Draw A Picture of A Dog

Drawing a picture of a dog is a creative way to document the journey of a beloved pet. Of course, you can always take millions of pictures of your dog since we now live in the age of the digital camera, but there is just something a bit more meaningful about a picture you draw yourself. One of the reasons I love the technology of digital photography is because it allows me to create a large personal gallery of pictures I can use as reference photographs for my sketches. Also, I use my scanner to create digital images of my old photographs, which is how I made the reference photograph for this particular sketch I am doing of Buster. I am using a pencil to sketch Buster on the paper and then I will transfer the outline of this drawing on wood to make a wood burning of him. The sketch of Buster will be colored in with colored pencils that I have on hand.

So how can you learn how to draw a picture of your dog? Try reading online tutorial, watch how-to art videos, purchase drawing instruction books, or even check drawing books out of the library. If you have a kindle or a nook, you can even download books from your library's website, which means there is no need to spend a lot of money on learning how to draw. My concepts for drawing pictures of dogs is based on a few art classes I took, but mostly on my innate sense of how to sketch. Drawing is a form of art and open to interpretation, and if I want an exact replica of my dog I can always take a photograph. Thus, when I draw a dog I want to focus on making it look aesthetically pleasing to me, and that is about it. If you are selling pictures of dogs that you draw then you will have to think about what your customers like. If you are just creating art for the walls of your own home then you only need to consider your own preferences. So do you need to use expensive art supplies for sketching? I do have a few artist grade pencils, but I must confess I often use cheap ones I purchase at the store.

Back in 2009 I painted a picture of Buster, who was always quite a ham for the camera. However, I just cannot seem to get away from drawing or painting Buster, so here I am at it again! Drawing or painting a picture of your dog is a wonderful way to commemorate a beloved pet, especially if he has passed, such as Buster did back in 2007. Here is a YouTube video that will give you a few ideas on how you can use reference photographs as inspiration for drawing your own dog.

Often I just sketch on computer paper, but for this drawing I am using nice sketch paper. It really does make your drawings look a bit nicer.

Documenting the sketching process is a useful way to track your progress. You might even want to use pictures of your unfinished sketch to create digital art with your photo editing software.  Often I used pictures of my half-way completed sketches to create cards.