How to Draw African Animals
You may already have a good idea of what African animals look like, but if you strive to create a serious drawing that's high quality, plan to do some research. Drawing the animal in his natural habitat is important if you wish to create a quality drawing. Find a high resolution photograph for the most accurate representation of the animal you're about to draw.
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Instructions
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1
Select the animal you wish to draw, either from a book or by typing the name of the animal into a search engine online. You'll probably want to find a photograph that is large enough to show details clearly. If you're not sure which animal you want to draw, type "african animals" into your search engine and scan through the results.
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2
Divide the animal into the major parts--body, head, legs, neck, and tail. Draw a shape for each section of the body, in the general formation of the actual animal you are trying to draw. For example, if you are drawing an elephant, you'll draw the large box of the body, rectangular legs, a boxy head and rounded ears. This should be drawn lightly so that the marks can be erased later on if necessary.
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3
Outline the shape of the animal around the shapes you just drew on the paper. Check the outline against the photograph.
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4
Draw the largest and most important details of the animal, such as the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Draw mapping lines on the animal's face if you're having trouble lining up the features of the face correctly. In other words, draw a horizontal line across the face at the eyes, and a vertical line down the middle. These lines will guide you in your placement of the features.
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5
Draw the outline of any patterns on the animal's hide (spots, stripes, etc.), then fill in the pattern by shading lightly with your pencil. Darken the shading as necessary, then shade any areas that appear in the shadow on the photograph.
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6
Draw a background appropriate for the animal, either as seen in the photograph, or based on your knowledge of where the animal naturally lives. Research the animal, if necessary. Many African animals live in jungles, deserts or dry grassy plains. Because many African animals are experiencing environmental issues such as loss of land and illegal poaching, some of these animals may appear more often in zoos than in their natural habitat.
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7
Erase any of the mapping lines or lines you drew in Step 3 that may still be visible.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit African scene image by Pushpangadan from Fotolia.com
