The outline

First you will need to draw the outline of the puppy.

This is best drawn with a white pastel pencil, and you can use the grid method to do this, trace it from the reference photograph or draw it freehand.

Start by adding a layer of white over the background using your pencil on its side and at a continuous angle, to prevent any hard lines building up. This will make it easier to blend into the surface. Do this with one finger, working in circular movements.

Sharpen the white pencil again and add the light sections of the wood fence.

Next, use cream as a basecoat to the areas that are light green in colour or light yellow.

Blend in the same way as before.

Select ivory and add this to the light section behind the puppy’s left ear.

1. Using May green, go back over the cream areas but leave the light yellow sections to show through. Add May green to all the areas that will be dark green eventually.

2. Blend in again in the same way to combine the colours.

3. Go back over the light yellow areas with cream or ivory where you used the colours before.

4. Update the white where needed too.

1. Select olive green yellowish and gently add this colour where you can see the dark green, out-of-focus sections.

I deliberately chose a darker green than in the photograph, as I feel this pastel colour is a more natural colour green.

2. Update any other colours previously used if you feel it is needed but be careful, as this is a small area and there is already a lot of pastel on the surface.

3. Blend where needed to bring the background colours together.

The puppy’s fur

Before you begin to work on the puppy you need to clean up your outline.

1. Use the putty rubber to pick off excess green pastel within the image area and update your outline with a sharp white pastel pencil, if it has become smudged.

2. Begin by adding all white highlights you can see on the black fur with white.

3. Ensure the tip is sharp, and stroke the highlights onto the coat as white hairs, ensuring you follow the reference picture for hair direction. You want to ensure the fur direction is correct from the start, as you are going to build on this layer later.

4. Don’t forget to add white around the eyes, and on the ears and paws.

Next, use sharp ivory to add a basecoat of ivory hairs to all the tan areas of the puppy’s fur.

Keep checking the hair direction and hair length as you work, as the length changes depending on where you are shading the puppy. Getting this and the hair direction correct from the start will help you create a lovely, realistic painting.

Now, you need to go back over all the tan areas of fur with dark chrome yellow. Be sparing with this colour in the darker areas and only be more liberal with it where you can see the fur is more obviously yellow.

Sharpen dark chrome yellow and stroke in all the orange hairs in the puppy’s fur all over the face and paws.

Remember to check the hair direction and moderate your strokes from long to short where the fur changed length.

Add a little of the dark chrome yellow to the chin.

Now, go back over all the bright sections of fur that appear to be pale yellow with a sharp ivory. This colour will help make these light areas of fur stand out more and will help pull together the colours already added.

Next, sharpen burnt ochre and go back over the fur where you can see this red-brown colour.

Don’t cover the light fur you have already updated, just work between these hairs with care, not forgetting to add a little of this burnt ochre to the paws, ears, and chin.

The eyes

Begin by outlining the eyelids with white.

Go back over the same areas with coral and use in the inner corners of the eyes.

1. Go back over the eyelids again with a sharp caput mortuum and use it to darken where needed in the inner corners of the eyes.

2. Next, use coral again in the inner corners of the eyes to brighten them up.

3. Update the highlights in the pupils with a sharp white and add light ultramarine for the blue reflections.

1. Use a small amount of ivory all over the irises now, shading from the edge of the pupil out towards the outer edges of the irises.

2. Add Naples yellow softly to the irises over the ivory, shading as you did before.

3. Sharpen the dark chrome yellow and use this to give the irises an orange tinge.

1. Darken the irises further using a sharp burnt ochre but make sure to keep the bottom sections of the eyes lighter.

2. Add more ivory to highlight these lighter sections then go back over the darker areas of the eyes with more burnt ochre, if needed.

3. Take the burnt ochre just into the light sections to help blend the colours together, so it is indistinguishable where one colour ends and the other begins.

1. Continue to add more colour to the dark areas of the irises with a sharp India red, overlapping the lighter areas slightly to blend the red in a little as you did before.

2. This time update the light sections of the eyes with Naples yellow, shading from the bottom of the irises up towards the pupils.

1. Use dark sepia to outline the eyes and roughly fill in the pupils.

2. Sharpen black and go back over the pupils and the outlines of the eyes to darken them further.

3. Update the highlights within the pupils using white and light ultramarine.

4. Look at the irises and decide if you need to add more of any of the previous colours you used.

The nose

Start by using coral to add an undercoat to the nose using a scribble technique of shading.

Leave a small number of white spots showing at the top of the nose where it is catching the light.

Go back over the nose again this time with caput mortuum using the same method of shading, leaving a little white as before.

Darken the nostrils with this colour.

Sharpen dark sepia and go back over the nose to darken further, darken the nostrils and be heavier with the pencil pressure too, where the nose is darkest in the shadows.

Finally, use black to make the dark areas very dark and update the white highlights with white.

Make sure the pencil tip is sharp so you can really see this detail.

The foreground

1. Start by using ivory to create texture on the wooden panel that the puppy is leaning on.

2. Add white for the highlights. Use white to go over the outline of the puppy’s claws if you are worried about losing them.

3. Sharpen the dark chrome yellow to add more colour and use a cross-hatching texture to the wood where you can see yellow markings.

1. Use dark chrome yellow to add the orange layer you can see in the wood. Keep shading using long and short little lines and cross- hatching, to build on the texture.

2. Darken what you have done so far with burnt ochre in the same way. Use this colour mainly where you can see the puppy casting a shadow on the wood.

Next, add cold grey IV where you can see the grey coloured flecks and lines in the wood.

You can use this pencil with a sharp point to outline the claws again so you can see them better, to prevent shading over them.

Go back over all the dark areas and markings now with dark sepia.

Back to the fur

1. You’re going to return to the fur again now to add the red tones with India red. Keep the pencil tip sharp and add short strokes of this pencil gently, as it is a strong colour.

2. Make sure you are checking the reference frequently for fur direction. Before you add brown, you need to go back over the fur to top up the fur with dark chrome yellow.

3. Just before you begin to add the darks, that lovely sensitive area of skin beneath the nose needs completing. Start by adding texture with beige red, using the scribble technique.

4. Add a little coral then create raised dots of skin, by darkening in places with caput mortuum. Make the raised dots stand out more with some white.

1. Sharpen bistre and begin to add this brown to all the areas you can see it within the tan fur. You can also use this to mark out where the almost black hairs are in the face and paws. Always keep the pencil sharp so you maintain fine detail and note how short the hairs are especially on the muzzle.

2. Update sections within the fur if needed with more dark chrome yellow and Naples yellow.

1. Before applying the black fur, add an undercoat.

Use light ultramarine and, starting at the top of the head, work down, making sure you check the reference image frequently for the correct fur direction.

If you watch the video for this step, you will see how I turn my pencils as I work, to mirror the hair direction as per the photograph. Take your time with this step so you don’t go over the edges of your outline.

Don’t take the blue into the tan fur, just stop when you reach it.

2. When you have covered where all the black fur will be, pat with one finger to blend it in. Again, you can see how I do this in the corresponding video for this step.

3. Before you move on to add the black, sharpen dark sepia and use it to outline the puppy. This will help you stay within the outline when you are shading with the black.

You are ready to add the black over the blue layer.

Don’t worry about losing the white highlights as you will be putting them back in on top of the black. It may seem pointless that you added the white highlights at the start, but it really helps build up the three-dimensional image of your subject in your head, and it will be easier adding them back in as you will be much more aware of where they are.

You will need two layers of black pastel. It is essential that you have a solid black before you add the detailed white highlights; if you don’t, the white will not show to the best effect.

When you have added the second layer of black, pat to blend in.

You should not be able to see any of the surface card through the black pastel when you have finished.

1. Sharpen the walnut brown and add all the dark brown hairs in the puppy’s muzzle, cheeks, and paws.

2. Complete the claws as you work, filling them in with dark sepia and then adding the highlights to make them three dimensional with white.

3. Go back over the tan fur again if needed with a little burnt ochre.

4. Start to add the very dark, almost black hairs within the tan areas using a sharp dark sepia.

5. Add some to the shadows where the puppy’s cheeks are resting on his paws, also either side of the chin, in the tan brows and in the ears.

It’s time for the best bit, where your puppy really comes alive!

Sharpen white and star to add short strokes for the white highlighted hairs, starting at the top of his head. Follow the hair direction and fur length as you have before by checking the reference regularly. You must always keep the pencil tip sharp, to ensure this layer is truly effective.

Leave the main solid sections of black untouched, apart from adding a few random hairs here and there to link the areas.

Finishing touches

1. For the final details, firstly sharpen walnut brown and go over the black fur with this where you can see a dark brown tinge. Do not blend.

2. Move down to the chin and add beige red using the scribble method to create the little raised bumps on the skin. Outline these so they appear raised with caput mortuum. Use white on the bumps to highlight a few and sharpen the pencil again before adding the tiny little hairs on the lips and chin.

3. Use black to top up the dark shadows under the chin, paws and between the cheeks and paws where the puppy is resting his head. Go back over the paws using dark sepia, walnut brown, India red and black, alternately to darken the fur.

4. Outline the claws with a sharp black and top up the white highlights on them with white.

5. Sharpen and update any white you can see in the fur, paws, and top up the white reflections in both pupils. Sharpen the tip and add more white whiskers.

6. Now use dark chrome yellow and burnt ochre and go back over any fur you can see more of these colours.

7. To finish, join up the black mask on the puppy’s face with the cheek fur by dragging black hairs into them – make sure the black is sharp.

8. Go back over the pupils with the black and top up any dark markings on the muzzle too.

9. Finally, sharpen the black again and add all the whiskers you can see in the brows, cheeks, and muzzle.

The rottweiler puppy portrait is now complete; I hope you enjoyed capturing this portrait with me.

NOW USE YOUR PASTEL PENCILS TO DRAW A BARN OWL WITH LUCY

Videos

For even more advice, videos demonstrating each of the steps illustrated here can be found on Lucy's website by

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