Drawing a deer and about the use of pencils

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Hello.

Yesterday I started some new guides about drawing animals in Alesky Arte, specifically deer. It is the first animal (not human) I draw (besides of the Monokuma I did here, and at the beginning I was a bit worried and I didn’t know how to start, but I’m satisfied with the result. Here is my process:

First, I start with the basic construction with geometrical figures, and I improvised a bit with the animal’s body, procuring that the stroke was soft even if it’s not well defined. For me this is a sketch.

Then I used my kneaded eraser (or putty rubber) to clear and erase the previous lines so I can make soft lines that define better the shape, muscles and other aspects of the deer, even if the line was not too well defined. For me this is my draft.

In the end, I use my kneaded eraser again to clear and erase the draft and draw over it the final work, with shadows, patterns and details, with a more solid and defined line.

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Final result

There you can compare the reference drawing with my final work, with the kneaded eraser (the little gray cube, that is a like clay that is use for cleaning the work, for the ones who don’t know) and my pencil. The guide is courtesy of Alesky Arte, and the reference deer is 4 cm (1.57 in) wide, my deer is 10 cm (3.94 in) wide.

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Use of pencils

Something I’ve not mentioned before, that I would like to do now, is how I work with pencils.

Depending on the complexity of the work, sometimes I can make 2 drafts, draft 1 and draft 2, before the final work.

The sketch and the draft are made with a 4B pencil, as suggestion from my professor, and the final result with a 2B pencil. The 4B is much darker than the 2B, and it trains my pulse (thing that has been hard to do) to not press too much and harm the stroke and the paper, but to draw the lighter possible. Then with the 2B I can achieve darker tones, not by pressing more but passing the pencil one time and another to make it darker.

For the final line, or defined line, to be polish, and not hairy, the strokes must be the longer as possible, always in the same direction and not backwards, so if I have to go through several times for a stroke, I do it the first time, I raise up the pencil from the paper and place it at the beginning of the section and I go through it again.

Also, there are two pencil position that can help to work better.

In this position, I rest the pencil over my middle finger, I grab it with my thumb and I give it direction with my index finger, the middle finger is farther from the pencil tip than the other two. It was hard to me to adapt to this position at the beginning, but it is too hard to press the pencil against the paper with it, so it is comfortable to make soft strokes. I use it for my sketches and drafts.

This position is the usual, and the one I use for writing. I hold the pencil with my index finger and thumb and I rest the pencil on my middle finger, the middle finger is closer to the pencil tip that the other two. This position helps a tighter grab, so it permits to have a better pulse and precision, useful for details and uniform lines. When I draw I have a softer grab than when I write (in fact, when I write I rest the pencil in my annular finger too, together with the middle finger, to make it tighter).

It is important to note that the closer to the pencil tip we grab the pencil, we tend to press more the pencil against the paper, and the farther, to press the less. The idea is to feel more comfortable as possible but tending to press the pencil just the necessary and no more, because it harms the paper, the stroke and the it’s harder to erase.

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I hope you like it! I’m always open to critics, suggestions and comments, so don’t hesitate to comment.

GC6