Indholdsfortegnelse for Paint & Draw: Animals i Paint & Draw: Animals

Here, I will offer some hints and tips on how to give bird feathers a more three-dimensional finish, using a recent commission of an osprey as an example. For this artwork I used Rembrandt soft pastels and a mixture of Derwent and Cretacolor pastel pencils on Canson Mi-Teintes Touch paper, with a fine sandpaper-like texture. I have acquired many pastel pencils over the years, and use Derwent for its softer texture, while Cretacolor is harder and can be sharpened to fine point for the details. For most of my artwork, I like my paper to have a little ‘tooth’. However, if I’m creating a human portrait for instance, a more absorbent paper such as Clairefontaine Pastelmat is better, as it allows for blending to a smoother finish for skin. 1 Start…

Poppy’s owners asked me to draw a portrait, so that they can remember the happy times they spent with her. It’s my job to not only create a drawing that’s pleasing to the eye, but one that captures Poppy and not just any dog. That’s the job of a pet portrait artist. Easy? Let’s find out… My favourite support is Italian Fabriano Hot Pressed watercolour paper. It always has been since I visited Italy in 1994. I had the opportunity to try out different Italian papers, including hand-made varieties. I found Fabriano to be a good smooth surface to draw on, and it’s readily available here in the UK. My students have loved using it over the years. It holds lots of layers and can be forgiving if you need…

During this workshop, I hope to demonstrate how versatile the medium of pastels is in creating truly stunning works of art. The softness and luminosity of pastel sticks make them the ideal choice for backgrounds; whereas pastel pencils (when sharpened to a fine point) have two types of lead for precision: hard and soft. However, I personally find these attributes not as important as colour range. I work mainly from photographs. This allows me to make any changes to the drawn composition should I wish to do so. In choosing this particular shot, I was able to capture a sense of the tiger’s presence, which I try to convey with all my work. Not only did it present great tonal values, but also areas of really dark contrast against the…

Painting in oils means I can capture bright colours by gradually building the painting up in multiple layers. This technique is perfect for painting sunny roses. I was inspired to create this image after seeing a gorgeous wren sitting in my garden, its song lighting up the early morning. My roses weren’t in bloom yet, but this magic moment inspired me to design a painting depicting them. I always start the painting process by sketching ideas. I place various elements together to create my personal unique designs. I doodle compositions and choice of colour (see the photos of my sketchbook, above right). When I’ve found a basic composition that I like, it is only then that I start looking for reference materials. Not the other way around. This way the designs…

As a full-time artist, one of the things I often think about is standing out from the crowd. I realise that the interpretation of a subject is just as important as the subject itself. You can convey so much by adding that little extra to your painting, which keeps the painting process exciting for me and hopefully interesting for the viewer too. I love painting wildlife and I’m excited by how I can interpret this popular subject rather than going for a more traditional approach, which might be a photographic interpretation. For example, the wildness of an animal can be interpreted through expressive brush strokes or the hint of strong shapes. Patterns and colour may be all you need to suggest a fleeting glimpse of an animal in the wild.…

Creating nature is a wonderful source of inspiration for artists, but drawing realistic animals and various natural objects can be a great challenge. In this short article, I invite you to a drawing journey! On the example of this beautiful deer, we’ll explore the process of creating a texture of animal horns. “Don’t forget about the drop shadows from the twigs – having them in place is important for realism” 1 Add an outline Having a part that is almost complete can be useful as reference. I outline the contours of the antlers, then add the main lines of the texture in smooth lines. 2 Draw key lines With the 0.1 ink liner, I apply thinner hatches – they add more features to the texture. Don’t overdo the artwork at…

Pastels are the perfect medium for drawing and painting animals, with so many different marks available, as you can see in this book’s tutorials. As a tactile medium that we hold in our hand, it is easy to convey what an animal would feel like to touch. We can work quickly with pastels, which is a great help when capturing character and personality, and fantastic for movement. A smudge here and a swish of the hand there can bring a painting to life. However, knowing when to smudge and when to leave a sharp mark untouched can make a huge difference to your work. Don’t underestimate the importance of some structural knowledge where animals are concerned. It is a good idea to do some homework, looking at bone structure and muscles.…

This feisty little Scottish wildcat is a perfect model for practising fur texture with. Here, I am working with pastels on velour, but the main principles hold true for any type of pastel paper. I like to use velour for two reasons. First, it takes plenty of layers before it becomes saturated, and second, the soft ‘tooth’ adds to the final texture that you’re trying to achieve. Knowing the make-up of your subject can help too. Scottish wildcats are ‘true fur’ animals, which means they have a thick downy underlayer designed to keep them warm, and a more wiry outer layer to protect them from rain. Knowing this make-up helps you understand what you’re aiming for. With the method I’m showing here, the colour and marks are laid down in three…

Ever wanted to draw something, but don’t know where or how to start? This bitesize tutorial shows you how to break a subject down into basic shapes shapes and then refine those until you have a life-like sketch. Its a quick and easy method with the added bonus of improving your drawing skills every time, so why not try out these skills now? 1 Simplify your image This method will work for anything you wish to draw. Choose a reference image and print a high-resolution copy so that you can see the detail. Also print a grayscale version on standard printer paper because you will draw on this copy to identify your shapes. Printing in grayscale simply removes the distraction of colour information. Now study the image. 2 Study your…

Brusho is a highly concentrated watercolour ink powder. The pigments produce vibrant colours, but can be toned down with water. It’s a very versatile medium, which suits our colourful subjects well! Over the next couple of pages, I am going to walk you through the process of using Brusho inks, including a few techniques to achieve creative and interesting effects. There are plenty of ways that you can use them, and their vibrancy really makes the works pop. Materials ■ DotsPen with permanent ink■ Masking fluid■ Clear wax crayons■ Tracing paper■ Masking tape■ Water■ Brusho Ink■ Various synthetic brushes, including a #2 and a flat brush 1 Get the drawing right I’ve drawn my image using a DotsPen on watercolour paper using permanent ink, so that it doesn’t run when…

Working with pastels on velour is a bit of a ‘Marmite’ subject. I often hear comments about the difficulty of creating detail on velour, but it’s one of my favourite surfaces to work on, so I hope to give another perspective on it and encourage you to have a go. Velour can take plenty of layers of pastel, allowing you to create rich colour and depth in your work. Also, the nature of the surface helps create the natural textures found in the great outdoors, so it’s a good choice for rendering wildlife. If you have difficulty adding in details on velour, I find that having sharp pencils really helps – so scalpel and sanding block at the ready! For this project, I chose this stunning reference image of a Chinese…

This section is the first of a three-part, detailed guide on how to paint a pet. The goal of all three stages is to lead you through the painting process, beginning with preparing your painting surface and finishing with painting meticulous details. In this first stage I will be focusing on creating a good sketch that will ensure the finished painting looks anatomically correct. The truth is, without understanding of the shapes of your subject and their structure, you may end up wondering in the end why, despite your best efforts, the painting just doesn’t seem to look right. That’s precisely why I decided to devote an entire section of this guide to this subject, so you can be happy with your final rendering. As the dog I have chosen…

I love travelling and I take thousands of photographs. I came face to face with this beautiful young elephant on a magical trip to KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Unfortunately, the weather was overcast the whole time I was there, which is not ideal. I still knew that I wanted to use this photograph as reference for a painting because of the lovely composition. In this tutorial I aim to show you how to get the most from your reference material, release your creativity and produce an atmospheric piece of art. I always choose my own background and colour palette to complement the subject I am painting, instead of simply copying everything in front of me. The photograph already exists. Personally, I feel more accomplished if I manage to create something…