DrawWithMike.net

Hello! I decided to draw Brunnhilde, a Library of Congress (USA) photo by an unknown photographer in 1936. It is free to use and they recently released a second view of the cat. People have painted her, but nobody had rendered her in graphite or ink. This drawing is done on Bristol vellum, so there might be more tooth than I would like and probably more tooth than I think I need to keep. (I did her via projector, so I feel almost like I cheated, but I wanted to get her closer to accurate than what I could have done free hand.)The sequins were a headache, but the bigger issue is how to handle her cape. Someone colorized her, so that made life a bit simpler. May I please solicit critique and suggestions on how to handle Brunnhilde but more importantly what a mess I made of her cape. I did try to blend it, but it made a worse mess, so I lifted it with blue tack and went back in. It would be a shame to lose her because her clothing was screwed up. I have not yet fixed the drawing in case I can go in and rework anything. All suggestions welcomed! Thanks so much

My, my what a charming rendition. It looks like you put a lot of time into this. Waiting to read the comments. Best, Laura

Thank you! It was a challenge, particularly all of the fur! I rushed through the clothing - need to work on that. Did you get your book yet? I am looking forward to seeing what you draw next!

Hi back, because I’m in California and the book is I think UK, I will be ordering it sometime late my time and normal hours UK time. And of course mailing time. But I’m very excited knowing I’ll have it relatively soon. I have always felt that if you can learn to draw with all the tones and values using graphite you can be a strong artist. Reason being when you use color there is a lot of forgiveness. But with just a few tools (paper and pencil) you can’t fool the eye as much. It’s taken me a long time to be patient enough to reach this stage.

On your piece the eyes and feathers are exquisite!

I am from California, but now live in upstate NY. There is a USA distributor who ships the book from the USA, so it arrives priority mail. I ordered it. I like it because it is really informative. There are some reviews on youtube which you should check out.

Loving this drawing! What fun!
fyi there is a fabric video on the forum that might answer your question. Because the image you are using doesn't hold much information for you, you need to decide yourself what fabric you wish to portray. Same with the metal chain mail.
I do like your technique, it has a painterly style that is unique. If you can study some fabric, especially velvet irl you will see how the fabric shines softly in the folds with a dull soft texture. The chain mail should be sharp and shine with high contrast, look at a spoon perhaps to emulate this.
Have fun, its a great little drawing in progress

Thank you! I'm working on this with your suggestions.

I’m so happy to say that a few days ago I ordered my book from a great lady Mike referred me to. I’m in Northern California (not San Francisco) about an hour outside of Oregon and the book is coming from I think the UK. The stars are lining up for me to finally get serious about drawing because I found one of my drawing pencils at the bottom of my washing machine which meant I had it in one of my pockets. I’ll be hovering around this side of the community as I progress.

Muffit wrote: Mon Oct 06, 2025 3:10 am I’m so happy to say that a few days ago I ordered my book... coming from I think the UK.

Nope! San Antonio, Texas.

I ship signed copies in bulk there to get the shipping cost down for you. You should receive it very soon and if not, let me know and I'll give you the tracking details.

I've been wanting to comment on Brunnhilde for days. I'll just grab a coffee and take a good long look at it again...........

I'll begin by saying I love your drawing for its life and vitality. But there are a couple of areas that, in my opinion, could be improved.

First, cat's eyes are much larger than you think they are. Yours has a hint of white at the right of the iris, and the iris itself curves almost flat into the lower lid. That suggests the eye is smaller than it is, but in reality that eyeball is BIG. Not a dealbreaker, but it does alter the character of the cat.

The shiny chain mail front is definitely shiny. I'm not going to comment, other than to say... It does its job, although stronger darks would have made the highlights gleam more brightly.

The fabric of the coat or cloak I'm undecided about - and I think you were too. It looks as though you were drawing the form without fully understanding what you were drawing. Well, I can't see inside your head, so I'll have to let you answer that. But, as Linda said, you need to decide which fabric YOU want to make it into, then research and draw what you've learned.

It has a collar that casts a shadow over the shoulder, but your shadow contains light values that really can't exist there. I think I see a sleeve angling back from the front, but I think you see... well, I'm not sure... That's not necessarily a fault, but it doesn't tell me - the viewer - anything about it.

I had a short discussion with Linda about the hair. Both she and I agreed it's lively and dynamic. I think she also thinks I'm expecting too much too soon - and no doubt she's right. But I'll dive in any way.... The hair IS well-drawn and lively. And, in places, better than good. For example, the light band running from the nose up to the stop between the eyes. Lovely! But look to the right of the eye, and it's as light as the nose where, in reality, it needs to be considerably darker. Although it curves around to meet the dark collar in the shade, it contains foreground values all the way back. It's that light content that losing the three-dimensional shaping, and there's a definite reason why that's happening.

It's because you've drawn hair in the way most people do. I mean, if you're going to draw hair, then obviously you have to draw the hairs. Right?

Actually, no.

If you draw the hairs, you're drawing them on a white scalp. That's why your puss is lacking a fair bit of three-dimensional modelling. The dark areas are missing. In real life, the hair shades the scalp, so the scalp is always darker than the hair. For that reason - and this needs practice - you draw the shadows between the hairs and not the hairs themselves.

In the same vein, don't be afraid to draw darks. While I love the interesting texture of the helmet, it's lacking the dark values that would make it more solid and rounded. For example, you've included the highlighted area in the centre of the brim, but not run that into the shade as it curves around the front. That's a lost opportunity, because that dark rim could have offset the overlapping light hair of the cat. I think I see signs of indenting in there? Good choice - but then it was allowed to go to waste.

OK, those are just my thoughts. It's your drawing and not mine, and maybe you were aiming for a result that I don't see. It's a very creditable drawing. One to keep. And one you can gauge your progress against in future years.