drawing techniques

A few basic techniques are used to make the drawings in this book; they’re useful for other kinds of drawing, too. In this section, you learn the importance of beginning a drawing so the parts are the right size, making lines and edges, shading, and creating textures.

Some lessons in this book begin with you drawing a box or lines. These marks help you determine the correct size for your overall drawing and ensure different parts of the drawing are in proportion. Make these shapes and lines very light so you can easily erase them later or so they blend into the shading you do over them. When I draw, I make these lines with the side of my pencil as if I were shading, or with the tip with very little pressure.

Also look for size relationships as you draw an animal. For example, use the height or width of the animal’s head to determine the correct size of its body. The number of heads high an animal is changes depending on the animal’s position in your drawing, so decide on a specific view before you start.

When you draw from a photograph or digital image, measure the width of the head with a ruler and then divide the entire width or height of the animal by that number. Or simply take the head measurement on a piece of paper and step that across the animal’s body in the image and figure out how many steps it takes to span the distance. Determining sizes like this helps you see how each animal has a unique look that can be drawn much better with measurements.

You’re asked to begin many of the drawings with a broken outline. These soft lines, or shading lines, are easier to incorporate into the final textures of the animal so you rarely need to erase them. Make them with small gaps to avoid details (like corners) because they’re easier to change than a continuous outline. Each segment usually describes an angle of a side of the animal. Angles and sizes are much more important at the beginning of the drawing than details. Apply most details last for best results.

To create general shading, use a back-and-forth motion with your pencil. Grip your pencil at about a 30-degree angle and simply move it side to side. Shade areas at one angle and then add a second layer (or pass) at a slightly different angle to fill in any white space and for even tone.

You also can shade by repeating single strokes very close together in one direction. As you complete each stroke, gradually lift your pencil off your paper to create a soft end to the stroke. This produces softer shading effects.

A gradation is shading from dark to light. Create the darkest tones of a gradation in multiple passes for even tone. The lightest tone may be the white of the paper or a very pale tone made with very little shading pressure.

How you hold your pencil when you draw produces different results. Grip your pencil at a low angle (left) for stroke shading, at a medium angle (middle) for general drawing and sketching, and at a high angle (right) when making fine details.

Here are the main steps to drawing an animal:

1. Lightly draw tick marks, reference lines, or helpful construction marks. Sketch the main shapes lightly without details using soft broken lines.

2. Erase any leftover or visible construction marks.

3. Refine the outer edges (the contours) of the main shapes.

4. Squint to see dark areas and light areas of the image you’re drawing from without all the small changes of tone and without details—save those for last! Shade the main dark and light areas.

5. Add textural effects like fur or hair, scales, claws, etc. Make small changes in middle tones.

6. Intensify the darkest areas, and erase highlights. Add the smallest details like whiskers, highlights, and final hair or feather texture.