Black Labrador Fur in Soft Pastel How to Create Realistic Black Dog Fur in Soft Pastel

Black dog fur can be surprisingly difficult to create in soft pastel.

At first glance, you might think the main problem would be drawing the curls, following the direction of the fur or finding the shapes hidden within all that black.

But when I asked my students what they found most difficult about black dog fur, most gave me the same answer:

Choosing the colours.

The secret is that black fur is rarely just black.

Depending on the light, the surroundings and the texture of the coat, you may see blue, purple, grey, brown and even touches of green reflected in it.

Once you begin looking for those colours, black dog fur becomes much easier to understand.

Black Fur Is Not Just Black

When you are new to art, being told to look for purple or blue in a black dog can sound slightly strange.

I often see the expression on a new student’s face when I start pointing out colours they cannot yet see. But after spending some time deliberately looking for reflected colour, they usually come back and tell me:

“It’s true! There are colours everywhere.”

Learning to notice these colours is an important part of creating realistic animal portraits.

The three black dogs in my Soft Pastel Skills Hub are all very different. One has predominantly grey-black fur, another reflects purple and the third has cooler blue-black fur.

Their coats also vary in texture. Some areas are smooth and shiny, while others are softer and fluffier.

That means there is no single set of colours or marks that will work for every black dog. You need to study the individual reference and respond to what you can see.

Here are my practical tips for doing that.

1. Look for Colour Before You Look for Fur

Before thinking about individual hairs, study the larger areas of colour in your reference photograph.

Ask yourself:

• Does the fur look warm or cool?

• Can you see blue, purple, grey or brown?

• Where is the coat at its darkest?

• Where is light reflecting from the fur?

• Do the highlights have a particular colour?

Try squinting at the photograph. This reduces some of the detail and makes it easier to see the larger shapes, values and areas of colour.

These larger shapes are the foundation of the fur. The fine details come much later.

2. Use a Colour-Picker App

A colour-picker app can help when you are learning to identify the colours within black fur.

Upload your reference photograph, select a small area and the app will show you a sample of the colour in that particular spot.

This can be reassuring when your eyes are telling you that part of a black Labrador is purple, blue or grey.

However, do not allow the app to make every decision for you.

Photographs, screens and apps can all alter colours. Use the colour picker as a guide while continuing to develop your own observation and judgement.

The more deliberately you look for colour, the easier it becomes to see it without assistance.

3. Print Your Reference Photograph

I recommend printing your reference on good-quality photo paper rather than working only from a phone or tablet.

The bright light from a screen can make the highlights appear brighter and may affect how you judge the colours and values.

A printed photograph also allows you to place your pastel sticks and pastel pencils directly beside the reference. This makes it much easier to compare colours.

I sometimes make small colour marks around the edge of my printed photograph so that I can remember which pastel I chose for each area.

It is a simple habit, but it has made matching colours much easier.

4. Find the Darkest Black First

Study your reference and identify the very darkest area of the dog’s coat.

This might be:

• Inside an ear

• Beneath the chin

• Around the nose

• In a deep fold of fur

• On the shadowed side of the face

Place this darkest value first.

Once you have established the blackest black, you have something against which to compare every other value. You may discover that much of the fur you initially thought was black is actually a lighter grey, blue or purple.

Starting with the darkest values also helps you establish the form of the dog before adding lighter layers.

I like to use a hard black pastel stick, such as Faber-Castell, Conté or NuPastel, for these areas. A harder stick is easier to control and useful for drawing the first shapes.

5. Control the Pressure of Your Pastel Sticks

Pressure control is one of the most useful soft pastel skills you can develop.

The same black pastel can produce several different values depending on how firmly you press it against the surface.

You can use:

• Firmer pressure for the deepest black areas

• Medium pressure for darker fur shapes

• Light pressure to create a thin layer over the lighter areas

You can then layer blue, purple or grey over and around the black.

For cool black fur, I often use Unison Colour Dark 22. For fur with a more purple appearance, Dark 20 works well.

These colours can also be mixed or layered with black to create greater depth.

The important thing is to build the dark foundation before trying to add the lightest hairs and highlights.

6. Remember That Highlights Are Rarely White

White is often far too bright for the highlights in black fur.

Look carefully at your reference before choosing a highlight colour. The reflected light might be:

• Pale blue

• Lilac

• Cool grey

• Warm grey

• Pale green

• Cream

• Soft violet

One of my favourite pastel pencils for black dog fur is Caran d’Ache 631, Light Ultramarine Violet. It is a useful lilac colour that can create a soft highlight without looking harsh.

However, the correct highlight colour will always depend on the individual dog and the light within the photograph.

7. Use a Tortillon to Move Small Amounts of Pastel

A tortillon is a tightly rolled paper blending tool.

It is particularly useful when you have applied too much pastel in one place or want to spread a very thin layer across a small area.

Rather than adding another heavy layer, you can use the tortillon to gently move the pastel that is already on the surface.

Be careful not to blend everything until it becomes completely smooth. You still need visible changes in direction, value and texture to suggest fur.

8. Use Soft Pastel Sticks for the Main Fur Shapes

Do not be afraid of using large soft pastel sticks.

Many artists reach for pastel pencils because they assume realistic fur must be created by drawing hundreds of individual hairs. In reality, relying on pencils too early can make the fur look thin, scratchy or overly detailed.

When I began using soft pastel sticks for the larger shapes, my animal portraits became more realistic and I could build the thickness of the fur much more quickly.

Try not to think of the subject as thousands of hairs.

Look for:

• Clumps of fur

• Changes in direction

• Light and dark shapes

• Hard and soft edges

• Areas of stronger and weaker contrast

Create those larger forms with your sticks first. Pastel pencils can then be used selectively for the most important edges, stray hairs and small details.

9. Create the Illusion of Shiny Black Fur

Shiny fur is an illusion created by contrast.

When you closely examine an enlarged section of shiny fur, it may not look shiny at all. You will see dark shapes beside lighter shapes, with marks following the direction of the coat.

Your brain interprets these changes as shine.

To create shiny black dog fur:

1. Establish the darkest values.

2. Add the surrounding blue, purple or grey colours.

3. Follow the direction and curve of the fur.

4. Place the lighter marks where the light catches the coat.

5. Keep some edges crisp while allowing others to remain soft.

6. Avoid excessive blending.

Over-blending can crush the texture of the pastel and make the coat appear dull.

Correct values, strong contrast and directional marks are more important than adding lots of individual hairs.

My Favourite Unison Colour Pastels for Black Dog Fur

These are some of the Unison Colour soft pastels I frequently use, although I would not necessarily use all of them in one portrait.

Dark colours

• Dark 22: Deep dark blue

• Dark 20: Dark purple-violet

• A30: A slightly lighter, richer purple-violet

• BV18: Rich royal blue for strongly blue fur

• BV10: Lighter sky blue-violet

Greys

• Grey 10: Light grey for highlights

• Grey 35: Mid-grey for softer transitional areas

Lilac and violet colours

• BV3: A hint of lilac for highlights

• G7, BV16 or A34: Deeper lilac shades for purple-violet mid-tones

Your final selection should always be based on the colours within your own reference photograph.

Can You Create Black Dog Fur Using Pastel Pencils Alone?

You can use pastel pencils for black fur, but they are usually most effective when combined with soft pastel sticks.

Pastel sticks allow you to cover the surface, create larger fur shapes and establish depth more quickly. Pastel pencils are then useful for controlled details and selected hairs.

Using both gives you the freedom of the soft pastel stick and the precision of the pencil.

How Do You Stop Black Fur Looking Flat?

Black fur usually appears flat when there is not enough variation in:

• Value

• Colour

• Fur direction

• Edge softness

• Contrast

Avoid filling the entire dog with one uniform black layer.

Look for the darkest darks, the coloured mid-tones and the lighter reflected areas. These changes describe the form of the head and body and make the coat look three-dimensional.

Learn Black Dog Fur Step by Step

There are now three focused black dog fur tutorials inside the Soft Pastel Skills Hub.

Together, they allow you to explore:

• Grey-black fur

• Purple-black fur

• Blue-black fur

• Smooth, shiny coats

• Softer and fluffier fur

• Colour selection

• Value and pressure control

• Creating shine without over-blending

Rather than showing you one formula to copy, the lessons help you understand how to look at different reference photographs and decide what each individual dog needs.

Inside the Soft Pastel Skills Hub, you can learn from all three black dog tutorials.

Would you like to see how the Hub works first? Try the free Mini Hub Experience and explore a selection of lessons from inside the Hub.

My tutorials are taught and narrated as I work, so you hear the decisions I make, the colours I choose, the problems I notice and how I correct anything that does not go to plan. That is so important because it shows you that creating art is not a straight path. Things go wrong, adjustments are made and that is all part of the learning process.

Before becoming a professional artist, I was a teacher with specialist training in helping people who find learning difficult. That experience shapes the way I teach today: clearly, practically and one manageable skill at a time.