Graphite Pencils for Pet Portraits

Graphite Pencils & Pet Portraits

Pencil Pet portraits are very popular. I would probably say graphite pencil was one of the easiest mediums to work with and its a superb medium for pet portraits. Its clean, easy to handle, we have all been using a pencil since we were children so its a very natural tool for us to use.

There are some fantastic artists out there creating amazing, photographic pieces of artwork just by using the pencil alone, taking months and months on just one piece. Not only pet portrait artists but other artists drawing human portraits, landscapes, seascapes, i have seen some amazing pieces.

The great thing about using pencil is that its so easy to pick up and start working with, you don't have to have any preparation like you do with paints, and you can take them out and about with you with ease. The only thing you need to do is make sure your pencils are sharp!

There are many brands of paper i use for my pet portraits pencil work. Mainly for any commissions i use fabriano hot press because i am familiar with it and know how it is going to respond to my pencil marks, but if you visit your local art shop or look at some of the amazing art shops on-line, they sell a huge variety of paper suitable for graphite.

There are quite a few brands of graphite pencils on the market. A couple of brands of pencils i use frequently are by Derwent and Steadtler both of which provide you with a great range of pencil grades to work with. The Steadtler brand give a much stronger black darker texture, where as the Derwent give a more darker grey appearance. I have found with the Steadtler that you can pick up an 8b and work from dark to light in one drawing and it looks as if you have used many pencil grades. I like the brand for this reason as you don't have to keep swapping pencils. If you have a light handed approach to your work, you can create your basic undertones very light even with an 8B.

I prefer to sharpen my pencils with a craft knife or scalpel as you can really achieve a lovely sharp point which is crucial when completing detail in the eyes and nose or in the fine fur of the pets.

Again similar to the coloured pencils advice, if you are just starting out, start off sketching and shading lightly and build your tones gradually! 

This is one of my graphite pencil pet portraits on fabriano hot pressed paper to the size of 16 x 12. If you woudl like to see this portraitn in full, and view more of my pet portraits please visit my graphite pencil pet portraits gallery .