Inktober, Week 3

 

In addition to being the most challenging InkTober I’ve given myself in a while, this year is also the most enjoyable in a long time. I love drawing pets, and with these practice sketches, I’m under no pressure as I am with commissioned portraits. Even as they’re all challenging in different ways, they’re all pure fun!

With Bailey (above) and Butters (below), both dogs had solidly dark fur on their faces. These are among the hardest for me to draw using nothing but a brush pen. I want to show the form and whatever subtle highlights are visible on dark fur, which means I have to avoid inking too solidly. It’s a fine line between good shading and going flat.

I especially like the way Bailey came out with a graphical quality that evokes comics. Practicing this technique, though, requires reference photos with good lighting and strong contrasts – apparently difficult to come by when people quickly snap photos of their pets doing whatever it is pets do.

In most cases this week, I did an OK job of capturing likeness but a better job capturing the animals’ character (although somehow the cats ended up with more attitude than they appear to have in their photos. Hmmm, maybe that says more about this artist than the sitters).

The reference photo for Dixie Sue (below) was among the worst I have had to work from for a commission: Dimly lighted, a bit out of focus, with almost no contrast. The photo’s saving grace were the lovely catchlights in her eyes that gave her so much expression. I went with a simple line drawing and let the features do the work. (I’m always amused by the slightly worried expression all chihuahuas seem to have!)