Drawing Realistic Animals

This paper doesn't exactly allow me to trace the outline. I actually have to practice my drawing skills. Also, the problem is that the grey pencil I use has lead, it's graphite. And the black and white pencils are coloring pencils. Still, choosing to combine the two can work, as you will see in this course.

To start with the outline, I recommend using the white pencil at first. Try to see which areas are white on the reference image. Start with those.

Let's continue the outline with the white pencil.

I guess it doesn't matter as much whether you start on the left or the right side. Coloring pencils don't smudge. But the grey graphite pencil does, so just be careful with that.

Let's finish the ear with black, grey, and white pencils.

Let's make sure everything is in the right place: The eyes, the nose, the mouth, the whiskers, etc.

The whiskers are tricky because it's not like I have pastels. With coloring pencils, you can't exactly go over the darker areas with the white pencil and expect it to overlap it. So, in this case, it would be better to draw with darker pencils around the white whiskers.

Now the fun part: The eye. Why is it fun? more details that matter, details make a difference in how the cat looks, and more contrast.

The other eye is just as much fun as the first.

Tiny dots and lines make it look like fur. Additionally, aside from the white pencil lines and dots, grey dots and lines in between the white can give the white areas a more detailed shape, especially since the grey pencil's point is tinier.

The photograph has a sharp focus on the center of the image, which is on the nose and forehead areas. Make sure you put a lot of detail into those.

Creating the tiny contrasts between the white and grey fur is key to getting this portrait done the right way.

The same techniques as earlier apply to these areas as well.

Were cats worshipped in Egypt? That's the debate between these 4. Maybe our guest has a little bit of a personality disorder.

We are almost there. Some final details need to be added.

The cat is almost finished. Just a few more details.

Hopefully, these other cat drawings will inspire you.

Even though I am satisfied, I'm seeing a few of the flaws. You should always be humble and reflect on your drawings, and then learn lessons from them.

I guess it's hard to find a good home for this cat. Oh well...

Woof! Woof! Draw me! Draw me! This is what your dog has been telling you. But were you listening? This is your chance to prove to your dog that you care about him or her.

Okay, maybe you don't have a dog but you just like drawing animals. In either of these cases, this crash course is for you. Understand hair and contrast better. Become a master at handling that pencil (the one in your hand), and see the difference between shadows, shadings, and obscure areas---actually, those are all the same; I was just trying to sound smart.

Dogs are fascinating to draw. I've drawn a lot of them. And once you understand how, it will be a piece of cake.

Accents, highlights, and shadows make art interesting. If there was no contrast, it would all look boring and flat.

Here are some images with interesting shadows that make other areas pop.

Sometimes, highlights are the main things that make a piece of art beautiful, whether it's a cartoon, photograph, comic book figure, or a realistic drawing or painting.

Outlining the contours of the dog can be done with a white pencil or a light grey pencil. It depends on where and what the reference looks like.

Ready to draw some facial features? I know I am. Let's goooooo!

Now it's important that we identify and render the white areas in the dog's fur.

Do you have a sixth sense or seventh sense as a true artist? I'm sure you do.

I like drawing eyes. I think I've mentioned that before. The contrast, the way it stands out... it's nice.

The second eye gets a turn. I'm saying everything I want to say about it in the video.

The area around the eyes is interesting in this dog's face too. It gives the eyes more depth, more contrast, and it creates a furry look as opposed to the glass, reflective surface of the eyes.

Don't be afraid to draw the dog's nose. I think he can smell your fear.

It's almost as if the dog has some kind of moustache. A lot of dogs do. Make sure you draw the hairs in the right direction and create that contrast between dark and white.

The ears have some nice contrast too. There are some very dark areas, pretty much black; and then there are some white areas.

The shadows, the hairs and the white highlights make this dog interesting. Here, we continue perfecting the drawing.

The last details are being added.

And we are here! We are done! Doesn't that look like an amazing dog? Okay, you can say no if you want. I don't care.

If the dog drawing in this course didn't inspire you already, then maybe this will! Or not... I don't know. I thought I would give it a try, at least.

We're never done until we do a thorough analysis of our drawings, are we? Here it is. Not so thorough maybe, but at least it's a sincere reflection, in all humility, on my fantastic drawing.

Seriously, I have literally seen artists do more ridiculous stuff than this. Isn't that weird? But hey, you can be the judge of details VS significance.

A horse is a horse, of course. But it's so much more when you study the details of the hair, the facial features, and the shadows in the various areas.

In this pencil art tutorial, you will learn the most important basics. I tried to make it fun---please don't do anything to me if you think it's boring---as well as educational. Once you see how easy it can be to draw from a photograph or reference, you will fall in love with your pencil and paper.

It will be like love at first sight, but without the other seeing you back. In the past, I have drawn many horses. I have to admit that I think they kind of stink, and they're very skittish.

But they sure help create beautiful artwork and that's what we're going for!

You know what I was thinking the other day?

I should really step up my horse drawings. And before I knew it, one thing led to another, and the result of that spontaneous, inspirational insight was this drawing class. Neat how that works, huh?

Okay, fine. I made it all up. Let's get serious for a moment. Wait... no, let's keep it humorous instead. Something I always associate with a horse is lots and lots of poop. That's why I decided to show you the ins and outs of how to draw a big horse turd on a grass field.

Seriously, I have to stop this. Of course, I'm just kidding. We will study the hairs, fur and facial features of a real horse (on a photograph). I tried to make it stand still but it wouldn't listen to me, so I took a picture. And today, you have the privilege of turning your magical art skills into an artistic piece.

Go ahead and see what I mean.

The most common way to correct a mistake is by using the eraser. But with dark lines or with small details, it gets difficult. Always start light, and maybe, if you can somehow avoid using the eraser, you can find different solutions.

And by different solutions, I don't mean ripping your paper in half and starting over. Please! Don't do it! There is another way! What are you... nooooo!!!

Hiding your mistakes by turning them into shadows or blending them into the environment is one of those sneaky ways an artist can become an expert. But remember... ssshh.... don't tell anyone. As long as they don't notice, you're fine.

Sometimes a mistake is so bad that the entire drawing should be adjusted, like making everything darker. Although it should be avoided whenever possible, this is another thing you can do to prevent yourself from tossing your drawing in the trash, banging your head against the wall, eating your grandma's cookies behind her back, yelling at your girlfriend, and starting all over again. Just saying...

This horse head has more to it than you think: So many light and dark areas, muscles, veins, etc. The outline is, however, fairly simple.

Did I mention I am right-handed? Well, if I didn't, then here it is: I'm right-handed. And therefore, I typically start on the left side, so that my hand doesn't smudge the other side. With that in mind, I can start rendering the shadows there.

Putting a light grey layer underneath basically every area except for the bright white one on the left, can help with the other values.

Let's face it: The ears are pretty simple. There are some nuances and shadows in the right one, but aside from that, there is not much to them, I would say.

Let's zoom in on that eye and show you how dark it is.

The nose and mouth are very dark as well. But they're not all equally dark, so let's draw all the shadows in there.

The rest of the head is up. The veins, muscles, and skeleton help form the shadows we will put in there.

The left side of the horse is basically done. The right side is more complex than you might think, but we're going to do it!

This is the stage in which you just have to hang in there. It's a lot of drawing and a lot of observation. But we have to hold on! We can do this!

With the dark pencils I have, there are a lot of shadows to draw on the right side of the horse.

There is not much else to it. Just try to block in those areas that stand out because they're darker than the others. Press your pencil harder against the paper when you need darker shadows. Yep, that's it. What do you think?

These horse portraits should inspire you. As you can see, they're not all just horse heads but entire bodies as well.

I've written book under pen names, but I'm not sure I see the point in using aliases for art for myself. But for the reasons mentioned, I guess other artists have.

"What is it with chicks and horses?" A quote from George of the Jungle. I don't know either but I know my sister and many girls I knew during my teenage years and twenties were crazy about them. So, of course, I thought, "Why not do a drawing of the both of them together?"

Sight sizing means that you put the paper on the same height, to draw a live portrait and you measure from a distance how much exactly it should be on your paper. This has pros and cons. It means that you spend more time but also might get things more accurate. Let's talk about it.

I totally see people's perspective when they try to indicate that it's better to learn basic shapes first, or that drawing live models adds some sort of extra dimension. But I can't stand it when they come up with reasons or arguments that don't hold up. This is my personal opinion. I need you to form your own opinion. Artists are critical thinkers, not sheep blindly following a dogma or tradition. Learn from professionals, sure, but don't stop thinking for yourself.