1 For this horse portrait, I first establish the structure and angle of the head and neck with long strokes. I mark several planes with horizontal strokes, setting up guidelines for the placement of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
2 Now I use the initial guidelines to place the ears, eyes, nostrils, and mouth. (The eyes are about 1/3 of the way down the horse’s head.) I also refine the outline of the neck and jaw line.
3 Next I erase any guidelines that I no longer need and add the forelock between the ears. I also use thin, irregular lines to indicate the value changes on the horse’s face. And I add a little more detail to the horse’s eye.
4 At this point, I begin to develop the texture of the coat. Now I replace the solid lines that divide the values of the horse’s face with a series of short hatch marks that follow the direction of hair growth. I also fill in the eye and add long strokes to the mane and forelock, to contrast with the short hairs of the coat.
5 Now I create the dark areas of the coat using a large blending stump dipped in graphite dust. I apply broad strokes, fading them out as I work down the neck. With a smaller stump, I add more detail and shading around the eye and ears. Finally I enhance the sense of depth by adding darker graphite strokes in the shadows of the ears and under the head.
MUZZLE The muzzle has subtle, curved forms, which I define with careful shading. The area around the nostril is raised, as is the area just above the mouth; I indicate this by pulling out highlights with a kneaded eraser.
EYE Horses’ eyes have a lot of detail, from the creases around the eyes to the straight, thick eyelashes that protect them. To create a sense of life in the eye, leave a light crescent-shaped area to show reflected light, and leave a stark white highlight above it.
EARS I render the horse’s forelock hair with long, slightly curving strokes. Then I shade the interior of the ear with upward, parallel strokes, making them darkest at the bottom and gradually lighter as I move up the ear.