Drawing Supplies For This Tutorial:
HB & 2B pencils, tissue, tortillon/stump, kneaded eraser, white eraser, clickable eraser.
Drawing the Outline
Step 1: Take a 2H or HB pencil and draw the outline above. Make sure the pencil marks are not too dark. If lines get too dark, you can use a kneaded eraser to help lighten them up more. As you draw, notice how things line up with each other. For example, the front paws extend out greater than the squirrel’s nose, The left ear lines up with the right side of the eye, the left leg lines up with the left side of the eye etc.
Shading The Background
Step 2: I always enjoy shading backgrounds and especially adding textures. In this step, you will shade the background using a 2B pencil. As you shade around the squirrel, make sure you are not poking into the front of it, but as you approach the squirrel, it’s ok to shade or blend in it, as we will be adding hairs that will overlap into the background.
Step 3: After shading the background, blend it with a stump/tortillon or a tissue. Note that tissue will lighten up the shading, so use either a stump or tortillon if you want to achieve a darker shade.
Step 4: Take a kneaded eraser once the background is blended and gently press down randomly on the shading. This will add lightened areas throughout and create a cool texture.
Shading the Tree Branch
Step 5: Now, work on the tree branch. Using an HB pencil, draw some lines and fill shaded areas. I am trying to create a texture on the branch, so adding these lines are important for the final look.
Step 6: In this step, shade the branch by leaving some lighter areas. If you haven’t left any light areas, this is ok as you can remove them later with a kneaded eraser.
Blending the Tree Branch
Step 7: Take a tortillon or stump and blend the lines and shading previously added to the tree branch. You can always go back to add more shading or add highlights with a kneaded eraser.
Step 8: You will notice that the background is a bit lighter too. I wanted the squirrel to be my center focus and not blend too much into the background, so I decided to lighten it up more by using a kneaded eraser. Use the same principles as the previous steps.
Creating Fur
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Step 9: Now, begin drawing the squirrel. I will first shade in the eye using a 2B pencil. There will be a pupil in the eye, so I will add one with the bottom highlights slightly overlapping the top of it. I will make it barely noticeable as the eye is very dark. Once you have shaded the pupil and iris, blend it with either a stump or tortillon.
Step 10: Using an HB pencil and small strokes, add the fur to the squirrel’s ears. Note that darker areas will contain more strokes to fill the area in more. If you want to achieve lighter fur areas, add less condensed strokes.
Step 11: Notice the direction of the fur. Again, using short strokes, form the fur on the squirrel’s head and body, as shown. Keep aware of the direction of the fur. You want to draw short strokes because squirrels have short hairs. The front paws will also be formed at this stage.
Creating Fur Continued
Step 12: Next, shade the area on the squirrel’s tummy with an HB pencil a bit lighter and then blend with a tissue. This will help to soften it. Now take a clickable and gently add some strokes, creating highlighted fur.
Step 13: Using an HB pencil, form the squirrel’s toes and claws by adding lines between them and lightly shading them. Darken the nails, so they stand out from the rest.
Step 14: Shade it over using an HB pencil before adding long fur strokes to the tail. You don’t want to shade too dark but enough to add a base layer. Next, using the same HB pencil, stroke long hair strokes and notice the direction of the fur.
Drawing the Tail & Final Touch-ups
Step 15: Focusing on the squirrel’s tail, you want to build up the shading first before adding any highlighted strokes. Notice how the area closest to the body is the darkest.
Step 16: You don’t want to see the pencil outlines of how you had drawn the tail, so make sure you can’t see any. You may need to go back and forth at building up the tail with your pencil and clickable eraser. The highlighted fur will extend into the background. When stroking these highlights, be sure to lift your hand as you end it. This will help to taper and fade out the edges. You do not want to draw a blunt edge that stops abruptly.
Step 17: Add any changes to the shading or highlights in this final stage. Notice how the front paws are shaded with added highlights. Using the clickable eraser, stroke some short fine hairs extending into the background on the squirrel’s tummy. Some are added on the right side as they extend onto the darker fur.
Step 18: You can add more texture to the wood branch as needed and finish any final touch-ups.
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