Brenda Hoddinott

FUR

I-04 BEGINNER: CARTOONS & CRITTERS

If you happen to like Dalmatians or cows, youll love learning how to use hatching lines to draw both the texture and pattern of spotted fur. This lesson is divided into the following five sections: INTRODUCTION: To capture spotted fur in a drawing, you define both the pattern and the texture. OUTLINING SPOTS OF DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES: You outline the shapes of some spots inside a rectangular drawing space. PLAYING WITH FURRY HATCHING LINES: You experiment with making different values of a fuzzy texture. The hatching lines are unevenly spaced and of many different lengths and thicknesses. ADDING TEXTURE TO SPOTTED FUR: The base (or background) of the spotted fur is drawn with mostly light values and the spots are rendered with dark values. CHALLENGE: You are challenged to draw spotted fur with two additional techniques. Suggested drawing supplies include good quality white paper, 2H, HB, 2B, and 4B pencils, erasers, and a pencil sharpener.

This lesson is recommended for artists and aspiring artists of all skill levels and ages, as well as home schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators.

6 PAGES 10 ILLUSTRATIONS
Published by Hoddinott Publishing, Halifax, NS, Canada 2003 (Revised 2006)

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INTRODUCTION
To capture spotted fur in a drawing, you use dark values for the spots and light values for the areas that are light. Values are the different shades of gray created when you draw by varying both the density of the shading lines, and the pressure used in holding various pencils. In addition to having a spotted pattern, spotted fur also has a fuzzy texture. Pattern refers to the different values on the surface of your subject as identified by your sense of sight. Texture is the surface detail of an object, as identified by your senses of touch and sight and defined in a drawing with various shading techniques. When you draw a patterned texture, you need to define both the pattern and the texture. Compare the two different textures on these two identical striped patterns. The texture of the pattern in the first drawing is definitely not fuzzy. However, thanks to the jagged hatching lines of various lengths and values, the second striped pattern looks furry. Hatching, a classical shading technique, is comprised of sets of lines drawn closely together to give the illusion of values. Hatching is a very fast and simple way to create both the texture and the pattern of fur.

Figures 1and 2: Comparing a smooth striped pattern with a fuzzy striped pattern

You can create different values with hatching by: Varying the density (placing lines either far apart or close together) of the individual hatching lines. Varying the pressure used in holding various pencils. Using different grades of pencils, from hard to soft, to help with the different values.

OUTLINING SPOTS OF DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES

In this section you draw the shapes of some spots inside a rectangular drawing space. A drawing space (sometimes called a drawing format) refers to the area of a drawing surface within a specific perimeter, outlined by a shape of any size, such as a square, rectangle or circle. You dont need to have your spots looking the same as mine. Use your imagination and make them any shapes you like. Just keep the shapes fairly simple!
Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com

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1)

Use a ruler to draw a rectangle (a drawing space) in which to draw your spotted fur. Suggested sizes include 3.5 by 6 inches, or 5 by 7 inches.

2)

Draw a large spot of any shape in the right half of your drawing space.

3)

Draw a large partial spot on the far left.

4)

Add two more partial spots - one in the upper left and the other in the lower right corner.

5)

Sketch a couple of smaller spots in the lower left section.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com

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PLAYING WITH FURRY HATCHING LINES

In this section you experiment with making different values of a fuzzy texture. 6) On some scrap paper, practice drawing some raggedy, uneven hatching lines of various lengths to represent fur. Continue practicing the texture of fur with hatching until you can make four different values. Use a 2H for the lightest value, an HB for the next value, a 2B for the medium value, and a 4B for the darkest value.

7)

ADDING TEXTURE TO SPOTTED FUR

The base (or background) of spotted fur is drawn with mostly light values and the spots are dark. Examine this close-up view of spotted fur and consider the following helpful hints for drawing a realistic fur texture: Some hatching lines extend beyond the outlines of the shapes of the spots, to create a jagged, natural looking fur texture. The hatching lines are unevenly spaced and of many different lengths and thicknesses. The light values of the background are shaded first so the dark spots can easily be added over the lighter shading. 8) Use your kneaded eraser and gently pat the lines outlining the spots, so as to lighten them in preparation for shading.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com

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9)

Draw a bunch of hatching lines of different lengths in all the areas without spots. Assuming a light source is shining from the left, graduate the values from light (2H and HB) on the left to medium (2B) on the right. Fur tends to be a little darker the farther away it is from the light. Graduated shading is a continuous progression of values from dark to light or from light to dark. If you have no experience with graduated shading, refer to lesson F-04 Graduated Values in the beginner section before you continue. Light source refers to the direction from which a dominant light originates. The placement of this light source affects every aspect of a drawing. The light source tells you where to draw all the light values and shadows.

10) Use medium (2B) and dark (4B) hatching lines to graduate the shading of the spots from medium (on the left) to dark on the right.

CHALLENGE
In this lesson you drew the background before the spots. However, you can draw spotted fur by shading either the background or the spots first. You can also draw the background and spots at the same time. For extra practice try each of the following: Draw a section of spotted fur by shading the dark spots first, and then the light background. Draw another section of spotted fur by drawing both background and spots at the same time. Draw an animal or cartoon with spotted fur by using whichever method you prefer.
Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com

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Brenda Hoddinott
As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, cont crayon, and oil paints. My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable.
>Brenda Hoddinott<

BIOGRAPHY Born in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted Learn to Draw books. During Brendas twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brendas skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from Forensic Artists International. Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes. As supervisor of her communitys recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several childrens art programs. In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites. Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world. LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS Drawing for Dummies: Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally. The Complete Idiots Guide to Drawing People: Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com