How to Draw a Dog Portrait

Do you have a special furry someone in your life whose portrait you would like to draw? Drawing a dog's portrait is more complicated than just drawing a generic cartoon dog or a dog caricature, but if you follow these tips then you will be well on your way to capturing your pet's unique visage.

Things You'll Need

• Sheet of transparent plastic, such as an overhead transparency or report cover
• Fine-tipped permanent marker
• Ruler
• 9x12 inch drawing stock or small canvas
• 2B pencil
• Picture of a dog
• Kneaded eraser
• Sharp-edged eraser
• Circle template
• Blending tortillions

Instructions

Making the Grid

1. Make the reference grid on a piece of transparent plastic using a fine-tipped permanent marker.

2. Start at the bottom of the page and use the ruler to make small marks along the page a half inch apart. Repeat this process on the right side, then go back and connect your marks, using the ruler as your guide, to create horizontal lines across the page.

3. Use the same method to make the vertical lines across the page, completing the grid.

4. Draw an identical grid onto your 9x12 inch drawing surface. Use a pencil this time, and make the lines very light so that they will be easily erasable.

Getting Started

1. Find a picture of your dog that has plenty of detail and shows the eyes. Place the picture under the plastic grid and secure it to keep it from moving.

2. Determine the starting point for your drawing by measuring the distance from the left edge of the plastic page to the dog's first eye in the picture and then from the top edge of the page to the first eye. Find the corresponding spot on your canvas.

3. Use your grid and a ruler to measure angle distances on your subject. Find the ratio of how far apart the key points are and measure the angle steepness and lengths. This is an important step since having proportional angles will make your painting more realistic.

4. Sketch the angles onto the canvas. When you are finished, you should have a rough outline of the animal in angles alone, including lines on the face to represent distances between facial features.

Sketching the Dog

1. Begin your outline by drawing the first eye, whose starting point you already measured. Keep your pencil marks fairly light, and pay attention to where lines in the picture cross grid lines, replicating them on your canvas.

2. Measure the distance from the first eye to the second eye in the picture, then start drawing the second eye in the corresponding grid on your canvas.

3. Draw an outline of the entire animal by measuring distances on the picture and then matching them up on your canvas. Draw the contents of one square at a time.

4. Erase your grid lines as you complete each section of the dog. You may be able to blend some of the lines in with your sketch as you do the shading later.

5. Fill in the rest of the details after your rough outline is complete, including major hair patterns.

6. Go back and use your pencil to shade the appropriate areas. Use a blending tortillion to create a realistic transition from shaded to non-shaded areas.

7. Create the look of fur by blending the shaded areas using a blending tortillion or one of your erasers.

Tips & Warnings

• Make the sketch fairly detailed to facilitate the shading process when you fill it in later on.

• Implement a circle template for details such as the iris of the eye.

• Don't forget the details, such as the inner contents of the dog's mouth. It is the little things that will give your portrait a realistic look.