PETS

RABBITS

Drawing rabbits requires you to observe them carefully. For example, ear length varies with different breeds. The ears on this guy may be a bit too small. If this happens to you, keep trying until you get it right.

In steps A and B, begin with ovals and circles, and block in the rabbit’s general shape, trying to catch the mood of the pose at this stage.

When drawing a particular animal breed, research it so it will be accurate. You will find good references at the library.

Once the pose is set, add some features in step C. Apply both long and short strokes for shading. Keep some areas light and dark to create form, paying particular attention to the eyes, as shown in the last stage of the drawing.

A hopping rabbit makes a challenging drawing subject. Try it!

Figure A below shows one way of blocking in the elementary shapes of the rabbit. Draw clean, overlapping ovals to lay out the body shape.

In figure B, the strokes used to block in the rabbit are much looser, but either technique will lead you to a successful final drawing.

When you begin shading, use a 6B pencil for the details and darker areas. The side of a black crayon is helpful for shading larger areas and creating delicate, light grays.

Notice the depth in the eyes and the softness of the fur created below. Vary your shading techniques and strokes to create texture and make these effects possible.

Press hard on your drawing tool for darker tones, but not so hard that you destroy the texture of the paper.

GUINEA PIG

1 I start by establishing the form of the head and body with two overlapping egg shapes. Then I draw a few guidelines for the features, dividing the face into quadrants and adding a V for the nose.

2 Next I establish the underlying structure, indicating the legs and paws with a series of ovals. I add the position of the ears and place the eyes just above the horizontal guideline.

3 Now I begin to define the individual toes on the paws. I also suggest the shape of the nasal area with a U-shaped line, and I use small ovals to define the cheek pouches.

4 I begin to render the thick, furry coat around the basic structure I’ve already established, applying short strokes of varying thicknesses. It’s much easier to work out the direction of fur growth and the overall shape of the animal when you know what is underneath.

5 Next I erase any guidelines that I don’t need and continue to develop the fur. With the broad side of a pencil, I stroke light shadows around the edges of the guinea pig to suggest its roundness. I keep the drawing simple because the guinea pig’s shape is rather vague, concentrating instead on suggesting the tufts of fur.

BUDGERIGARS

1 Pen and ink are wonderful adjuncts to pencil, and they let you create a bolder drawing. I begin this pen and ink drawing with a graphite pencil sketch. First I place two parallel lines diagonally on the paper to represent the perch. Then I draw the gesture line of each bird, and I place ovals to indicate the heads and bodies. The positions I choose form a heart-shaped composition.

2 Now I build on the basic shapes to create the outlines of each bird, including the long, tapering tails that follow the initial gesture lines. Next I place the tiny feet, pointed beaks, and round eyes.

3 Now that I’ve created full outlines of the birds and established the placement of the most important details, I begin to apply ink. I use a brush pen loaded with ink to retrace the outline of each bird. I vary the thickness of my strokes by changing the amount of pressure on the brush, and I keep the strokes slightly broken to give the feathered outlines a natural look. I also begin to suggest the feathers with short, U-shaped strokes. When the ink dries completely, I erase my pencil guidelines.

4 To finish, I develop the details and values within the birds’ feathers. For the finer features of the head and body feathers, I hold the pen like a pencil to gain more control. For the flowers around the perch, I raise my grip on the pen and stroke with loose, spontaneous movements.

RABBIT

1 I begin this drawing on tracing paper. This surface has a smooth grain to it, so it doesn’t “catch” too much of the graphite, which helps the strokes appear soft and light in value. To start, I draw three overlapping ovals to mark the bunny’s head, body, and hindquarters. Then I draw crossed guidelines over the head, with each line following the curve of the face.

2 Now I refine the outline of the full body, based on the initial shapes. I also add the ears, legs, and paws. I also place the eyes and nose on the face according to the guidelines.

3 Next I redraw the outline to match the texture of the rabbit’s fur, using a slightly bumpy line that varies in thickness and looks more natural than the precise lines I began with. At this stage, I also block in the irregular shapes of the markings with a series of short strokes. I also lay in the eye and whisker details, as well as subtle shadows along the rabbit’s underside and in the ear.

4 Now, using a blending stump dipped in graphite dust, I apply dark values to the rabbit’s coat. The stump creates soft blends and a smooth texture that is appropriate for the animal’s velvety fur. I finish by “grounding” the rabbit with a cast shadow created by applying long, dark strokes with the side of a flat pencil tip.

FERRET

1 I build the long, thin body of this ferret around a natural, S-shaped curve. Along this line, I place the head, neck, torso, arms, and legs with a series of ovals, making sure the body is properly proportioned and balanced before I continue drawing.

2 Next I loosely connect the ovals, further defining the ferret’s outline. Then I add in the curved tail, as well as the front and back paws. I also place the cheek and ear.

3 With the basic shape of the animal established, I can begin working on the coat. I outline the ferret with broken lines to create the illusion of ruffled fur, erasing the previous contoured lines that I used to establish the ferret’s shape. I also place the eye, ears, and nose at this stage. I further refine the paws, indicating a suggestion of separation between the digits.

4 Now I finish building up the coarse hair of the coat. I use more strokes to define the outer edges of the ferret, following the curvature of its form. To establish variation in value, I place the darkest, densest strokes on the far limbs; this also produces the illusion that the limbs are farther back in the picture frame. For the final details, I add whiskers and refine the eye and ears.

PARROT

1 First I establish the overall pose by drawing a long, curved arc from the parrot’s beak to its tail with an HB pencil. On this center line, I place the beak and build the head, chest, wings, and tail with ovals and tapering lines.

2 Now that the basic form of the body exists, I place the feet and add a perch to “ground” the parrot. I also draw the eye and refine the outline of the beak, defining the upper and bottom parts.

3 Next I erase any unnecessary guidelines. I give the perch some form by scribbling shadows along the lower and left edges. Then I continue to refine outlines, indicating the separations between the most pronounced feathers on a parrot’s body: the wing and tail feathers.

4 Parrots are known for their dramatic coloring, so I convey this with bold, broad pencil strokes. I shade mainly along the edges of the bird to build form, filling in some feathers with soft strokes and leaving others white. To make the bird stand out from the paper, I apply quick, expressive strokes that radiate from the bird’s body. I want the background to capture the liveliness of the bird’s character too, so I use free, loose strokes and scribbles to convey spontaneity and dynamism.

SNAKE

1 I start this python by laying in a squiggling gesture line. Next I add curved marks along the initial line to begin to define the roundness of the form. These lines will also act as guidelines for the pattern I’ll place later. Finally, I roughly indicate the rounded triangle form of the snake’s head.

2 Next I connect the curved strokes to outline the entire body, slightly building up the form of the head as well.

3 Now I begin to mark the general shapes of the snake’s skin pattern. These slightly irregular shapes roughly fall between the curved guidelines I established in step 1.

4 Finally, I fill in the colored pattern with a sharp 2B pencil. I am careful to keep the values lighter along the top of the snake’s body, darkening them toward the ground. I also add a few light hatch marks on the light-colored portions of the pattern to give the snake a round appearance. Then I create a ground shadow using short, energetic strokes to suggest a sense of movement.