DRAWING YOUR DOG
Be bold in this exercise. Character is better
captured drawing quickly with confidence
than working slowly, concerned about
detail. First lines are first thoughts; second
thoughts may be different Changing your
mind is a positive aspect of seeing and
thinking. Layers of thoughts can bring a
drawing alive.1
Fix your eyes at the center of the dog.Then, ignoring all detail, see how the animal's
posture determines its whole shape. With pale
lies, quickly draw what you see. Trust your
intuition. Do not go back over lines you are
pleased with—doing so dulls their lively freshness.2
Reload your pen with ink, this time to
create a line a little darker in tone. Remain
focused on the whole dog and, in bold layers, add
more detail. Here I marked the features of Ras's
head. Then I immediately rebalanced the drawing
with lines around his hind quarters, to emphasize
how he is curled up.3
Gradually introduce darker tones. Here,
I added ink to Ras's nose, ears, tail, and the
shadows in his coat. To add texture, alter the
pressure and moisture of your line in response to
how you know your dog feels when you ruffle
its coat. It is essential when drawing any subject
(even something abstract) to know how it feels
and to emulate this with your line.SLEEPINGDOGS