Drawing Realistic Animals From Photos

Drawing in general is a controversial topic in itself, but drawing realistic things? Animals, especially? How could someone capture every single detail, from the wetness of a dog's nose to the scales of a goldfish? My strong suit in the drawing department is cartoonish, and so realistic drawing seems so out of reach.

The ability to draw, I feel is subject to person. Some people count sketching as drawing, some do not. One thing that people can agree about drawing however is that, if you put emotion behind your art it will shine through.

In this guide on Drawing Realistic Pets From Photographs by Lee Hammond, Hammond expresses the connection between emotion and art. "Artwork is always more inspirational when you are in love with your subject matter." (7.)

Hammond's statement stood out to me through the motivation behind choosing this guide. That motivation would be to draw my own dog, a Siberian Husky puppy named Hiwakea. I agree that using emotion behind artwork makes it easier to accomplish.

Do you agree with Hammond and I: is emotion is the foundation for the motive and inspiration of artwork?

Hammond introduces the use of graphs and how useful they can be. Useful in the sense of proportion - size of the ears, eyes, nose - and for later on shading and blending. The squares isolate the different shapes of the animal, making it easier to emphasize and define. Hammond claims using grids serves as a base for the mentioned techniques. (20). This is Hana the Japanese Cat and my use of graphs.

Hammond, Lee. Drawing realistic pets from photographs. North Light Books, 2005.