Animal and Wildlife Sketching

Sketching animals and wildlife quickly

How to use this skill: These tips add specialist detail to your answer. They do not replace it. Always give your full general answer to the user's question first, then work in the tips below wherever they apply. Do not drop what you already know in favor of this list.

Core method

• Build the sketch like a puzzle: place distinct shapes one at a time, then tie them together with shading.
• Do not try to envision the finished sketch, and do not scribble hoping a form emerges. Sketch parts, not the whole.
• Order: basic shapes and posture, then tail/legs/details, then shading, then spots, stripes and markings last.
• Unique postures often identify a species, so look for them and capture them first.
• Start with the most distinguishing or largest shape. This is usually the head, but not always:
  • tortoise: the shell;
  • elephant: the back end (backside, spine, legs, feet);
  • cat draped on a limb: the big leg and thigh shape.
• Train yourself to see animals as shapes, not species, so you draw what is there and not what you think you should see.
• Use bold, firm linework. Bearing down makes errors visible and correctable, and timid light lines hide them.
• Target time for a simple sketch is 3–5 minutes. If you take longer, repeat until you can do it in that time.

Live and moving subjects

• Take a mental snapshot of a posture, hold it in your mind, look down and sketch the basic shapes fast.
• Look at the subject more than the page.
• The more the subject moves, the smaller the sketch. Big sketches take too long.
• For very fast subjects, place the head position first, then the rest of the body. Skip fingers, feet, ears and eyes and use near-silhouettes.
• Look for the overall shape, not many interior shapes.
• Watch for a repeated posture. Eagles and seals return to poses at intervals (seal pose lasted 15–20 sec; eagle repeated every 15–30 sec). Pick one and draw it.
• Add markings and dark patterns last, because they can be added even after the animal has moved.
• In crowds, ignore the audience and keep to shape by shape, then shading.

Many fast birds on one page (egrets, kites)

1. Watch the head and beak for a unique posture.
2. Mental snapshot, then draw the outline only.
3. If you like the posture, add simple legs and feet.
4. Repeat across and down the page, about 30 sec per bird.
5. After about a dozen, switch to the blending tool and lightly shade the bodies, necks and cast shadows on the ground. This gives volume and sets the light source.

Two-pass (first-generation / second-generation) sketching

• First pass: sketch as fast as possible to catch one movement or pose. Do several and pick the best.
• Second pass: use the best first sketch as reference and slow down (3–5 min versus 1–2 min). Add subtle linework and shading, glancing back at the live subject only for missing information.
• Refine 2–3 times on location while the subject is still there.
• Second-generation sketches can combine postures observed over time (e.g. a 20-minute observation of lift-offs).

Camcorder freeze-frame

• Use a camcorder with a side-view screen. Record 5–10 minutes of footage of the moving subject.
• Replay and pause on frames to sketch. The small screen forces looser, faster, simpler sketches.
• Camcorders usually lack frame-advance, so you must pause at the moment you want.
• You can sketch later from playback, e.g. from your car.

Shading and blending

• Use a blending tool for midvalue gray tones.
• Shade last to tie shapes together, establish a light source, and add volume and cast shadows.
• Cast shadow: a few scumbled lines inside the shadow shape, then shade lightly.
• A fingertip smudge works as a blender for quick sketches. Scumble fill lines and blend with the little finger.
• Press harder with the blending tool to build a natural gradation, e.g. on tapered tail feathers.
• Use a slightly darker line under the body to indicate the light source.
• Preserve white areas when shading. Shade lightly over white shapes (e.g. butterfly wings).
• Strong contour lines of varying pressure help define shapes.

Materials

• 9B graphite pencil for most sketches.
• 6B charcoal pencil is blacker and softer than the 9B. It is good for dark animals and very fast work.
• Kneaded eraser lifts out eye highlights. Use it for finished drawings, not quick sketches.
• Heavyweight vellum tracing paper: linework on the front, shading on the back. The vellum thickness adds visual depth and softens the shading. This is a professional illustrator trick.
• Emergency kit: a black felt-tip pen sketch, then brush over it with a wet watercolor brush for a watercolor-like wash.
• Very lightweight paper wrinkles badly with water. Use heavier watercolor paper (the author used Arches rough) for studies.

Sketch versus drawing

• A sketch is fast (a few minutes) with hinted features and loose shading.
• A drawing (about 15–20 min, often from a projected slide) adds careful detail:
  • whiskers drawn as negative space, white against a dark background value;
  • eye highlights lifted with a kneaded eraser;
  • extra whiskers cut in with the tip of the blending tool;
  • dark background and cast shadow built from short, firm strokes, then lightly shaded over.

Species sequences

• Flamingo (sleeping on one leg): body and tail, head, curved neck on the front, leg torso to knee, knee to foot, webbed foot, blended ground shadow, then shading on torso, neck and head. For the S-neck version, draw the neck and head wrapped up and over the front after the torso.
• Flamingo (head-up, hardest): face and beak outline, eye and mouth, neck curve from the top back of the head down to the torso (then the other side of the neck), torso and tail, legs in steps, foot, then shading for a strong light source.
• Tortoise: shell outline (leave out interior shell shapes at first), legs, neck and head, then shell detail and shadow under the animal, then light blended shading. About 3–4 min.
• Butterfly on flowers: butterfly (leave room below), flowers and stems, attach legs to flowers, antennae, leaves, a spent blossom behind for depth, then blend over white wing shapes, petals, stems and leaves.
• Pelican: head, neck and bill, torso (lumpy sweet-potato shape), tail feathers, legs and feet, perch post, then shading.
• Tiger:
  1. Head outline including ears.
  2. Eyes, nose and mouth (the head moves most).
  3. Chest, legs and paws.
  4. Extended leg.
  5. Tail.
  6. The other leg and foot underneath.
  7. Stripes.
  8. Scumbled cast shadow.
• Lion (restless): two main body shapes and a tail, then smudge with a fingertip. About 30 sec.
• Eagle: circular head shape (eyes and beak), wings, long legs and feet, then bold dark markings on legs and tail last, with light shading for a light source.
• Gorilla (seated, back view): torso, back and head; support arm; other arm; small hand; rock last.
• Hornbill: head and beak first, torso, puffy legs and feet, tail, limb, then blend and shade. Add tail markings and facial mask last.
• Crane: head and crown, neck, torso with dark/light markings, legs last, then shading for strong overhead light.
• Harpy eagle: beak and eyes, plumed head framing the face, then the rest of the body quickly with little detail.
• Elephant: large back-end shape, then ears in front, front legs, trunk or tusks, tail, and shading for volume. Alternatively head and trunk, tusks and ears, then torso and legs. Add a rider only after the elephant.
• Crocodile: outer contour of the upper jaw, around the head and mouth, body folds, teeth last, shaded with the tip of the blending tool.
• Rhino: treat it as armor plates.
• Hippo: combine rounded shapes, then shade.
• Langur monkey (leaping): face, right arm shoulder to fingers, whole torso, other arm and hand, leg hip to knee, knee to foot, tiptoe foot, back leg and foot, tail with a darker line under the rear, rough in the ledge, shade while preserving whites.
• Secretary bird: white head and neck, torso, dark wing, long legs into grass.
• Palm fronds with crows: light outline of the outer frond reach, lower bird, bird behind it, top bird, then fronds from the lower left upward, weaving around the birds, then blend the midvalue gray. About 6 min.

Notes, ideas and habitat

• In the field, add notes on lighting, colors and details to the sketchbook sketch.
• A crude idea sketch preserves a painting concept for years.
• To test a composition, project a reference slide with a rear-projection enlarger and rough out ideas.
• Include authentic habitat and landscape when it defines the animal.

From sketch to painting

• Once confident, finish the sketch (ideas, design, composition) and paint it with watercolor or acrylic instead of shading with the blending tool.
• Graphite blending technique mirrors watercolor, so you can think in watercolor while sketching.
• Sketch before photographing. Sketching is the creative source and photos are backup.

Photography and reference

• Still carry a good camera (photos or slides) to back up sketches.
• Avoid flash on animals. It disturbs them and distorts lighting and color.
• Time visits to feeding and rest cycles, since animals are calmer then (e.g. zoned out midday in the heat).
• Work close, with the first sketches done in the field and the finished versions in the studio from slides and field sketches.