Drawing the German Shorthaired Pointer - Top of Head

Now it is time to get the top of the skull finished and work my way down towards the muzzle.

The first thing I filled in was the small area above the eye. It has a fair amount of high lit areas and the layers of graphite were gradually built up to blend with the surrounding area.

I then worked on finishing the solid marking at the back of the neck and below the ear; darkening the area for the shadows and using curved lines to create the illusion of roundness. Later I will put all the freckles into the coat.

Going back to the area between the eyes the shadows and highlights were slowly working in down and across the bridge of the nose to just below the stop between the eyes.

Working above the sharp edge of the cheek bone, the flat section of the cheek was put in and the shadow area below was joined to complete the front edge of the cheek bone.

The area below the eye was then filled in and some of the small veins which are close to the surface of the skin just above the cheek bone were given a little definition. I then put in the shadow beneath another of the veins just below the front edge of the cheek and across the top of the muzzle.

More detail was added to the corner of the mouth, shadowing was added along the bottom of the jaw and the hollow in the cheek where the tendons run where given a little more definition.

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

Drawing the German Shorthaired Pointer - Eye Lid and Cheek

I wanted to get the eye lids and area around the eye completed today but just couldn't get started. So I added some shading down the front of the neck and worked on putting in the markings on the shoulder.

It is time consuming to get each of the markings in its exact location on the body and on this dog there are a lot of small freckles yet to be done.

I moved upward and rounded the bottom of the cheek slightly and darkened the shadow beneath the jaw giving it a more defined outline.

Working below the sharp edge of the cheek bone I added more shading and indicated areas of highlight.

I did a little more work at the top of the skull and added more shading before I finally started to work on the eye lid and the area around the eye.

The first thing I put in is the tear duct in the corner of the eye and lightly indicate the skin surrounding it. Once that is in place it acts as a guide for the lower eye lid.

The upper eye lid is drawn and the shadow put into the bottom and in the crease. The highlight on the top edge of the eye lid gradually darkens towards the far side of the lid.

The furrows above the eye lid are gradually drawn in and defined.

Drawing the German Shorthaired Pointer - Nose

The next area to be put in is the nose. This acts as a reference for the centre line of the face.

I start by placing a small, light shadow to use as a guide where the bridge of the nose and the top portion of the muzzle meet.

The centre line which divides the two halves of the flat front portion of the nose between the nostrils is put in first and the top edge of the nose pad is darkened.

The curved lines on the top of the nose are shaded in the direction of the nose as it goes along the bridge of the nose.

The shadow under the flap of skin below the nostril is put in which gives it its shape.

The lower edge of the upper lip is strengthened and given a more definite shape. The shadow under the lip is darkened to give a little depth.

The area of the muzzle below the nose is given shape and the whisker lines are indicated.

I then start working my way back up the bridge of the nose giving more shape and confirming the existing lines with a soft line of graphite.

Working with the lines following the curve of the skull I add in shading in front of the ear, gradually building layers of graphite.

The leading edge of the ear flap shows more clearly against the shadows beneath it which seems to push it forward.

The lines on the cheek are put in vertically to indicate the flatness
of the area as opposed to the roundness of the skull.

Next I go back and darken the area around the far eye adding in the furrows above the eye and a little more shadow under the far side ear flap.

As you can see so far other than putting the eyes in on the other dog nothing has been done with him, yet.

Drawing the German Shorthaired Pointer - Ears

Once the eyes have been completed, the next step is to start with the ears.

With the light coming from the upper left hand side of the picture, I like to indicate the highlight areas and lightly define the top of the head and the edge of the ear flap.

The shadow cast by the ear flap and below the jaw is lightly indicated on the neck and I added a few of her markings. The shadow cast by the ear folds are put in for reference with the dark areas marked in lightly. I also added a little definition to one of the nostrils.

Much of the ear is still left with the white of the paper showing. It is easier to add more dark gradually than to try and remove a dark shadow in the wrong place.

The top edge of the ear is given more definition and more of the shadows in the ear folds are indicated. The top of the ear gradually takes shape as more layers of graphite are slowly built up creating depth.

Gradually the shadows and shadings are added with the lightest of the highlights still being the white of the paper.

With the first ear completed it was time to work on the little bit of the far ear that shows. The base of this ear defines the shape of the skull above the other eye.

I then worked on the far eye and started the area around it.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and enjoy the artwork.

Drawing the German Shorthaired Pointer - Eyes

The most important part of an animal portrait is to get the eyes correct.

If the eye isn't right, no matter how well the rest of the painting is, there is something not believable about it. This is why I do the eyes almost always at the very beginning of the painting.

I marked in the upper corner of my paper the direction of the light source. This is the easiest way to keep the highlights on both dogs in the same direction. I did Tassy's eye first.

From the highlight in the eye to the bottom there is reflected light within the eye (for a more detailed explanation see my posting on 07 August 2011).

The irises on both dogs are a lighter brown than what is called for in the breed standards for some of the other dog breeds which require very dark eyes.

Then I worked on Tracker's eyes being sure that the tops of the eye lids were on the same angle as the rest of the head.

Note the difference in the shape of the eyes. You have to be careful to get the position and shape of the eye and have it correct for the angle of the head.

Drawing the German Shorthaired Pointer - Final Drawing

The nice thing about using tracing paper for my drawings is that I can easily do the final drawing in the reverse.

Looking at any drawing in the reverse whether you take the main lines like I do or look at your sketch in a mirror, or even turn it upside down; it gives you a different perspective of the image and allows you to see anything that looks out of place quite quickly.

The added advantage is that all my final lines are darkened and ready to transfer to my drawing paper; without my having to do it a second time or darken the back of my outline drawing.

I have found that "scribbling" over the back of the drawing with a softer pencil and then transferring the drawing often leaves a lot of loose graphite on the good paper which can be smeared and create a mess.

As you can see each dog was drawn on a separate piece of paper. It is here that I decide where the best position is to have the dogs overlapping each other to create interest instead of having them separated with a space between them. The two drawings are taped together so they don't move.

Then two small pieces of low tack tape is used to hold the drawing in place on the acid free paper while the outline is transferred to down. That way the image doesn't shift which is time consuming to correct and often causes damage to the fine paper.

Drawing the German Shorthaired Pointer - Outline Sketch

Almost all of my drawings are done on tracing paper. I don't use an eraser on my sketches preferring to work the lines until they are correct.

When the sketch gets too messy I use another piece of tracing paper, take the "good" lines and continue working on the drawing.

The major shapes of the head are indicated first as basic shapes. I prefer to use triangles, squares and rectangles and round the corners off rather than use circles and join the pieces with lines. Each person needs to find which way works best for them.

Then angles are lightly blocked in to give a three dimensional effect which also makes both sides of the head balance in perspective. That way one eye doesn't end up higher than the other or the nose isn't quite where it should be.

From there the drawing is gradually refined to show the folds on the ears, the roundness on the top of the skull, the sharp plane on the top of the cheeks and the curve at the bottom. Details are added to the nose and eyes being very sure that they are in the correct place and at the proper angle.

Once I am reasonably happy with the outline sketch it is time to work on the final drawing which will be transferred to the acid free drawing paper.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.