Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
FOUR
Kittens
Kittens are among my favorite subjects to draw, which is a little odd since I
am extremely allergic to them! Maybe my pencil strokes can make up for not
being able to stroke them with my hand. There are many different feline
types, although the differences among breeds are not as extreme as they are
in the dog family. When drawing kittens, it is essential to have some dirty
tortillions on hand, especially for adding tone to the white areas without
having to draw pencil lines there first.
For the kitten drawing at left, I used some reference photos given to me by
the Lakeland Animal Shelter in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. At certain times of year,
animal shelters have a great influx of kittens that need homes, so they often
post photos of them to draw in potential owners. I photographed the pink
zinnias in my own garden. Feel free to combine several different reference
sources when you are creating your compositions, as very rarely will you
have a single photo that contains everything you might need.
To begin the drawing, I filled in the first layer of colors using medium blue
and green pastels for the sky and grass, applying them with sponge applicat-
ors, and a medium brown pastel for the ground and the brown patches on
the foreground kitten. For the ginger kitten I used raw sienna pastel. Ma-
genta and green colored pencils were used for the flowers and leaves, and a
turquoise blue pencil for the flower pot.
Next, I began adding details. I used various greens and yellow ochre to
add grass and leaves, and dark brown, yellow ochre and olive green for the
ground. For the kittens I used dark brown and golden brown colored pencils
to add fur, and filled in their eyes with olive green with touches of blue.
Pupils were added with black colored pencil, and highlights with small dots
of Titanium White watercolor and a small brush. A few light hairs were
scratched out with a craft knife. The flowers centers were drawn with golden
brown, with dark brown details, and the flower petals were detailed with
magenta and alizarin crimson pencils. I shaded the flower pot with cobalt
blue and dark gray.
