How to Draw Wildlife With Art Books

One of the best ways to learn to draw is by looking at the things you want to draw. Learning to draw wildlife, whether you attempt animals or other elements in nature, can be challenging. There are a number of how-to art books on the market that can help teach you the basics of drawing art. If you want to learn to draw animals and plants, a trip to the library or a bookstore might be just what you need to get started.

Things You'll Need

  • Sketch pad
  • Pencils
  • Eraser
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Choose a simple drawing from a basic how-to book on drawing wildlife, which includes animals and plants. More advanced artists can attempt wildlife in a complex natural setting, but when you start out, consider sketching a bird, a rabbit, or maybe a plant or tree. A profile bird is an easy beginner's project.

    • 2

      Sketch an outline of your wildlife subject using a soft pencil (3B or 4B). Keep a gum eraser nearby. Follow the guidelines in your how-to book. Draw and erase until you have a rough outline to work with. Do your first pass on the outline in light lines. When you're satisfied with the overall shape of the subject, go over the lines to deepen them.

    • 3

      Add the details of your subject one line at a time. If you're drawing a bird, sketch the shape of the feathers, then use light side-to-side strokes to bring out the feathers. Each layer of pencil you put on the outline should bring out more shading and texture. Besides the instructions in the wildlife drawing book, consider adding your own shading---experiment with cross-hatching to develop feathers and fur. Cross-hatching (using diagonal strokes of your pencil in different directions) is an excellent way to fill out your wildlife sketch.

Related Searches:

References

Resources

Comments

You May Also Like

  • How to Draw Wildlife

    Place the pencil on the paper where you think the top part of the animal's head should be. Do not worry about...

  • Homemade Two-Liter Bird Feeders

    Plastic two-liter bottles can easily be recycled into a functional backyard bird feeder. This is an easy project, but involves using a...

  • How to Draw Lips Step by Step

    Learning to draw human faces can be easier if you study the features individually and master the shapes and shading for each...

  • How to Draw Wild Animals

    In addition to being dangerous, drawing wild animals from life is difficult because they're not still long enough to sketch them. That's...

  • Wilson Bickford's Art Lessons

    Wilson Bickford is an artist who paints landscapes, wildlife, still life and portraits using oil paints. He offers workshops and lessons, art...

  • How to Draw Crosshatching & Hatching

    Hatching is a drawing technique that requires the artist to create several lines that are thinner on one end and thicker on...

  • Tips for Figure Drawing

    Drawing people can be difficult so our expert is here to offer some great tips on figure drawing in this free video...

  • How to Draw a Bird's Wing

    Whether sketching for a wildlife painting or drawing for a decorative painting of an angel, drawing a bird's wing accurately is a...

  • The Best Techniques to Draw Isometrics

    If you want to represent three-dimensional objects and spaces in a two-dimensional drawing, you can do this with isometric techniques. These methods...

Related Ads

Featured