How to draw white fur in graphite | Drawing a white dog on white paper | Tips

In this tutorial I'll share some tips for drawing white fur in graphite. When drawing white fur on white paper in graphite the contrast and values are really important. The biggest tip is white fur is never truly white and each tonal change from light to dark is what will make our portrait more realistic. As white fur is never actually white graphite can be a effective medium for this type of portrait. We don't have to have a dark background or paper colour to make white fur stand out. I hope the tips and techniques shared in this video help to add more realism into your own pet portraits =).
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Pastel, Acrylic, Graphite & Tutorials:
Patreon: www.patreon.com/zaratomsart
Would you like to see what tutorials I have on Patreon? If so, the link to the library is below :)
petportraitsandwildlifeart.co...
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Links:
Top tips for drawing fur in graphite: • Tips for drawing fur i...
How to draw fur in graphite: • How to draw realistic ...
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Social media:
Facebook page: Zara.Toms.Artist
Instagram: zaratomsart
Website & blog: www.petportraitsandwildlifeart.co.uk
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Materials used:
8" x 10"
Strathmore paper
Reference photo: Pixabay

[@user-md1ny4yr1i]

Perfect 🎉

[@zaratomsart]

Thank you =)

[@user-md1ny4yr1i]

@@zaratomsart can I have your telegram please? Iam a girl by the way 😄 Because if I needed to ask someone about drawing, you will be who Iam asking👉👈

[@linasmith6819]

Thank you so much. I've just picked you pencil drawing, again after 30 odd years away, and I'm struggling on white fur, your tutorial was fantastic in explaining why.

[@zaratomsart]

So pleased to hear it was helpful 😀

[@joannschoenleber813]

Fantastic work!! Amazing technique thanks for sharing

[@zaratomsart]

Thank you ❤️

[@alinedavis213]

Beautiful, thank you.

[@tomfielder8973]

I definitely agree with taking breaks during the drawing. I put the work back in the drawer and open it up as I walk past. It’s surprising what hits you straight away, both good and not so good. I’ve been using pencils to lay the foundation of white fur but I do tend to make this overly dark? The graphite powder on a sponge or bud seems to do a much better job. Your tutorials do motivate me to keep trying the techniques you demonstrate, even if I can’t replicate the quality. Thanks for the encouragement.

[@zaratomsart]

Thank you so much, so pleased to hear that ❤️. I love graphite powder. I use it on every one of my graphite drawings 🥰

[@andrewwright5924]

Thanks Zara, this is a great tutorial, I’m going to do this one on my Patreon. The one over there is so detailed. Can’t wait to attempt this. Thanks again.😊

[@zaratomsart]

So pleased to hear it was useful =). I'd love to see it if you draw a long 😁

[@otaybeatdown]

A friend of mine wants me to draw her dog. Its the same exact breed as this one. I appreciate your tutorial and all the great insight you gave! Im excited to go and try the techniques you demonstrated here. Your drawing came out looking amazing!! It was fun to see you do the highlights, those are my favorite parts. Will be looking back to this as a reference for sure.

[@zaratomsart]

Thank you so much. So pleased to hear it was useful =). Layers are so important and ensuring the first layers arnt to dark is key 😁

[@bjarnehansen9215]

Det er fantastisk flot, bravo.🇩🇰

[@yashkalra6518]

Awesome keep uploading

[@jurassicgirl9364]

Thanks! This tutorial will help me a lot

[@zaratomsart]

So pleased to hear that ❤️

[@IP.ArtForYou]

Excelente retrato!

[@zaratomsart]

Thank you =)

[@jackcrossland2481]

Thank you!

[@zaratomsart]

😁😁😁

[@reverendmississippi]

thank you

[@zaratomsart]

So pleased it was helpful =)

[@sandratrent8335]

Love this drawing. Question, what are the erasers you are using? You said they are various sizes. Thank you.

[@zaratomsart]

I've mainly used the Tombow mono eraser for this one =)

[@loumac7578]

Hi that’s beautiful, is that graphite powder you use ?

[@zaratomsart]

Yeah I use graphite powder on all of my graphite drawings =)

[@aaymjen]

Hi! What paper did you use and can you post the reference photo, i can't find it on pixabay. Thank your!

[@Hybrid461]

What's the tool you're using to bring out the white fur on top of the shadows? It looks like a pencil of sorts, is it an eraser or more of a white pencil crayon? thanks.

[@zaratomsart]

It's a tombow mono eraser

[@joannschoenleber813]

Hey Zara forgot to ask. Is your paper hot press or cold press.

[@zaratomsart]

It's vellum so smoother. I prefer that to more textured papers like cold pressed because its harder to get finer details. So I'd always recommend a smoother, hot pressed paper for graphite.

[@jcepri]

I'm drawing a white bulldog that gas almost like a mesh texture around the eyes where it's black underneath and white fur on top of it. I've tried everything and I can't get even close to replicating it. I even tried an embossing tool and that was horrible. Bulldogs often have black areas around the eyes.

[@zaratomsart]

@jcepri I've got a few tutorials on Patreon that would show the steps on how to approach that. How the graphite is applied initially makes a big different to how well the erasers work. What's your process?

[@jcepri]

@@zaratomsart I'm a member of your Patreon. :-) I'm using the makeup applicator like you do. The background under the white fur is black and the white fur crosses in two directions on top of it.

[@zaratomsart]

@@jcepri Ah in that case I would recommend to watch the Dalmatian ear study tutorial because that specifically focuses on how to use the eraser to create light highlights over dark graphite =)