How To

Draw Animals
A brief guide
by Michael Terry
Michael Terry
Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved

Welcome to www.performingpencil.com
the site dedicated to drawing.
So lets get going on how to draw Animals.
Animals are very rewarding to draw, there is such variety in shape
and sie !rom a tiny mouse to a magni!icent A!rican "lephant# Can
you thin$ o! any other group o! creatures that has such contrast#
There is so much to draw here so much to o%serve and capture#
&or the most part %eing a%le to draw something is down to care!ul
o%servation, ta$e time to study what you wish to draw# 'oo$ at it(s
proportions, how %ig is one part to another, !ind a part o! it that you
can compare to the rest treat it li$e a ruler# Also loo$ !or how things
relate to each other#
)ut %e!ore you start !irst chose a soft drawing pencil like a 4B or
8B and get a soft putty eraser rather than a conventional eraser
and a good *uality drawing pad, these will help in achieving the
results you are a!ter#
&or drawing animals why not draw your cat or dog# +r go to a par$
and s$etch the s*uirrels there and i! your luc$y the dear# Also a
wildli!e par$ i! you have one near%y is e,cellent !or animals to draw#
-hat . am going to show you now is how to start and wor$ through
to a !inished drawing#
Getting started.
/tart %y getting the overall shape o! the %ody, nec$ and head, the
head %eing the smallest part it can %e used as a measure !or the
rest#
0ere . would li$e to mention a very use!ul tool !or getting
proportions right, its called the 'roportion !easure' and is
included within the !ull e)oo$#
To continue ma$e sure you s$etch lightly as you will want to remove
any unwanted lines later#
1e,t start to s$etch in the legs and as mentioned a%ove use the
head as a measure , once you are satis!ied that all these are in
proportion you can start de!ining the animals shape#
1e,t you can start on the detail %ut %e!ore you do so you can erase
any unwanted lines, other wise it will %e di!!icult once all the details
are in place#
1ow you can render in some shading, this will give it a more three
dimensional appearance also you can put in any mar$ings#
"ow # want to show you the different
stages of producing a drawing.
&irst here is an overview o! the process#
$he first e%ample is of a s&uirrel.
Stage 'ne
The !irst stage is to get the overall %ody shape, once you are happy
with this then you can move to the ne,t#
Stage $wo
. have now added the %asic shape o! the tail#
Stage $hree
1ow . have added the %eginning o! the rear leg, the !orearm and
indicated the position o! the head# The depth o! the rear leg is a%out
the same as the thic$ness o! the top o! the %ody and the length o!
the !orearm is the thic$ness o! the tail# Measuring one shape
against another will help you get shapes the right sie#
Stage (our
0ere . have added an ear, hand and !oot#
Stage (i)e
2ust added the eye#
Stage Si%
This is my !inal stage, . have lightly ru%%ed out the pencil lines so
that . can put in the detail li$e the hairs o! the tail#
. have also added shading to give the s*uirrel !orm#
"ow # shall draw a ra**it to reinforce the
principles.
Stage 'ne
0ere li$e the !irst e,ample . have drawn the %asic %ody shape#
Stage $wo
1ow . have added the head shape# 0ere you can now use the head
as a measure, in this instance !rom the top o! the head to the
%ottom goes two times in the hight o! the %ody#
Stage $hree
1e,t . have added the ears, the hight o! the ears is roughly the
same as the depth o! the head#
Stage (our
Arms have now %een added, these are roughly the same in length
as the depth o! the head#
Stage (i)e
0ere . have now %egan to add shape the %asic shapes and the eye#
Also some grass#
Stage Si%
0ere is the !inal drawing, . have added more detail li$e the nose
and mouth also shading to help to show !orm plus more detail in the
grass#
+ne thing to remem%er, this is 3ust a s$etch not a !inished piece that
is going into the Royal Academy /ummer ",hi%ition4 2ust rela, it
doesn(t mater i! you ma$e mista$es, 3ust learn !rom them and en3oy
your sel!4
5on(t !orget 3ust rela, and en3oy drawing, its a %ig adventure with a
great ending4

(urther +elp.
. hope you have en3oyed this e)oo$ sample and have !ound it
help!ul in developing your drawing s$ills, i! so then why not get hold
o! the complete %oo$ which is !ull o! help!ul advise on drawing#
-hat . have given you in this sample is only a %asic guide, there is
a lot more in the !ull e)oo$ which will help you to produce a drawing
you will %e happy with# )elow are the su%3ects covered within the
%oo$#
As . said at the %eginning . have also included an invalua%le tool
that will go a long way in helping you to achieve the results you are
loo$ing !or in your drawings# . have called this tool the 'roportion
!easure' and . thin$ you will !ind this indispensa%le#
The e)oo$ '+ow to ,raw Animals' has a great deal more within it
to help you draw %etter#
0ere are the su%3ects covered#
(amiliari-ing yourself with the su*.ect.
+ow much to draw.
+ow to hold and use a pencil or pastel.
!easuring proportions.
,rawing through the su*.ect.
"egati)e space.
Shading to show form and depth.
erspecti)e.
Step *y step guide on how to draw a (allow ,eer stag.
0ere . will go through the stages o! a drawing which will !urther help
you to understand the process#
And lastly . cover the su%3ect o! how to render !ur#
And also the in)alua*le 'roportion !easure'
6o to www.performingpencil.com to o%tain this or one o! the
other e)oo$s availa%le#
+ere are some more photos for you to draw from.
&allow 5eer stag#
Meer$at
Wildmonths
.! you want to go even !urther in your development there are
courses availa%le at Wildmonths.com These provide pro3ects !or
you to wor$ on and also i! you wish personal !eed%ac$ and help
with your wor$#
There is also a !orum and gallery to show your wor$ on#
/o go and have a loo$ at Wildmonths.com, apart !rom the courses
availa%le there is a wealth o! in!ormation on wildli!e together with
my wildli!e diary which include many o! my photos ta$en in the !ield#
A deeper understanding o! wildli!e can only help in your drawing#
www.wildmonths.com
+elping your understanding of the natural world