How To Draw Fur With Colored Pencils

Rendering Fur with Colored Pencils
by Kathie Miller

Rendering fur with colored pencils is actually very easy. Information technology tin can be fourth dimension consuming however, so you might desire to outset small. Doing fur, to me, is very zen like. I but immerse myself into the piece and let the world go away. I'll show you, pace by step, just how to practise smashing fur.

For the supplies needed, checkout
the Colored Pencil Supplies page.

A few Hints before we go started

Starting time with a mid-tone colour paper. If yous starting time with white newspaper, your going to be fighting the white every pace of the mode and yous volition go very frustrated. Why not make life easier for yourself and use a color that works with the fur color. Choose a color that matches the mid-tones of your piece. It'south easier to work up to the lights and downward to the shadows, leaving the mid-tones (the paper) to show through.

Commencement –

ALWAYS become in the management of the fur. That means that you volition take to motion the paper around so that you are always pushing the pencil, not pulling or sliding it from side to side. The pushing movement will requite you the all-time random hairs.

Second –

Lay down the hairs in different directions. What I hateful by that is don't make every pilus become in the exact same direction like soldiers. Make them random and a little messy. The fashion I practice this is to twist my thumb and fingers dorsum and along so that I'm not using the pencil in the exactly same way. This twisting of the pencil also helps go along the pencil sharper longer.

Lastly –

– It'due south important you transfer your lines lightly. You don't want to score the newspaper. After you have transferred your cartoon to the fine art paper, lightly erase the lines in the area that you are working. You want to be able to just see them. Don't erase them until you get to them. Past lightly erasing the lines as yous go, they will stay more visible. If you don't erase them yous will observe they will prove through your piece of work.

Lets get started

This is the movie I'll be doing the demo from. But, I'thousand non going to practise the whole mouse.

Just this part.

I'thou using a light tan colored newspaper that matches the mid tones of the fur.

Using white, I lightly go the fur directions laid down. This step is very important. It will give you a guide to follow when adding all the other colors. As you lot work, you lot don't have to worry if the hairs are going in the right direction, it'southward already mapped out for y'all. I'k not worried at this point about roofing the paper. There are a lot more than layers to come up and it will all fill in every bit I become. I've left the shadow expanse under the cheek alone for now.

Side by side, I pick a dainty medium color. I used Light Umber. Keep the pencil sharp and keep in mind the length of the fur your doing. I usually do a section at a fourth dimension. The mouse's cheek has very short hair so make the strokes very brusk.

Using Goldenrod, offset filling in the areas a bit more. Not too much, yous have more than colors to go.
I go dorsum with the white again. This pushes some of the Umber back a bit and picks out some of the lighter fur as well.

Next is a medium nighttime color – I've used Chocolate. Try to choice your mode in between the other lines a scrap, picking out some hair groups. Don't over practice it, it will start to become too dark. You can always come dorsum afterwards and arrange the colors if you need to.

Finally the darkest colour – Dark Umber, Dark Brown or Burnt Umber. I've used Dark Umber here. Get back and darken merely the hairs nether the groups that you picked out with the Chocolate, with the occasional long hair here and there. A little goes a long fashion, so exist careful and don't over do it.
I then go back with the white and goldenrod here and there to fill up in some of the areas and to soften it up. I then employ the colorless blender lightly. The idea here is not to blend the colors, only to smooth the strokes and get rid of some of the paper showing through the strokes

I'll do the residual of the body the same way. The body has longer fur so make your strokes longer. Light Umber is starting time. Notice how my strokes are not all going the same direction. I also avoid the section I just did for now to make certain information technology stands out and doesn't go lost in the next department. I'll go dorsum later and smooth the transition later. I do the lines more closely together but nether the cheek where information technology's darker.
Goldenrod – I add this just as I did in the cheek surface area and I take this into the light area but non too much. Dorsum to the white just as before. I start blending the dissimilar areas together, the cheek and body area. Don't forget that the paper color is also some of your fur color too. Don't cover it completely.

I meet I need more than light umber so I'll add more where needed to fill in a chip more than. Keep turning your drawing so you are e'er pushing the pencil in the direction of the fur. Remember – as you lot turn your drawing, turn your reference photo too.

TIP:

If you lot have room on your newspaper, record your reference photo to it using a painters tape for delicate surfaces. As yous turn your paper around, the photo will always be turned with it.

Chocolate – I outset with the night expanse first then I don't go too nighttime in the other areas.
Ginger Root and Sand – The light belly fur is a bit more yellow so I add these colors lightly.

I used nighttime umber every bit before to pick out some of the shadows of the pilus groups then the colorless blender. At present, you tin can play with this until the cows come home, picking out more than hair groups, adjusting the colors here and there, and generally driving yourself crazy. It'south improve to stop hither and motility on.
Done! I hope y'all enjoyed this demo. Although doing fur can be very time consuming, it's non really all that difficult. You tin can see how the colored newspaper actually helps, if you look closely, at that place is quite a bit of the paper color showing through.

Sharon Nelson asks "I'one thousand doing a guinea pig with colored pencils and I don't know how to blend from the blackness to the orangish rust color."

An excellent question Sharon. I'll see if I can answer it.

When working from one color to another where in that location is a lot of contrast, put less and less lines where the transition is. Then come from the other direction and add the other color between the first colors. Vary the pressure of the pencil strokes and go back and forth with the colors to slowly blend them. Don't exist afraid to allow the newspaper color show through. If the transition is very stark (which rarely happens with fur) go along the area where the ii colors actually alloy more narrow. Don't over exercise it as I'm sure there will me more colors to add for a more realistic fur look.

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To see more demos cheque out my website.

Source: https://thenaturalgift.wordpress.com/art-tutorials/colored-pencils-fur/

Posted by: ottthelver.blogspot.com

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