much simpler than drawing a real dog. The curves and folds of his body are what create the illusion of movement.
- The Nose: Zero’s most famous feature is his tiny, glowing jack-o’-lantern nose. It’s a small pumpkin with a classic carved face, and it acts as his guiding light.
- The Collar: He wears a simple, thin red collar around the base of his head where it meets his body.
By thinking of Zero as these simple, flowing components, you can avoid getting bogged down in unnecessary detail and focus on capturing his graceful, ethereal essence.
Why Simple Shapes Are Your Best Friend
The secret to drawing any character, especially a stylized one like Zero, is to start with basic geometric shapes.
- Circles and Ovals: You’ll use ovals for his head and the basic shape of his ears.
- Flowing Lines: The “S” curve is your most powerful tool for drawing Zero’s body. A simple, elegant “S” shape will instantly create the sense of floating and movement that is so central to his character.
- Triangles: The tapering shape of his body can be simplified into a long, curved triangle.
We will use these foundational shapes in our step-by-step tutorial to build a perfect likeness of Zero.
Gathering Your Drawing Materials
You don’t need an extensive collection of professional art supplies to create a wonderful drawing of Zero. A few basic tools will be more than sufficient to get the job done and have fun while doing it.
Pencils for Sketching and Shading
Graphite pencils come in various grades of hardness, which affects how light or dark your lines are. Having a small variety will give you more control over your drawing.
- An HB Pencil: This is your standard, all-purpose pencil. It’s perfect for the initial light sketch and outlining because its marks are easy to erase.
- A 2B or 4B Pencil: These pencils are softer and create darker lines. You’ll use these to go over your final lines and add some light shading to give Zero dimension.
- Colored Pencils (Optional but Recommended): To make your drawing of Zero truly pop, you’ll want to add his signature colors. You will need:
- A bright orange pencil for his pumpkin nose.
- A yellow pencil for the glow of the jack-o’-lantern.
- A red pencil for his collar.
- A light gray or blue pencil for the subtle shadows on his white body.
Paper and Other Essential Tools
The right paper and a few other key items will make your drawing experience much more enjoyable.
- Drawing Paper: A smooth-surfaced paper, like Bristol board or a good quality sketchbook paper, is ideal. A smooth surface will make it easier to draw clean lines and apply color evenly.
- A Kneaded Eraser: This soft, pliable eraser is perfect for artists. You can mold it into a fine point to erase small details, or use it to gently lift graphite without smudging.
- A Standard Eraser: A good old Pink Pearl or a similar block eraser is great for cleaning up larger areas.
- A Black Fineliner Pen (Optional): If you want a crisp, clean, comic-book-style outline, a fine-tipped black pen (like a Micron) is a great tool to use for the final inking step.
With your creative toolkit assembled, we are ready to begin the step-by-step drawing process!
How to Draw Zero the Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide
Now for the exciting part! We’re going to break down how to draw Zero the dog into simple, manageable steps. Remember to use your HB pencil for the initial sketching and to draw lightly. You can always darken the lines later.
Step 1: Sketching the Head and Body
The goal here is to create the basic framework of Zero’s form. We’ll use simple, flowing shapes.
- Draw the Head: Lightly sketch a large, sideways oval for the main part of his head. It should be slightly tilted downwards to one side.
- Add the Snout: Overlapping the front of the oval, draw a smaller, narrower oval for his snout. This will create his simple, dog-like face structure.
- Outline the Body: From the back of the head, draw a long, flowing “S” curve downwards. This will be the top line of his ghostly body. From the bottom of the head, draw another, longer “S” curve that follows the first one, eventually meeting it at a sharp point. Your shape should resemble a tapering, curved flag or a wisp of smoke.
At the end of this step, you should have a very basic, flowing shape that establishes Zero’s posture and movement.
Step 2: Adding the Ears and Nose
Now we’ll add Zero’s most defining facial features.
- Draw the Ears: On top of the head oval, draw two long, floppy ear shapes. Think of them as long, rounded rectangles or stretched-out “U” shapes. One ear should be positioned more towards the back and can be partially hidden by the head. Make them flow in the same direction as his body to enhance the sense of movement.
- Place the Pumpkin Nose: At the very tip of the snout oval you drew, sketch a tiny circle. This will be his jack-o’-lantern nose.
- Draw the Collar: Where the bottom of the head meets the body, draw two thin, parallel curved lines to create his red collar.
Your sketch is now starting to look much more like Zero! Take a moment to erase the overlapping lines inside the head and snout to create one unified head shape.
Step 3: Refining the Outline and Adding Facial Details
This is where we bring his character to life. We’ll refine the sketch and add the charming details of his face.
- Refine the Body Folds: Go over the “S” curves of his body, adding a few extra gentle curves and folds. Imagine how a light sheet would wrinkle and flow in the air. Add a wavy, uneven edge to the bottom of his body instead of just a sharp point to make it look more like fabric.
- Carve the Jack-O’-Lantern Nose: Inside the small circle for his nose, carefully draw the face of the pumpkin. Two small triangles for eyes and a tiny, crooked smile with a couple of vertical lines for teeth will do the trick.
- Add the Eye Sockets: Although Zero doesn’t have visible eyes, he has subtle, dark patches where his eyes would be. Lightly sketch two small ovals or circles on his head, just behind his snout. These are more like faint shadows than actual eyes.
Now your sketch has a much more polished and detailed look. Go over the lines you want to keep with your HB pencil, pressing a little harder to make them stand out.
Step 4: Inking the Drawing (Optional)
If you want a bold, clean outline for your drawing, this is the time to ink it. If you prefer a softer, pencil-only look, you can skip this step and move on to coloring.
- Trace Your Lines: Carefully trace over your final pencil lines with a black fineliner pen. Use a steady hand and take your time.
- Vary Your Line Weight: For a more dynamic look, make the lines slightly thicker on the bottom edges of the body and head to suggest a bit of shadow and weight. Keep the lines for the inner details, like the nose carving, very thin.
- Erase the Pencil Marks: After the ink is completely dry (wait a few minutes to avoid smudging!), use your eraser to remove all the underlying pencil sketch lines. You’ll be left with a crisp, clean, black-and-white drawing of Zero.
Step 5: Adding Color and Shading
This final step will bring your drawing of Zero to life with his signature colors and some subtle shading to give him dimension.
- Color the Nose: Using your bright orange pencil, fill in the pumpkin nose. Leave the carved eyes and mouth white for now. Use your yellow pencil to fill in the eyes and mouth of the jack-o’-lantern to give it a glowing effect. You can add a little orange around the edges of the carving to enhance the glow.
- Color the Collar: Fill in the collar with your red pencil. You can leave a thin sliver of white along the top edge to create a simple highlight.
- Shade the Body: A pure white character can look flat on white paper. We need to add subtle shadows to show his form. Take your light gray or light blue pencil and very gently add shading along the bottom edge of his body, inside the folds, and underneath his head and ears. This will make him look three-dimensional.
- Darken the Eye Sockets: Lightly shade in the eye socket areas with your 2B or a black pencil to create that hollow, ghostly look.
- Final Touches: Step back and look at your drawing. Does it need more shading? Do you want to deepen the colors? Make any final adjustments until you are happy with your adorable ghost dog.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed the guide on how to draw Zero the dog. By following these simple steps, you’ve created a charming and accurate portrait of one of cinema’s most beloved spooky sidekicks.
Tips for Customizing Your Drawing of Zero
Now that you’ve mastered the basic process of drawing Zero, you can have fun personalizing him and placing him in different scenes.
Changing Zero’s Pose and Expression
- A Playful Pose: Try drawing his body in a more energetic “C” curve, as if he’s chasing his own tail. You can make his ears perk up and point forward to show excitement.
- A Sad or Worried Expression: To make Zero look sad, droop his ears down low and make the curve of his body less pronounced, so he looks like he’s hovering listlessly.
- Flying High: Draw his body pointing upwards with his ears and tail trailing straight behind him, as if he’s soaring through the sky of Halloween Town.
Adding a Background
Your drawing of Zero will look even more amazing with a background inspired by “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
- The Spiral Hill: A classic! Sketch the iconic swirling hill in the background and place a large, full moon behind it. You can have Zero floating playfully in front of it.
- The Halloween Town Cemetery: Draw some spooky, stylized tombstones and crooked gates. Zero would look right at home floating among them. The textures of the stone and iron gates can be a fun contrast to Zero’s smooth form.
- Inside Jack’s House: Draw a simple background with a tall, gothic-style window. You could have Zero floating near the window, with moonlight streaming in.
Conclusion: Let Your Creativity Take Flight
You’ve done it! You’ve learned how to draw Zero the dog, breaking down his unique design into a fun and easy-to-follow process.
From the first oval of his head to the final touch of color on his pumpkin nose, you’ve seen how simple shapes and flowing lines can come together to create a character full of personality and charm.
The spooky world of Tim Burton is rich with artistic inspiration, and now you have the skills to capture a piece of it.
The most important takeaway is to keep practicing. Don’t worry if your first attempt isn’t perfect. Every drawing you create is a step forward in your artistic journey.
Try drawing Zero from memory, or find your favorite scenes from the movie and sketch him in different poses. The more you draw, the more confident you will become.
So keep your pencils sharp and your imagination ready. Whether you’re drawing Zero, Jack Skellington, or creating your own spooky characters, remember to have fun and enjoy the creative process. You have the ability to bring your favorite characters to life on the page. Happy drawing
