Drawing and painting dogs

Fig. 2 Outline drawing of heads

Fig. 1 Profile heads

Dogs are unique animals. All they want from us is love, affection, food and shelter. While millions of people keep dogs there are many owners who do not understand dog behaviour.

Many do not realise that this popular creature has strong pack instincts. Most household pets, however, are delightful little chums who are faithful, loyal, good company and fun.

There are many kinds of dogs, the Cocker Spaniel, Border Collie, Greyhound and hunting dogs to name a few. The Collie, for example seems to control goats and sheep fully by simply fixing eyes on them. The sheep or the goat immediately look worried but do exactly what the shepherd and the dog want.

The Cocker Spaniel is another kind which excels in scenting out and retrieving game birds. The hunting dog helps the hunter to hunt while the police dog helps the police to catch the culprit to maintain law and order in the country.

The plain line drawings on the left and a complete drawing on the right in Fig. 1 shows the well defined foreheads and long snouts. A white line round part of the ears show their shapes. The black markings, which are quite black on these animals, were put in with a brush and black drawing ink. Start with the construction lines as shown, then little details added in become easy.

Fig. 3 A finished painting of a Cocker Spaniel

Fig. 2 shows the front views of heads. See how the eyes are drawn between the dotted lines. If you use a pencil for the basic sketch this will help produce quickly an accurate illustration. Use dot stipple and tiny lines to depict the fur.

Fig. 3 illustrate a finished painting of a dog 'Cocker Spaniel.' Draw all these illustrations of the dog and finally do the colouring as you see in Fig. 3. Practise these as much as you can to be a excellent dog illustrator.