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Description

It's been more than two years since I've posted a WIP - and, as people seemed to show an interest then, I thought I might do it again. Also, it's a huge piece, and I have nothing else to show off.

Finished piece:

Some notes about my techniques:

First of all, you can see a large grid. This is used... as a grid, and makes it a lot easier to get a more accurate sketch. Considering I'm aiming for hyperrealism an accurate sketch is really, really important, as it's often difficult and time-consuming to fix mistakes once I've started to draw. (Do note that the accuracy depends on what I'm drawing - I care a whole lot more about the snow leopard than about those mountains in the background. Nobody will care if I draw a rock too large, but everyone will see it if one of the eyes is larger than it should be.)

Also, you can see I work in sections. The piece gradually "grows" - I started with the front legs, built my way to the back legs, started on the rock, then the face, then more rock... I'm not a "I'll do the first layer on the whole piece, then the second layer, etc." kind of person, as I quickly find that overwhelming.

Also, I work on both the background and the leopard at the same time. Drawing the same texture over a longer period of time can get tedious, and switching between the two helps to keep the piece more interesting.

References by Dotty Weber on wildlifereferencephotos, and two images from Unsplash. Links will be added in the finished piece.

Colored pencil, A3, roughly 15 hours in.

Please do not repost, claim as your own or use in any way without my permission.

Other recent drawings:

My tutorials:
List of all my tutorialsThe complete list of all the tutorials I have written/made - at least the ones still worth sharing, as some are really old at this point. It just got so hard to find them after a while, and there are so many - so here we are. A complete masterlist.The tutorials are not in chronological order, but rather in (a more) logical order Some of them are rather old, so the formatting may be off - or the quality lower. I've still included the decent ones, though, and they may serve as an example that writing tutorials also is a skill you improve in as time goes on and you do it more. ,Rambles about being an artist, and typical Artist Problems:Typical Artists' Problems, and how to defeat them (a free pdf booklet which answers all the common questions. Includes improved versions of all the articles below)Unfair comparisons and being your own worst critic A word or two about practice and practicing art Some about talent, skill and marketingSome about finding your own drawing style Artists and social media The "right" way to improve We all start out as beginners Creativity, imagination, skill and art Materials vs skill Quick list of tips on how to improve your art Tutorials about drawing (parts of) animals:The (I hope) complete guide to drawing animal eyes How to draw animal ears Tips about how to draw animal paws/feet/hooves How to draw realistic (feathery) wings Tips for drawing the heads of common carnivores Tips (and a lot of rambling) about drawing deerHow to draw birds How to draw animal noses Sketchpage - Mule deer and whitetail antlers Sketchpage - Color variants of wild red foxes Sketchpage - Partially white red fox variants Sketchpage - The different lynx species + caracal Sketchpage - Summer vs. winter fur Sketchpage - (How to draw) tabby markings The (I hope) ultimate guide to drawing fur More tips and tricks about drawing fur The actual ultimate guide to drawing fur (title - it includes everything and then some, PDF)How to draw feathers/feather texture How to draw scales A quick guide to basic animal anatomy (new, more in-depth, more correct - read this one!)Quick guide on basic animal anatomy (older, not that good, broken formatting - read the one above!)Basic animal anatomy and how animals move (older, alright enough)Tutorials about traditional art: Tips about drawing on black paper Tips about drawing accurate traditional sketches Basics about colored pencils - layers and blending How to draw white whiskers with colored pencils How to take and edit photos of traditional art Some basics about graphite and colored pencils (OLD!)An introduction to scratchboard (older)GIFs:Lynx process - step by step GIF Lynx eye process - step by step GIF Cat eye on black paper - step by step GIF How I draw fur 1 - closeup of tiger stripes - GIF How I draw fur 2 - solid-colored fur closeup - GIF How I draw fur 3 - long fur closeup GIF How I draw fur 4 - fur at a distance GIF Tutorials about using reference photos, editing those, and compositions:Finding and sorting reference photos Reference photos and how to use them: part 1 Reference photos and how to use them: part 2 Reference photos and how to use them: part 3 Some about improving bad quality reference photosThe (reference) photo always lies a little Making your subject fit into the backgroundTips to improve your compositions Some about compositions with multiple subjects Changing references when drawing realism - Examples Other art-related things which don't fit anywhere else:A tutorial about writing tutorials Some basics about drawing mountains How to draw snow Beginner's Guide to Animal Photography Short guide on values and hues How to draw blurred and bokeh backgrounds How to draw realistic art Some about comments and critique The process behind Lynx Portrait IV The process behind Caturdays 25 - Black and GoldRed Fox - Fire and Frost WIP Red Fox - Fire and Frost WIP 2 Snow Leopard - Mountain Majesty WIP Different art questions, and my answers - part 1 (older)Different art questions, and my answers - part 2 (older)Different art questions, and my answers - part 3 (older)Art critique collections:Art critique collection I Art critique collection II Art critique collection III Art critique collection IV My "critiqued" favorites collection...

Description

It's been more than two years since I've posted a WIP - and, as people seemed to show an interest then, I thought I might do it again. Also, it's a huge piece, and I have nothing else to show off.

Finished piece:

Some notes about my techniques:

First of all, you can see a large grid. This is used... as a grid, and makes it a lot easier to get a more accurate sketch. Considering I'm aiming for hyperrealism an accurate sketch is really, really important, as it's often difficult and time-consuming to fix mistakes once I've started to draw. (Do note that the accuracy depends on what I'm drawing - I care a whole lot more about the snow leopard than about those mountains in the background. Nobody will care if I draw a rock too large, but everyone will see it if one of the eyes is larger than it should be.)

Also, you can see I work in sections. The piece gradually "grows" - I started with the front legs, built my way to the back legs, started on the rock, then the face, then more rock... I'm not a "I'll do the first layer on the whole piece, then the second layer, etc." kind of person, as I quickly find that overwhelming.

Also, I work on both the background and the leopard at the same time. Drawing the same texture over a longer period of time can get tedious, and switching between the two helps to keep the piece more interesting.

References by Dotty Weber on wildlifereferencephotos, and two images from Unsplash. Links will be added in the finished piece.

Colored pencil, A3, roughly 15 hours in.

Please do not repost, claim as your own or use in any way without my permission.

Other recent drawings:

My tutorials:
List of all my tutorialsThe complete list of all the tutorials I have written/made - at least the ones still worth sharing, as some are really old at this point. It just got so hard to find them after a while, and there are so many - so here we are. A complete masterlist.The tutorials are not in chronological order, but rather in (a more) logical order Some of them are rather old, so the formatting may be off - or the quality lower. I've still included the decent ones, though, and they may serve as an example that writing tutorials also is a skill you improve in as time goes on and you do it more. ,Rambles about being an artist, and typical Artist Problems:Typical Artists' Problems, and how to defeat them (a free pdf booklet which answers all the common questions. Includes improved versions of all the articles below)Unfair comparisons and being your own worst critic A word or two about practice and practicing art Some about talent, skill and marketingSome about finding your own drawing style Artists and social media The "right" way to improve We all start out as beginners Creativity, imagination, skill and art Materials vs skill Quick list of tips on how to improve your art Tutorials about drawing (parts of) animals:The (I hope) complete guide to drawing animal eyes How to draw animal ears Tips about how to draw animal paws/feet/hooves How to draw realistic (feathery) wings Tips for drawing the heads of common carnivores Tips (and a lot of rambling) about drawing deerHow to draw birds How to draw animal noses Sketchpage - Mule deer and whitetail antlers Sketchpage - Color variants of wild red foxes Sketchpage - Partially white red fox variants Sketchpage - The different lynx species + caracal Sketchpage - Summer vs. winter fur Sketchpage - (How to draw) tabby markings The (I hope) ultimate guide to drawing fur More tips and tricks about drawing fur The actual ultimate guide to drawing fur (title - it includes everything and then some, PDF)How to draw feathers/feather texture How to draw scales A quick guide to basic animal anatomy (new, more in-depth, more correct - read this one!)Quick guide on basic animal anatomy (older, not that good, broken formatting - read the one above!)Basic animal anatomy and how animals move (older, alright enough)Tutorials about traditional art: Tips about drawing on black paper Tips about drawing accurate traditional sketches Basics about colored pencils - layers and blending How to draw white whiskers with colored pencils How to take and edit photos of traditional art Some basics about graphite and colored pencils (OLD!)An introduction to scratchboard (older)GIFs:Lynx process - step by step GIF Lynx eye process - step by step GIF Cat eye on black paper - step by step GIF How I draw fur 1 - closeup of tiger stripes - GIF How I draw fur 2 - solid-colored fur closeup - GIF How I draw fur 3 - long fur closeup GIF How I draw fur 4 - fur at a distance GIF Tutorials about using reference photos, editing those, and compositions:Finding and sorting reference photos Reference photos and how to use them: part 1 Reference photos and how to use them: part 2 Reference photos and how to use them: part 3 Some about improving bad quality reference photosThe (reference) photo always lies a little Making your subject fit into the backgroundTips to improve your compositions Some about compositions with multiple subjects Changing references when drawing realism - Examples Other art-related things which don't fit anywhere else:A tutorial about writing tutorials Some basics about drawing mountains How to draw snow Beginner's Guide to Animal Photography Short guide on values and hues How to draw blurred and bokeh backgrounds How to draw realistic art Some about comments and critique The process behind Lynx Portrait IV The process behind Caturdays 25 - Black and GoldRed Fox - Fire and Frost WIP Red Fox - Fire and Frost WIP 2 Snow Leopard - Mountain Majesty WIP Different art questions, and my answers - part 1 (older)Different art questions, and my answers - part 2 (older)Different art questions, and my answers - part 3 (older)Art critique collections:Art critique collection I Art critique collection II Art critique collection III Art critique collection IV My "critiqued" favorites collection...