This is a recent colored pencil portrait I completed of a little Shorkie named Oli. He is a cross between a Shih Tzu and a Yorkshire Terrier. Shorkies also go by the name Shorkie Tzu.
Oli the Shorkie
He is a lively little fellow who would play ball all day if he could, so it's only appropriate that he should be holding a ball in his portrait.
I completed the pet portrait using Derwent Coloursoft Pencils and Prismacolor colored pencils. I applied acrylic paint with a small brush for a few of the highlighted hairs.
Feel free to contact me, if you would like information on a custom pet portrait from your own favorite pet photo.
I completed this Shiba Inu portrait with Prismacolor colored pencils. It is 8X10 on Arches, 140 lb., hot-pressed, 100% cotton paper. The true-life colors in the portrait are slightly lighter than the computer shows and the background has is more of a sky blue.
The background for the pet portrait has layers of sienna brown, sky blue light, blue slate and true blue blended with a stiff pencil brush. I used both circular strokes and cross-hatching.
The fur has layers of cream, jasmine, yellow ochre, goldenrod, sand, burnt ochre, terra cotta, clay rose and white. I lost count of the number of layers I put down on the paper. It's got to be at least twenty.
For the dog's nose, I used indigo blue, dark umber, cool grey 90%, black grape and black for the darkest areas.
I began the brown eyes with a layer of jasmine, then added burnt umber, sepia, cool grey 90%, canary yellow and white.
This is a colored pencil portrait of my grandson, Sam. The picture was taken on his first birthday and I thought it would be a wonderful keepsake of that special day.
The portrait painting is 9X12, created on Canson heavyweight drawing paper. I used Prismacolor colored pencils for most of the portrait with a few Derwent coloursofts.
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This is an 8X10 portrait of my daughter's Great Dane, Odin. He is 160 pounds now, at least the last time I checked. His weight goes up daily it seems. The reference photo I used to draw the portrait was taken when he was about 10 weeks old. I gave the finished puppy portrait of Odin to my daughter as a birthday present.
When I began working on the background, I decided to try oil pastels, rather than colored pencils. I wanted to keep the background light, so the pastels worked out well for that. They were also a lot quicker than doing the whole background with colored pencils.
I completed the background after drawing in the rough sketch of the dog, then began with Odin's eye. I used a combination of colors including: jasmine, goldenrod, yellow ochre, burnt ochre, dark umber, indigo and shades of gray. I darkened the rim of Odin's eye with indigo, sepia, dark umber and terra cotta.
The fur on the dog's head and back took many layers of colors. I layered cream, jasmine, yellow ochre and goldenrod for the lighter fur. For shadows like the wrinkles ontop of his head and around the ear, I layered goldenrod, dark brown, tuscan red, burnt ochre, sienna brown and black grape. I also used peach for the area between his toes, as well as cream and white.
I had to make sure that the shadows and highlights remained visible to give shape to Odin's snout. I find black dogs or black areas difficult, so I really have to be aware of the shadows and highlights that are going on. To make the black areas in his snout have depth, I used many shades of gray, for instance French greys in various tones and cool greys. I also used layers of indigo, black grape, dark purple and lightly added black for more definition. These are the colors I used for the dog's nose, as well.
I applied four layers of workable fixative when I thought the portrait was done. After looking at it for awhile, I decided to add more layers of color overall to deepen the tones. Workable fixative is great because it allows you to make adjustments afterward. If I had used a permanent fixative, I would not have been able to add extra colors.
Take a look at the Step-by-Step slideshow that displays how I work with Prismacolor colored pencils and the color and fur progression.
Just finished this colored pencil painting of a tiger cub using Derwent artist’s pencils.The size is 9” X 12” on Canson heavyweight paper. A photograph displayed on WildlifeReferencePhotos.com, a site that offers free photographs for artistic use, inspired this tiger cub painting.
I lost track of how many layers of color I actually used for the picture but I would say, at least 15.For the eyes, I used different shades of green, yellow ochre, jasmine and white for highlights. The texture of the tiger’s fur is a combination of layered colors including yellow ochre, goldenrod, orange, various browns and yellows.I used indigo blue, green, terra cotta, deep gray and black for the stripes.
The tree trunk that the tiger cub is resting on includes ochres, olive green, various shades of brown and black.The sky is a wash of blues, greens, yellow ochre and white, which I left muted and blurry so that the tiger would be the main attraction.
Here is a step-by-step 9X12 portrait of a little girl and her dog. It was done using Prismacolor colored pencils on Canson heavyweight drawing paper.
I worked on an overall wash of indigo blue, leaving the lightest areas untouched. Next, I added dark umber to the grassy areas. Using an electric eraser, I erased blades of grass and filled them with apple green, canary yellow, and white. I used the same greens for the leaves and darkened areas with more indigo and tuscan red.
In this step, I began the dog. He is a newfoundland/saint bernard mix. I began with the eyes and nose because I find them to be the hardest to work on. Once they were done, I added fur direction to the face and body with indigo blue, dark green, and red. I think layering the colors to make black gives more depth to the fur.
Here, I began working on the little girl's eyes and mouth first. I also applied a light layer of peach to the shadows in the face and then a light layer of cream and light peach over everything but the hair. I left the highlights in the hair untouched and added a light layer of jasmine to the rest of the hair.
This is the completed portrait after applying many layers of color. I sprayed the finished painting with Lascaux fixative to preserve the colors.
