Drawing the American Saddlebred - Chest, Neck and Head

I finish the mane first as it is the furthest point to the left on my drawing that hasn't been completed.

I do this is to prevent myself from smearing graphite across an almost finished piece which is a very likely possibility (I know this from past experience).



















Again working with the darkest shadowed area on the chest, foreleg, neck and the inside of the ear, I start the first layer of graphite.

Gradually adding each layer and going over the areas until only the white of the foreleg and any highlights are left without graphite.



















I will remove any excess graphite and then apply another layer of workable fixative over the newly finished area.

The darks are added onto the head and forelock.


















I often find that the head usually requires more time to complete than any other section of the horse as there is a lot of detail to fit into a small area.

I usually start at the top of the head and work my way down adding more details as each layer of graphite is added, finishing by removing any loose graphite and spraying lightly with the fixative.

Drawing the American Saddlebred - The Forequarters

The drawing is a little over halfway finished.

The darkest shadows are again established on the forequarters.


















The main muscle masses and tendons are defined and detailed. This serves as a guide to give the direction the pencil lines will follow.

Starting up at the withers the layers of graphite are applied to the shoulder and worked down through the leg until the only white paper that remains are the highlights.


















The shadowed area at the withers beneath the mane is put in to finish this area. Then the shadow beneath the mane is indicated to define the edge of the mane and to set the darkest area on the neck.

Carefully remove any excess graphite and apply another layer of workable fixative is applied to set the graphite and prevent it from moving.


















Thank you for taking the time to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.

Drawing the American Saddlebred - The Barrel

All the lines on the barrel are curved as though to wrap around the body and create the illusion of roundness.


















The darkest shadows of the underbelly are put in first, and gradually the depths of values are built up, leaving only the highlights which is created by the white of the paper showing through without any graphite.


















The excess graphite is carefully removed and a light coating of workable fixative is applied.

It is time to move onto the forequarters.

Drawing the American Saddlebred - The Hindquarters

I will now start working on the hind quarters.

Once again establishing my shadowed area first in a mid tone and gradually working up the layers of graphite.


















As I lay down the lines of graphite I follow the direction of the muscles and curve the lines, this gives the illusion of roundness, rather than using straight vertical lines which would make it appear flat.

Where the white stockings are on the leg I lightly indicate the outline and add the shading to the leg and joint to give shape and roundness, leaving the paper to remain white.


















I will establish the dark shadow on the underbelly and finish the flap of skin in front of the stifle.

Before proceeding further now is a good time to remove any excess graphite from the paper and apply a layer of workable fixative.


















The far hind leg is completed in the same manner.

Once again the excess graphite is carefully removed and a layer of workable fixative is applied to the drawing.


















It is now time to proceed to completing the body of the horse.

Drawing the American Saddlebred - Beginning Stage

I use either 90lb. d'Arches watercolour paper or Grumbacher Paper for Prisma Pencil for most of my pencil drawings. This drawing is on the Grumbacher paper.

After transferring the drawing I lightly block in the areas where there will be highlights and make sure everything has been transferred and all the muscle masses are well defined and easy to see and exactly how I want the line drawing.


















Being right handed I work from left to right when putting the shading onto a drawing. It prevents my hand running across graphite already laid down on the paper and smearing it across the drawing which will need to be erased afterward and can cause the sharpness of the drawing to be lost.

I find that a mechanical pencil works best for me, as it always has a sharp point and I do not have to take the time to stop and sharpen the point as I would have to do with a regular wood encased graphite pencil.


















I start with the darkest shadows on the tail and put down my first layer as a mid tone. With each layer I continue to go over the one laid down before, gradually building up a darker value in the shadow, and each successive layer until I reach the mid tone layer of the tail.

By this point my darkest values are well established with up to four layers of graphite.



















Now I start working into the lighter tones always being careful to leave the highlights as the white paper showing through without any graphite on it.
I continue to work the layers over the tail until the lightest tones have been put down.

After carefully removing any loose graphite from the drawing I will lightly spray it with a fine layer of workable fixative.

Drawing the American Saddlebred -Transferring the Outline Drawing

Once I have gotten the drawing as far along with all the outline details on it and I feel that the drawing is finished I take new piece of tracing paper and keeping the lines I want I trace the horse in reverse.

This serves two purposes. By seeing the image in reverse any errors that I have missed seem to show themselves. It is similar to holding your picture up and looking at it in the mirror, it forces you to look at it in a different way.



















It is at this stage that I make any final corrections. I also make sure to press a little harder with the pencil to be sure there is plenty of graphite on this side so I can easily transfer the final outline sketch to the fine quality paper I am going to use to complete my drawing.

This also limits the amount of excess graphite which can be a problem when rubbing over the back of a sketch with a soft pencil before transferring the final outline drawing, which in many cases can cause unwanted smudging over the paper which will have to be erased and may damage the surface of the paper.



















I also find this method better than using the graphite transfer papers as you have to press to harder to get the image to transfer clearly and more often than not score the surface of the paper which should be avoided.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork.

Drawing the American Saddlebred - Outline Drawing

Once this stage has been reached the entire painting from completing the sketch to the finished graphite pencil drawing should take approximately five hours or less for a piece this size 5-1/4 x 5-3/4"; provided of course I don't make a real hash of it (which I have been known to do on occasion).

Now begins the time consuming part of drawing as the sketch is gradually tightened up, the shapes refined and the details are slowly added.


















I begin by adding more detail to the large muscle masses of the hindquarters, forearms, shoulders and chest to use as reference points and make sure that the basic drawing continues to be in proportion.

Corrections are made as necessary on the diagonal set of weight bearing pasterns and fetlocks which are attached to the supporting legs, and have more stress placed on them than would normally be seen when the horse is standing motionless with the weight evenly distributed on all four legs.

I do not use an eraser on my sketch but keep working back and forth over the lines changing them as necessary reworking and refining.



















Then add the main tendons and muscles to the legs and chest; the indent where the windpipe runs down the throat and muscle lines on the crest of the neck.

After being sure to have the throat join in correctly under the cheeks, I work on the head adding the details to the ears and eyes making sure that they are positioned correctly. Then added the forelock and a little definition to the mane.

If at any stage the sketch gets to the point where I am having difficulty with finding the correct lines, I simply get out a fresh piece of tracing paper and take the outline of that lines I wish to keep and leave the messy sketch behind. Then I carry on with refining the drawing.