How To… Draw A Dog
Drawing a pastel portrait from a photograph
We thought we’d share a little trade secret with you…. Inspired by how interested some visitors were in the stages that make up a drawing, we’ve decided to let you in on the secret and share how we created the portrait of Milly.
We like to work from several photos, if we can. That way we get a really good feel for the pet’s character and markings. We had just one photo to work from this time: but as the portrait would be a surprise gift, asking for more photos would have aroused suspicion, so it had to do!
So, here are the stages that a portrait goes through.
Stage 1
Light pencil outlines and medium chalk pastel
Stage 2
The darkest of the light areas
Stage 3
Eyes and lightest dark tones (and collar!)
Stage 4
Mid tones and darkest dark areas
Stage 5
Fine detail and highest highlights, but no tongue *
* We were missing the right colour, but after a trip to the art shop for “dog tongue pink”, which at first confused, and then amused the guy working there – hey, it’s a very specific kind of a colour, OK! – here’s the finished product:
So, that’s how you draw a pastel pet portrait (maybe not the most orthodox way to do it, but it works for us)!
If you’re ordering a portrait from us, we like to have a few good photographs to work from, so it’s definitely worth checking out our “How To…” on photographing your pet.
