Drawing a Dogs Ear
Drawing a Dogs Ear: Dogs ears.......how hard can it be; right! Indeed... and does this mean what you think I'm going to say to you..... Yep, ears - like noses are one of the harder things to get right. Why? because they are also complex in design. So we are going to have a look at the different designs that the dog ears is mostly famous for. With their a sharp sense of hearing, you can only but see for yourself, when you look at how big the dogs ear is compared to many other animals. The ear; being almost a funnel in which to capture noise and draw in down to the ear cannel. 
A dogs ears are very mobile, and in drawing a dogs ear, it is our responsibility as artists to interpret the ear as best we can. One typical ear is the folded ear of many breeds of dogs, as you can see on the left. Note how the folds of the ear falls, almost with such ease that it is giving us the challenge to get this design right. There are many occasions that you wont have to worry about doing the inner ear. Especially with this folded ear, though you do have to watch how the ear falls. The biggest strength you have here is the play of light and shadow in drawing a dogs ear. As in this example. When the dogs coat is short, you are going to also have to watch the surface of the ear, as with short fur - also comes the added responsibility of adding a shine to the coat. This not being so present in dogs with longer hair.
On drawing a dogs ear, you have the ear that stands upright. Taught and strong in presence, you will be dealing with more of the inside of the dogs ear. And you do have the license as an artist to decide for yourself how much of the dogs inner detail in the ear you want to capture...... 
You can see by this example on the right, how the dogs ears fold in a sort of cone shape. I have not put allot of detail in this drawing just to give you some idea of just how the vague impression of a dogs ear can almost seem more natural in a drawing or painting.
Now in sculpture you cant get away with this sort of thing. but with the art of the pen, brush and pencil, in drawing a dogs ear you have more flexibility. Don't forget that the inner ear also has more complex folds and also hair that needs to be addressed. You are going to have many types of angles and views of your chosen subject, and with this -the ear will also change in many ways. The side view that you can see, shows the ear falling in a part fold. This is going to be a more tricky challenge so keep you wits about you. "I have always tried to hide my own efforts and wished my works to have the lightness and joyousness of a springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labours it cost."~Henri Matisse It is almost worth having a separate piece of paper on the side, so you can do a few different sketches of drawing a dogs ear. So that you feel more confident when drawing on your main drawing. See how the light areas give you the impression of the separation of the different layers. Subtle in style and most effective without just drawing in bold dark lines.
And when you think about it, I don't think it ever leaves us; because our first instinct is to draw in those lines with a dark pen. Never considering that light lines can also be just as effective. So we are going against the grain of our learning long ago, when a pencil was put in our little hands.
Here is a basic drawing of a dog where its ears are literally its main feature. So much variety in dogs ears................ As I said on drawing dogs noses, you really need to find pictures of dogs with different ears. Sit down with a cup of tea and just study these pictures. Go back to them again and again. The system of imprinting in your mind is a powerful one, and as artists - we a very visionary. So we need to use this strength to our best abilities. Getting these ideas right in our head is the overall advantage, because whether you are going to do your subject of a dog in any type of situation. You are also adding the elements of outside influences into the equation, being wind, motion, light and emotion to mention a few. I really don't think that people really appreciate just how complex the art of art is. We contend with many rules and with the added combination of natures unpredictable ness we become the masters of observation. Oh... and not to forget the rest out there beyond the stars, cant forget the science fiction artists out there can we..........
|
As a child we are brought up with a pen in hand drawing outlines of animals, well everything really. I remember myself as a child.
