In this tutorial I’m going to explain how to create long-haired black rabbit. The techniques used to create the clumps or locks of fur can be applied to any animal with longer fur. This includes humans with long hair. At first this project might seem a little intimidating, but I think once things are broken down into smaller pieces, you will be amazed that it is fairly manageable. I won’t say easy, because that depends on your experience level.
Click on the image to the left to watch a YouTube video version of the tutorial. If you prefer, click on the hyper link to open the same video: https://youtu.be/ImYtGB-yIFU
Now, let’s get to work.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Writing tip
- Shading tip
- 8 x 10 inch (20.3 x 25.4 cm) piece of wood
- Rabbit pattern (Black Rabbit pattern)
- Sharp tipped knife (optional)
- White Charcoal (optional)
I used General’s brand of white charcoal. Here’s an Amazon affiliate link to white charcoal: https://amzn.to/3a3GFfq
Videos that might be helpful.
I use the zigzag burn stroke to create the short fur on the face. I have a video that goes into detail on how to use the zigzag burn stroke to create short fur texture. https://youtu.be/KYxpEhYopIM
If you are interested in the bubble background, I created a video that explains it. I will not be covering the background in this blog. https://youtu.be/gVvIT0HS5yE
Here’s the reference photo for this artwork.
STEP 1 – PREP THE WOOD
Wood burning is much easier if you take the time to prepare the wood surface. Always smooth the wood surface by sanding it with at least 220 grit sandpaper.
Then thoroughly wet the board by misting it with water or running it quickly under the sink faucet.
The board should be damp to the touch, but not soaking wet.
Let the board dry and then sand again.
This piece of plywood board is broken up into three sections. The far-left section is how the board looks without any prep work. The board has a rough texture. The middle section of the board shows how it looks after it was sanded, and the surface is a lot smoother. The right section of the board shows it after it was lightly misted with water and allowed to dry. Notice how rough the board looks, but a quick sanding will remove that and leave an ultra-smooth board.
Doing the 4-step process (sand, mist, dry, sand) produces a super smooth surface, and the smoother the surface is the better the burn results will be.
STEP 2 – TRANSFER
Print out the pattern onto plain paper. Coat the back of the printout with graphite. Place the printout graphite side down onto the board and trace over the pattern lines.
I do get numerous comments asking why I don’t use wax-free carbon paper. Quite simply, I’ve yet to find one I liked. They are either too light to easily see, or so dark I can’t erase them from the board. I got tired of wasting my money, so use the method I’ve used since I was a teen.
Then use either a writer pen tip or the edge of the shader pen tip to burn over the trace line.
Rub a pencil eraser over the area to remove excess graphite.
This is how my rabbit looks at this point.
STEP 3 – EYES
Burn in the pupil, but avoid the areas of reflected light. Also burn a dark line around the edges of the eye.
Use a small shader and burn in the iris. Again, avoid the areas of reflected light.
Next, darken up the outer edges of the eye, and lightly burn over the lower spot of reflected light.
Here’s progress photo.
If needed, use the tip of a sharp knife to gently scrape away some of the color from the left side of the lower spot of reflected light.
I had accidentally burn over my lower reflection, so it was hard to tell it was there. Make sure to sure a light hand pressure when scraping.
Then use a writer pen tip to darken the pupil until it is dark brown to black in color.
STEP 4 – FACE
Use the edge of a shader to burn thin lines that follow the fur growth direction. The pattern lines are drawn in the fur growth direction.
I am using the zigzag burn stroke to block in the facial fur.
If you are not comfortable with the zigzag burn stroke, then burn a bunch of single lines.
Regardless of which burn stroke you use, make sure to vary where you start and stop the burn strokes. Also vary how long the burn strokes are.
In the upper right corner of this screen shot shows two examples of a zigzag burn stroke. The example circled in green is shaped more like a bolt of lightning and that is closer to what I am doing. The example circled in red is similar to a sewing machine style of zigzag. I don’t recommend burning zigzags like that.
Near the top of this blog, I provided a link to a video that goes into great detail on using the zigzag burn stroke. If you need more information, I recommend watching that video.
It is very important to use a light hand pressure when burning zigzags with the edge of shader!
The reason is that the edge is very thin and can easily sink down into the surface of the wood. The deeper it sinks, the harder it is to create the zigzag burn stroke. A light hand pressure will help prevent this from happening.
Here’s a progress photo.
The fur along the bottom of the face has some long white hair. I create these by leaving gaps in the fur. Quite truthfully, if this artwork wasn’t a commissioned piece, I would have ignored these white hairs. Instead, I would fill the area with the same short fur texture the rest of the face has.
An important feature to realistic fur is jagged edges. That just means there shouldn’t be straight or smooth edges. This applies along the outer edges of the face, and along transitions.
Along the out edges of the face make sure to burn a few longer hairs that stick out above the fur here and there.
Transitions are places where the fur either changes texture or color. With the rabbit, the white fur around the eye is a transition. So is the bottom of the face where the short fur ends, and the longer chest fur begins.
In both areas, I burned then lines that started in the dark face fur, and ended in the transition zone. This created a nice jagged edge along both transitions.
It is always important to burn a few tan lines on white fur. This gives the fur texture, and ensures it doesn’t look like unburned wood.
I did use a micro writer pen tip to burn around the edges of the white hairs along the lower face. This darkened the fur adjacent to the white hairs, and that helped the white hairs stand out.
Again, I wouldn’t bother with these white hairs if this artwork wasn’t a commissioned piece.
There is something I didn’t show, and that is the numerous times I re-burned over the facial fur to slowly darken it up. I probably burned 3-4 layers of zigzags before the color was as dark as I wanted it to be.
STEP 5 – EARS
Sorry for the blurry photo. The ear isn’t a focal point, and I didn’t spend much time on it. The fur on the dark part of the ear was created using the zigzag burn stroke. If you prefer, burn a bunch of single lines.
Here’s a progress photo. At this point I have burned 2 or 3 layers of zigzags onto the ear which is why it is so much darker than the fur on the face.
With the white ear fur, I burned short tan lines along the center opening.
I also added a few short tan lines here and there on the rest of the white fur.
As you can see, I didn’t add many tan lines to the white fur. I wasn’t joking when I said I didn’t spend much time on the ears.
STEP 6 – CHEST
In this step I will explain how I created the chest. The composite photo shows the reference and my artwork together. As you can see, I did not replicate the photo. If you don’t care for what I did, then skip this section.
The area I’m going to concentrate on is circled in yellow. This area has a part in the fur.
Begin by using a shader to burn wide lines or thick bands of color that radiate outward from the center of the part.
Make sure you start the burn stroke in the center of the part and pull it away from the center. The reason is that burn strokes tend to start out darker than they end. By starting the burn stroke in the center of the part, that will become the darkest area. This will help create the illusion of the part in the fur.
Next, start blocking in the rest of the fur. For this I’m burning along the pattern lines using the flat of the shader. If you look closely, you can see that the burn strokes are not uniform in color. The reason is that I use a slight up/down motion as I burn the wide band of color. This creates irregular color.
Here’s a progress photo.
As I continue to burn wide strokes of color, I do leave little gaps here and there. Those little gaps look like highlights.
It might be easier to draw those highlights with white charcoal. Then burn around the white charcoal lines. I will get into this subject in greater detail later on.
It is important to keep things jagged and irregular. To put that another way, don’t create straight lines within the fur.
Above the part area is a small section of fur that transitions between the face and long body fur. I burned a series of curved lines that varied in color.
There are a number of thin gaps in the burn strokes, and those gaps become highlights.
When you get near the part, make sure to burn some short dark lines along the top edge of the part. That will keep the upper edge jagged.
The rest of the chest was created burning bands of color that varied in color, width, and length. Most of the burn strokes have a gentle curve.
Something unflattering I did was use a writer pen tip to burn some dark thin lines. These lines help the pale highlights stand out, but they don’t look good. I don’t recommend doing this step.
Here’s another progress photo.
Lastly, I darked up the shadowed areas on the fur. For some reasons I used a writer pen tip instead of shader for this.
STEP 7 – THIN LOCK OF FUR
I’m going to break the body up into smaller sections. The first section is just to the right of the chest fur. Once again it is obvious to see that my artwork (on the right) is not an exact replica of the reference photo.
Example 1
In this first example, I filled a small area with semi-long curving burn stroke. There are gaps between the burn strokes. The gaps become thin locks of fur that look like highlights.
In this composite photo, you can see a series of burn strokes I’ve done to create the darker fur foundation.
In this composite photo you can see thin locks of fur forming. Those thin locks are created by leaving gaps between the burn strokes. I’m using the flat of the shader as I burn. This creates wide burn strokes.
The shader can be angled to create as assortment of line widths from wide to very thin.
It is important to include an assortment of line widths in the fur. I think it helps add to the texture, visual interest, and realism of the fur.
Example 2
In this next example, I’m just starting to burn some semi-long lines into the area.
In this composite photo, you can see how I continue to add semi-long curving lines to the area to create the texture.
Once an area is blocked in, then I re-burn over it to darken and further define individual locks of fur.
I do realize that not everyone is comfortable creating random locks of fur. There is an alternative way of doing things.
Example 3
Use a white charcoal pencil and draw in the locks of fur. Notice how the locks have slight curves to them.
DO NOT USE COLORED PENCILS! Colored pencils will not work for this because they contain waxes and oils. Those waxes and oils will melt and char under the heat of the pen tip.
Here’s how the area looks after I drew in a number of thin locks.
Notice how the charcoal lines curve in different directions, and some overlap onto each other. The fur on the rabbit is a bit messy looking, so that’s why I have them going in random directions.
Once the white charcoal lines are in place, then use a shader and carefully burn around the charcoal lines. Charcoal will resist the heat of the pen tip, but it won’t block it completely.
The white charcoal is easy to see, so that makes it easy to avoid.
Here’s how the fur looks so far. The white charcoal is still on the board.
Erase the white charcoal as soon as it is no longer needed. I’ve found that the longer the charcoal is in contact with the board, the harder it is to remove it. Try to limit the contact to 60 minutes or less. If needed, work in smaller areas.
Here’s how the fur looks once the white charcoal was removed.
Now’s it’s a matter of re-burning over the area to darken it up.
I wait to burn over the thin locks until the adjacent fur is fairly dark. That way I don’t lose track of where my thin locks are.
During the re-burning process, I darken the fur and further define thin locks. Further defining thin locks often involved making them smaller.
That’s it for this section.
STEP 8 – LARGE CURVING FUR CLUMPS
The next area I will explain is the curving clumps of fur near the top of the body. Again, you can easily see that my artwork is not an exact replica of the reference photo. The fur on my artwork is smoother looking, and has more curve to it. Regardless of that, it still gives the impression of fur.
The area I’m going to concentrate on are the 3 clumps circled in the photo. Clump is just another word for section. Sometimes I think the hardest thing about writing these blogs is coming up with accurate words to describe things. Some subjects are much easier than others for me in this regard.
The beginnings of creating a large clump is the same as a thin lock; burn the adjacent fur where you want a clump to be. Or to put it another way, burn the outline of the clump.
Once the clump is outlined, then fill it with wide line or wide bands of color. I’m not sure which of those terms is best to use and/or visualize.
Then start on the next clump. Since I want my clumps to have a curved or bowed appearance, I burn the wide lines with a curve in them.
It is very helpful to darken the fur adjacent to a clump. That way it is easy to see where your clumps of fur are.
When you first block in the fur and start creating clumps, keep the color on the paler side. The lighter color makes it easy to make changes if needed.
I just created a second clump of fur. Now I’m darkening up the fur adjacent to the clump. By the way, the first clump isn’t very well defined, so might be hard to recognize at this stage.
There isn’t a set order that things have to be done in. You can block in all of the fur, and then start reburning. You can block in smaller sections of fur, and then start re-burning.
I don’t have a set way of doing things. With one artwork I might completely block things in before I start re-burning. With other artworks, like this one, I burn a section, and then start re-burning.
Now I’m started to create the third clump of fur.
In this photo I have the 1st and 2nd clumps circled. The first clump is a bit more defined now, so it’s easier to see.
I’m darkening up the fur adjacent to the 3rd clump. I make the fur under the clump fairly dark. This creates a shadow, and will help the clump look curved.
Continued work darkening the fur adjacent to the 3rd clump.
In this composite photo, It shows the 3rd clump before and after I define it’s lower edge. The fur in the 3rd clump is longer than the 1st and 2nd clumps.
I like to leave the outer edges of my clumps either jagged or come to a tapered point. I personally think this looks more realistic versus have a straight line in the fur.
Now that the fur is blocked in, it is time to re-burn over it until it is as dark as I want it. During the reburning, I further define each clump. This is done two ways. First, I darken the fur adjacent to the clump. Second, I add more wide bands of color to the clump. I concentrate the color along the ends of the clump.
The clump has an inner and outer edge. The inner edge is where the fur emerges from the body. The outer edge is where the clump of fur ends. I will talk more on this near the end of this section.
I will mention that if the rabbit had white or pale fur, I would leave the color close to what it is now. I definitely would go a lot darker because it wouldn’t look white or pale.
Here’s a progress photo. Something I want to point out is that I tend to make the inner edge darker than the outer edge. My reasoning is that the inner edge is emerging from the body, but it’s so dark that we can’t see the body. The outer edge is visible, so it receives more light than the inner.
How bowed or curved a clump appears depends on its contrast levels between the edges and the center. A yellow arrow is pointing to the first clump in the top photo. The clump looks slightly bowed.
Now compare the first clump in the top photo with the clump in bottom row on the left. The clump in the bottom row has had the edges darkened up, and this increased the contrast. That increased contrast also increase the appearance of the bow.
Lastly, look at the clump on the bottom row to the right. Even though the clump has been darkened considerably, the edges are still darker than the center. Plus, the contrast has increased a little more, and so has the bowed appearance.
STEP 9 – LONG BODY FUR
The last thing to cover is the long body fur. Again, my artwork does not look identical to the reference photo. The fur in my artwork is smoother and less messy looking.
The fur begins very similar to the thin locks, in that I’m burned wide lines that curve. Plus, I leave gaps here and there.
I do not burn really long strokes of color. Instead, I work smaller sections at a time, and eventually the lines will meet up creating the long fur.
Keep in mind, that with all of my tutorials I’m just explaining how I do things. This does not mean my way is the only way or even the best way of doing things.
After a section is blocked in, then I move onto the next small section. In this section I creating a dark shadow that will be a part or gap between sections of fur.
Also, I created a thin lock of fur that sits on top of the longer fur. I burned a thin line around the edges of the thin lock. Afterwards, I resumed working on the long fur, but I was very careful to avoid burning over the thin lock.
You may or may not find it helpful to use a white charcoal pencil and draw some guidelines in the fur. The pencil can be used to mark the location of thin locks.
Create a jagged edge at the bottom of the fur. This is done by altering where each burn stroke ends.
You can start to see how the burn strokes in different sections are starting to meet up and create longer fur.
It could be that burning really long strokes of color would create more realistic long fur. I haven’t tried it, so I do not know.
Once the small sections are blocked in, then the reburning starts.
During the reburning, the fur is darkened up.
I also create shadows here and there to give the fur depth.
When burning the long fur, make sure to vary the color of the burn strokes. The color variation is what gives the impression of hair. That’s it for the explanations.
Below are some progress photos. Some people find these very helpful.
IN CONCLUSION
I hope you found the tutorial informative, and that I was able to break down the information so that it was easy to follow. I also hope you will be able to use the information in your own artwork.
Thank you so much for reading.
Until the next blog,
Brenda
April 3, 2024
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