Animal Drawing for Beginners: Create Lively and Accurate Animal Drawings
A course by Tim Pond
A course by Tim Pond
Learn how to create lively and anatomically correct animal drawings on study sheets
Drawing and watercolor painting have taken author and educator Tim Pond all over the world, from working as an expedition artist in Alaska to sketching leaves in Mexico's tropical forest. But Tim has always had a passion for teaching, having focused on educating students to capture live animals on the page in an accessible and fun way. He’s written several books on the topic, including Watercolor the Natural World, and The Field Guide to Drawing & Sketching Animals.
In this online course, Tim teaches how to draw anatomically accurate animals with life and movement without the fuss of depicting each and every hair. Drawing live animals means tacking movement —there is often only a brief moment when an animal holds a position, and there isn’t time to complete a polished drawing. Learn tips and tricks to speed up your ability to get your subject down on paper. Gain skills that can be applied to not just animals but anything that you want to draw.
What will you learn in this online course?
14 lessons & 45 downloads
Materials and Sketchbooks
4 minutes, 22 seconds
Dynamic Warm-ups
13 minutes, 47 seconds
Construction and Structure
17 minutes, 0 seconds
Negative and Positive Space: Shape to Shape
9 minutes, 44 seconds
Looking for the Main Head Shapes
17 minutes, 53 seconds
Chiaroscuro Sketching
8 minutes, 50 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start by getting to know your teacher, Tim Pond. He’s a writer and an educator with a life-long love for nature and drawing. He takes you through his journey, as well as his major influences.
Tim then guides you through materials we’ll need throughout the course, followed by a few warm-ups to build confidence. Then, get acquainted with basic animal anatomy and learn to navigate negative and positive spaces through a simple exercise.
Next, look through the main shapes of the animal’s head and find the symmetry line. Apply contrast with the chiaroscuro technique, and make measurements.
After that, get acquainted with study sheets, where you’ll do some rough gesture sketches of a deer. Add color, spots, characteristics and finish off your drawing.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to draw anatomically accurate animals with life and movement and gain the illustration skills you need to apply to other things as well.
What is this course's project?
Draw a sheet of studies of a fallow deer with its white fur popping out.
Who is this online course for?
Anyone with a love for animals who would like to learn how to draw them better.
Requirements and materials
Coloring pencils
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Getting Ready
- Materials and Sketchbooks
- Dynamic Warm-ups
- Construction and Structure
- Negative and Positive Space: Shape to Shape
- U3
Shaping and Building
- Looking for the Main Head Shapes
- Chiaroscuro Sketching
- Measurement by Comparison
- U4
Study Sheets
- Gesture Drawing
- The Study Sheet with Colour 1
- The Study Sheet with Colour 2
- Study Sheets: Sequence 1
- Study Sheets: Sequence 2
- FP
Final project
- Animal Drawings for Beginners with Life and Movement
What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and welcomes anyone interested in learning how to draw animals, even if you have no previous drawing experience.
You will need colored pencils for this course. Other basic drawing materials, such as a sketchbook and erasers, are also recommended.
Yes, the course teaches you how to create lively and anatomically correct animal drawings by understanding basic animal anatomy and using foundational drawing techniques.
The course includes gesture drawing and observational techniques to help you capture movement and energy in animal sketches.
You will learn to draw animals with accurate proportions, create expressive marks, use shading for depth, and apply geometric shapes to build forms, enhancing your overall illustration skills.
Yes, the course covers shading methods such as chiaroscuro, hatching, and using light and shadow to create depth and realism in your animal drawings.
The course teaches how to layer and blend colored pencils to depict texture, markings, and realistic color blends in animal illustrations.