Dog Sketches

Dog Sketches are easy and can lead to more elaborate drawings. Learn how to draw a puppy, or puppies in this case.

Whether you are sketching for pleasure or profit the ability to capture a cute scene like this is priceless.

A sketch is the all important foundation or even a worthwhile end in itself.

This spaniel drawing starts with simple shapes. Moves onto lines and is made more realistic with tones added through linear shading.

Dog Sketches

Use whatever paper and pencil you wish but I recommend Bristol board and a 4B pencil. You will also need a putty eraser.

1. Start with an oval for the head and join this to the snout sketched here with simple lines. Keep your lines very light.

2. Sketch the jaw that curves round to the left.

3. This is the eye line

4. A centre line. This will help us to draw in the nose later.

5. Three dashed lines for the wide ear.

6. I lightly sketch the other ear and show the one visible paw.

7. I define the other ear.

8. This unfinished square is the second dog's snout.

9. Sketch in the head.

10. I draw a centre line and eye line

11. The ear.

12. Define the ear more.

13. The visible leg. Now draw in the rest of the body.

14. We have enough information about the shapes and positions of the spaniels so make a line drawing as I have. Note the dogs are laying on decking.

15. Now we are going to build up tone using lines. Use lines side by side and over lapping lines in the direction of the hair.

16. I continue in the same manner. Note the direction of the lines on the head and ear. This is very important. Move your drawing around so you can get the angles right.

17. Now add more overlapping lines still being careful with the direction of the strokes. You can see we now have quite dense looking fur on the forehead.