MATERIALS
• 1 x sheet white Clairefontaine Pastelmat® (to fit 12 x 16” portrait)
• Faber Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour Pencils: – Black – White – Caput Mortuum – Dark Sepia – Payne’s Grey – Burnt Ochre – Dark Indigo – Cool Grey I – Cool Grey II – Prussian Blue – Warm Grey II – Warm Grey III
• Terracotta
• Craft knife
• Pencil sharpener
• Water brush (or normal watercolour brush)
• Glassine paper (use this to lean on to prevent smudging when working)
STEP ONE
I took around 200 photos of this dog in a brief photoshoot with a commission client. Sometimes I take several hundred of my subject in the hope that half a dozen will stand out. In this case, there was one head pose that shone out for my client’s portrait, but I wanted to revisit this pose in particular, as it totally captured the spirit of a spaniel at work, and the black fur was captured perfectly in the natural light. I then had the benefit of the other pictures to use as support reference if needed. I usually edit the photo by adjusting the contrast enough to exaggerate the lights/ darks, and then we are good to go.
STEP TWO
I am using Faber Castell Albrecht Durer pencils, both wet and dry, and I settle for Pastelmat® as a support (a firm favourite of mine for fur) in White. Usually I would choose a cool shade for this, but as it is a tutorial and not everyone can source this paper, you could use a heavyweight watercolour or a sanded paper instead. The Pastelmat® takes all the abuse I can throw at it with up to 20 layers of pencil, washes of water with no buckling and even scraping off the colour with a knife. I transfer the line image to the support sketching in with a Payne’s Grey pencil. Line drawing.jpg.
STEP THREE
Laying down the pigment, I tend to put the first bout of foundation colours down quite quickly, going with my initial feel for the underlying layers of the fur. Sometimes I can use more than 60 different colours in the first half of a single pet portrait, but I have limited the palette for this piece.
I start with the Black to fill the darkest of shapes in the fur, working top to bottom. Next I add the Prussian Blue and Dark Indigo, and then the Caput Mortuum colours. I use VERY light layers of pigment, preferably with the side of the pencil nib. Less is more with watercolour pencils. Lastly I use a Cool Grey II to soften the lightest of areas, going over the other colours where needed. I also added in the eye colour here. As they are quite small in this piece, I just use the Terracotta for foundation, some Burnt Ochre and a touch of Caput Mortuum around the edges.
STEP FOUR
Adding water – it is as simple as that. You are not painting with the brush. The placement of the initial pigment should mean that at this point all you need to do is add water. Start from the top and work your way down. Try to do the lightest parts first, wiping off any excess pigment on a tissue and then sweeping the wet nib over the darker areas. I use a water brush as it prevents any potential spillage or dripping, but you can use an ordinary paint/ watercolour brush if preferred. Try to work quickly but methodically, The pigment will literally come alive in front of your eyes.
STEP FIVE
Whilst the image is still wet, go back in with the pencils, especially the Black, to add more intense pigment to the areas that need it. Also, go in with the White pencil here in the lightest areas. Once happy with your initial ‘under painting’, allow to dry, preferably overnight.
STEP SIX
Now I can start to build the dry layers to create the fur texture. Using the same colours as I did for the foundation layers (Black, Dark Indigo, Caput Mortuum, Prussian Blue, Cool Grey II), I begin to work in the direction of the fur, always keeping in mind the contour of the ear and the bone structure that is supporting the skin underneath. I know that there will be several more workings over the whole portrait so they are not worked to completion at this point. With sharp pencils, take a little time to zoom in and define the eyes at this point. (A touch of Prussian Blue in the highlight always gives the impression of a reflected sky).
STEP SEVEN
Start to repeat Step Six in finer detail now. Starting across the top of the head, you can begin to feel the animal coming to life. I work from dark to light at this stage and will then repeat the process in the next layers. Keep your water brush to hand if you want to intensify smaller areas as you work. I use it sporadically to increase the contrast in specific areas such as under the left ear, under the eyelids, etc.
STEP EIGHT
Now you can see the dog beginning to become more refined and having depth, shape, texture. Always keep in mind as you work the light hitting the curls of fur, the bone structure under the fur, the different textures between the ears and the muzzle. Use the same formula to continue down through the body. Map in the darkest shapes first. Then pick out the blue, the red and the highlights. It is imperative that you start to keep your pencil sharper now.
STEP NINE
I left the muzzle until near the end. I sometimes work from top to bottom of a drawing, but work forwards on the animal so that the muzzle, which is nearest to the viewer, is worked last. You can wet the nib of the White pencil now and stipple effect onto the highlighted parts of the nose. This intensifies the White on the dots. You can do the same with the Black here too.
STEP TEN
I decided to add in a quick background to set the piece off. I really liked the white background but wanted this to be more of a finished picture than just a portrait, so used PanPastels to add in some colour and a few dry watercolour pencils to create some texture and grass at the front. This is a personal choice, so you can either leave him sitting on a plain background or add in one of choice choice/style. Obviously the edges of the dog now need to be reworked to ensure there is not a halo of pastel around the animal
FINAL STEP
I now rework the whole portrait from top to bottom using a couple of methods. I zoom in to each area of the reference on my tablet and work the detail but then every few minutes I will zoom out and flick my eyes between the screen and the drawing. It is something that I was taught called ‘spot the difference’. You can also squint at the piece to see if you have created enough contrast. Once I am happy that all of the pencil layers are in place, my last task is to remove them. Well, just a little! I use a craft knife and, following the direction of the fur, I scrape through the pigment over the whole animal. This adds extra texture and depth to the fur texture. I usually leave the portrait to one side for a couple of days then and come.
ARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
• When laying down the watercolour pigment use very light layers. The pigment is so vibrant that once the water is added you really do not need much. Test them before working on the main piece.
• If you want to use a different brand of water colour pencil, please use a coloured pencil conversion chart (available online).
• The further you get into the piece, the sharper your pencils need to be. On the final layers you will need to keep them super sharp, but they can be blunt when laying down the first layers.
• The portrait does not need to match the reference photo exactly, unless it is a commission portrait, and even then, always try to inject some character into the subject or exaggerate something a little to create a ‘moment’ in time. At the end of working the piece, take away the reference photo and see if the lighting is balanced and adjust if needed.
• Have fun and don’t rush.Ensure the underpainting is totally dry before attempting the dry layers, else the pencil will just slip over the surface.
