Animal Drawing
From simple shapes to fur, feather and scale.
Animals won't hold a pose, so drawing them teaches you to see structure fast. A week from basic shapes and skeletons to texture and motion.
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Shapes first Done
Every animal is a few big shapes: a bean for the body, a ball for the head, tubes for the legs. Get those proportions right before any fur or features.
+6 more
Under the skin Done
Skulls show you what fur hides: where the eye sockets sit, how long the muzzle really is, where the jaw hinges. Draw them slowly and you will draw living heads better.
+2 more
Birds Done
A perched bird is two ovals, head and body, with a wedge for the tail. The legs bend backward at what looks like the knee but is actually the ankle. Feathers come last, in groups, not one by one.
+3 more
Horses Done
Fit the horse's body into a square. Its legs are about as long as the body is deep. Watch the hind leg's reverse bend at the hock.
+4 more
Big cats Done
Cats move from the shoulder blades, which ride high when they walk. Mark the shoulder and hip as the two anchor points and hang the spine between them.
+1 more
Scales and texture Done
Don't draw every scale. Draw a few clearly where the form turns toward the light and let them fade elsewhere. Texture is information, and too much of it flattens the form.
+2 more
Wings in motion Done
Thirty seconds per bird. Capture the angle of the wings and the direction of flight in a few strokes. Speed forces you to keep only what matters.
+6 more