Char Reed - Cartoon Animal Friends: How to Draw Dogs, Cats and Other Pets

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A special dedication to my inspiration, my little hedgehog buddy, Brambleburr, who didnt make it to the end of this book project with me, but lived a long hedgehog life. I miss you, you little grumpy lumpkin!

Ive had a lot of pets in my life and a lot of them were in my life for a long time. Im sad to say my dog from high school is no longer with us anymore, but Im glad to have had her in my life as long as I did. Sierry, you were one crazy, neurotic, smart, silly, treat-loving pup. I cant believe you are gone. I love you and I really, really miss you.

How much do we love our pets? We spend millions of dollars on them, buying everything from Halloween costumes to treats to fancy collars. We love them quite a lot! One of the many ways we show our love is through art. The many types of pet art span from ancient cave paintings from the dawn of time to masterful works by Renaissance painters to the early scribbles children make of their pets. Many styles abound, from the cartoony to the realistic. This book will show you how to blend these two styles in order to achieve something totally unique for your own cartoon animal friend!

People have always felt the need to create and have always found a way to do so. From berry juice on cave walls to advanced digital technology, if there is a way to be creative, people will find it.

When starting a new artwork, the most important thing isnt deciding what to draw with but just to start drawing. You will find your favorite mediumwhether pencil, ink or colorin time, but the skills needed to create a successful piece stem from a good foundation and understanding of form and technique.

Most people start their artistic careers as children with a piece of paper and a crayon. Nothing is stopping you from continuing with that tradition! However, you may want to upgrade to more sophisticated tools in order to get more details in your artwork.

Traditional tools are commonly separated into two main categories of wet and dry media. Dry media includes pencils, charcoal, chalk and pastels. The most common and readily available tool is the pencil. Its extremely versatile and erasable, allowing for mistakes. Colored pencils allow for color to be added. Charcoal can be messy, but it is fun to use with a blender, such as a tortillon or a kneaded eraser. Pastels are similar to charcoal, but they come in a variety of colors.

Wet media includes inks as well as acrylic, watercolor and oil paints. They require a brush or special pen to employ them. Paints can be used on paper, but most types of paper will buckle when wet media is applied. Its best to use specialty paper or canvases suited to wet mediums.

There are many techniques to be had within the realm of traditional media, and many books have been written about each technique! Here is a sampling of the techniques you can use to make your art.

Stippling is a technique where you place small dots next to each other, either closer together or farther apart to create the effect of shading. Some people place dots randomly, whereas others take a uniform approach and add dots in groups of two, three, four or more.

Hatching is where you create parallel lines of varying thicknesses, spaced either close together or far apart. Crosshatching is when you place lines over hatched lines in another direction. This is a great way to add texture to a piece.

A tortillon is a small paper stump that allows you to blend graphite and charcoal without using your fingers. Your fingers can be used, but they will leave oils on the artwork, which will degrade the piece over time. The tortillon can blend for you. You can easily create a tortillon by tightly rolling up a paper towel and then placing a piece of tape around it.

Inking can be done many ways, but one of the most popular is with a pen. India ink is a dark pigmented ink, and by using a specialized pen, you can create a lot of the dry media techniques, as well as intricate line work.

Acrylic painting has become increasingly popular because it is versatile and doesnt require the extra materials oil painting requires. You can add water to acrylic and create a watercolor-blending effect, or you can apply the paint thickly and blend colors together right on the canvas.