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Learn to draw realistic fur. Draw animals with a child

Learn to draw realistic fur. Draw animals with a child

20.04.2019

One of the most serious problems that an animal artist faces when trying to make a drawing realistic is the depiction of fur. How to draw all the long and short hairs covering the animal's body? The answer is very simple: no way! You need to learn how to create the feeling of fur through brush strokes and use of color.
You will most likely find it easier to draw long fur than very short hairs. It shows the direction of hair growth. Start with general outline fur. Then, using a thin brush or pencil, paint the outer edge to create the feeling of individual hairs. Study other artists drawing furry animals and analyze how they depicted fur.
The complexity of the image largely depends on the color of the fur. Pay attention to the color of the undercoat - it can be seen between the strands of long fur. From the very beginning, try to identify it correctly. This will save you time and effort. Remember that fur covers the animal's body only on the outside. The viewer should feel that there is a skeleton and muscles underneath. Even if you can't see them, you shouldn't forget about the shape and location of the main bones.
If the animal seems to be monochromatic, it is not. The fur of a ginger cat has many different shades, and on white wool there are always gray, bluish and purple hues. This is due to the fact that the body of the animal is illuminated differently. Using different tones, you can make the animal figure three-dimensional and convey a sense of movement. In this, fur is similar to human clothing - it, like clothing, drapes the body.
Please note that hairs or strands can change shade along the length, as their different sections are at different distances from the light. Do not try to paint the hairs in plain stripes. This way you can only depict absolutely flat and straight strands, but fur never happens like that.
If you are using a pencil or charcoal, resist the temptation to draw the strands in one line. Look at the fur, evaluate the change in tone along the length. Perhaps in the brightest areas you will have to do without lines at all, leaving empty spaces.
Although the fur is not a reflective surface, glare is still formed on it - where the light falls. When working with different materials you have to use different methods. Oil and acrylic paints At first we draw dark sites and then we apply patches of light. When working with watercolor, you need to close the highlights and draw dark areas, and then remove the masking fluid to expose the white paper. Working with graphite and colored pencils, we can create highlights with an eraser. Don't press the colored pencils too hard to make them easier to erase. Pastel is ideal for depicting fur. It is easy to create glare on it more light colors- You just need to accurately determine their location.
You must clearly understand the direction of fur growth. Whatever you use, your lines must coincide with this direction. Brush strokes and pastel strokes will become the fur of the drawn animal. If the movements of the brush are directed in the opposite direction, then the impression will be created that the fur is growing incorrectly.

Hamster, colored pencils

The color and texture of the fur are rendered in several layers. On the chest of the hamster and on its back, gray and reddish-brown strokes appear on a white background. The spaces between the colored strokes act as white hairs.

Cat, soft graphite pencil

This sketch is done with a soft 4B pencil. Large monochromatic areas (for example, a thick shadow under the cat's chin) were filled in by the artist, shading them with the side of the stylus, and then blending the strokes with his fingertips. . Thin white hairs are “drawn” with a kneaded eraser.

Practical exercise: Long fur, oil

This exercise uses the "raw on raw" technique, which allows you to combine areas of different tones. Don't try to accurately draw every strand of fur. The main thing is to create a feeling of smoothly falling silky wool.
materials
Canvas pasted on cardboard
Pencil ZV
Oil paints: brown ocher, burnt umber, cadmium red, titanium white, lamp black
Odorless solvent
Brushes: several short flat, small round or rigging, soft round

The dog's coat falls in thick, flowing strands. The fur has a very beautiful reddish Brown color. Shiny wool reflects light well.

1. With a pencil, sketch out the outlines of the muzzle of the dog. Mix a deep brown of brown ocher and burnt umber with a touch of cadmium red. Use a small flat brush to paint in the darkest areas. Apply with long, smooth strokes in the direction of hair growth.

2. Now mix the mid-tones of brown ocher and burnt umber with the addition of titanium white. You will need several shades. Apply them in the same way as dark tones. Paint "raw on wet" so that the tones blend smoothly into each other.

3. Add more titanium white. Take a small round or rigging brush (depending on how wide you want your highlights to be). Pay attention to how the light falls. Highlights will add shine to the coat.

Finished work
This sketch perfectly conveys the silkiness of the coat of this dog. The colors are applied in long, calligraphic strokes. The "raw-on-raw" technique allowed the tones to smoothly transition from one to another. The contrast between the highlights and the darker, shadowy areas gives the fur image a sense of volume.
If you are the author of the photo used in the article, write to us, we will definitely indicate the authorship!

Wool is a delightful material, millions of hairs together making a warm, fluffy surface that you can't stop touching, stroking and hugging! (Even if that wool belongs to a hungry tiger). At the same time, depicting wool realistically seems to be a very long and laborious task. Would you like to learn a couple of tricks that will allow you to draw wool in a very natural way without spending a lot of time on it? Well, if yes, then this tutorial is just for you.

1. What is wool?

Step 1

Usually my rule is: "In order to draw, you need to understand what you are drawing." This works well with large objects, such as whole animals or individual parts of their bodies, but with smaller objects, it can be a bit confusing. Sure, having a thorough knowledge of dog paw pads is great, but most of us will never need it. The same with wool. You do not need to study each hair individually, because no one sees them. We see wool, and if you draw it correctly, people will understand that it is wool.

This tiger is definitely covered in fur, isn't it? But can you see individual hairs?

Come on, count my hairs!

Step 2

The strands are made of hairs, the skin is made of strands, the skin is wool, that's the first rule. Even when the animal has a smooth coat that fits snugly against the skin, the strands become noticeable in the skin folds.

Step 3

The most the main problem is that wool cannot be drawn in 2D. Beginning artists draw a flat silhouette and then try to add wool, also in 2D. But it's just not possible! Just look at this, it's a ball of wool. In 3D, the hairs are visible in perspective. It's the same with strands.

2. Wool in 3D

Step 1

Let's look at a real life example. Animals with thick fur, like the wolf (photo courtesy of Jennifer McKay), appear larger than if they were completely bald. Let's undress him to see where the fur starts.

Step 2

Now look at the direction of hair growth. It doesn't just grow from head to tail. The layers (I'm sure you can see them now) start at different points. The boundaries between these layers are simply ignored by most people when drawing. And we will consider them in detail.

Step 3

There are two types of borders. An overlap is when one layer of wool overlaps another. It's easy enough to imagine and draw.

To understand the second kind of boundaries, you need to use 3D thinking. Sometimes both layers of wool are on the same level, but their strands are directed in different sides. This is how a gap is created. The strands deviate, forming darker areas between them. This is the bottom layer of the coat, which is much thicker compared to the longer, finer coat on top.

Before you start drawing fur, there are a few things you need to know. The first is how to quickly draw a simple strand. See? Very simple and fast.

Step 2

When applying layers of wool, it is better to start from the bottom. In this case, you will avoid crossing the strands.

Step 3

When drawing a gap, draw curved strands, leaving unequal gaps between them.

Step 4

After that, fill in those gaps dark color, depicting the bottom layer of wool.

Step 5

Last but not least. When selecting paths, never select them all. Look at the picture below, which of the strands looks more natural?

4. Draw a cat: head

Step 1

You can consider this exercise as a continuation of my "cat" study guide. First of all, sketch on cheap paper using any pencil. Don't worry if it comes out sloppy, this is just the basics.

Step 2

Highlight the contours of the body with a marker or pen. The borders should be sharp enough to be seen through better quality paper.

Step 3

Now place your sketch under the piece of paper you are going to draw on. You should be able to see the outline of your sketch. If not (for example, the paper is too thick), you can use the old proven method - window glass.

Step 4

Draw the parts of the muzzle that are not covered with hair, such as the eyes and nose. At this stage, the contrast of the entire picture is set. The nostrils should be the darkest.

Step 5

Take a mechanical or sharpened hard pencil. Lightly outline the fur depending on the breed of the cat you are drawing. I will draw someone similar to Maine Coon.

Step 6

First of all, let's draw the ears. Add some fluffy strands at the base of the ears and a few neater ones at the ends.

Step 7

My cat is going to have very long hair, so I added a few funky strands in the ears themselves.

Step 8

Draw the edges of the ears that are visible through the fur.

Step 9

Take over soft pencil and highlight the darker edges. Use it very carefully, the more you use it, the worse the result will be. One more thing - always keep your pencil sharp. This is extremely important. If this is problematic for you, it is better to buy a mechanical pencil and fully concentrate on the drawing process.

Step 10

Draw strands around the edges of each layer of wool. Make them loose and wavy. Don't go into details. Remember, you are drawing the coat as a whole, not individual hairs.

Step 11

Add several layers of wool.

Step 12

Add shadows between layers.

Step 13

Add some hair under the eyes. Remember, the more lines, the darker the area of the drawing. So, if you want to leave a light spot, draw as few lines as possible on it. Sometimes it's better to draw nothing at all!

Step 14

Add short hairs on the nose and near the mouth.

Step 15

Make gaps between the hair on the ears and the rest of the head, as well as in the middle of the forehead.

Step 16

Cover the forehead with very fine hairs, just to give the impression that it has hair on it.

Step 17

Add a mustache! Let them be long, wavy and different in length.

5. Draw the chest

Step 1

Imagine how the layers of wool will be located on the chest. Remember to make them very thin. It's not a bad idea to consider what your animal looks like at this stage. Do not be afraid, there is no need to measure the length of the fur, you do not even need to try to seat the animal in the exact position that you are drawing.

Step 2

Draw strands of each layer of wool. Do not forget, they should be soft and wavy, directed in different directions.

Step 3

Add a few strands that stick out from the traced layers. This will make the wool feel more real.

Step 4

Add shadows between layers as we did before. If you feel that you need to press harder on the pencil, take a softer one.

Step 5

And again add more dark.

6. Draw the front paws

Step 1

Sketch out the paws and fur on them.

Step 2

Add fur on the paw pads. It should be drawn as if it grows in one direction and is very short.

This time we will draw the fur.
In this lesson, I describe my work.
But it is not step-by-step instruction, as usual, and TIPS for self-study!

I will say right away - it is more convenient to draw on a tablet.

Forum users probably remember my last year's experience - a drawing of Santa Claus. The fur in this picture I drew with the mouse - the hand is constantly "sluggish")))))

What is the most important thing when drawing fur? In my opinion - right choice brushes.
First you need to decide Which fur You will draw.

The brush with which the fur is drawn should display several hairs at once - it turns out faster and more believable.
I created brushes using circles and squares in a 300x300pix document (you can take a smaller file). In this case, the brush is large. Let me remind you how to save a brush: Edit-Define brush... ( Edit-DefineBrushPreset…)

The screenshot shows two types of brushes and their prints.
The smaller the details of the brush and the greater the distance between them, the lighter and fluffier the print is.

To see the difference, I advise you to create different brushes and look at their prints.
So it is easier to understand which ones are suitable for your drawing.
The creation of the brush does not end there.

It is possible and even necessary to play with different settings in the Brush Palette (Window-Brushes, Window-Brushes, F5).

Firstly: size ( size) brushes - the thickness of the hairs should not be too thick, but it should not be greatly reduced, otherwise the fur will turn into a homogeneous mass. It all depends on the size of the document and the size of the object itself.

Secondly: interval ( Spacing) it is better to set it to a minimum - hairs do not come from pieces.

Third: I advise you to “twist” the brush (change the angle - Angle slope), while detecting interesting options prints.

The screenshot shows prints of the same brush with different angles turn. In some cases this is important.
Experiment!

Also, I used opacity ( Opacity) in the range 25-50% . The most transparent values are for dark brushes, the most visible ones are for light brushes.
To create a more believable result, when drawing fur, you need to use several brushes. And in order not to change the settings every time (it takes a lot of time and discourages creativity), it is better to save brushes with different settings.

How to do it: first decide which brushes you will use to create the fur (their colors, transparency, size ...) and save each separately by opening the tab Toolpresetpicker(1 ) on the brush tool's property bar. Then you need to press the button CreatenewToolpreset(2 ) and for the convenience of searching in the list - assign a name ( 3 ).

Now, when changing a brush while working, you just need to open the tab with the list of saved brushes and select the tool with the desired settings! Very comfortably!!!)))
Well, now let's move on to creating fur!

We will create fur on the coat of the Snow Maiden.
Fur I began to draw in last turn when everything else was done. So you can immediately see how the fur edge looks.
To begin with, with a soft NON-WHITE brush, I painted the base of the fur edge.
When creating the base, you can lower the Opacity ( Opacity) brushes.

Immediately after that, I sketched reflexes. Why immediately? Because it is more convenient to distribute the fur (i.e. you can immediately see which brush to choose). And so that at the end of a long work you don’t have to redo it, if, for example, light fur appeared in an incomprehensible way against a dark background.
I placed the layer with reflections at the very top.

Where to start drawing? Better with small details (in this case, a hat, sleeves). It will and sample(you should periodically look there - the length of the villi, the density of the fur, the distribution of color, etc., so that different parts fur product did not differ from each other) and training, if it does not work out the first time, we will save time spent on a large piece.

So I started with the hat.
For work, it is more convenient to maximize the document, but in real size it is necessary to periodically view the result.

I used three brushes: white - 50% opacity, gray - 30% opacity, blue - 20% opacity.
I painted with each brush on a separate layer and for convenience I called them like this: light, grey, blue. On the one hand, it takes time to create layers and move through the layers in the process of drawing, but on the other hand, it is easy to make corrections and the progress of work is clear. In the end, it only saves time. And to remake ... there is nothing worse!
Here I applied another brush adjustment (see screenshot):

So the fur becomes more fluffy ... compare.
The drawing algorithm is simple: I started with light fur, then gray, then blue.
Hair should be slightly out of bounds Basics fur. If necessary basis can be erased with an eraser.

The arrows indicate the direction of the fur villi.
The distribution of fur villi is different in each case, this is just an example.

Above the layer with reflections, I created a layer - Additional fur. Here final corrections and additions were made for all parts of the fur trim.
The shadow from the fur of the cap also has the right to be)))

The hat is ready.
Now we draw the fur on the sleeves.
When working, I tried to keep the magnification scale of the document constant - it’s more convenient to draw small parts the same. As I said, when drawing the following fur details, it is advisable to look at the first option as a model.
The work plan is the same. Drawing on different layers, in the end, saves time, but makes the document large. Everywhere has its pluses and minuses)))

It remains to create an edge on the shoulders and along the edge of the fur coat.
I made fasteners on the Snow Maiden's fur coat. It must be remembered that the villi of the fur climb onto such details.

The arrows in the screenshot show the direction of the fur.

The screenshots do not clearly show the difference in the drawing process. That's why I'm not writing instructions, but advice for independent creativity.
Here's what I ended up with.

And now let's try to draw some separate fur object, well, the same hat. Only entirely fur.
First, let's decide on the style and color, take a brush.

I have used these colors. But there can be many more of them, or rather there should be more of them. But within the framework of the lessons we will limit ourselves to this number.
I got 6 brushes with different transparency (the dark ones are the most invisible).
Let's start with creating Basics hats with a soft brush. To create it, you can lower the Opacity ( Opacity), as I have said.

Then I drew the fur according to the same plan. First, I decided on the direction of the fur and Forward:
- different colors - on different layers,
-changing the opacity of not only the brushes, but also the layers themselves,
- sometimes adding blurry copies of layers (it is better to reduce their opacity to a minimum).
And another tip is to change the background color in order to see the shortcomings and immediately correct them. For example: draw on white - periodically look at black.

Remember shadows...

How I drew fur on small pumps ... I drew only one pump, and simply copied on others))) and transformed as needed.

Add a shadow from the cap.
I tweaked the levels a little more.
That's all!

I really hope that my advice will come in handy and “fur” masterpieces will appear from the pen of computer artists of our site!)))

Wishing you creative inspiration,
PIROGOVADESIGN

We draw fur in Photoshop.

Make a brush consisting of several dots of different sizes. The size of the tocher depends on the size and resolution of your work. Also make sure that there are not too many points, otherwise the texture will be too visible due to repetition. Once the brush is done, set spacing to "1" in the brush menu. I use several brushes, here is an example of two of them.

Step 2 - Make the base color neutral, the base color a little darker and start painting with short strokes. Don't worry if it comes out a little sloppy.

Step 3 - More light color paint on top of more strokes. In fact, fur is made up of many different colors. You may look at your dog and think "brown", but look closer and you'll see many shades. Also remember that the fur is unlikely to be clearly straight, so make the lines curved.

Step 4 - In this step I painted more dark hair in the background and lighter hair in the foreground. I drew from my cat - he has a white "patch" of fur under his chin. I also made some gold strokes over the dark part to add highlights:

Step 5 - Great... now we have a good base, we can continue to work and emphasize some individual hairs. At this stage, I touch up the sloppy parts of the base to achieve realism. With the help of a small round brush paint some hairs. You can smear them a little with your finger. Usually the wool lies in layers, so draw a shadow in some places:

Step 6 - Finishing touches. We add the last hairs and color spots where necessary. I added some red shades and bright light. And the fur is ready!

photoshop tutorial, photoshop tutorials, Photoshop tutorial

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What You'll Be Creating

Drawing fur from imagination can be very frustrating. You've seen it, you know what it is, but when you try to draw it, you end up with a pile of straw.

If you have such a problem, then in this tutorial I will show you how to solve it. First hint? You need to draw what you see, not what you know!

What will you need

Paper
HB pencil
Pencil 2B
Pencil 4B
Mechanical pencil HB
Blender (or cotton swab)
Rubber eraser (or regular eraser)

1. What is Fur?

Let's start with a little theory. You will be able to draw fur with a pencil much better just by learning the following few simple facts!

First, fur is made up of hairs that are tightly packed together, creating a smooth surface. However, on the bends, the fur begins to thicken - individual hairs are grouped.

The softer the hairs, the easier they are collected.

This "clustering" can occur in all directions, creating "waves" of wool or small individual tufts.

We can see everything because of the contrast between light and shadow. The larger the clusters, the greater the shadow between them.

When you draw fur by drawing individual hairs, what you are really drawing is the skin, which is light at the base of the fur, which blocks the light. That's why it looks so weird!

So the big secret is: to draw believable fur with a pencil, you don't need to draw the fur/clumps, but the shadows between them.

In fact, this is how you should always approach drawing. We draw chiaroscuro and nothing else. A single hairline may look like a simple pencil stroke, but you can't paint fur with lots of simple strokes!

2. How to Draw Long Fur

Step 1

Let's draw a fluffy tail as an example. Imagine that the top of the tail is slightly curled away from you. With a pencil HB, draw the basic shape of the tail. Don't press too hard on the pencil, we don't want these lines to be visible later.

Step 2

Tilt your pencil to fill in the shape gray tint. Do not press too hard to achieve an even effect. You can simulate the flow of wool with strokes, but this is not necessary.

Step 3

Take a pencil 2B, and using the same technique, shade one side of the tail. We need to give the tail a 3D shape.

Step 4

Press harder with a pencil near the edge so that the shadow gradually becomes darker.

Step 5

Pick up the pencil again HB to draw the "side hairs". These curves will determine the direction of the fur throughout the tail. Don't forget the curve at the top!

Step 6

Tilt your pencil to turn each hair into sparse tufts of fur. Be careful!

Step 7

Now the most hard part- we need to add shadows between the beams. There are certain "signs" that you can use as a basis, but you need to try it yourself to understand how it works. Practice a little on a separate piece of paper if you don't know how to do it.

Use the side hairs as a guide for direction. The larger the angle, the shorter and wider the shadows should be. Use a pencil for this. 2B, keep it tilted for more natural strands. If you drew any sharp thin lines then your eye would mistake them for random hairs which would change the effect.

Step 8

Let's move on to the right side. The closer to the edge, the narrower and denser the shadows should be.

Step 9

Keep using the same pencil, only for the other side, press the pencil harder to get a darker shading.

Step 10

Wool tufts are easy to create and look very attractive, although it is not natural for a smooth surface to have wool tangled. Draw larger, wider shadows at the bottom to create "waves" (smooth clusters of tufts).

Step 11

With a pencil 4B, paint thick dark shadows on the shaded side. Don't make them too big!

Step 12

Use the same pencil to also add darker shadows in the middle part, just do it very carefully. There should not be many shadows in this part and the sharper they are, the more wet the tail will look.

Step 13

Take feathering or cotton swab if you don't have feathers. Carefully align the tufts of wool by "drawing" over the fur according to the direction of the flow of the fur.

Step 14

Take eraser to add light highlights to the illuminated side. If you have a rubber eraser you can actually draw some fur with it, if that doesn't work then use a normal eraser.

Step 15

It's time for mechanical pencil. Use it to add tiny shadows in the tufts of wool (after all, large tufts of wool are made up of smaller tufts). Be extremely careful - too many shadows can spoil the effect. Feel free to copy the shadow shapes you see in my drawing.

Step 16

Use the same pencil if you want to add detail to the bottom, but avoid areas of large shadows. This part should be smooth and soft!

Step 17

We return to the top. Add separation at the ends of the buns. Remember, draw them only with shadows!

Step 18

Draw individual hairs on the sides to enhance the effect. Don't press too hard on the pencil!

Step 19

Relax, and then take another look at your drawing from a distance. Flip the drawing over, look at it in a mirror, and maybe take a picture to see a different perspective.

If you notice something that you would like to change, then it's time to do it! However, don't try to add more contrast - the darker the shadows, the harsher the tufts will look. Soft fur doesn't have a lot of sharp shadows because light passes through it easily.

3. How to Draw Short Fur

Step 1

The short fur is based on the same rules as the long fur. After all, it does not matter how long the fur is, but it matters how long it is on the surface on which it lies. The smaller the surface, the more bends and more tufts. The larger the surface, the more uniform the fur.

Let's draw the base of the lion's tail as an example. Once again, imagine how it bends at the top. Use a pencil HB.

Step 2

Tilt the pencil slightly to draw the short hair in the middle. Don't draw in rows, but rather draw the pencil down and then come back for a less artificial effect.