How to Draw Animals
How to Draw Animals
How to Draw Animals step by step
There is a routine I go through on how to draw animals. I get my first initial Idea or mental
picture of the particular animal. Then read up on the animal a bit, more so if I am not as familiar with
the one I have picked or not done a piece on the animal before. I then go through any of my reference
photos, and books, for details like fur, backgrounds, closeups, poses or anatomy stuff , and lighting which
is probably one of the most Important things for the piece looking realistic. I try to use lighting that is
consistent even if I am using different photos.
Then I check the anatomy references to make sure my sketches will be accurate as I sketch
out a few poses from my original Idea. I then pick out the best 1 or 2 unless I nail it right away and
try to do a final sketch sometimes using parts of both and get my final sketch complete. When this is
done I go to my finish paper and do the outline drawing to get ready for shading . This is the same system
I use for painting as well.
Once I have my final outline drawing completed, I could have as many as 4-5 reference
photos to complete the finished drawing. This may seem like a lot of work for one drawing, but you
will be surprised at how much better the finished piece looks with this approach. If somebody
asked me how to draw a lion, or how to draw a horse, my answer would be the same.
This is my Ritual on how to draw animals step by step.
I have read a lot of books on how to draw animals, being self-taught It’s good to do research on
how other people work as everyone has their own routine and every once in a while I find a little
tidbit of doing something slightly different, or a new technique that I try and if it works, I can add
it to the way I’m already working whether it saves time or works better for me, I already have my own style
so it just gets absorbed into my work habits.
The more work you do, and the more drawings you complete you will develop your own style and in this course
you will learn how to draw animals step by step. After going to Yellowstone National Park how to draw animals
became a top priority for me .
Bill Langis
Below is two of the finished lessons with their reference photos so you can see by the end results I use them as a guide, not for copying exactly.
