I like a sharp 4" knife for field dressing. I also like the small curvy 2" skinner blade, that includes a smaller gut hook blade. Always cut with the knife edge pointed away from your body...never cut with the blade edge pointed towards your body. The most dangerous cut: is reaching up into the chest cavity and cutting the wind pipe. Take your time on this cut --- may I suggest wearing a pair of Kevlar gloves.
Try to have the deer's head uphill. Preferably...tie the spread hind legs to two small tree's. I cut the belly hide first, then use a gut hook to gut. If you don't have a gut hook blade, cut the skin from sternum to just above the crotch --- with the knife blade between two fingers so you can deflect the guts from being cut. You don't want to skin around the inner leg area, because you'll expose the inner thighs that will tend to dry up later. Tie a string around his wanker --- then cut around it --- tie a string around the urethra below the bladder. Cut around the anus, then tie a string around it.
Cut around the diaphragm...lay the beast on his side, grab the wind pipe, and pull the innards out.
Due to the possibility of CWD {chronic wasting disease} do not saw down the center of the spine, or touch the spinal column, nor touch any brain tissue --- if you do --- wash the knife with soapy water and bleach. You do not have to cut or hatchet out the center pelvic or aitch bone at the crotch. I let the deer hang by his rear legs --- slit the hide off the inner legs with a knife --- attach "skin grabber" pliers and pull off with your hands; or tie rope the skin to an automobile or truck and skin it that way.
I prefer to de-bone all my deer --- and possibly save the ribs. Cut-off all the wild tasting fat, and any tough skin membrane...if you can.
You definitely don't want to throw the deer over your shoulders, and carry it out of the woods that way --- because somebody might start taking potshots at it.