Structure & Anatomy for Drawing Dogs
Sakari William
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Overview
When it comes to drawing, it isn't something I do often in my free time. I doodle or sketch occasionally if I am bored, however I was never really good at it. I don't consider myself an artist or anything like that. So why did I do my subject on drawing? I did it because I want to see what I could be capable of. My drawings usually consist of people from numerous television shows that I enjoy watching but I could never grasp drawing animals. In this case, dogs. I feel that if I put forth enough time and effort into my drawings, I can do well. Therefore if I spend time on learning techniques for drawing dogs, then I may be able to do things I didn't think was possible before.
I used to have two dogs, their names being Pudge and Sisu. I still have Sisu, but unfortunately Pudge passed away the December of 2014. Pudge was a mixed dog who we believed was an australian cattle dog mixed with a pointer. We are still unsure, but we do know Sisu is a purebred Samoyed. I have grown up with Pudge since the age of 5 when we first got her and she holds a special place in my heart as she made everyday life significant. I figured it'd be great to get to know how to draw dogs so I am able to pursue my interest in drawing along with re-imagining my dogs in an artistic platform.
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Basic Structure
To start off, I have been practicing the basic structure and anatomy of a dog's face. What I have covered is the nose, ears, muzzle, and facial structure. Dogs come in many different shapes and sizes but I am focusing on what resembles Pudge.
The muzzle is one of the most important attributes of a dog. "Getting the shape and proportion of the muzzle correct is a key part of drawing any dog breed" (Amberlyn 13) Pudge's muzzle is relatively long so that was the direction I was going for while practicing a dog's head. I did a step by step drawing of a sample dog face that was similar to Pudge's.
You start off with a circle for the dog's head and gradually utilize other shapes to structure the head. What is typical used for dogs with long muzzles is a cone shape with triangular ears for dogs whose ears flap down. The same kind of shape is used for dogs who have upright ears, but given the term "upright" you simply draw these triangular shapes in an upward position. With flappy ears, you draw the triangular downwards with a fold in the middle to provide further detail.
I have also practiced drawing the muzzle from a different angle so I can have examples on how to draw muzzles from different perspectives. The nose has almost an oval like shape but almost resembles an upside down trapezoid.
The utilization of shading resembles the dog's color and fur pattern. It can also indicate shadows and darkness depending on what kind of dog you are drawing. Most of the nose is shaded with glimpses of white to add the effect of moisture. "Add a somewhat mushroom-shaped nose pad and then fill in more details, leaving a white band on the surface to indicate the shininess caused by moisure." (Amberlyn 14)
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This was just some insight onto one of the main components of a dog's facial structure and will be more in-depth in the future as this was a beginning process. Now here is my question,
Would you take up the challenge of doing something you haven't done before?
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