Drawn in Black » Animal

How to Draw a Horse Tutorial

Lee — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:22:35 +0000

This post is divided into two sections: first, the horse drawing tutorial that I have put together (immediately below); second, links out to other worthwhile tutorials on how to draw a horse.

How to Draw a Horse: the Drawn in Black Tutorial

Now let me start by saying that before this tutorial, I have never drawn a horse (that I can remember anyway). However, I know I can do better than most tutorials out there, so what I want to show you is how I would go about if I wanted to become an expert horse drawer (heh). This method would work well for me, and it might work well for you!

First, find a good picture of horse. If I want to draw a realistic horse, the best thing to do is actually look at a horse. If you don’t have one in your backyard, find an awesome picture online. Some clutch resources are Flickr Commons, Wikimedia Commons, and of course Google Images. We’re looking for pictures that are large in size, good resolution, and with proper contrast so they make nice print-outs. Here’s a picture I found via Google Images: a pretty badass wallpaper a wild horse on its hind legs.

Next, print out the picture. The first thing I did was crop it in Photoshop so that it would fill out the entire sheet, and then printed it out:

Now the first thing I want to do is explore the shapes of this horse. I’ll do that using my lightbox and a separate sheet of paper (don’t worry, this is NOT a tutorial on how to trace a horse). The lightbox I’m using is the Artograph Lighttracer Elite:

Then, trace the major shape masses of the horse. Put the horse printout on the lightbox, overlay it with a sheet of paper, and then find the large shapes that make up the horse:

What this gives you now is a general sense of the shape masses of the horse and the proportion they have to one another.

Next, freestyle an outline of the horse. The final drawing will not be traced, but by tracing, our hands and minds get acquainted with the horse so that when we freehand we already have a much better sense of how all the parts fit together.

Now that we’re more familiar with the horse, let’s go ahead an sketch it out freehand (remember, we’re NOT tracing this drawing!):

Freehand the horse outline. This was my first pass just getting the basic shapes of the horse down. Having traced the horse before, this is much easier to get down.

Find the shade shapes. After you have the basic outline of the horse on paper, it’s time to explore in more detail and putting the outlines of the various gray values down. I like to just go ahead and pencil in absolute black value shapes right away.

Finally, shade the horse. Here I’ve completed most of the shading using cross-hatching. Finally I cleaned it all up a bit and darkened the outline so it would pop a bit more:

Overall, I worked fairly quickly, so there’s obviously a lot of room for improvement. I wasn’t particularly loose, so the horse actually looks stiff. You’ll also notice that the neck and head are a bit shrunken and that the tail could look a bit more like hair.

But if you want to learn how to draw a horse, this is how I would go about it. Hopefully this little how to will be of benefit to you, definitely let me know in the comments what you think.

For more horse madness, here are additional horse tutorials worth your time.

“Making work makes me want to make more work” – Interview with Henry St.Leger (aka Sainty WHAT)

Lee — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:07:44 +0000

"Chameleon Tree King" by Henry St.Leger

What’s your name?

Henry St.Leger

Where did you grow up?

A town called Bridport in Dorset

Where do you live now?

Bristol

How old are you?

What is your educational background? What, if anything, did you study?

I have a degree in illustration with animation from UWE in Bristol.

Self Portrait by Henry St.Leger

How do you make a living?

I am a freelance Illustrator, Animator, Character designer and Storyboard artist.

How long have you been making art, and what role does that play in your life?

I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. I used to sit there with a pile of paper my parents had got me and my brother and draw constantly.

It’s hugely important in my life and I still draw in my down time. I think I’d still make images even if it wasn’t what I did for a living. I was not very good at very much else at school and nothing brings me more pleasure.

What does “art” mean to you?

I think art can cover so much. I think it has to be something that makes you feel something. So much of it is a gut feeling that happens when you first see a piece or hear some music or watch a film or animation. You know almost instantly. For me Art is something that inspires and pushes my own work or makes me look at something differently.

What role does drawing play in your work? Is it a means to an end, or an end in and of itself?

I work in illustration or even just drawing for the pleasure of doing so, it’s what I want to do and I don’t particually care if it sells or if people even like it (although both are always nice).

Making work makes me want to make more work and develop and evolve as an artist.

What would you consider your “style” of art to be, if you have one?

I would consider my art to have an illustrative style. For years I thought I was a fine artist but then on my foundation course someone pointed out that I was an illustrator. I sat there and looked through my sketchbooks and realised how obvious it was.

"Tree Whale King" by Henry St.Leger

What’s your weapon of choice? What medium and drawing tool do you prefer to use?

By far my favorite pen is the Pentel Brush Pen. I spent a while looking for a good brush pen and this is the best by far. It doesn’t dry out and keeps its shape beautifully. You can achieve such fine lines and massive fat ones with one pen.

I also use a Pilot G-Tec-C4 for super fine work. I hold a pen at a strange angle and so a lot of fine liners end up breaking or become stubby. This is a super fine roller ball that holds up.

Some of my work is done digitally on Photoshop. I learnt to use it so much in the industry i work in and you can do so much with it. However there are things i can do on it that i can’t do hand drawn and vice versa.

What approach do you take for your work? Do you plan it out or does it emerge spontaneously? How long do you usually work on a piece?

It can vary really. I usually doodle in a sketchbook and when I draw something I like I develop it further and then sometimes that develops into a more final piece outside my sketchbook on a lager scale.

Sometimes I draw an image straight off and it doesn’t need any more work to it. Often these more spontaneous drawings are what I consider my best.

I often make a pencil plan first and then go over in the pen if I am planning composition a little more. For example with the large skull piece called ‘Nest’ i did i made a rough pencil line showing the shape of a skull on the page and then went straight on with pen to make the detail that makes up the piece.

I work pretty quickly. I have quite a short attention span when it comes to my work. I need to get the image on the page. The ‘Nest’ image i mentioned before was probably my largest piece. It’s about two meters squared. It took me two long evenings to complete.

"Nest" by Henry St.Leger

Are there any people that influenced you that stand out? What current artists do you follow?

Ralph Steadman was a huge influence to my work and also comic book artists like Jack Kirby have made their mark.

At the moment I’m really into Charles Burns. His graphic novel Black Hole is a lesson in black and white illustration. I have a massive signed screen print of one of the panels from it above my desk at home. I’m trying to get some of his style to rub off on me.

I’ve been making screen printed gig posters through a company called Jacknife who are based in Bristol. The world of gig posters has a huge amount of very talented artists and designers that have inspired some new approaches and ways of working. One artist that particually caught my eye recently is Aaron Horkey. His attention to detail is mind blowing.

Whilst I was growing up my brother, Sam St.Leger, was a huge influence. We now have very different styles but i still get inspiration from his work.

I am also lucky to be amongst some hugely talented illustrators and artists who I can bounce ideas off of and I think we influence each other.

What are you currently working on?

My day job at the moment is at Aardman Animations doing some photoshop work and a bit of animation.

In my spare time I’m currently designing a gig poster for the band Chew Lips.

Also me and my brother have been discussing an animation project for a few years now. I am determined to get it going this year.

Do you have any upcoming events?

I’ve got a joing show called ‘Deep into the Woods’ with a load of very talented individuals in May at a gallery above Start the Bus in Bristol.

The show is including work from:

Stuart Kolakovic
Log Roper
Jon Boam
Matthew the Horse
Seb Burnett
Dave Bain
Rosie Miles
Amy Brown
Paul Roberts

What would you tell aspiring artists?

I don’t know really. Just keep at it I suppose. If you really want to do it keep pushing. I’m freelance and it is pretty hard work sometimes but when it pulls off it can be so rewarding.

"Big canvas" by Henry St.Leger

"Big canvas" (detail) by Henry St.Leger

“Eminent Domain” by Zach Johnsen

Lee — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:43:29 +0000

One of the things I really like about Zach Johnsen’s website are the sketch collages that scroll down a mile long. Of course, what’s amazing here are the amazing illustrations themselves. Related posts:"Love Sketch" by Matthew Woodson Godmachine Sketch by Coro36 Related posts:

“Little Black Book Faces” by Rocky Davies

Lee — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:58:17 +0000

Illstrator, designer, artist and self-proclaimed nerd Rocky Davies has some pretty slick drawings. Should be interesting for all the comic heads out there. Related posts:“Cinderella” by Sarah Mensinga “Mangled” and Others by Phillip Rauschkolb Related posts:

Untitled (Fish from “Art Forms From the Ocean” Exhibit) by Ben Lawson

Lee — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:08:49 +0000

“Pseudo-scientific illustrations on antique encyclopedia pages.” How awesome is that. Great ink drawings. See more at Ben Lawson’s website Related posts:Untitled (Head) by Sam Weber Untitled (Young Girl) by Lotte Klaver Organic Abstract No 1 and Others by Michael Herring Related posts:

Untitled No. 33 and Others by Richard Colman

Lee — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:56:19 +0000

Untitled No. 33 by Richard Colman

Vomit, decapitation, lewd sexual acts â€” what’ s not to like? While all these are in fact exhibited in the works of Richard Colman, raunchy or offensive would certainly not be adjectives to describe his work. It is rather an uncomfortable world that he portrays, one in which its characters are seemingly dominated by each other and the world itself, one in which hopelessness reigns supreme (or maybe it’s just me). Remarkably, he works in watercolor, surprising given the fact straight lines and flat surfaces of his paintings. Richard hail from Bethesda (which I used to live quite close to for four years) but is now part of the LA scene.

You can check out more of his work on his website, RichardColmanArt.com.

4 more images after the jump.

Bears With Human Feet by Richard Colman

Untitled No. 17 by Richard Colman

Untitled No. 18 by Richard Colman

“Brutality” and More by Jeremy Fish

Lee — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:44:24 +0000

“Brutality” by Jeremy Fish

Known for his skulls and silly pink bunnies, Jeremy Fish is a skateboarder and enterprising illustrator living in San Francisco. His work is funny and odd: a surreal blend of tattoo and graffiti imagery. Beside skateboards, t-shirts, hoodies, and ashtrays, Fish has also designed a Nike sneaker, painted a room of the Hotel Des Artes in San Francisco, and designed an album cover for Aesop Rock. His clothing line is superFishal.

For t-shirts by Fish check out Umbrella Market and let me know if you can find an XL “Brutality” tee anywhere – it seems to be all sold out, argh.

More pics below the jump.

Here’s a great interview with Fish from Fecal Face. Check out the full interview for more pics from his studio.

Another interview with Fish on YouTube by mpetty23:

Definitely check out some more Jeremy Fish videos on YouTube (there are plenty).

“Whale Guts” by Jeremy Fish

“Ahab” by Jeremy Fish

“Nautical Back” by Jeremy Fish

“February,” “Wrong,” and Others by Jason D’Aquino

Lee — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:54:07 +0000

“February” by Jason D’Aquino

“Wrong” by Jason D’Aquino

I gotta say that I love Jason D’Aquino’s drawings – it’s like the 50′s on a bad acid trip: vintage psycho. Jason definitely has a vision of his own that remarkably show through in all of his drawings. The materials he chooses to draw on add a subliminal quality to the final work, and his subjects seem a study of the subconscious.

In a weird way some his drawings remind me of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” video. Do yourself a favor and check out more of Jason D’Aquino’s work.

More pics below after the jump.

“Dirty Dan the Hot Dog Man” by Jason D’Aquino

“The Server” by Jason D’Aquino

“Lust” by Jason D’Aquino

“Abduction” by Jason D’Aquino

“Death” by Jason D’Aquino

“The Wrong Way” by Jason D’Aquino

“Suffragette” by Jason D’Aquino

“October” by Jason D’Aquino

“Cthulu Can You Come Out and Play” by Jason D’Aquino

“Nurse Hypo” and Others by Phillip Jackson

Lee — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:47:24 +0000

Nurse Hypo by Phillip Jackson

Phillip Jackson, aka Jolly Jack, creator of the memorable “Sequential Art” and other online comic strips, has a great little sketchbook section to find a little inspiration. His drawings are fresh, sexy, and humerous – not a bad combination.

More below the jump.

Rain Rider by Phillip Jackson

Ribbon by Phillip Jackson

Panda Fishing by Phillip Jackson

Pilchard the Dragon by Phillip Jackson

“Edward Sylvester Morse, pottery collector” and Others by Lauren Nassef

Lee — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:50:33 +0000

Lauren Nassef, a Chicago artist, does a great job of conveying a lot of emotion in very simple, minimal drawings. Sometimes – probably more often than not – simpler is better. Case in point.

Cow

Italian Hounds