—————— THE WEATHERLY GUIDE TO —————_— DRAWING ANIMALS Pe Ure eee ee eT) Set ea] orig Seed WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY JOE WEATHERLYF The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals? focuses on learning how io draw animals using solid drawing principles. The emphasis of the book is on learning to draw animals by understanding action, analysis of form, construction, expressive drawing, and simplified anatomy. An approach to drawing animals from life (a challenging and sometimes frustrating exercise) can be learned from the principles layed out in this book, The importance of drawing from imagination | |Table of Contents Getting Started ¢ Drawing From Lite Drawing From Imagination. Places to Draw Animals . Observation. Drawing From Photographs and Video 16 Keeping # Sketchbook aT Drawing Precedures and Materials oar Gesture 19 22 Six Different Approaches to a Gesture Line of Action Rhythm Making the Action Construction ‘Animal Strectura ‘Animal Heads... Neck and Shoulders Rib Cage and Pelvis Foreiegs Hind Legs... ‘The Principles of Consinuction Step by Step Consiniction ‘A Fundamental Approach ‘Analyzing Farm Working the Wholn Position Avoid Porfact Symmetry Attitude and Expression Seletal Swucture - Stile Sakon Step by Sip Landmarks... Key Musele Shapes Comparative Anatomy... Carnvores and Hesbivores. Compared ‘Active Anatomy 5 Balance and Weight SEQRRAESERLESERSE ESHER ERE ES yay TazTable of Contents.‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. Giraffes The giraffe is the tallest and mammal in the ‘world. tie challenging lo get a girafle down ‘on paper, due to it's towering structuro. The incredibly elongated neck and long legs give the animal i's height. The chest is thick and the head is small, Long eyelashes and large brown ‘eyns give: the giraffe.a peaceful look, Large fears, two homs, and stil-ike legs give the ‘giraffe i's unique look. Find long lines of action in the neck and legs. * Line up nose, eyes, and ears + Hors are part of the skull + Note the large bumpipart of the skull) on the top of the eyes.‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals !and open up like a flower. This principle i true of many arvensis ee : + Front hoe is aways longer ? + Small ayes with large wrinkles Z around them SMP) «ars int cranial mass & pounce ‘The ear should be sold. Rhino ears are vary cylindrical at the base | 8 P jewtine Rhinos walk on the tips. of their three toes. € \ ‘Two heads long trom the Like elephants, minos scapula to the iscium. Two have a pad under their haads high at the apex of it cushions the the withers. foot and helps carry thir massive weight oS‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. Drawing from Life ‘Drawing from life ts an essential part of animal drawing, Working this way shows you things that you wall never get from ‘a photograph, Being in front of a ive animal will veal the form ‘ane working anatomy of your madel, Good animal drawing and ‘painting is no aecident: it comes from much drawing from if, Just as 4 musician has to constantly practice his scales in order 10 progress and get better, the artist must constantly draw from the lve model in order to constantly progress and bring that ‘knowledge to thoir work. Don't just copy what is infront of you; bring elements of what Yyou know to your model, Drawing what you know requires. ant understanding of ine animals construction snd anatomy. For ‘example, if you are drawing & horse that is constantly moving ‘is head oF walking around, you use your hnowiedge of what you already understand about a horse to aid you in your drawing, while constanty lacking at the horse for reference. Remember, animals drawn from ite should not bs copied ‘They should be analyzed and conceptualized.Drawing from Imagination Drawing animats tram He and imagination are done simultsnecusly. Almost all animal drawing is done from imagination because the animals are constant in motion. Unlike gure drawing, where the model holds a pose for us, animals are constantly moving 90 we must trust our imagination and memory fo draw them. When in font of a maving animal, think of ike taking a photograph in your mind and then transferring ito your paper: Basically, you ara drawing what you remember at fest. But eventually you are Creating what you know. Animal drawing can be compared to ing quick sketches of paople in places such as mals, cafes. and sporting events. They are constantly moving , 50 we make ‘most af up. How can you pessiiy draw something unless you now ha i looks ke? Remember, knowledge is power drawing ‘To successfully draw animals in motion oF even repose trom memory, artists must have a working knowledge ofthe animal they are drawing. Artists who rely upon photographs to copy {rom will never have the power to create, While drawing from Ii is extremely important, one must spend as much time Sawing ‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals from imagination away from the model. Drawing from imagination tests what we understand and shows what we don't know, ‘Moat leaining is dorie away from the 200. studying anatomy, ‘construction, and individual characteristics of the animal being ‘sludied, The best animal draftsmen ace not human xerox ‘machines who simply repraduce what is in a photograph: they ‘are amazing artists who can create animals and their actions ‘fom their magnation, This is no accident or git of talent: itis a direct resull of the work they have put into iL Spend tine drawing ‘animals from imagination in a variety of poses and at many different angles along with analorcal and construction studies, ‘There is a payot for constantly drawing animats from imagination Jn many different positions and atitudes. When you go back to the live model, you will be amazed at how much betler you ‘can draw because ofall the understanding you have obtained. ‘Always remember, ty copy' has no value, because copying Is ‘a mechanical imitation, not a true statement of nature.‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals.‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals Places To Draw Animals ‘Anyehara you can find animals is @ good place to draw. Places include zoe, equestrian centers, stables, ‘are a greal place to draw, especially when drawing ‘skaletons. Drawing in public, especially in zo08, can be distracting somatimes because of people crowding around you. [ve spent years drawing animals under these conditions, and have leamed to desl with it Equestrian Centers Stables and Farms Artists draw best under quiet circumstances, ‘where they can concentrate and focus an thear made. Whan you start to see results in \your animal drawings its worth drawing in public despite occasional distractions. One Pets ‘suggestion is to get to the zoe right when they open so you can get some good drawings in belore a lot of people arive, Another geod idea is to weer headphones in ‘order fo try and avoid boing distracted 15 Copyrighted material‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. Six Different Approaches to a Gesture QThe Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animais.The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. Line of Action ‘Action ean begin with ling of action, which Is ganraly the ‘sweeping motion of the spine, bul can be © any body part ‘with which you wish to stan. Tha ine af scsion should have a natural fow and smooBiness to "The atiiice, posture, and direction af action ean all be established wih a fine of action. Think ofthis basic gesture line a= though it wore the armature ‘on a clay Sculpture. Simplify the ine of action to gat a trong, lear drawing, then bud Rowing forms over this. Remember 4 look for ong ines of action throughout the entire bay ‘Your drawing should tll a story‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals Note the line of action in these examples. drawing has one.‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals y Note how th ehythm ines Curved lines that ghie movement an grace toa drawing are Nese re elie known as rhythm. Brawings can look stiff and clumsy without LA Swe Femel se kins tater eorencenttia ram Se | ees Grawing look tke it waa done with ease. Graceful rhythm lines wee ree fre long and curved, #8 opposed to short and choppy. Look for sot Straights against curves when you are designing animals. is the anatomy thal makes up the rythm, Make long. weeping fovea lesb aioe 6 sous jour sare > =~) Bo selective with getting the rhythen af a drawing by making cholcos and not mcluding everything, The eye shoud mae CA in and out of your drawing. Remember, action has rhythm, ‘The examples below show what the rhythm looks like when it is pulled from a finished drawing. 30a Thee Wrrratherly Guide to Drawing Animas ‘The ideal way to start a drawing, is to First get the action or essonce of the pose. Getting the action first gives you a lramewark on which to hang the forms. By doing 50. tse drawing wil stay loose and tee, not stiff and Wooden. A few flowing lines are al that iS necessary for action, You should also start to work out proportions and attitude in this inital stage. at Copyrighted material‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. Construction Construction is the foundation of drawing that makes it sold, The thorough knawedge of the iples of construction of the animal is of the importance. Solid ba represenied on a fal surtace, This is drawing in the thie ‘and is obtained by using frawing becat sculpt ‘imansianal quality. When drawing with ‘construction, is helpful to think of i as being carved out of marble oF building the: core masses up such as a sculptor would with clay,The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animas. Animal Structure ‘The key to good animal drawing is to understand what you re locking at. Don't draw the outing of the animal, draw the form. Anyone ‘can copy the outline of an animal, but true drawing is drawing from within: This can only be obtained by having a thorough knowledge ff the animars structure and tne to construct Ht Structure gives the artist the reasons for outward appearances. The anatomical structure we need as artists is the skeletal system and the soft forms that attach to f, Anatomical forms have te quality of design. ‘An animal's skeleton and muscles give Us the form and landmarks that wo base ‘construction on, Anatomy will give you a Loos for these body parts in avery animal you draw. Here they are in a simplified fashion. Give each body art individual study and remember {o think in volumes.The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. Animal Heads LN ed ‘Tho skull is the basis for Knowing the skull gives an all good head drawing, Understanding of drawing th head from the inside out.‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. Neck and Shoulders ‘An animars back outing resembles an because Its iting ‘over the high projections of the: Cchest and pelvic vertebrae, / ote the dowrreard tit ‘on most animal's ‘hindquarters.Avoid Perfect Symmetry Avoid Perfect symmetiy a drawing, la order to establish dimension or stably, don wee twin parallel ines because they establish a fat image. Lack of syrmeity betwoen two sides gives contrast in lem and shapes. in animal drawing, symmetry {also know a3 twinning) is usually when al four (or two) logs are inthe same gestion wih all of the wesght equally distributes ‘A good remedy to this is taking the weight off one or two-of the The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. legs in a pose. An exairsple of this would be a quadruped with bath forelags and one hindieg contacting the ground and the other hindiog slighly raised. tn doing this, you must compensate the pelvis by biting it down on the side the leg is ited. Animals da i all the time, constantly shifting their weight trom side ta side ‘Tne forms of the pose should be active, energetic, dynamic and vigorous, not passive, flat and redundant Here isan example of perfect symmetry in @ drawing ‘The forslegs and hinslags are “binning” each other, causing the pose to appear sli and uninteresting. By rearranging the leg positions, we have a non-symmelrical, meresting drawing, ‘This is another example of ‘twinning’. There is ne contrast ale in the deawing, Note the ‘ront and hindlegs, they are very syrmterical This drawing és much more interesting. Note the shit of weight in the hind quartaes. The pelvis raps on the same side that the leg its Also noe, the shoulder is higher on the right side because ‘his: arm is taking the weightThe Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. Attitude and Expression sede sai ca eae saa obyterta aes pailiy sel erie drawings all reveal some sort of attitude or character in them. This is not easily.‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals Perspective Any serious draftsman wil acquire aThe Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals Shoot for interesting angles in your drawings. Dramatic angles can ads interest and exctlement to your cee Perspective becomes the main lenge‘The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals Convey a sense of heavy weight when drawing elephants. Because elephants ae so large, their le all anatomy may be hard to identy Elephants that are fo rounded look stuffed, so leam the skoleton and the panes to aveid bis, Stive for massive scale and trwe characterThe Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals . Rhinos have & powerll and prehisteric look. Think of sheer size anc strength when drawing inoceroses these impressive animals. Comman to all rhinos is a short neck, large head, bros chest, And thick linbs, The Skul s very evident in the design of the head and the eves are small