French Bulldog Erna is part of a triple dog portrait I drew in pencil. This video gives a small insight in how I shade and layer when drawing pencil portraits. I often begin with the eyes of the subject because an animal’s facial expression is mainly determined by its eyes. This is why I very carefully observe the reflections, light to dark gradients and any other particular features of the eyes. Once the eyes are completed I move over to lay down base layers of grey and later add more contrast and details. I tend to work on the same areas of a drawing many times until I feel they are all harmoniously incorporated. Completing Erna’s portrait took me about 12 hours of focused work. A lot of time and love squeezed into the finished portrait of three fabulous friends!<\/p>\n