Hippotherapy - Any tips on how to draw horses from a picture?

Any tips on how to draw horses from a picture?

I already know practice makes perfect, and I'm working hard at that right now. I have this big book of photographs of horses right now, and I draw from that. I'm okay at drawing realistic horses but I want to get better. Any rubbing or different mediums of supplies would really be helpful. (Right now I only use a number 2 pencil and colored pencils.)

Public Comments

Trace.
Try turning on a radio for them or putting a TV in their stall!
A good way to learn to draw from a picture without tracing is to make grids. Divide up your picture into quadrants and then divide your paper up into those same quadrants. It'll help you place things and get the proportions right. Also, try out some different pencils...there are drawing pencils that come in different hardness and mark darker and lighter accordingly. Make sure you get a good white eraser. Try experimenting with charcoal and get a kneadable eraser and a stump to help with shading. Good luck!
Rule one. Stay away from stumps. These are like rolled up paper in the form of a pencil that are supposed to help you blend lead. Although it may help with blending you risk being able to touch that area up again with a pencil because while you blend (smear) the lead it simultaneously "irons down" the lead onto the paper. This causes a smoother (shiny-compressed) area than you original started with. If you decide to add lead to that area again it will not have the same texture. Ofcourse this depends on how much you depend on the stump. In my opinion Q-tips (if you don't want to use your finger) leave a better workable surface for professional pencils. As for the different grades of pencil. A regular #2 pencil never reaches the desireable black. It is too hard of a pencil which also leaves a shiny finish on its darkened surface. I would suggest getting some pro-grade pencils at your local art-supply store. Staples also has some good pencils. Staedler is a very good make. I have an 8B which is like a charcoal pencil. 6B is more of a soft lead pencil not necessarily used for lines but rather for shaded areas for real depth. 6H is a very hard and very light tone lead pencil. I rarely use it. It's so hard that it may damage the surface you're working on and may leave indentation on the paper if you're not careful. Use H pencils very sofly. Do not H pencils for shading or blending. Trying to shade over it with a B pencil will leave undesirable results. I commonly use 6B 4B 2B 2H and 4H. I sketch lightly with a dull 2H. then I shade in from darkest (6B) to lightest (2B). On very rare occasions I shade with a 2H or 4H when working with portraits for skin tone of eye and lip features. As for color pencils don't use "dollar store" pencils or crayola colored pencils. These pencils are unstable and never give a consistant result. Prismacolor is a good brand. It's moderately priced. There are better quality pencils but they are "much" more expensive. I buy prismacolors for $1-$2 each pencil. I also use a color blender. It's designed like a color pencil but it actually drags the colors over each other at the seams. This is better that coloring over another color to achieve a blend. As for the drawing of horses. I havent seen your work, but it seems that you already can draw horses. I would suggest getting a book on anatomy for horses. When I say anatomy I'm referring to the skeleton as well as the muscle. Also it may help to get a wooden horseUnderstanding the anatomy of a horse allows you to understand what is physically impossible for a horse. Also once you learn a horses anatomy there;s no second guessing which muscle your drawing which in turn helps you with making sure you have the correct perspective proportions of the horse. Check out http://drawsketch.about.com/od/learntodrawhorses/Learn_to_Draw_Horses.htm for some lessons on drawing a horse. Consider also drawing different types of horses. Arabian Horses and Wild Stallions are excellent for drawing because they have a better muscle definition. Good Luck
- Xerox the picture you want to draw - use a graphite stick and "color" the back of the Xerox completely -lay the graphite side down against the drawing paper - now trace the xerox photo (this will transfer the image to your drawing paper. You know what to do from there! Oh, and i would use an HB pencile. And try shading without using a blending stump or your fingers.