Another A+ for taking a perfect picture. No cropping or photoshop needed!

This is Zara from AwsomeDragons book, dirty paws, the first book in the Of Monsters And Men series. I suggest reading it; it's awesome. I've been enjoying it a lot lately, and I really wanted to draw Zara. But I couldn't just do an average picture. I really wanted to convey Zara's personality and the world she lived in.

So I went through a process that would help me create the perfect way to express Zara. This is similar to the process I use for big art projects or ceasing characters.

The key to drawing characters is to make them individuals. One reason I don't like anime very much is because it takes their individuality away. You can only tell characters apart because of their clothes and hair color because the artist must stay within that style. I never have a set way of drawing, because every feature changes for every character.

Before I begin drawing or even planning, I'll make a reference sheet.

This is a collection of notes on the character. I find key points in their personality, then some physical points such as fur length, proportions and what breed they look/act like. I'll do a few quick doodles; one to show all the markings, one to showing an expression, and maybe a few with facial features (especially the eyes) and anything else I may need to know, such as wing shape. I may add a color palette and decide which colors I want to use.

After I understand the character, I'll do some thumbnail sketches. These are very quick, sloppy sketches that are not supposed to look good. They let you convey lots of ideas in very little time. I'll keep making thumbnail sketches till I find something I like.

After I find one I like, I'll do a more detailed sketch. Still not perfect though.

If it doesn't feel right, that's alright. Keep sketching till you find something.

Then I'll decide which materials I want to use. I wanted to use my lovely prisma colors and a higher quality paper than printer paper, so I used smooth Bristol paper. I do lineart with a sharpie and I added some backlight with purple acrylic.

Then I start drawing and doing line art.

I'm trying to pay special attention to the face and the fur.

Then I start pre-toning it

Then I add the markings and color the eyes.

Notice how I don't add too much detail.  All that work will just turn into a weird color blob.

I add some soft, emerald green shading

Then some deep navy and I'll accent the lines

Adding more blue and defining it more and I drew the background

I really wanted a simple background. Most of the Of Monsters And Men albums have really simple but interesting covers. I've been watching Iraville on YouTube (she's pretty cool; she does water colors) and it's neat how she uses masking fluid and creates negative space. Here's one of her paintings:

They make me happy.

More colors. I'm just working my way up the picture.

The back ground is done now!

The finally I add the finishing touches and add purple acrylic back lights.