Drawing Animals in Graphite

Mike Hendley

This structured 6-class course will take you through everything: from the basics of sketching animals with graphite to more advanced techniques, you will learn about the general anatomy of selected animal groups, how to suggest animal textures and composition, and how to depict emotion and energy. By the end of this course, you will have the necessary skills to draw any animal and apply the knowledge to other subjects of your preference.

Learn how to capture animals' unique characteristics and personalities in your drawings by practising various techniques for creating texture, form, and dimension with graphite.

Fit for artists who want to deepen their drawing knowledge.

This course is for intermediate to advanced artists who are comfortable using the medium and supplies.

COURSE CURRICULUM

Session 1: Introduction to Graphite Drawing

Learn the various tools used in graphite drawing, how and when to use each, and how to properly maintain the materials for optimal use. Mike will go in-depth with his commonly used tools and how he achieves certain textures and captivating graphite works with these.

Session 2: Basic Animal Anatomy

Learn the basic anatomy of selected animal groups by drawing different animal parts and distinguishing their characteristics through quick gestural drawings. Mike will show you what to keep in mind while drawing animals to construct a well-constructed animal sketch.

Session 3: Proportion and Composition

Learn about the importance of proportions in animal drawing by seeing different examples and using elements inside the image as the basis for proportion. Understand how different compositions can alter how we perceive the subject, all while drawing various thumbnail sketches.

Session 4: Depth, Dimension and Environments

Create depth through tonal values and various shading techniques such as hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, and building up layers. Learn these concepts while drawing representative animals from each group, giving them shape and form.

Session 5: Exploring Common Animal Textures

Learn how to achieve different types of animal textures, starting with the most common animal texture, fur, down to feathers, scales, and skin textures. Master each of these textures by drawing them in a realistic manner with graphite techniques.

REFERENCE PHOTOS