Fallow Deer study – Sketch book update

Fallow Deer study by Stuart Fowle (ArtOnTheHoof)

This is my latest drawing in my sketch book, a Fallow Deer study.

The drawing is the usual 10x15cm size. Which in this case was probably a bit too small for the subject.

Because it is quite a small drawing of a large subject. I decided to not use my usual Staedtler 2mm mechanical pencils, but some 0.5mm mechanical pencils that I have. The issue with using the 0.5mm pencils was that I wasn’t 100% sure what lead I was using!

I actually quite enjoyed using the 0.5mm pencils, so using a gift voucher that I got for Christmas, I ordered some Pentel 0.5mm Ain Stein refills in various strengths. I plan to do a little review of them when they arrive.

Anyway, back to the drawing. For this Fallow deer study, I used a rendering method that I’ve not used for quite some time, blending.

I don’t normally blend my pencil drawings, which is quite interesting as when I first started drawing many years ago, it was the method that I used. However, as my drawings progressed so did my style.

My style was heavily influenced by an amazing pencil artist called Mike Sibley. I attended one of his courses many years ago, and also have a signed copy of his book.

For me, and this is just my own opinion, I try not to blend pencils too much. I feel that for most animal drawings, it does not look right. However that is not always the case. Just like this study, blending suits it as it is so small, so not much in the way of detail can be seen.

Pencil drawing, a Fallow deer study by artist pet, horse and animal artist Stuart Fowle.

Quite happy with the result, especially considering I was using different pencils and a different style. A good learning exercise.


Stuart Fowle is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.

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