Drawing Fox Realistic

[Kellye Tunks]

Theconcepts that I want to share with you here are also incredibly useful for understanding how to paint. In fact, they can be applied to most mediums, like colored crayons, watercolors, or other paints like gouache.

When drawing or painting, you might get the proportions slightly wrong, or mix the colors badly, but if you get the values of a subject right, you have a better chance of conveying a realistic scene, and a believable sense of light, depth and three-dimensions.

Before starting this drawing I used the See Value app on my phone to simplify the reference photo, and create a value scale image with just 3 tonal values, in black, gray and white. This grayscale reference image helps me determine the shapes of the highlights, midtones, and shadow shapes.

Drawing an accurate outline is the first challenge in realistic drawing. To convey the subject in a believable way, the size and proportions of the main shapes need to be translated into a convincing line drawing.

Use the grid as a visual guide to place the drawing lines in the correct locations. For example, look for the places where the shapes intersect the guidelines. Then locate the same position on the drawing paper by counting the number of grids, horizontally and vertically. Place a mark at these intersections then join up the points. Look back and forth between the reference and your sketch to judge the angles and position of your lines by sight.

Now with the help of the simplified value scale reference image, I located and sketched in all the highlights. Draw the highlight shapes with a light pencil line. Use your observational skills to roughly pinpoint and sketch these light-valued shapes.

After the blending step, you may find some areas look too dark. This is where you can use an eraser to lift some of the graphite off the paper and reintroduce some subtle highlights such as areas of reflected light.

Like most pencil artists out there I was utterly intimidated by hair when i started drawing portraits. Not finding something that could actually help me, I started developing my own technique. After so many years, this initial way of drawing hair is still my favorite because it is the easiest, fastest and most accurate way compared to anything else I have found!

My technique is relying on creating stray white hairs. I once made a tutorial about this, which you can download here. However this was many years ago and I now do a few things differently. So, yes, I am sharing my big secrets today!

Again, not very applicable to art. I suppose we could say a realistic portrait or landscape fits the definition fairly well, but even then we run into that pesky color problem, and we are still talking about pigments on a flat surface representing our impression of whatever it is we are looking at.

For this drawing, I will start with the eyes. For each of these little guys, the eyes will be the focal point, so getting them just right is critical to the overall success of the finished drawing. To begin, I lay in a flat, even layer of Y11. I use this color over the entire eye area except for where the white highlights are indicated.

Next, I color in areas of W2. I use this color to soften the transition between the Y11 and W7, and in areas along the edges of the eyes. In the areas where the Y11 and W7 meet to form an edge, I scrub this color in with firm pressure, really saturating the area with ink and letting the lighter W2 lift and mix with the W7 to make an intermediate value.

Next comes the blending step. Because I want this guy to really pop of the page, rather than blending my darks down with the same R11 I used for the base (which is kind of a dull, light color), I color over the entire body again, including the shadows I added in the last step, with a brighter stronger RV13.

Love this tutorial. I have some Copic markers and have been to afraid to use them.

In the tutorial towards the end after you got all the body colored you say you go backand add the whit highlights.

How? How do you color white over the red/pink body?

I really want to understand how that is done.

Thanks for your helpful tutorials! ?

Thanks for the tutorial! I use mostly DS watercolor paints for their vibrant colors and smooth, even application, but you have intrigued me. My art is all about color, and I am always looking for ways to bring rich vibrancy to my work. I may need to buy some Copic markers now. Thanks again!

Sorry, I shortened Daniel Smith to DS. I have been buying up Daniel Smith watercolor paints as I can afford to for the last year. They are a great product, but it takes me up to a week to finish a small painting.

I love how this is done. This drawing and coloring is marvellous! I have no Copics of my own but I own 9 Prismacolor markers. I do what I can with those. You are very kind of replying to each of these comments. You are an amazing blender I must say! I thank you for reading this and sending the emails with this tutorial and colouring page!

Sketch in the mane by drawing a curved line connecting the tops of the ears and another larger curved line that connects the bottom of the ears going all the way to the bottom of your vertical line. The further away from the bottom jaw you go the longer your mane will be.

Start with the eyes. On the horizontal line mark where the mid-point of each half of the face is. Slightly above the horizontal line draw a small circle on each side of the face. This will be your eyeball.

A tip for getting the right proportions for the eyes is that the whole eye should be roughly one fifth the length of the face. The gap between the eyes and both gaps on either side of the eyes should all be roughly that same size too.

Draw a squashed heart shape from the point where the two muzzle circles meet at the bottom to the top of each circle. Then give your squashed heart some arms that reach roughly to where each circle crosses the large face circle.

Finally refine the shape of the ears, head and mouth slightly. This is to make the drawing flow and appear more natural. Copy the steps from the image below. You can then erase the construction lines until you are left with a basic drawing of a lion.

Again start with the eyes. Add a smaller circle inside each eye for the pupil and an even smaller circle inside that for the reflection. Make sure the reflection is on the same side for each eye. So both on the right or both on the left.

Anyway, the whole point of this video series is to teach you the basics of The Blended Pencil Method and to let you experience the improvement for yourself. I promise, if you stick with me through this series and do what I tell you, you will see a 10x improvement your drawing.

Ethan, my question to you is how do I get proportions correct in my drawing? For example, if I had to draw a room then how do I get the furniture in proportion to the walls, walls in proportion to the people and the like? Could you guide me through this please! ?

I wish you showed the process of drawing an actual portrait instead of just the eye for this series. But I still really liked it, especially the 5 elements of shading tutorial and the gridding method one. Also, for your portrait drawing time lapse videos, can you have a commentary so we know what your doing?

Thanks, Viv

i been watching different kinds of drawing techniques coz i really want to improve my drawings..i just wonder if i can make it by self studying.. but anyways i will keep watching your videos..thank you

Hi Ethan, I am Nathalie from France (sorry for my unperfect English).

Thank u so much for your tuto, it seems so easy to do and so exciting. I am painting and drawing and learn by myself but i really like to learn and understand photorealistic portrait drawing.

I really enjoy to start my first lesson.

Thank u for helping people in my case.

merci

Hi

My father showed me this trick many years ago. He rolled a piece of newspaper that had no print on it very tightly and then bent it double so you are holding the ends, and used this as a blending stump. Make it about 50mm -75 mm long before folding..

I have looked most of the drawing videos on you tube like yourself and found the information scant at best, but what I have seen from you so far makes more sense to me than all the rest. Thank you in anticipation of your next lesson. Regards Ray.

I am so glad I found you, I had always looked for someone who would take the time to explain step by step how to sketch a realistic picture! but everyone seems to always be in a hurry to get their videos out there and their $$ in their pocket and forgets that art is something u feel an expression of many things, and feelings. I have an art degree of 3 yrs from a school I will not mention because they took my $$ and rushed everything I was so dissapointed I stoped drawing and then life happened,this happened when I was 17 today I am 41 and I love art and I want to start over!! I look forward to receiving your tutorials.. THANK YOU GOD BLESS

Hi Maria,

Thank you very much for sharing your story. Unfortunately, yours is not an uncommon situation. I think there are many fellow artists here who understand exactly how you feel. You are in the right place. Welcome and I hope you enjoy it here!

hey umm i went further on and drew the eye completely and not really color it i just shaded it in the spots that are neccessary and im a beginner but when it comes to drawing something i draw of whats infront of me drawing an eye was not that difficult for me and i also improved compared to the other eye drawings that i have i was having problems with shading but then when i saw this video i really did not know you can use a cutip as a shading tool thanks alot for the tutorial and looking forward to recieving more and challenging tutorials.oh by any chance is there a way that i can show the my drawing of the eye that you wanted us to draw i just want you to see if i am doing it right.

3a8082e126