STEP ONE
Source material and initial compositional sketch The first step entails working out the content of the image, materials, composition and the source imagery that inspires you. For example if you intend to create a realistic portrait of a dog you either need a dog or a photo of a dog to build that portrait from, unless of course you have a photographic memory.
Source imagery can range from magazines, books, your own photos, the Internet and other illustrations or artworks. This particular drawing is