How to Draw a Fennec Fox with Zebra Metallic Brush Pens
By: Artist Ambassador Sandra Strait Hello! I’m Sandra from lifeimitatesdoodles. Today, I’m going to show you how to create a realistic illustration that pops on black paper with Zebra Pen products. We’ll be drawing a Fennec fox. It’s about the size of a chihuahua and is a nocturnal desert animal. Let’s get started!
The Fennec fox in this drawing is curled up, so the shapes are mostly circles. Start by creating a circle for the head and another for the body. Once you have these two circles in place, you can begin adding more detailed shapes, such as the almond eyes, pointed ears, and so on.
Step 1
Now that you’ve had some practice, sketch out the fox using the same techniques we reviewed earlier, only this time on black paper with the Zensations Drafix Technical Pencil. I like this pencil because it shows up on black paper, but the brush and gel pens we’ll be using later easily cover it up once the artwork is complete.
Step 2
Use the Zebra Metallic Brush Pen in bronze to begin creating the fur. Your strokes should show the direction and length of the fur. I used shorter strokes around the face and ears to indicate short hair and used longer strokes on the bushy tail. This color creates a beautiful base that will be blended into other colors, but will leave the impression of fur glinting in the moonlight. Make sure to leave lots of black space. We’ll be filling in this space later with more precise detail.
Step 3
Create highlights for the eyes with the Sarasa Clip Gel Retractable Pen in the Milk White color. Then, color in the surrounding area around the eyes with the Shiny Gold shade. Add highlight on the nose with the Milk Blue Green color. The Milk White and Milk Blue Green colors of the Sarasa Clip gel pens create a soft cool glow on the black paper. I used these colors to then create the lightest fur. Begin by filling in the black area we left open earlier, and overlap the edges over some of the metallic bronze strokes we made with the Zebra Metallic Brush Pen. Be sure to leave some the black paper showing. That black adds drama.
Step 4
Now, let’s add some additional detail. Use the Sarasa Clip Retractable Gel Pen in Brown to deepen the color in the eyes and add shading along the left of the face, in the area between the nose, leg and hip and all along the bottom of the fox. Overlap the metallic bronze color with strokes of the Sarasa Clip in Shiny Orange. Use it to brighten the areas along the back, the top of the hip, and the center of the face and tail. If you feel some lines need to be blacker, especially around the eyes, nose and face, use the Sarasa Clip Retractable Gel Pen in Black to darken the area back to the color of the paper. Assess your drawing and add more of the colors as you feel they are needed.
Step 5
Make additional strokes and dots with the Zebra Metallic Brush Pen in Gold to draw sand around the fox. Blend it with strokes of the Milk White and Milk Blue Sarasa Clip Gel Pens. Use these pens to draw abstract shapes in the background. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I love the way the Zebra Metallic Brush Pens and Sarasa Clips stand out on black paper. If you want learn how to hand letter with the same Metallic Brush pens, check out Erin’s tutorial.