Noelle - Art Tutorial, As Requested!

Hi!
So last week I ran out of ideas and asked my fellow authors what they wanted to read in my posts!  And the only one who responded was Anna Leah (*frowns at other authors*) so I'm doing her request: an art tutorial!!  I didn't do coloring in this tutorial, just the sketch.  Sorry.  Maybe I'll come back to this drawing and do a coloring tutorial, if somebody comments and asks me to!

I shall now instruct you on how to successfully draw something that many artists agree to be the most difficult animal to draw (don't ask me why, it just is) after the human being:

This originally was going to be a tutorial on how to draw a centaur...but I decided to save that until I do a few more practice sketches, simply because centaurs are hard.  And drawing torsos difficult.  And drawing has been hard for me for some reason.  :(

(me writing this post: yes I'm blogging *checks messages, email, Facebook, blogger twice, and then scrolls through Pinterest for two freakin' hours* Yes I'm blogging.  Totally.  Yes.  Of course)

Any who.

Step 1!

Don't know where the original pic ended up.  At any rate....start with a very basic frame.  Don't put in flesh, don't even use your eraser.  Even better, use a pencil tragically missing its eraser.  BREAK THOSE HABITS PEOPLE, YOU'LL THANK ME AFTER YOU FINISH CURSING MY NAME.  :D

Step 2:

Alright, now you can add something to the body and neck.  I give you permission :P  Think of the body as a funky bent up rectangle of weirdness, while the neck is very graceful and stuff.

Step 3:

Alright, time to add in the legs.  Don't bother adding both in the bottom, just one for right now.  I know that horse legs seem difficult, but just look at the front legs: they're pretty much like ours, minus the ankle.  Back legs are a bit more difficult, but just follow the basic shape of mine and you should be semi okay.  Maybe.

GET YOUR HAND OFF THAT ERASER.  I SAID NO ERASING.

Step 4:

(sorry about the shadow)

Alright, you can add in ears and that second leg now!  The back leg doesn't need to be that defined, just keep the general  shape and you should be good :D

Step 5:

Alright, now you may start using that eraser.  But only for your horse's shoulder, which should be more like a trapezoid than a oval.

Step 6:

Time to start defining those back legs.  Just add in some muscle on the upper portion of the leg, and just a small line below (horses have a bone or tendon there or something.  JJ would know.  Don't ask me, I'm an artist) (That would be the stifle - JJ)

Wait!  You're not done yet!  Let's take a look at this horse's hips.  Notice that there's a bump on the back, right about where your wobbly rectangle of a boy would end.  Add that bump, as well as a second line to show the hips.  (again.  I know nothing of horse anatomy) (On the gaskin - JJ) (what she said - Noelle)

Step 7:

Let's start defining the rest of the body as well.  Start with the front legs:  the only thing here that really needs defining is the knees and the hooves.  I don't really know how to describe the hooves, so just take a look at the the drawing.  As for the knees, horses are like giraffes, they have big balls for knees.  Show this in your drawing.

Also, behind that box of a shoulder blade, add a small dip to show the...front hips?  Don't know what to say exactly.

Also also, add some detail to that neck.  A line to show where the spine connects with the skull, and another because reasons.  It's just the way horses look, I guess.

Step 8:

Alright!!  You can use your eraser now, you crazy people.  Get rid of excess lines but KEEP THE CORNERS OF THE SHOULDER BLADE.  And if you'll notice, there were a few more definitions that I forgot to take a picture of before.

If you'll look where the arrow is pointing, notice that the leg has been extended out and made a bit more bumpy.  This is just for accuracy points.  Also for accuracy, where the neck and chest meet and there's a bit of a rectangular point, add a little line there to make a dimple.  Anatomy is important with a horse, if you mess up, it won't look right at all.

No pressure or anything.

Step 9:

Alright, let's add something to that face, shaaaaall we?

Horses have eyes similar to our own, actually, but make it larger, exaggerated, and a bit softer.  They also have larger jaw muscles, so define that with a few well placed marks around where the jaw moves up.  Fine the nose with a nostril and veeeerry light marks!

Step 10:

Alright, add in a main and a tail.  I kinda exaggerated the main...because it looks cool, okay?  Anyway, this is what your sketch should at least sort of look like before you start shading.

Step 11:

Alright, I know a lot of people struggle with shading.  I really do.  And I was planning on spending a lot of time on it....but my hands took over and I ended up only taking three pictures.  Sorry guys.

To start, erase those jaw muscles marks and replace them with very light hatching.  It'll look more accurate, trust me.  Fill in the nostril and add some shading along the bridge of the nose, as well as under the main.  Darken the back ear, and while horses' eyes are actually very dark, it'll look very creepy if they're just black.  Add shaking under the ears and jaw, as well as some hair-like marks along that neck mark.

Step 12:

Continuing.  Shade under where that shoulder blade thing is, as well as behind it where those two weird marks are.  I know your entire brain is saying "NO THAT'S A SHADOW WHERE THE LIGHT IS HITTING!!!"  Ignore it, it doesn't know what it's talking about.  Add under shading on the legs and chest, darkening that dimple mark.

Aha!

I figured out what I'm going to do.  I shall duplicate the final picture and focus on certain areas so I can give specific instructions on shading.  There you go, people who are constantly asking how to shade. 

Step 13:

Like I said, I didn't mean to go nuts and just finish the whole thing.  But I did.  Let's look at the closeups, shall we m'dears?

Ah, the front legs.  Okay, extra shading on the back leg.  Put definition along the muscles on both legs, which are pretty much like big human muscles.

and:

Okay, shading alone the belly, defining where the rib cage would end (hint, it's NOT where the legs start).  Shade along the edge of the egg thing, add a couple marks in the middle just so there's not a lot of white space.  You'll notice at the base of the lets there's some webbing (dogs have this too, by the way) between where the leg and the belly connect.  Shade this lightly, but make sure you can still see the belly through it to give it a semi-transparent feel.

aaaand:

Alright, last thing: the back legs.  Again, define the muscles!  Under where that top segment of the leg is, add some extra light shading, but continue the line of muscles down ward.  Shade out the ligaments or bones (JJ, what are those??) (The gaskins again, right above the hock - JJ) and add just the barest line to show where the hooves are.  Don't do this with the back leg!  It will just be confusing.  Instead, add some dark shading and just keep the definition to a minimum.

And you're finished!  Thanks for reading through this crazy tutorial and comment below: what kind of tutorial should I do next?  Acrylic?  Water color?  Mythical creature sketch?  (just anything but charcoal.  ANYTHING.)  I hope you enjoyed and that you learned something today!  I shall see you next week for another strange but informative post from Noelle (preview:  we gonna talk about writers block, y'all)

Bye!

Oh, and P.S.:  this is not the first art tutorial I've done here on IBFs!  Click here and here for my two-part how to draw a genie tutorial.

(P.P.S. Horses become 100% easier to draw if you're lookin at a picture of one -JJ)