This class will take you step-by-step through my animal portrait process, from preparatory work to final touches. You will learn the various alcohol-based marker techniques I use to render fur, along with other tips and techniques to bring your illustrations to life.

This class is for students of all levels. An understanding of basic drawing fundamentals is useful, as I will only touch on sketching principles briefly. If you’re interested in exploring more of what the alcohol-based marker has to offer, then this class is for you!

Trying out different ways to use your tools is a great way of discovering your style and preferences. Adding techniques to your roster of knowledge will improve the uniqueness and variety of your illustrations, helping you not only to stand out from the crowd but develop new ways of tackling your projects. For example, the techniques you will learn in this class may be applied to such things as hair, grass, even certain materials.

Materials Recommended

Alcohol-based markers (copics, promarkers, etc.): we will go more in depth about what brand is best for you, as well as colour choice in the lessons
Coloured pencils (not required, but highly recommended. I use Derwent Coloursoft)
White gel pen (I have both the Sakura Gelly Roll 08 and the Uni-ball Signo UM 153)
Black pens for the lineart (there are so many options, but I like to use Sakura Pigma Micron in 03 or 05, and PITT artist pen in S and F. I will go in more depth in the lessons)
Pencil that can be easily erased (HB)
Eraser
Paper: I will explain more on this in the lessons, but it should be smooth, thick (at least 200gsm) and meant for pen/ink and marker, like Bristol. Ideally size should be letter/A4 or larger. My go-to sizes are 9x12” and 11x14”.

Provided resources

Materials list
List of suggested Promarkers (and copic alternatives) colours ideal for fur
“Shopping List” for creating the fox portrait I’ll be demoing
Reference photos used for project and demo examples
Practice sheet printouts for marker techniques

I would love to see your work! Feel free to tag me on instagram @sabbygimagery if you share your creation on social media.

Kayla Snyder

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