How to draw wildlifeWildlife drawing courses, how to draw Birds, Mammals and Wild Flowers.
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Do you wish you could draw birds or mammals or wild flowers, capture there likeness and get there proportions right and be happy with the finished result?
These courses are designed to help you along that path.
They have lots of guidance on the basics of drawing covering Familiarizing yourself with the subject, How much to draw, How to hold and use a pencil or pastel, Measuring proportions, Drawing through the subject, Negative space, Shading to show form and depth and Perspective.
I also show you how I went about a drawing to help you understand the proses and then you are given three projects to work on.
- Each project has guidelines on how to start your drawing so you are not left alone to get on with it.
- For each project you are given a photograph to work from, once you have completed your drawing you can upload it to the gallery to show others your work.
- You can also join our wildlife drawing community forum and talk to others about drawing.
All this is for the basic price but if you want assessments of your work from me either one for each project or two for each then these are available at a higher price.
And of course if you are not delighted with the course when you see it you can have your money back.
But I think when you do see it you will be delighted!
Here are some introductory drawing lessons and advice to be getting on with.
For the most part being able to draw something is down to careful observation, take time to study what you wish to draw. Look at it's proportions, how big is one part to another, find a part of it that you can compare to the rest treat it like a ruler. Also look for how things relate, visualize a horizontal line running from lets say the beak that you are drawing across to the back of the head, does it line up like this on the bird you are drawing? Or a vertical line running up from where you are drawing in the legs to the back, do they need to be moved either to the left or right or are they just fine?
First choose a soft drawing pencil like a 4B or 8B and get a soft putty eraser rather than a conventional eraser and a good quality drawing pad, these will help in achieving the results you are after.
For drawing birds sit at your window and do quick sketches of birds on your bird table, this is a good way to get to know different birds postures and behavior. Or go to a park with a lake or pond and draw the water fowl and pigeons and the squirrels who can be obliging.
With animals you can practice by drawing your pets, particularly if they are asleep! Or go out and sketch some horses or sheep, don't laugh Henry Moor the sculptor used to like drawing sheep! And of course go to a wildlife park if there's one near.
Flowers and plants are much easier, they don't run around!
What I am going to show you now is how to start off and work through to a finished drawing.
Birds
Start of getting the overall shape of the body, head and tail, the head being the smallest can be used as a measure for the rest. Make sure you sketch lightly as you will want to remove any unwanted lines later.
Next sketch in the wings then the beak and legs/feet, once you are satisfied that all these are in proportion you can start defining the bird's shape.
Next you can start on the detail but before you do so you can erase any unwanted lines, otherwise it will be difficult once all the details are in place.
Now you can render in some shading, this will give it a more three dimensional appearance.
One thing to remember, this is just a sketch not a finished piece that is going into the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition! Just relax it doesn't mater if you make mistakes, just learn from them and enjoy your self!
Mammals
Mammals are more difficult, lots of legs with funny bends in them and faces with details like expressive eyes and mouths!
Just have a good look then tackle the main proportions as before, first the body, neck, head and legs.
Once you are satisfied that everything looks right, start putting in more shape to them. Gradually refine your drawing, add the tail, ears, eyes, nose etc. If the animal has any markings like stripes or spots, save these like the fur until last as they are only surface detail and not part of its overall shape.
And lastly add the shading unless you want to leave it as just a line drawing.
Wild Flowers
The same principles apply here, first get the main shapes right. Don't be fazed by all the detail like petals, stems, leaves etc. Look for the big shapes like I have shown here, everything else hangs on getting this stage right. It doesn't matter how amazing you have done all the detail, if the proportions are wrong it just wont look right. If you drew a giraffe with every marking and detail but with a very short neck, it just wouldn't look like a giraffe!
Now you have worked out the proportions you can start adding the rough shapes of petals and leaves etc.
Once all of this looks right you are free to get into the detail and you can relax as you know that when you have finished it will look right and not like the giraffe!
Don't forget just relax and enjoy drawing, its a big adventure with a great ending!
The subjects drawn in order here are: Robin, Little Egret, Squirrel, Rabbit, Honeysuckle and Pyramidal Orchid.
Why not take up a Wildlife Drawing Course!
Now that you have seen and benefited from these drawing modules why not take one of my online advanced courses and take your drawing level up to a new height.
