Drawing Keeva (How to draw a German Shepherd - tongue focus) Part Three

Part three of Keeva’s tutorial takes us to the point shown in the photo. Where the tongue has just been finished and we are about to start her gorgeous collar and body.

One of my favourite parts of drawing a dog portrait is when the personality really begins to shine through and in Part Three of Keeva’s tutorial, that’s exactly what starts to happen.

With her eyes, ears, and nose already complete, this stage focuses on her open mouth, tongue, and the fur along her jaw and neck. Drawing a panting expression in soft pastels presents a different kind of challenge: it’s all about capturing the energy and emotion in a moment of joyful movement.

The tongue is such a vibrant and central feature here. I worked in layers to achieve the subtle colour shifts, adding depth with soft pinks, purples, and hints of grey to create a moist, textured look. It’s always a balance between maintaining structure and keeping the marks soft enough to feel natural.

Inside the mouth, the teeth and tongue work together to create a sense of form and realism. I pay special attention to edges, shadows, and highlights to help them sit back in space, while still being a focal point. Drawing a mouth is all about seeing the shapes rather than overthinking it, which is something I really talk through in the tutorial on Patreon.

The surrounding fur is also important, it frames the expression and continues the rhythm of the portrait. In this section, I used directional strokes to follow the way the fur curves around the jawline and down into the neck. You always want to be thinking about putting your strokes in to follow the direction of the fur so that it looks natural and doesn’t jar together.  Building these layers gradually gives the portrait that rich, lifelike finish.

If you’re interested in learning exactly how I built this stage, from colour choices to layering technique, you can watch the full real-time tutorial now on Patreon. It includes the reference photo, full materials list, and my step-by-step guidance throughout.

You can find the full time tutorial on my Patreon channel here.

You can find a full list of available drawing tutorials here.