Project 39: Ferret

Ferrets are domesticated mammals that have a long and slender body (14 to 16 inches [36 to 41cm]) covered with brown, black, white or mixed fur. They have rounded ears and a pointed nose, and their tails are about 5 inches (13cm) long.

Color Reference

1 Establish the Form and Major Fur Patterns

Sketch the ferret lightly with a no. 2 pencil. With an ebony pencil sharpened to a fine point, sketch the main fur patterns, using parallel lines that go in the direction of fur growth. Use moderate pressure on the pencil.

2 Begin Darkening Shadowed Areas

Begin to shade the areas of darkest fur, using pencil strokes that go in the direction that you established in Step 1. Gradually increase the pressure on your pencil as you shade. Gradual shading will allow you to make corrections more easily with your kneaded eraser as the drawing progresses and will give you smoother tones.

3 Continue Shading and Begin the Details

Continue to darken the shadowed and darker areas of fur, shading gradually to build up the dark value tones. Begin to add some fur detail in the lighter areas, using short, light-pressured pencil strokes.

FERRET

Ebony pencil on illustration board

8” × 10” (20cm × 25cm)

4 Finish the Darkest Tones and Add the Finer Details

Keep shading the dark value areas to their final darkness. Begin to add the finer details. For the whiskers, use a sharp pencil and lightly draw a long, curving single line. (If a whisker comes out too dark, lighten it with your kneaded eraser. Form the kneaded eraser into a point and lightly press down on the line.) Continue to add fur detail to the lighter areas, using short, staggered strokes that are roughly parallel and follow the fur growth.