Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Lifelike Subjects

A complete guide to rendering flowers, landscapes, and animals

Diane Cardaci, Nolon Stacey, Linda Weil, Diane Wright

• Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781600589003
• eBook ISBN: 9781600589010
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Lifelike Subjects teaches beginning artists how to create realistic, detailed drawings in graphite pencil.

Featuring in-depth instruction on basic drawing techniques, creating texture, developing likeness, and more, Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Lifelike Subjects is the perfect guide for you as a beginning or intermediate artist. After an introduction to basic materials and pencil techniques, four accomplished artists offer insight, tips, and step-by-step demonstrations that help create detailed, lifelike drawings of your chosen subjects, including animals, flowers, and landscapes. Learn to create texture and likeness using basic pencil techniques, understanding perspective, exploring light and shadow, developing values, and more.

• Dogs & Puppies: From a soulful Basset Hound puppy to a full-grown German Shepherd, learn to draw your chosen breed step by step.
• Flowers & Botanicals: Explains basic flower anatomy and how to render detailed still lifes and florals using basic pencil techniques to convey light and shadow.
• Beautiful Landscapes: See the world through the eyes of an artist as you recreate coastal scenes, warm cottages, and pastoral landscapes. 
• Lifelike Animals: Capture the essence of your favorite wild animals, including elephants, tigers, lions, wolves, and more.

Throughout the book, artists Diane Cardaci, Nolon Stacey, Linda Weil, and Diane Wright offer practical drawing techniques and easy-to-understand, step-by-step instruction, but also encouraging words. The journey through Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Lifelike Subjects is not about making perfect drawings; it's about achieving likeness and drawing skills with each new project, while having a great time.

The books in the Step-by-Step Studio series introduce beginning artists to the fundamental tools and techniques of their chosen medium. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step projects help beginners hone their skills while creating artwork across a variety of subjects, from still life and landscapes to animal portraits and botanicals.

CHAPTER 1

DOGS & PUPPIES

WITH NOLON STACEY

Over the years, I have tried a number of media, including paint, pastel, and crayon, but nothing has rewarded me with the instant results that are attainable with pencil. The fact that I can pick up the pencil and immediately begin transferring my ideas to paper holds great appeal for me, as does the challenge of representing a three-dimensional, colorful world using a flat sheet of paper and a tool that produces only a range of grays! In this chapter, I will share what I have learned through years of trial and error. I will also demonstrate the basic techniques that I have found work best for me to compose and render the special characteristics specific to canines, as well as five step-by-step dog and puppy portrait lessons that will help you begin creating your own lifelike artwork.

— Nolon Stacey

RENDERING HAIR

The basic categories of dog hair are long and curly, long and straight, short and curly, and short and straight. Roughness or smoothness of the hair also affects its appearance. There are many variations within each basic type of hair, but you should be able to adapt one of the techniques demonstrated in this section to draw any dog hair you wish.

LONG, CURLY HAIR

Detail Method

Step 1 Long, curly hair tends to flow in waves. Begin drawing wavy lines using an HB pencil, roughly following a consistent pattern of curvature while ensuring that the pattern isn’t too rigid and exact. Be sure to overlap some hairs for realism.

Step 2 Darken the areas in between the main clumps of hair using a soft pencil. Then suggest the strands within the clumps of hair nearest the viewer by using long strokes to communicate the length. Leave some areas nearly free of graphite to bring them forward visually.

Sketch Method

Step 1 To draw the same hair with a freer, looser style, don’t worry about positioning the hairs or other details; just sketch long, wavy lines, again following a general S-shaped pattern.

Step 2 Now rough in texture using lines. Rather than creating definite areas of highlights and shadows, simply place the lines closer together in shadowed areas and farther apart in lighter areas. When drawing any type of hair, always stroke in the direction of growth.

LONG, STRAIGHT HAIR

Detail Method

Step 1 Long, straight hair doesn’t necessarily lay in perfectly parallel lines. In fact, the longer the hair, the more haphazard it’s likely to be. With this in mind, draw long sections of hair, stroking in different directions and overlapping strokes.

Step 2 Carefully shade the dark areas among the hairs, and apply long, light strokes on top of the sections of hair. Then use tack adhesive to lift out some individual hairs, giving depth to the coat.

Sketch Method

Step 1 Draw light, rough lines to provide guidelines for the sections of hair. Then use long, wispy strokes to gradually build up the strands along the guidelines. Place lines closer together for dark areas and farther apart for light areas.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Tools & Materials
• The Elements of Drawing
• Basic Pencil Techniques
• Chapter 1: Dogs & Puppies with Nolon Stacey
• Chapter 2: Flowers & Botanicals with Diane Cardaci
• Chapter 3: Beautiful Landscapes with Diane Wright
• Chapter 4: Lifelike Animals with Linda Weil
• About the Artists
• Copyright