DETAILED

Brenda Hoddinott
M-03 INTERMEDIATE: ANIMALS &
FANTASY

This detailed drawing, of an eye of Shadow the Dalmatian relies completely on freehand
sketching, without the help of drawing tools such as a grid. You add the values and texture to her
eye, and the surrounding fur, with mostly hatching.
This project is divided into the following four sections:
INTRODUCTION: In order to truly understand how to draw an animal’s eye correctly, you
need to be aware of its construction behind the small section you see. The eyeball is a fragile
sphere nestled safely inside the frontal section of an animal’s skull. However, when you look
at animals’ eyes, you actually see very little of their eyeballs. The iris and pupil (and
sometimes a tiny segment of the white of the eye) take up most of the visible sections.
OUTLINING CANINE EYE PROPORTIONS: In this first section, your goal is to sketch
all the parts of her eye on your drawing paper proportionately correct.
BRINGING THE EYE TO LIFE WITH SHADING: In addition to its basic triangular
shape, a realistic dog’s eye drawn from this angle, needs to illustrate the three dimensional
forms of the iris, eyeball, eyelids, and the bone structures around the eye.
ADDING FUR AND FINAL DETAILS: Carefully placed shading graduations, fool the
observer's eye into seeing the three-dimensional under forms, such as the bone structures. In
the final steps of this project, you use various pencils to draw Shadow’s furry facial forms.
Suggested drawing supplies include good quality white drawing paper, graphite pencils, kneaded
and vinyl erasers, and a pencil sharpener.

This project is recommended for fine art educators and artists from age 12 to adult
with good drawing skills.

16 PAGES – 23 ILLUSTRATIONS
Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada – 2004 (Revised 2006)
 -2-

INTRODUCTION
While this project explores drawing the eyes of a dog, the basic principles are the same for many
other types of animals. The next drawings illustrate a giraffe, dog, cat, and pig. Examine their
eyes and note both the similarities and the differences.

ILLUSTRATION 03-01

In order to truly understand how to draw an animal’s eye correctly, you need to be aware of its
construction behind the small section you see. The eyeball is a fragile sphere nestled safely
inside the frontal section of an animal’s skull. However, when you look at animals’ eyes, you
actually see very little of their eyeballs. The iris and pupil (and sometimes a tiny segment of the
white of the eye) take up most of the visible sections.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 -3-

In the next drawing you see an eyeball as it would appear if it was outside the eye socket. The
different parts, specific to drawing animals, include the following:
1. White of the Eye: the primary section of the eyeball. The white of the eye is generally
rendered with light to medium values.
2. Highlight: a bright spot (or spots) where light bounces off the shiny surface of the eye is
usually left white.
3. Pupil: the dark circle inside the iris often has the darkest values of the entire drawing. The
pupil of an eye is similar to the aperture in the lens of a camera; it opens and closes, as the
levels of light become brighter or darker.
4. Iris: the large circular shape of the eye that varies in value from very light to very dark.
Tiny muscles in the iris radiate outward from the pupil to help it open and close. In profile,
the eyeball is not a perfect sphere. The cornea of the iris bulges slightly outward.

ILLUSTRATION 03-02

As your perspective of an
eyeball changes, the irises
and pupils appear to be in
different locations and
visually change shape from a
circle to an oval (an ellipse).

With the changing angle of

the animal’s head, an iris is
rarely perfectly round. Refer
to the simple line drawing in
Illustration 03-03 to get an
idea of what I mean.

ILLUSTRATION 03-03

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 -4-

OUTLINING CANINE EYE PROPORTIONS

This project, drawing the eye of a Dalmatian named Shadow, relies completely on freehand
drawing without the help of drawing tools such as a grid. In this first section, your goal is to
sketch all the parts of her eye on your drawing paper in a proportionately correct manner.
Use an HB pencil, and keep your lines very light so they can be easily erased. Pay close attention
to the lengths, angles, and curves of the various lines which outline the different parts of the eye.
Also, remember to constantly double check the proportions of your sketch as you work your way
through this project, and modify as needed.

ILLUSTRATION 03-04

1) Use slightly curved lines to draw a triangular

shape.
As you examine this shape, take
note that the lower line is more
curved than the other two. Also,
the curved line on the right is
shorter than the others.

ILLUSTRATION 03-05

2) Add another curved line inside the

triangular shape.
Take note of the points where the
line intersects two sides of the
triangular shape. Also, this line is
more curved at the top.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 -5-

ILLUSTRATION 03-06

3) Add two more curved lines to represent

the outline of the iris of the eye.
While these two curved lines outline
a segment of an oval-shape, the
upper and lower sections appear to
be under the dog’s eyelids.

ILLUSTRATION 03-07

4) Use your kneaded eraser to lighten

all your sketch lines until you can
barely see them.
With the basic proportions in place
the initial sketch lines can now be
replaced with thin neat lines.

5) Redraw the outline

of the visible sections
of the iris with a
freshly sharpened
HB pencil.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 -6-

ILLUSTRATION 03-08

6) Neatly outline the perimeter of the inside

section of the eye with crisp lines.
Take note of the rounded
section of the inner corner of
the eye (on the right). Add
another rounded line on the
left to represent the outer
corner of the eye.

ILLUSTRATION 03-09

7) Redraw the section of the eye on the

right (the eyelid) with rounded lines.
Observe that all three of the
angular lines of the initial
triangular shape are now
rounded.

8) Erase any remaining

rough sketch lines.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 -7-

Keep in mind that the eyelids are not attached to the eyeballs. The upper eyelid needs to be able
to open and close to shield the eye from potential dangers such as objects, dirt, or bright lights.
Depending on the perspective from which you are viewing the eye, the rims (edges) of both, or
just one, of the upper and lower eyelids are visible.

ILLUSTRATION 03-10

9) Outline a longish oval-shape on the

upper section of the eyelid.
This eye is being viewed at an angle.
Consequently, the inner edge of the
eyelid will be visible.
This shape identifies an area of
lighter shading, needed in order
to create the illusion of the
eyelid having depth.

10) Very lightly sketch a line

below the eye to mark the
lower eyelid.

ILLUSTRATION 03-11

11) Outline a highlight in the upper right section

of the iris.
The light source is from the right.
In the interest of simplicity, feel
free to make your highlight an
oval or circle shape rather than a
curved teardrop-shape.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 -8-

ILLUSTRATION 03-12

12) Draw an oval shape inside the iris as the pupil.

The pupil is quite small when compared
to the iris.
Take note that the highlight appears
to overlap the pupil.
Also, because of the angle of
the eye, the pupil is drawn
closer to the right of the iris
than the left.

BRINGING THE EYE TO LIFE WITH SHADING

Gather your full set of drawing pencils and prepare to add shading to Shadow’s eye. In addition
to its basic triangular shape, a realistic dog’s eye drawn from this angle, needs to illustrate the
three dimensional forms of the iris, eyeball, eyelids, and the bone structures around the eye.

ILLUSTRATION 03-13

13) Use your kneaded eraser to once again

lighten your lines.

14) With curved hatching lines,

add shading to the iris with an
HB pencil, to accentuate its
rounded form.
The values need to be
darker toward the
outside edges of the
iris to create the
illusion that the
cornea of the iris
bulges slightly
outward from the
white of the eye.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 -9-

ILLUSTRATION 03-14

15) Add light values to the whites of the eyes

with a 2H pencil and crosshatching.

16) With your HB pencil add

straight hatching lines
that radiate from the
pupil outward to the
edges of the iris.
The values are
darker around the
edges of the iris.
The iris has a
graduation of
values (rather than
just a solid tone)
which helps the
surface of the eye
look shiny.

ILLUSTRATION 03-15

17) Use a 2B pencil to add darker shading to

the pupil, and the outer and inner
sections of the iris.
These lines illustrate the tiny
muscles in the iris that radiate
outward from the pupil to
help it open and close.

18) Add darker shading

to the sections of the
whites of the eye that
are in shadow (use
an HB pencil).
Different values can
illustrate forms, tiny
blood vessels, and
cast shadows from
eyelids and eyelashes.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 - 10 -

ILLUSTRATION 03-16

19) Gently blend the shading of the iris, pupil

and the white of the eye.
Begin by blending the lighter
values, and then the medium
values. Be careful not to over
blend, or all the values will
end up looking the same.
When you get to the
dark values, blend
sparingly so you
don’t rub off too
much of the
graphite.

ILLUSTRATION 03-17

20) Darken the pupil and the shadow sections

again with your 2B pencil.
In the process of blending,
some of the graphite is
removed. Therefore, the
darker values need to be
reapplied.

21) Erase some

tiny slivers of
white (on the
upper left) to
allow for the
fur that grows
down over the
eye.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 - 11 -

ILLUSTRATION 03-18

22) Use squirkling to add values and

texture to the rim of the lower
section of the eye.
Pay close attention
to the graduations
of values from dark
to light.
Use a
combination
of 2H, HB,
and 2B
pencils.

23) Add values and texture to the section of the eyelid on the right with more squirkles.
Remember to leave the longish oval-shape at the top of the eyelid lighter than the rest.

24) Draw the fur around the perimeter of the upper sections of the eye.

ILLUSTRATION 03-19
Remember to leave the tiny slivers
white. Only add your furry lines to
the outside sections.
Take note of the various
directions in which the
hatching lines curve.
Also note
that the lines
are of
various
lengths and
thicknesses.
Use HB
and 2B
pencils.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 - 12 -

ADDING FUR AND FINAL DETAILS

Lifelike drawings of animals’ eyes need to be anchored within the facial structures. Carefully
placed shading graduations, fool the observer's eye into seeing the three-dimensional under
forms, such as the bone structures. In the final steps of this project, you use various pencils to
draw Shadow’s furry facial forms.
You create different values with hatching by:
Varying the density (placing lines either far apart or close together) of the individual hatching
lines.
Varying both the density of the hatching lines, and the pressure used in holding various
pencils.
Using different grades of pencils, from hard to soft, to help with the different values.

25) Use slightly curved lines to plot guidelines for drawing the various directions in which
the fur grows.

ILLUSTRATION 03-20

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 - 13 -

26) Before you begin shading the fur, compare your drawing of the eye to mine, and touch
up where needed.
Remember, to make an area darker, you simply add more shading with a soft pencil. To
make an area lighter, use your kneaded eraser, molded to a point, to slowly and gently pat
off some of the graphite.

27) Use freshly sharpened 2B and HB pencils to add the middle values to the fur.
Consider the following helpful hints for drawing a realistic fur texture:
All hatching lines are curved, some more so than others.
Some hatching lines extend beyond others for a jagged, natural-looking fur texture.
The hatching lines are unevenly spaced, and of many different lengths and thicknesses.
Refer to several of the lessons in I-level Beginner for more information on shading fur
with hatching.

ILLUSTRATION 03-21

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 - 14 -

28) Add several tiny short lines and small spots to the fur around the lower sections of the
eye (I used an HB).
The fur around the rim of a dog’s eye is very short, and often thin with areas of skin
showing through. To realistically render short fur, the hatching lines need to be very short.
Conversely, long hatching lines are needed to represent long fur.

29) Add medium shading (HB and 2B) to the sections of long fur that are in shadow.
On the upper left section of the fur, take note of a darker section that is a large spot.
However, even white fur is shaded with hatching lines to indicate the fuzzy texture.

ILLUSTRATION 03-22

30) Add darker values to Shadow’s spot on the upper left, the pupil and corners of the
eye, and the sections of the eye and fur that are in shadow.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 - 15 -

ILLUSTRATION 03-23

If you enjoy drawing fur, try your hand at

drawing Shadow’s face and neck. You can
find this project, Shadow (T-02) in the
advanced section of my site.
Remember, learning to draw is like learning
to play piano... don't expect perfection with
your first few tries, plan to practice often,
and expect to make lots of mistakes.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com
 - 16 -

BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda
Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk
pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints.

My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the

enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and
academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter,
the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable.
>Brenda Hoddinott<

Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She
developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning,
and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books. During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a
self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have
employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police
departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic
Artists International”.
Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and
painting classes. As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and
trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs. In 1998, Brenda
chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing,
drawing, painting, and developing her websites.
Fine Art Education http://www.finearteducation.com incorporates her unique style and
innovative approach to curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable
drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all
ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is
respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational
facilities throughout the world.

ART PUBLICATIONS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

Drawing for Dummies (2003): Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book
is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People (2004): Winner of the Alpha-Penguin
Book of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN,
this 360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and
may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.
E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com