Teaching Your Dog To Draw/paint
If youre looking to take your dogs artistic skills to the next level, you can actually teach them to draw. For this trick/skill, your dog will learn to hold a marker or paintbrush and then draw directly onto paper.
Youll need:
Non-toxic markers or paint
Toilet paper or paper towel tube
Paper or canvas that you want your dog to draw on
Constructing The Head Of Your German Shepherd Sketch
This second step in our realistic german shepherd drawing tutorial is very simple. For the head, you can use a construction circle that is ever-so-slightly oval. Place this head circle just above the right end of the main body oval.
You can see on our example below that our circle is slightly oval and that it is angled downwards, with one end facing the bottom left of the canvas. This detail will help make the construction of the german shepherds face easier down the line.
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German Shepherd
The German Shepherd is a breed of medium to large-sized working dog that originated in Germany. According to the FCI, the breed’s English language name is German Shepherd Dog. The breed was officially known as the “Alsatian Wolf Dog” in the UK from after the First World War until 1977 when its name was changed back to German Shepherd. DespitNew content will be added above the current area of focus upon selectionThe German Shepherd is a breed of medium to large-sized working dog that originated in Germany. According to the FCI, the breed’s English language name is German Shepherd Dog. The breed was officially known as the “Alsatian Wolf Dog” in the UK from after the First World War until 1977 when its name was changed back to German Shepherd. Despite its wolf-like appearance, the German Shepherd is a relatively modern breed of dog, with their origin dating to 1899.
- Scientific name: Canis lupus familiaris
- Biological rank: Breed
- Height: 22 inch 24 inch · 24 inch 26 inch
- Weight: 49 pounds 71 pounds · 66 pounds 88 pounds
- Lifespan: 9 years 13 years
- Temperament: Alert, Confident, Courageous, Curious, Intelligent, Loyal, Obedient, Watchful
- Did you know: German Shepherds are longer than they are tall, with an ideal proportion of 10 to 8 12. wikipedia.org
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Adding The Detailing And Fur
In this step, you are going to add fur detailing throughout the body of your german shepherd sketch. You are also going to add detailing to your german shepherds face.
Begin by adding some shading to the lower half of the german shepherds nostrils and below its jaw. Then, use some short strokes and dots to add some textural shading all around the german shepherds mouth and muzzle. You can also add some shading details to the teeth and the edge of the tongue. To create additional realism in the face of your german shepherd drawing, you can add some shading around the eyes and in the ear curves.
To draw the fur, it is important to consider the shape of your german shepherd. You want the hairlines to flow in the same direction as the body does. For example, the hair on the neck and back should flow downwards towards the back of the canvas. On the belly, tail, and back legs, you can direct the flow of the fur downwards.
For the most realistic german shepherd drawing, make sure that the hair lengths on the head are the shortest, and as you move down the body, they should get longer.
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Block In Values With Underpainting
If youve been through any of my previous tutorials, you know I stress the importance of getting the values right. Below, I painted over my charcoal drawing with burnt umber and then blocked in the values using a larger brush and thinned out paint. While doing the underpainting, I made sure to squint so I could block out details and see basic shapes created by the lights and darks.
Underpainting in burnt umber
For this painting, I used very light washes of burnt umber and black in acrylic. Its important to keep the underpainting thin if you start in acrylics. I talk more about this in my article Can You Paint Oil Paint Over Acrylic Paint, so feel free to check that out to learn more.
After I blocked in this step, I let the underpainting cure for a couple of days before I moved forward with oil paint.
Rough In The Background Color
One of the huge challenges I faced with this painting was getting a green color in the background that wasnt too overpowering and also was pleasing to look at. Green can be a very difficult color to get right. And in this painting, there are cool-toned shadow greens and warm-toned greens created by the dappled sunlight.
Roughing in the background quickly
As a rule of thumb in painting, cast shadows will have cool tones while areas receiving the light will be warm. Being aware of this throughout the painting helped me to keep the colors under control while I worked through the portrait.
I also was starting to formulate in the back of my mind how detailed I wanted to go with the grass. Painting in every single blade was not going to work for me, so sticking with a loose brushstroke looked like the way to go. I knew I didnt need to go overboard with a great amount of detail as long as I got the values right. I also wanted the focus to be on Maidens face rather than the bright green behind her. Adding detail in the grass could have caused the viewer to focus on the wrong thing in the portrait.
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Basic Commands Sit And Stay
Sit is one of the most basic and important commands that you will teach your puppy. Typically, a puppy is ready to learn this command at eight weeks old. And you will also discover that its one of the most difficult commands to enforce – as puppies of course, tend to be naturally playful. The good news is that even the liveliest puppy can be successfully trained.
You should train your puppy to obey these commands before any others. Begin your training in a quiet part of the house with no distractions. Some trainers suggest training by the front door a puppy who sits easily by the front door is more manageable when you have visitors. Try to limit each training session to around 15 minutes and be sure to use a firm tone of voice and offer praise and reward when he gets it right.
To successfully train your dog to sit, you may want to have him on a lead at first and then progress to training without the lead. Once you have given him the command to sit, gently help your dog to sit by folding his back legs under his bottom repeat this as necessary until he gets the idea.
The command stay is often used in conjunction with sit and will help you control your puppy when its necessary. Once your puppy has learnt to sit, practice walking away while giving the command to stay. If he gets up before he has been told to, you should persuade him to sit again, by using the technique above.
Adding The Second Coat Of Color
The second coat color you are going to use to create your realistic german shepherd drawing is black. Using a medium brush, add a coat of black paint around the german shepherds muzzle including the lower jaw. Color the nostrils with a lighter shade of grey, and use this same grey to add shading to the inside and outside of the ears, and around the eye.
Continue adding black along the back of the german shepherds spine, including the beck and back, and on the underside of the legs and tail.
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Rewarding And Disciplining Your German Shepherd
While training your German shepherd, you will soon realize the importance of offering rewards for good behavior or for learning something quickly. German shepherd dogs are quick to learn, are reliable and obedient and it isnt unusual for them to form a strong bond with their trainer.
Rewards actually fall into three basic categories verbal praise, treats and physical contact. You may find that your dog is motivated by one, rather than the other. In this case, physical contact would mean stroking your puppy. Be sure to give him long strokes along his body, rather than patting him on the head which your dog may see as a dominant gesture.
Its a natural thing to want to use treats as a reward during training but you should be careful not to overfeed your puppy. Many treats are actually rich and fairly unhealthy. If you are using treats as a reward, one solution to overfeeding is to make sure the treat is part of your dogs daily food allowance.
Try not to use treats as a reward for your puppy all the time over time you should gradually start to praise good behavior instead of rewarding with a treat. Eventually, during a training routine, you should offer the treat as a reward every other time, and then every 2nd or 3rd time, and so on.
Some effective but humane methods of disciplining your dog are as follows. A puppy that misbehaves can be isolated from other people, for no longer than a few minutes. A squirt with a water pistol can be an easy way to stop a dog in its tracks.
Doing Color Studies On The Ipad
I have to admit that I was not sure how to do Maidens face with such a strong light source casting shadow over her face. So instead of working out the colors on the canvas, I decided to use my iPad to help me work through some of the areas I thought would give me trouble.
You do NOT need an iPad Pro to do this. Simply doing a small color study on a spare canvas or canvas pad would do the trick just as well. I love this because its not paper resembling canvas, its the real thing.
Color and value study using the iPad Pro
Ive found that my iPad Pro is a great tool for working out parts of the painting Im struggling with. I use ArtRage, which is as close to painting with real paint digitally as far as Im concerned. I can do this while sitting on my couch at home or waiting for the oil to be changed in my car. Its very convenient but doesnt do the work for you. As you can see above, I was more concerned with values than brush strokes. I also painted four or five versions of her eyes to help me figure out how to handle them later on in the painting.
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Rigid Surfaces Are Better Than Flexible Surfaces When Painting Oil Paint Over Acrylic Paint
As stated above, acrylics are more flexible than oils when dry. Because of this, it is recommended to paint on a more stable and rigid surface such as a canvas panel rather than a stretched canvas.
If you do paint on a stretched canvas, it is recommended to reinforce the canvas using a rigid backer board to reduce movement and provide stability.
I work on both canvas panels and stretched canvas, but prefer panels for their stability.
I still paint on stretched canvases, however, I have found that I really like the structure that a canvas panel provides. The “bounce” of a stretched canvas to get a little annoying as I paint and a panel eliminates that movement.
Making Comparisons To The Reference Photo
Below you can see me comparing my overall composition to the printout of the reference photo. The reference photo is a foot or two behind my easel, so it looks smaller, but I can assure you that they are the same size.
One of the reasons for printing out a reference photo to the same size as the painting is so you can use the sight-size method. Ideally, you would have your image of the same size right next to the canvas so you can move your eyes back and forth quickly between the original and the painting. By moving your eyes back and forth, it is easier to spot differences.
I talk more about this in a digital tutorial of a portrait I did and go into more detail. It is much easier to do using a real canvas than a digital canvas.
Checking against the reference photo
Another trick I like to use when comparing my reference to the painting is to take a photo of the painting as I make progress. That is where these photos came from. When you see the painting really tiny on screen, it helps you to spot areas you need to work on.
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Finalizing The Facial Details
For this final detailing step, you are going to need a shade of light red, white, and brown. Begin by coloring the tongue with a light shade of red and adding a small highlight to the side with a touch of white. Color all of the visible teeth with your white shade, and add a little dot to the eye.
Finally, for the last facial detail, use your shade of brown to color in the eyes of your german shepherd .
New Pet Portrait German Shepherd In Watercolor
Heres the newest pet portrait, this German Shepherd a gift for Fathers Day!
This is an 8×10 watercolor portrait created on Arches Cold Press paper with Winsor & Newton paints.
I love to create the dark brown eyes and the varying textures of the fur and face.
Read on to see some progress photos.
I think a German Shepherd will be added to the to do list for the Online School.
If you are looking for a gift for a loved one, theres a link on my home page: How to Commission your own portrait!
Progress Photos:
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You Can Refer To The Simple Step
Step 1
So we first outline the outline of garlic in the form of a normal circle. The lines in this step should be very light.
Step 2
With the help of smooth lines, we draw out the outline of garlic cloves. On the top draw the outline of the garlic body.
Step 3
Remove unnecessary instructions from garlic. Then draw out the outline of garlic with clear and dark lines.
Step 4
A very simple step in which we need to draw the texture of garlic with simple vertical lines. If you do everything right, you will get that garlic.
Step 5
Now let garlic make our garlic become bigger and more realistic. To do this, we will draw the shadows that will underline all the convex parts in the drawing.
Thank You For Stopping By
I hope you enjoyed this article. If you are interested in more posts like this, below are my other popular painting tutorials. Simply click on a title below to view the article:
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What Is Value In Painting? The #1 Way To Improve Your Painting
How to Paint Black Fur Portrait of a Pug
7 Portrait Painting Tips For Traditional And Digital Painters
How To Paint A Dog Portrait Step-By-Step In Oil
Tips For Painting Silver Objects
8 Tips for Painting Black Fur
How To Paint A Cat In Oil Step-By-Step With Jorge & Nacho
30 Faces 30 Days Portrait Painting Challenge
Painting A Cat In Oil Featuring Prescott, A Gorgeous Maine Coon Cat
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Training Your Puppy To Fetch And Retrieve
A puppy that runs to retrieve objects is not only getting physical exercise he is also getting mental stimulation. Playing fetch and retrieve is a chance for your dog to get some exercise as well as practice his instinctive hunting skills. And throwing and fetching objects can also keep children happy for quite some time!
Before you are able to train your dog to run and fetch objects, you must first train him to hold objects in its mouth. Dont use squeaky toys for this as your dog will then want to chew them! While training your puppy to hold things in its mouth, reward with verbal and physical praise, rather than treats.
You can begin training your puppy to fetch things and bring them back to you, once you have taught him how to hold things. Trainers advise that the ideal age to teach a puppy to hold and fetch things is at around six to eight weeks old.
Most puppies will learn this fairly easily and quickly, although as with other aspects of training, it depends on the animal and how much time you can devote to it. German shepherds are not generally selectively bred for retrieving, although they can easily be trained.
As with other aspects of training, things may not always go smoothly. If your puppy is reluctant to fetch, try to get him excited by throwing a squeaky toy and running with it yourself. If your dog seems reluctant to bring the object back to you, you may have to continue working on the command to come.