How to draw fur | BEGINNER tips | pastel pencils

How to draw fur with pastel pencils and make better art! If you're a beginner, practice these techniques to start drawing realistic fur with pastel pencils.
Common mistakes I see are:
Patchy underpaintings
Not enough tone and depth
Thick fur markings
No direction to the fur!
We can fix all of these issues and get you drawing realistic fur (with a bit of practice, of course!). You can find full drawing tutorials from start to finish on my Gumroad channel:
emilyrosefineart.gumroad.com
Materials for drawing fur
Clairefontaine pastelmat board in sand
Faber Castell Pitt Pastel:
177
175
283
182
180
230
102
Cretacolor: Bister
Reference photo:
unsplash.com/photos/_QZ0lYPVKzc
Timestamps
Intro: 0:00
What NOT to do: 0:30
Underpainting explained: 4:24
How to draw fur: 7:35

[@TheVal1963]

Thank you very much for not just rushing through the video. Much appreciated ❤

[@iapprove8392]

Best tutorial ever for drawing fur. Glad I found it. Thank you.

[@stupidcanvas]

i woke up two mins ago> Looked at my dog portrait i did last evening> The fur was so bad> I thought how to make it right next time> I turn on my computer and open youtube> I find this video on the suggestion at the top>i clicked and watched it. It's going to be good day.

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

This fills me with joy! Practice the ideas first, get those pencils sharp and make sure you’re happy with your colour and tone choices. Best of luck and enjoy it!!

[@stupidcanvas]

Thank you very much! The breakdown of the process in bullet points was top notch. I will keep trying. Thank you again and have a great day!@@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820

[@oladipoolawale1944]

❤❤

[@barbaraalexander2005]

You are very clear and calm, fantastic to watch, thank you Emily!

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Thank you!

[@loliloloso]

Thank you, the thought process is what illuminates.

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Thank you!

[@patriciadaws3222]

Very detailed instruction.

[@skerrie1]

Thank you so much!! I truly appreciate you taking the time to explain in all of the detail!❤😊

[@user-md6ie2ld9d]

Thank-you so much ❤ bless you xxx❤ Ann

[@StorytellingHeadshots]

Wow. Masterfully done. ❤️

[@joyprewitt2785]

Thank you for explaining all of this. So helpful!!!

[@dimitrioskalfakis]

good work! properly analytical and useful instructions.

[@janelowe3933]

Wonderfully helpful. Thank you. 😊

[@JCcreates927]

Thank you. I needed this.

[@jeanunderhill3868]

Brilliant. Thank you.

[@vickivernon8372]

Wow! Thank you

[@saundersd1962]

Wow, what a great technique and beautifully presented. Thank you for making good fur drawing achievable

[@aninastar]

Such a good tutorial! Thank you!

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Thank you so much!

[@hurstliliana]

Thank you so much your tips are very well appreciated 👏 ❤

[@valeriewarren273]

Inspired tried to teach myself but want very much to progress very impressive x

[@MaryNewnham]

Emily, this was such a great tutorial! Thank you!

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Thank you!

[@Alfred899CE]

Super Tutorial. Very helpful. Thanks for taking the time and sharing 👍

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for your comment 😊

[@sjferguson]

So beautiful. My mother could draw and I have always wanted to learn but fear I lack the skill. That turned out really lovely.

[@SipTea]

Luckily, skills can be learned. Go for it ❤

[@Bran424]

Thank you very much , I am a beginner and have a lot to learn .

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

The learning never ends, I’m always looking for new ideas and ways of seeing things 😊 it’s the best bit! Enjoy 😊

[@nannuartworks5812]

You drew a tribble lol. lovely tutorial very well done.

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Haha I had to Google what that was - my partner is Star Trek mad so I should know!

[@TamaraSanilevich]

Thank you Emily for the wonderful tutorial. I am not a beginner, but it was very useful to me. Everybody has their own style and technique, and it is very helpful to share for every level. Thanks again

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Thank you! That’s so true; I learn from people who have a different approach, it’s so useful to see

[@ruthhelena2420]

Thank you so much

[@Jazzidoodle]

Learnt so much from this thank you. You have covered questions that so many others fail to explain. This will help me to improve thanks again. When finances are a little better I will join your patreon

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Thank you! I really try to explain everything that’s useful, it’s awful when knowledge is left out. Keep going with the free videos, with practice and art theory you’ll get there yourself 😊

[@annebosley9764]

I learnt so much ...I started drawing my husky yesterday and had to stop because it was looking like your 1st ball ! so now heading over to your Patreon to practice before I start it again :)

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Thanks for your lovely feedback, Anne! Fur is quite tricky to master but honestly, start with this video and go over it and over it. Really start to understand how layering works, how soft and hard edges change textures and how tone creates depth, enjoy the process!

[@SergijRatusnij]

my dear kitty, thank you very much for your exercises

[@birukhailu7113]

Thank you

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

You’re so welcome!

[@peonieglow5005]

🎉perfect

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Thank you!

[@roxanamiranda5621]

Gracias

[@brendagraham4886]

Just found you so pleased i have

[@user-yo7ib2yp2p]

No te diré como quedo mi primer intento de pelaje.
Gracias por este tutorial. Aún teniendo dificultades, porque mi inglés no es muy bueno aprendí a hacerlo algo mejor.

[@kkraft4341]

Nice. Thanks for sharing that. Now would this be relevant to drawing human hair as well but with different shades of the color of the hair?

[@sherryscoloringandpaintingcorn]

do you think some of this could also be transferred to the use of colored pencils?

[@ivanilsonteixeira447]

What paper do you use. I loved your work, congratulations and thank you very much in advance!

[@SherM3064]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with drawing fur! I’m just fixing to paint with colored pencil a King Charles Cavalier. But with colored pencil would I go with the lights first and then the dark? I get so confused with my pastel and colored pencil in which order to go in. Thank you again. 😊

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Hi! I'm afraid I haven't really used professional wax pencils very much, so I'm not the best person to recommend a method to you. I would suggest working light to dark, but go and check out some coloured pencil channels :)

[@titus4166]

Is there a reason you only use pencils for underpainting instead of the powder forms to fill large areas?

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

No not really. For large areas I often use chalks and pans as they're faster for sure. In small areas I find pencils are much easier to control though :)

[@ivanilsonteixeira447]

Are these pencils dry pastels? Thanks in advance.

[@nannuartworks5812]

They are soft pastels they are not oil pastels.

[@BarbaraDick-r5]

My light color won't show, they don't look like they're on top, they just blend in or simply don't show! I do exactly what you're doing, mine doesn't do that! Is it your paper? Your type of pencil?

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

Hi, yes it could be a bit of both! Pastelmat paper is the biggest advantage, so get some if you can. Then the type of pencils can change how layers show up as some pencils blend very easily. It's more likely the paper though :)

[@oladipoolawale1944]

To hard 😢😢

[@oladipoolawale1944]

❤

[@AsmaaEhab-mu1df]

If you practice this every day it won't be difficult anymore

[@whoshatwat]

Hi Emily. Are the colours listed the only ones you used on this beautiful picture?

[@skullingtonfly]

Thank you

[@emilyrosewildlifeart-paste9820]

You’re welcome!