101 DS Tutorial

If you found this place, you are seeking advice on how to draw 101 Dalmatian street art!

I'll be doing my best to give my knowledge to those who love this show as much as I do!

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Before we start

This tutorial is set together out of my love for 101 Dalmatian Street. A great show with a far too little runtime of one season.
Here I want to give on what I learnt when it comes to drawing just like in the show.

The most important aspect, to me at least, is that you have fun and that you do add your own ideas into the mix! Everyone can add their own little spin on the style!
I'd even go so far to say, the way I draw 101DS characters, has a bit of "Milesness" to it.
So don't be afraid to have your own flair!

Before we begin

References! They are your friend!

Don't be afraid to use references! That's what they are for!
Luckily for us, 101DS has a lot of references uploaded online by those who worked on the show.
But even then, the show itself can be used as a very handy and viable resource to get a grasp on the style and characters!

I also encourage to not trace! It may feel like an easy way out, but there is way more satisfaction in getting something down on your own!
(It's also disrespectful towards the artist you traced from!)

Where to find references

-Main Dalmatian References-
(Click on the pup you need, scroll all the way down!)
-Other Dog References-
-Human References-
-Prop References-
-Location References-

Tutorial Navigation

-Pup 101-
-Other Dogs & Animals-
-Human Characters-
-Designing New Characters-
-Human Dog Duos-
-Backgrounds and Structures-

Pup 101

This tutorial will be rather detailed, simply because I noticed just how many areas there are too cover to get that feel of the show just right!

Proportion

Personally, I like to always imagine two same sized circles when drawing dalmatians.

One for the head, one for the body.

This helps me keep the proportions in check.

Especially in the smaller puppies, their heads and their entire bodies are the same size! With bigger pups like Dylan and Dolly, they are roughly the length of the circle of their head!

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Heads and Snouts

This one took me a while to get down proper. Snouts in 101DS were especially difficult to me!

When drawing any of the dalmatians (aside Doug!), it's best to imagine their heads a bit like beans, with smaller pups leaning more towards an actual circle in shape.

A good rule of thumb is to only have snouts be outlined if they step outside of the head shapes boundary! Some angles of heads can be difficult thanks to the snouts, but with this rule, there is a good chance of getting it right, every time!

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Mouths

Let's just say it: 101 DS uses the typical "bean mouth" that we all see meme'd on, every now and then.
Though, they also use it a bit more over the top as well, often going for a non-symmetrical style on it!

Generally, almost any type of mouth is valid, especially in front view!
Interesting to note, is that it's just as valid to put an outline around the mouth (third face) or not (second face)!

When it comes to other views, it's a bit more tricky.


-If a dog is looking DOWN, you generally do not have to draw ANY mouth.
-If a dog is looking UP, the mouth functions similar to the front view (more on that below!)
-If a dog is looking to the side, it pretty much opens as you'd expect! Important is that it still curves below the eyes, not in front of the eyes!
-If a dog is in 3/4ths view, it's important to still show the inside of the mouth, UNLESS the mouth is somehow no longer in front of the face itself! (as shown in image!)

While on shorter snouted pups you can practically use mouths just as you would on a front view, it looks awkward on longer snouts.
Portia's likely the best example of this!

While other mouth forms will be talked about in the "Other animals and dogs" category, some dalmatians too have longer snouts, so it's worth mentioning this at least once here too!

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Ears

Ears are also somewhat difficult when you start out, but there are some simple ways to keep them on spot!

101 DS Ears are very floppy at times, can flow in the wind and generally tend to follow gravity!
The rule about ears "being behind the head" is also true for pointy ears!


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Legs and Paws

The show actually offers its own reference for it!


Found on the 101DS Wiki!

For keeping paws in a consistent size, try to keep them about the size of the dogs eye!

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Posing and Shillouettes

I feel this is just as important in "How to draw" 101DS, though it's also important to remember that these things are simply suggestions.
It's not unlikely that posing and shillouettes will help in giving your art the right "feel" to it, but it can, at times, be difficult to "get right".
So, don't stress too much about this and practice, practice, practice!
But also, have fun!

All images used here can be found HERE! (Just scroll all the way to the bottom!)
They are not made by me, but are official notes for the show! The link will also have them in a bigger viewable size!




This one's kinda funny and they didn't quite keep to it themselves in the show, but still noteworthy!


Notable mention: Puppy piles!


This one's simply helpful because it has a full turnaround of the "basic" puppy shape!
Again, it can be found on the disney fandom wiki linked further up!

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Other Dogs & Animals

Other Dogs

-Skip to other animals-

When it comes to other dogs (and animals, further down!) there are only so many tips I can give.

All dogs in 101DS are highly unique, but there are of course some things they share, that can make drawing them easier!
Also, all things I show here will come up again further down in Character design as well!

-Step one - References!-
There we are again with the references! When drawing any dog you choose, a good thing is to have references of them around!
One good way of doing things is getting screenshots of said dog from within the show, in different poses and angles!

-Step two - Shapes!-
One reason I love this shows style so much, is shapes! All dogs have shapes help make up their designs and say something about them along the way (more on that in character design as well!)
Here are our example dogs! As you can see, every one of them has simple shapes that make up their form!


-Prunella is made up mostly of circles
-Summer is made up of a very smooth, pyramid-like shape! (If that causes trouble, you can also divide it into multiple circles that get smaller!)
-Godfrey is made of a pill shape for his head and a big circle for his body!

All of these shapes are meant to tell something about the character, so if you know what a character is about, it sometimes makes it easier to pay attention as to why certain shapes are being used!
Prunella is round and well, a pug! Those are sturdy built, roundish dogs!
Summer meanwhile is a sleek, young dog that lives in the countryside, so her shapes are sleeker too, to allow more athletic motion!
Godfrey is an elderly dog, so he's a bit sluggish due to that and not the fittest anymore, hence the round, close shapes!

Since she's likely the most complex design in the show, I'll also briefly look at Portia Poodle specifically.
Given her goth style, her design's likely meant to totally be off the norm on purpose, having her resemble modern art more than an actual dog.
But even here, we can find simple shapes that will make drawing her way more easy!

Seeking shapes in the designs really can help a lot, as you can see!

-Step three - Details!-
The last step really is just the details that makes the character who they are.
This is a pretty straightforward step and everything from Pup 101 can equally be used when drawing other dogs as well, given that a lot of traits are shared!
Mouths, snouts, ears, legs and paws, they all are basically the same!

Other Animals

-Coming Soon!-

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Human Characters

-Coming Soon!-

Designing New Characters

-Coming Soon!-

Human Dog Duos

-Coming Soon!-

Backgrounds and Structures

-Coming Soon!-