I nearly always draw using a photo reference, the only way I can achieve a likeness. Well, maybe I achieve a likeness when I draw from real life, but a photo helps immensely.

What a photo often results in, however, is distortion. I know my horse well, and even though the above sketch I completed resembles him and even resembles the photo, it isn’t quite Pete. Pete is a Standardbred and has a rather long, Roman nose. This photo, taken about 20 feet away from him and zoomed in, created a foreshortened effect and his nose looks more like a Quarter Horse. If I were more experienced, I could change this to make it more Pete and less distorted photo.

Along with photo effects, I have some odd habits with drawing horses. I tend to place the eye too high and make the nose too wide pretty much every time. Believe it or not, I’m not trying for a photo real effect. My goal is to capture a likeness in an artistic manner. I don’t wish for my art to look like a photo, but I do hope people can look at something I’ve drawn and say, “Hey, that’s Pete!”