T-02 ADVANCED: DIVERSE ANIMALS potx

Curriculum is designed to enhance skills with: drawing a detailed outline within a complex grid; identifying accurate proportions; planning shading strategies; rendering the forms of a d

Brenda Hoddinott

T-02 ADVANCED: DIVERSE ANIMALS

In this project, you draw a lovable Dalmatian with

realistic eyes and a shiny textured nose, with

emphasis on the forms of her fur and individual

features, as defined by a dominant light source

Curriculum is designed to enhance skills with: drawing a detailed outline within a complex grid; identifying accurate proportions; planning shading strategies; rendering the forms of a dog’s cranial and facial anatomy; and shading graduated values with crosshatching and hatching

A complex grid (optional) helps you to identify the proper placement of the outlines of various parts of your drawing subject However, if you are comfortable drawing a complex subject freehand, please ignore the references to a grid in this lesson

This project is divided into the following three sections:

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH A GRID: You use careful observation of spaces and lines within individual squares to measure for accurate proportions

DRAWING THE OUTLINE: You draw a detailed outline of Shadow within your drawing space in preparation for adding shading

SHADING SHADOW: Hatching is used to add a furry texture, and enhance the three-dimensional forms of the understructures of her head and neck Crosshatching works well

to bring out the texture of her collar Squirkling provides a realistic texture to her nose Suggested drawing supplies include 2H, HB, 2B, 4B and 6B pencils, vinyl and kneaded erasers, sandpaper block, ruler (if you choose to work with a grid), and good quality drawing paper

13 PAGES – 20 ILLUSTRATIONS

This lesson is recommended for artists and aspiring artists, from age 12 to adult with good

drawing skills, including the shading techniques used for hatching fur The curriculum of this lesson is easily implemented into instructional programs for home schooling, academic and

recreational learning environments

Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada - 2007

Press very lightly with your pencil as you draw the grid lines and outlines (contour lines) of the dog’s head All grid lines and some outlines will need to

be erased later Pressing too hard can also damage the tooth of the paper

I used an HB mechanical pencil, and only the weight of the pencil itself created the lines My scanner software has darkened my grid lines and outline so you can see them; in fact, my lines are so faint they are barely visible

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH A GRID

A grid, an invaluable drawing tool to help set up accurate proportions, necessitates careful

observation of spaces and lines within individual squares A grid is a framework of vertical and

horizontal reference squares on an image and/or drawing paper, used by artists to either enlarge

or reduce the size of the original image Proportion is the relationship in size of one component

of a drawing to another or others

Keep the following in mind as you work your way through this project:

Focus on only one square at a time and pretend this one square is the total drawing

As you draw, don’t think about what the subject is

Focus on the shapes, and negative and positive spaces that define the actual lines

Examine the outlines and their positions within the perimeter of this one square

Note the shape of the spaces on either side of each line

Observe whether the lines are straight, curved or angular

Take note of the directions in which curved lines bend, and the length and angle of straight lines in relation to the sides of this particular square

Take note of the areas where curved lines meet straight lines

Shape refers to the outward outline of a form Basic shapes include circles, squares and triangles Negative space refers to the background around and/or behind a drawing subject such as objects, people, or animals Positive space refers to the space occupied by the drawing subject and/or its (or his or her) various parts Curved lines are created when a straight line curves (or bends)

DRAWING THE OUTLINE

Throughout this section you draw a detailed outline of Shadow within a square drawing space in

preparation for adding shading Drawing space (also called a drawing surface or a drawing format) is the area in which you render a drawing within a specific perimeter It can be the shape

of the paper or outlined by any shape you draw, such as a square, rectangle, or circle

Contour lines are created when the shared edges of spaces and/or objects meet Contour lines can

define complete objects or small sections or details within drawing subjects

FIGURE 2-01

Use a sandpaper block to keep the point of your pencil freshly sharpened Take your time, and check your proportions often If you accidentally draw something in the wrong square, simply erase and redraw it

FIGURE 2-02

1 Use a ruler to lightly render a square drawing format

Mine is 7 by 7 inches, but feel free to do a larger drawing by using larger squares

2 Draw the grid, using numbers along the top and letters down the side

This grid has 49 squares,

7 across by 7 down The numbers and letters help you keep track of where you are working within the grid

3 Draw the basic outline

of the head and ears very lightly with your

HB pencil

FIGURE 2-03

Examine the close-up section of an oil painting (by me) in Figure 2-04, and a photograph taken by

my daughter, Heidi, in Figure 2-05 Shadow has unusual eyes for a dog; one iris is blue and the other is brown

FIGURE 2-04 FIGURE 2-05

4 Draw the outline of the neck and collar

5 Add the small section of her back that is visible

6 Draw the inside flaps of her ears

7 Draw circles as the outlines of the irises of her eyes (Refer to Figure 2-06)

The iris of an eye is the large colored circular shape

FIGURE 2-06

8 Add triangular shapes as the inner corners of her eyes

A very tiny section of the white of the eye is visible within this tiny triangle The white of the eye (sometimes called the eyeball) is the largest spherical section of the eye that is light

in value but not really white

9 Draw her nose and mouth.

10 Draw the smallest circles that will be the highlights, the partial circles that indicate the pupils of the eyes, and the details of the collar (refer to Figure 2-07)

FIGURE 2-07

A highlight is the brightest area of an object; usually, the section that is closest to the light source The pupil of an eye is the dark circular shape, within the iris, that adjusts its size under

different lighting conditions

Light source refers to the direction from which a dominant light originates In this portrait of

Shadow, the light source is from the right front, so the overall shading is lighter on the right Also, cast shadows will be added to her neck and the side of her nose resulting from this light

source A cast shadow is a dark area on a surface, adjacent to where the light is blocked by an

object This light source will also affect where I place the values in her eyes and on her nose

When you’ve finished drawing the detailed sections, take a moment to check carefully that everything is in the correct place, and drawn the right size in relation to the grid lines Erase and modify any sections you aren’t happy with

FIGURE 2-08

Don’t forget to erase your grid lines before you begin adding shading! Then, redraw all sections of the outline that were accidentally erased

Use the edge of your vinyl eraser to erase the lines and then very lightly brush away the eraser crumbs with a soft paintbrush After that, use your kneaded eraser to gently pat the paper surface to pick up any remaining eraser crumbs

SHADING SHADOW

There are many ways to add shading to a drawing I am right-handed and prefer to start my shading in the upper left hand corner, and work my way across and down the page so as not to smudge my completed sections

11 Using a 2B pencil for the darker areas and a HB for the lighter values, add the shading to the left side of the drawing, beginning in the upper left corner

The background is done with hatching A helpful hint for drawing parallel hatching lines is

to use a ruler to lightly draw a few parallel diagonal guidelines before you add shading

As a right-handed person, my natural hand movement is from the lower left to the upper right The hatching lines in this background are rendered from the lower right to the upper left, as a left-handed person would naturally be inclined

to draw them

Hence, I had to turn

my drawing sideways

so I could take advantage of my natural hand movement as I added shading to the

background

FIGURE 2-10 FIGURE 2-09

FIGURE 2-11

12 Add shading to the ear on the left

The hatching lines curve in various directions

13 Add shading to the dark shadow sections inside this ear

14 With your HB pencil, add shading to the top

of the head

The hatching lines are curving in various directions around the forms and are different lengths and values

Curved hatching lines are integral to rendering the forms of the cranial and facial bone structures

Examine the values of this fur, and take note that the white paper

is showing through in some sections Also the overall values are darker on the left

FIGURE 2-12

FIGURE 2-13

FIGURE 2-14

15 Draw the spots on the top of the head and add the fur around her eyes

16 Use your 2B pencil to darken some areas around the perimeter of the eyes and some

of the spots on the left of the drawing

17 Shade in the irises and the whites of the eyes

Refer to Figure 2-13 The shading of the irises

is darker under the upper eyelid and on the side where the highlight is drawn

Conversely, the side of the iris opposite the highlight is lighter Leave the highlights white

Don’t forget to add shading to the inner corners (the whites)

18 Add more background shading on the top

of the drawing

19 With your HB pencil, add middle values to the ear

on the right

FIGURE 2-16 FIGURE 2-15

FIGURE 2-16

FIGURE 2-17

20 Shade in the

pupils with a

6B pencil

21 Draw the fur

between and

surrounding

her eyes

22 Shade in the

middle

section of the

background

on the right

23 Add darker shading to her other ear with

HB and 2B pencils

The black spots are not as dark

on the right as

on the left

24 Draw the fur

on the center sections of her face and snout

25 Draw the fuzzy outlines of the fur

around her mouth and chin

26 Draw the fur on the left section of

her neck under the chin

27 Add shading to this tiny section of

her collar

FIGURE 2-19

FIGURE 2-18

Take a few minutes to compare your drawing to mine (Figure 2-23), fix any areas that you’re not happy with, and sign your name!

28 Finish the shading on her mouth and chin

29 Add the spotted fur on her neck and back (note the directions in which it grows)

30 Finish the background on the right (it becomes darker closer to the bottom)

31 Use crosshatching to add shading to her collar

32 Use squirkling to add the shading on the nose.

33 With your 2B pencil add lots of dots to represent the texture of a dog’s nose

FIGURE 2-20

CHALLENGE

There are only three ways to improve your drawing skills… Practice, practice and more practice! Find a close-up photo of the face of another spotted animal, such as a leopard, giraffe, or cow and draw a realistic, close-up portrait of him or her Use the shading techniques taught in this project Another challenging option is to draw the close-up view of the face of a giraffe named Dandy in T-04 Advanced: Diverse Animals

Brenda Hoddinott

As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints

My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the

enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the

quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable

Brenda Hoddinott

Biography

Born in St John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic Artists International”

Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites

Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world

Learn-to-draw books

Drawing for Dummies: Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is available

on various websites and in major bookstores internationally

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People: Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the

Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book

is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally