In this tutorial, you will learn how to create cute and funny animals with simple tools and techniques. This lesson will show you how to apply the soft texture of the fur and the sharp elements on the Owl sketch.
Final result
The sketch of the Owl located below has a size of about 660x630px and Resolution(Resolution) 300px / inch.
Create a fairly simple bird sketch. To do this, use a translucent round brush or a brush of ‘40px’ from the set Brushes Hair / Fur. In fact, the sketch can be much simpler than shown in the example below. You must create a silhouette of a bird with dark and light spots. To draw this character, I used Photoshop CS5 and Intuos 4, but the same result can be achieved with older versions of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, as well as using another drawing tablet.
Make the created bird image softer. Go to menu Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur (Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur) apply a blur radius of 5-6px. Then increase the contrast in the ‘ow’ face area. Make the following areas of the eyes and beak darker with a round brush.
Duplicate the round layer twice. Transform the second duplicate to make it smaller, we need to make this layer in the shape of the iris (the yellow zone of the eye). Transform the 3rd duplicate in the same way. Make it 40-50% less. We will use it to create a pupil (dark circle). Download owl eyes styles and apply them to layers with circles to get a similar effect, as in the screenshot below.
Then add two small white circles above the layers with circles to create a reflection effect.
Now you can merge all layers with eyes. Copy the merged layer to create a second eye.
You can create multiple elements without special drawing skills. Draw basic flat beak shapes with Brush 
(Brush) or Pen
(Pen). Create each element on a separate layer.
Download Beak styles and apply them to the elements of the beak.
Then you can combine the shapes of the beak into one layer. Continue to shape the beak using a translucent brush. Add a few color reflections and smooth the surface of the beak.
Use a similar method for drawing paws. First, draw simple basic shapes with a gradient.
Then apply a bird skin texture with a translucent small round brush.
The texture of the skin was created by the imposition of translucent patches of brown / pink / yellow.
Add claws. I applied the default layer style Bevel and Emboss(Embossed) to them (size 5px and softened). In addition, I did a little work on them with a soft translucent brush.
Combine all the paw layers. Duplicate the combined paw shape, go to menu Edit> Transform> Flip Horizontal(edit> Transform> Flip Horizontally) to create a second paw.
Download Hair / fur brushes to create a fluffy texture for the owl’s body.
There are two ways to create a fluffy effect – using the brush with the settings from the screenshots below or using the tool Smudge(Finger). Try both to find out which one is best for you, you can also combine these methods. I will describe the use of the tool Smudge(Finger) in the next step.
To work with the tool Smudge
(Finger) specify Strength (Intensity) 80-100% (a large amount makes the hair longer). Make an active blurred layer of the owl’s body and try to pull the owl’s hair out by following the screenshots below.
To make a long hair strand, select the smallest hair brush and use a larger amount. Strength (Intensity) 90-100%
Connect the layer with the body of an owl with eyes and beak, then pull out a few hairs above the eyes and beak.
Place an image of an egg or create your own egg with PenTool (Pen). Apply Egg style to him. Erase the paw area from the egg.
Combine the layers with the paws and the body of the owl. Then treat the paw joint area using Smudge (Finger).
And here is the result!
