Commissioned Pet Portrait

Today's drawing is a commissioned portrait of Clyde the boxer!  Thanks Pete!

I've must admit, I'm really pleased with how this one turned out--specifically on the shading in the fur.  As I've mentioned in the past, one area where I've been striving to improve is in refining my hatching technique.  I really admire artists who appear to have total control over every line, whereas I find it's easy to get a little haphazard.   

What I found is that by layering same-directional hatching in lieu of perpendicular cross-hatching, the resulting patterns look more intentional and eye-pleasing.  In this case, where the shading simulates the directional fur growth, it makes sense that crosshatching wouldn't be as appropriate a method.  Other textures, such as fabric, may benefit more from the crosshatching, where the lines would represent individual fibers woven together.  I'll have to experiment with that later.  

Here's a before and after...

   

and a pair of work-in-progress shots...