Rendering Animals in Colored Pencil

Drawing an animal is not all that different from a person with respect to the importance of the eyes and direction of the fur.  Every single part of drawing a portrait is laying the foundation for the final product.  The type of fur can be something that an inexperienced artist may want to go overboard with.  Also putting in too much detail in the fur may be a temptation as well.  

1. The layout - Observation of the subject before beginning.

2. Pencil Strokes - Keep consistent with angle or flow of the fur.  Remembering that this is suggesting the bones and muscle structure.

3. Creating Depth and dimension - You still will have to recognize that the values are important.  Pay attention to the light and the shadows in your reference.

Rather than link some of the videos that Lisa has done of pet portraits I’m linking to the playlist.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Lachri/playlists

Scroll about halfway down to the playlist called animal paintings or click here “Animal Paintings by Lachri”