07/06/2026
A few people have slipped into my DM's asking how I do I free hand sketch my pet portraits before I begin woodburning them.
Firstly I use a picture that someone will send me of their pet on my phone as my source of reference to copy off. I then prep a pine timber board with sandpaper so the pencil lines sticks to the timber and then begin drawing by doing a series of circles and lines and work out where all the proportions of my pet portrait belong. During this section I draw lightly with a 4B grade graphite sketching pencil so it's easy to rub mistakes off with an eraser. From there I go over my lines with darker lines once I'm happy with the positioning of everything. Once the body is proportioned equally and nothing looks out of place or slightly off I then start to do the same process as mentioned previous to work out the face of my pet portrait which is the important part of the pet portrait being the focal point. Once those light lines are mapped out and proportioned correctly for the face I go over them with darker lines. Then the next step is to then lightly work out where all details go or colour mapping for shading and then once happy with the positioning of where the shading sections are mapped out I go over these light lines with darker lines. Once this is done your free hand sketch of your pet portrait is ready to begin woodburning.
👉 My tip is draw what you see. If it's not on your source that you are using as a reference picture then don't put it in unless you are making changes to it.
Before my head injury it used to take me a couple of hours to free hand sketch my pet portrait in pencil before I started woodburning it but after having a head injury abit over 2years ago now I find it harder to do in that time frame I once used to do it in and it now takes me a few days to complete as I have trouble with my symptoms post injury.
👉 Last tip. Don't be scared or intimidated to have a go at free hand sketching. Just keep practicing and take your time. I have 24years experience as a professional award winning artist and it took years before that of practice to get to this point. Just take your time, be patient and celebrate all the small achievements you make with your free hand sketches.
For free easy pencil movements to get your portions and sizing correct use the non pointy end from about half way up the pencil to the non pointy end with loose hand grip to get those free flowing shapes and get those proportions on point and hold your pencil closer to the pointy end for more defined detailed pencil lines to have more focused control of your lines.
It's now time for me to start woodburning this cute pet portrait for a lovely lady. If you would like to show me your work in progress sketch, I would love to chat with you. Simply send me a message on messenger through Wobbly Roses 😉
Goodluck and have fun drawing ✌️
Keep your eyes posted to see this pet portrait Woodburnt and finished!
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