Learn Pastel- Draw Animals!!! (Lion)

Finished/Semi Finished Pastel Lion!

 Hey...Thats actually my first pastel animal! Not bad for a first time...Anyway, I thought I would go through the steps to get there. Now, first off, pastels are great for quick drawings- the lion probably took less than 2 hours. Of course, I could still add more detail but I'm going to leave it for now. I used 8 x 12 Canson colored pastel paper- I need to go out and buy some larger sizes! And I used the 96 set of Prismacolor Nupastels, which I love! They're amazing, I definitely suggest that you go out and buy some- and you really need the 96 set, otherwise you wont have enough colors.

Bad Sketch Lol

Ok Step 1. Sketch in the animal you're drawing. I plan to do a lesson on this later...but obviously it doesnt have to be a really good sketch- I mean look at my poor lion so far!










Step 2. Start blocking in colors. I tend to start on

Blocking

 the eyes first for some reason. Start wherever you feel comfortable.

More Blocking/Smudging

Step 3. Block some more areas in. Also, start blending a little. I tend to use tissue paper for large areas(like the mane) and my fingers for small areas(like around the eyes). Figure out what works for you.

Shading/Smudging Adjustments

Step 4. Really look at the picture you're drawing from(I assume you're drawing from a picture). Note where the darkest and lightest areas are...start blocking in more, shading, and smudging as you go along. That's all I did to get to my final picture at the top of this page...Of course I could do some more fine details, but I wanted to get a post up! You sort of have to know when to stop...

Good Luck! I hope you try pastels out. Let me know if you have any questions.