For this project we will be concentrating on producing a portrait of a giraffe’s head and neck.
To draw the whole body would mean using a very large piece of card if you wanted your portrait to be full of detail!
The subject of this project: a photograph of a giraffe
Black & white or colour
Although this portrait will be produced in black and white I would strongly recommend that you always work from a colour image to produce your graphite portrait.
Working from a black and white image will give you an idea of tonal values, but you could miss important changes in tone within the eyes or coat colour.
Working from both black and white and colour images will give you a comprehensive view and will visually help answer all the questions that will arise as you work.
The same image in black and white will help you reproduce tonal values more accurately
There are several methods to help you transfer the image to your card. The most obvious – and difficult! – is drawing your subject freehand.
Although it is time consuming, this method has to be the most satisfying way of completing the outline.
The basic technique is to create a rough structure using construction lines, add comparison measurements to build the outline, and finally sharpen up your drawing.
How to draw freehand
It will obviously aid your freehand drawing if you are naturally aware of proportion and perspective, but if we use a method that involves measuring, it will help you create a balanced outline.
Key points for drawing
- Before putting pencil to paper, have the right size piece of card to draw your outline on. I suggest that you use an A3 size to give you enough room to create your drawing.
- Do not be distracted by details when creating the outline. There is nothing worse than creating perfect ears and eyes then discovering they are too far apart and having to erase them.
- Study your reference picture and decide realistically where to make your first pencil mark on the card, taking into account where the nose will start and leaving enough room for the neck.
- Keep your pencil marks very light so they are easy to rub out. The best pencil to sketch with is 2H, but only if you are not heavy handed, as this grade of pencil can leave indentations you cannot erase if you press too hard.
- Rest your hand on a piece of rough paper throughout, to prevent smudgy marks appearing on your card.
- Always start at the highest point of the subject, which in this case is the giraffe’s horns.
How to make construction lines
1. Using the pencil as a straight edge I place it along the angle on the front of the giraffe’s face. Then, keeping my hand in the same position I transfer the angle to the card and sketch a line to match.
2. I use the same technique to copy the angle from the underside of the neck then transfer the information to the card.
3. This shows the rough construction lines a few stages on. I have now worked around the giraffe’s whole head, transferring as many angles as necessary to create a basic block sketch.
There will be a certain amount of guesswork involved in placing your construction lines so that they create the basic shape.
Just keep practising and, as long as you keep your pencil marks light, you can always erase mistakes.
Making measurements
You must make the correct measurements to ensure the giraffe has the right size head and that all details are in the correct place.
The outline of the giraffe in pen (below) gives you a rough idea of the elements that I used to measure against one another.
There are many details in the giraffe’s head that are the same length or width. This information will help you to compare against other sections of your drawing.
For instance, I used my finger and thumb to span the length of the giraffe’s left horn (a) and this measurement in turn gave me the depth of his left ear (b). The same horn depth (a) also gave me an idea of the distance between the eyes (c). Another comparison was using the distance from the tip of the right ear to the outer tip of the mouth (d). This gave me the depth between the chin and neck(e).
I also added some of the spots to ensure that the giraffe’s eyes and ears were in the correct place and that I made the neck wide enough.
As long as the spots fall in the correct places and are the right distance between one another, I was happy!
How to measure the elements of a giraffe’s head accurately
The final outline
When you have finished measuring and firming up the details, take a coffee break. You will come back to your outline fresh and more likely to spot errors. Once you have decided you are ready for the next stage, erase all construction lines and, if necessary, gently go over the outline again with the 2H pencil. A visible outline around your finished portrait, however, will spoil the end product once completed.
For more top advice on how to draw animals, see Lucy's best-selling book, Drawing Animals
This demonstration first featured in the February 2013 issue of Leisure Painter
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