Zipper was one of those very special dogs that stay in your heart forever. He was the dog that no other dog will ever compare to. As such, my friend asked that I draw Zipper for her fiancé as a gift. Here is a work in progress of Zipper:

My friend only had a few photos of Zipper to draw from. This one is a bit dark, but it was the best I could work from.

Since only Zipper’s head needed to be fixed, I redrew the head. The ears are a little bigger, the face isn’t as long, and there are a couple of other subtle differences.

When I felt I had all the shapes right, I did a final sketch and emailed it to my friend for her approval. She said it was perfect, so now for the next step…

I always do the background of my art work first. I generally try to keep the background simple so as not to take away from the drawing of the dog. In this case, I chose green grass because I thought it would be a nice contrast to Zipper’s black and white coat.

The next thing I do is the hardest, and for me, also the most fun. I draw Zipper’s eyes, nose, and mouth. Because this is not just a portrait drawing, these parts are smaller, making it difficult for me to add detail. But it came out pretty good none-the-less.

Next, I add more detail to Zipper’s head. Trying to get the shading just right is difficult since the photo of Zipper is really dark. But knowing the shape of dog heads, I think I got this right.

Ta da! I emailed this to my friend and she absolutely loved it. She said it brought tears to her eyes. That, my friends, is one of the reasons I love to draw.
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Tags: blog hop, dogs, drawing, wordless wednesday, zipper
December 11, 2013 at 8:13 am |
Really awesome artwork. I didn’t realize you were so talented! 🙂
December 11, 2013 at 8:33 am |
PAWsome. Love Zipper SMILE 🙂 Happy BlogPaws WW. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
December 11, 2013 at 9:49 am |
Wow, that is awesome.
December 11, 2013 at 1:20 pm |
Holy Crap!!! That is MARVELOUS!!! Ma is so jealous…..
I bets Zipper’s peeps are just so grateful!!
Kisses,
Ruby ♥
December 11, 2013 at 5:00 pm |
You’re so incredibly talented. I can certainly understand why that wonderful drawing brought tears to your friend’s eyes. I wish I had even half your artistic gift. (Even my stick figure dogs don’t look like dogs!!)
December 11, 2013 at 5:34 pm |
I love that!! Very cute.
December 11, 2013 at 10:11 pm |
Oh my gosh I could never do something like that! You’re a great artist!
December 12, 2013 at 10:09 am |
Wow! I love to see the whole process, you’re very talented!
I hope you’re having a fun day,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
December 14, 2013 at 12:34 am |
I, too, did not realize how talented you are! I can’t even draw a straight line with a ruler!
December 14, 2013 at 9:30 am |
Thanks, Sue! I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler, either. 😉
December 18, 2013 at 6:42 pm |
You did a wonderful job on it. It is beautiful!