HODDINOTT FINE ART PUBLISHERS - Amazon S3 · This project expands on Lesson W-02: Bill the Cat:...

View 2 Brenda Hoddinott

W-02 Advanced: Studio Series

This heavily illustrated diary invites artists to follow along with me through

the entire process of planning a composition, modifying a frontal light source, and rendering diverse shading techniques to define various textures

and patterns.

This animal portrait is based on a photograph of Bill the cat, the proud owner of my friend Lynn. You are invited to gather up your drawing materials, and either draw Bill or a special animal in your own life. As an artist, you should work toward creating drawings that make you happy, and subsequently motivated to continue onward in your art making journey; hence, you should feel comfortable in using whatever drawing tools are available to you, such as viewfinder frames and grids.

This project expands on Lesson W-02: Bill the Cat: View 1, which offers detailed instructions for drawing Bill’s head and facial features.

21 PAGES – 22 ILLUSTRATIONS Recommended for artists with advanced drawing skills, as well as home schooling,

academic and recreational fine art educators

Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada – March, 2005

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.

E-mail [email protected] Web site http://www.finearteducation.com or http://www.drawspace.com

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If you decide to work from your own photo, make sure you choose a large one in which the facial features are clear and in focus.

My friend Lynn generously supplied this photo of Bill. While this is a great photo, its translation into a drawing requires a little tweaking.

I generally prefer to modify photos in the planning stages, before I actually start to draw.

After playing with the photo for a few minutes, I decide that the composition would be more expressive and aesthetically pleasing if I use a vertical (portrait) composition, rather than a horizontal (landscape).

I then take the photo into my Photoshop program and rotate it until I find an angle that I like.

As I view this new version of the photo, I realize that in addition to modifying the direction of the light source, I also need to change the pattern of the linoleum so the lines are at more of an angle.

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Setting up accurate proportions is a great way to make sure my drawing is off to a great start!

The lines in this sketch seem dark; however, in reality the lines are so light that I can barely see them. I have made them darker in a computer program so you can see them.

As I sketch, I continuously refer to the photo and constantly compare and double check the relationships of lines and spaces to one another.






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I’m now reasonably happy with my proportions, so I begin the process of very lightly outlining Bill’s body and facial features with thin neat lines. As I complete each section, I erase the rough sketch lines.






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I use a ruler to outline the pattern of the floor. In that perspective in photos is sometimes deceiving, I make sure that the lines are progressively closer together toward the top of the page so as to enhance the illusion of depth.






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By carefully scrutinizing the photo, I map out the approximate locations, shapes, and sizes of the major stripes of his fur. To accentuate the forms of his body, I pay special attention to curving my mapping lines around the perceived three-dimensional structures of various parts of his body, legs, and head.






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In that the eyes and furry face will be the focal points of this drawing, I spend considerable time carefully mapping and outlining the subtle nuances of values needed to accurately portray a likeness to Bill.






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Before I begin shading, I lighten the mapping lines with my kneaded eraser, and then examine the photo closely and plan modifications that will enhance the drawing. This photo of Bill was taken with a flash; consequently, the cat’s face and body appear somewhat flat, and the eyes lack strong contrast. My task is to adjust all the values I see in the photo to represent a new light source.

You can tell by the highlights in his eyes that the light source is now from the upper right. Accordingly, my overall shading for the face and body will be darker on the lower left. The eyes will be rendered with high contrast shading to enhance their spherical forms. I also plan to make the pupils of the eyes larger and darker, and soften the overall contrast of the striped fur by making the darkest darks and the lightest lights less extreme.






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If you anticipate that shading Bill’s face may be too difficult for your current skill level, refer to the detailed step-by-step instructions in “Bill the Cat: Version 1”.

As I continue to block in values on his face, I refer to the photo and examine the different directions in which the fur grows. My individual hatching lines vary in length to keep the fur looking natural; they also curve in various directions to help give the illusion of depth to the forms of the face under the fur.

When adding shading to a drawing, I prefer to work from light to dark. In the lightest sections, some values are almost white and the hatching lines are faint and far apart. In darker sections, the hatching lines are dark and close together.






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I generally work with mechanical pencils to avoid having to constantly sharpen my pencils. However, when I draw with regular pencils, I keep the points very sharp with a sandpaper block.

When drawing striped fur, I keep the transitions between values short and abrupt. I prefer 2H and HB pencils for light values, and 2B and 4B pencils work well for the dark values, especially the darkest stripes in the shadow sections.

My favorite part of drawing animals is bringing their eyes to life. I first add light values to the iris with an HB, and then draw dark values around the rims of the eyes with 2B and 4B. I use a Q-tip to gently blend the shading in the irises. With my kneaded eraser, I next pull out a small section of lighter shading in the lower left section of the iris, opposite the highlight.






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2B and 4B pencils help create the dark cast shadows on the uppermost sections of the irises, and a 6B works beautifully for shading the pupil.

After shading the nose, I blend it slightly and then use my kneaded eraser to brighten the primary highlight on its tip.

As I add shading to his ears and lower face, I keep in mind that the shading needs to be lighter on the upper right because these sections are closer to the light source. I add slightly darker shading along the insides of the edges of the ears, which helps give the illusion of depth to their forms.

As I render each section of fur, I take my time and frequently refer to the photo to determine the different directions in which the hatching lines need to curve.






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The overall shading of his lower face becomes progressively darker toward the lower left. As I draw, I continually refer back to other sections that are almost complete, compare those values to the section in which I am working, and make adjustments as needed. To make a section darker I simply add more hatching lines. To lighten a section, I pat it very gently and carefully with a kneaded eraser that is molded to a wedge shape.

The shading of the head and neck has the darkest darks and the lightest lights, so as to bring the attention of the viewer directly to these sections. To define the cast shadow of his head on his body, and further emphasize the edge of his lower face, I use very dark shading under his chin on the left.






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As I begin shading the body, I frequently refer back to the shading of the head to make sure that I am using mostly mid range values so as to not detract attention away from his eyes.

I indicate the whiskers in the upper section by shading the negative spaces on both sides of the individual hairs.






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My overall values become progressively lighter toward the upper sections of the drawing, and his back is shaded with less contrast toward the edge of the drawing space. Hence, no section of my drawing will compete with Bill’s beautiful eyes and face, which are rendered with high contrast shading.






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I need to modify the pattern of the floor to be more three-dimensional and less drastic in terms of contrast, so as to provide interest to the overall drawing without detracting from the cat’s face. I love how the lines of the pattern lead the viewer’s eye toward the head, further accentuating the focal point.






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By adding a little texture to the surface of the flooring I am setting the stage for a more interesting cast shadow. The upper leg and paw are rendered with mostly light values and very few details, so as to establish a baseline for adding low contrast shading to the rest of the body.






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The pattern of Bill’s chest is gorgeous; hence I use a broad range of values that are darker on the lower left to enhance the form. By adding a foundation of light values over the remainder of the body, I am defining the lightest values in this section, which need to be subdued rather than harsh white.






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As I add the cast shadow of his body on the flooring according to the new light source. The shadows are darkest closest to his body and graduate lighter outward. I use mostly horizontal hatching lines, but add diagonal crosshatching lines to soften the outer sections. I then add more contrast to the areas of the floor that are in shadow, by slightly darkening the darks, and then using my kneaded eraser to somewhat lighten the sections between the tiles.






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I complete the shading of his body by adding medium values to represent his dark stripes. As a grand finale, I check over my drawing and add a few final touches, such as lightening the edges of his fur in some places, including the edge of the top of his head (between his ears) above the cast shadow of his ear.






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I always love to take a final look at the reference photo and compare it to my drawing. Hence, I can find any areas still in need of fixing.

In closing, remember that learning to draw is not a short term goal but rather a lifelong journey.

My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic.

Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable.






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BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints.

My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing

the technical and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for

knowledge also becomes enjoyable. >Brenda Hoddinott<

Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books. During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic Artists International”. Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes. As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs. In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites. Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world.

LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

Drawing for Dummies (2003): Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People (2004): Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.





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