How to Draw Dogs

If you have watched my little film on drawing cats, you will know about the lovely, really old book which my mum gave me: Drawing a Cat. It was a gift from my Dad, who we lost recently. Mum is having a bit of a clear-out and came upon this companion book he bought for her, Drawing Dogs. She thought I might like it: 

As you can see from the title page above, it was first published back in 1940, but this edition is way more recent: 1949! Mum and Dad had been dating for just 3 years: they met soon after Dad got back from conscription, when my mum was only 15. 

Apart from its sentimental value, the book is also a lovely resource. Unlike cats, dogs come in very different shapes and sizes, so an illustrator can never have enough reference. it would have come in very handy when I was illustrating my very dog-centred book, Swap! 

Diana Thorne sketched with pencil, but also litho crayon. As well as her lovely drawings, there are some good tips, such as how to cope with drawing a constantly moving subject (use doggie-buzzwords, such as 'cat' to get him to look at you!).

I like her quick sketches best - they capture the life and movement, and are so much better than a photograph if I want to get ideas for poses. 

I love sketching dogs too. I mostly use my Inktense watercolour pencils and a waterbrush - so speedy for capturing colour. Unfortunately we don't have a dog at home, so my drawings are usually crafty quickies of dogs I spot travelling on buses or trains, like this little one:

I've bagged quite a few in pubs too, where they often like to lay down at their owner's feet: 

You never know when a dog-opportunity will arise. It's one of the reasons I always have a sketchbook and pencil tucked about my person somewhere. We had just pitched a tent when this soppy Labrador mooched across the field and befriended us: 

Diana Thorne did dog portraits as commissions. I did one or two of those myself, but working from photos, to make a bit of money when I was a teenager. 

It's not the sort of thing which interests me these days, though I did do a dog portrait in my illustration style a couple of years ago. It was commissioned by a school where I had worked with the children, as a retirement gift for a much-loved Headteacher. I was told that his two favourite things were his little dog and golf: