How to Draw Textured Animals
For people young and old, drawing is a skill that takes both time and practice, but the results are rewarding. As relaxing as it is to draw a variety of portraits, it is also quite satisfying to draw animals of all types in a realistic setting. Whether you're using textured animal drawings in your lesson plan, or just learning how to do it on your own, it's a good skill to acquire.
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Things You'll Need
- 12 x 18 inch colored construction paper (your choice of color)
- Colored oil pastels
- Colored pencils
- White chalk
- Kneaded white rubber erasers
- Stuffed animals (your choice)
Instructions
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1
Configure your stuffed animal in the position you want. Leave it there, as you're creating a "still life" of the stuffed animal. In lieu of a stuffed animal, you also can use a picture of an animal.
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2
Sketch the animal using the lightly colored chalk. Don't worry about texture here, just the form and shape of the animal you're drawing. If you make any mistakes, use your kneaded rubber eraser and start over.
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3
Look at your animal and its fur or feathers. After you sketch, you'll be adding the texture, so take a good look from all angles and get a feel for what the entire figure looks like.
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4
Fill in the sketch outline, using the colored pastels, with colored lines that depict fur. It should sound like small taps when you add fur, since the hairs are small and plentiful.
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5
Mix other colors (using either colored pencils or colored pastels) to create variations of the most dominant color. For example, if you're drawing and coloring a squirrel, you'd want to add some other colors aside from gray. Imagine how the light might hit it if it were outside. Some areas would be darker, while others lighter.
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6
Fill in the nose, eyes and any other parts that aren't furry with smooth, solid colors, using either colored pencils or colored pastels. Limit your texture efforts to the fur and hair areas and keep the contrast between the two noticeable.
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Tips & Warnings
This method of sketching and coloring develops many skills. According to Tara Lightle, a teacher in the Blue Valley Educational Foundation in Overland Park, Kan., these skills include observation when drawing the animal, utilizing warm colors to show highlights and cool colors to show shadows, as well as creating the illusion of texture using a variety of pencil strokes.
References
- Photo Credit stuffed squirrel image by Dumitrescu Ciprian from Fotolia.com
