With everyone stuck at home due to quarantine, many have spent their time trying to develop a new hobby or talent. This could be anything from finally reading that book your aunt gave you at Christmas or mastering the week’s trending TikTok dance with your family. I personally have been diving back into the world of visual media, including watercolor, acrylic, and digital painting. I understand that some might also want to widen their artistic skills, so I’ve compiled a list of seven simple steps to get you started on the basics of drawing man’s best friend.
Step One: Gather Supplies
For the sake of convenience, I will be using the digital art program Procreate. However, this is a $10 app, and I understand that most people do not want to spend that kind of money. So, feel free to use whatever medium you prefer. Pencil and paper will do just fine, but feel free to get creative.
Step Two: Gather Reference Photos
The most important lesson I will ever tell an aspiring artist (besides to practice) is to use reference photos. You might think you know what a dog looks like, but when it comes to putting that thought on paper you will have just ended up drawing a potato with twig legs. To avoid this unfortunate fate, find or take a few photos of your subject. Here are the pictures I took. If you don’t have a dog of your own, number one: I am very sorry, and number two: you’ll just need to find a google image instead.
Step Three: Make a Bunch of Circles
Using the reference image, draw a circle for each of the key body parts. This includes the head, muzzle, body, legs, and paws. Don’t bother with the ears or tail just yet. Your collection of circles should end up looking like a balloon animal. Make sure that you’re using light strokes (ie not pressing down hard) so that this part can be easily erased later on.
Step Four: Shape the Figure
To make this look more dog-like, begin drawing an outline by connecting the circles. Be aware that sometimes you will have to cut out part of the circle, especially in the chest. This is where the reference photo becomes very helpful. Continue to use light strokes.
Step Five: Erase Reference Circles
We are finally out of the basic sketch, so you can get rid of any unnecessary lines.
Step Six: Details
Now that the basic outline is complete, we move onto the detail work. This includes the eyes, nose, teeth, collar, etc. I would recommend using a smaller brush stroke when creating the details in order to make the entire figure more pronounced. It also allows you to be more precise now that we’re drawing smaller shapes.
Step Seven: Add Color
You’ve reached the end! After toiling away at your creation, you finally get to color it in. I’m fairly certain most people know how to color, but here’s some helpful tips to bring your art to the next level. Check out my example to see these tips in practice.
Layer: This is especially helpful for traditional mediums (colored pencils, water colors, etc). Start off coloring lightly and gradually build up the pigment. This will eliminate the harsh, scratchy look you often get when pushing down on your pencil too hard.
Follow the same stroke: Instead of scribbling around the page in circles, try going in one direction the entire time. When adding another layer, follow a different direction. This process will cover the page more effectively and make it look more smooth.
Don’t use pure white and black: This is something well known in the upper-art level community but can still be applied here. If you want to add shading, use a dark purple or blue instead of black. When coloring things that appear pure white, like eyes or shirts, use a hue that falls within your color pallet. This means that if you’re using primarily warm colors, use a very light yellow, and if you’re using mostly cool colors, use a very light blue. The only exception to this rule is with highlights, but even then pure white should be used sparingly.
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