5-Minute Sketching: Animals and Pets

gary geraths

Whether it’s a trip to the park or to the zoo, turn your next outing into a fantastic sketching opportunity.

ANIMALS & PETS

An approachable handbook of bite-sized drawing tips and techniques, 5-Minute Sketching: Animals and Pets will help you reclaim your sketchbook and incorporate drawing into your everyday life.

5-Minute Sketching

Have you always wanted to draw your pet pooch but been too slow to capture him in action? Professional artist and art professor Gary Geraths will give you all the advice you need to help you capture animals in no time at all.

ANIMALS & P ETS

5-Minute Sketching

Super-quick Techniques for Amazing Drawings

Gary geraths

Pulling the pieces together

Sketching heads – dogs When dealing with the subject of sketching dogs’ heads and portraits, there is a vast array of different methods you can deploy in laying down marks to convey the expressional qualities. Once you become acquainted with these methods, drawing a dynamic canine portrait will become easier and lead to an image with more of a visual impact.

Tips to get you started

1

Lots of choices The varied shapes and form

two big curves coming in from the sides.

combinations of dogs’ heads – round, angular,

Sketch the longer part of the mouth as sharp

long snouts, sharp and long floppy ears, etc.

and angular.

– are fascinating. These shapes and lines mix Sketch out the head structure in a similar

and floppy ears As dogs move and play, 4 Spiky their ears really come into effect as a way of

manner to that discussed in earlier topics,

showing movement and character. Draw the

and expand on the expressive qualities to

various shaped ears joined to the head with

build a solid character study.

attachments to the upper part of the head. The

together to produce the animal’s character.

eyes When building up the head, 2 Shapely placing the eyes is important, so just make a little note – even a couple simple dots on the page. The eyes are generally placed about a third down from the top of the head. The area around the eyes is accented by cheekbones

on the lower part of the upper jaw. You should use an array of marks to show the overlapping forms and strong, angular cartilage. and neck There are so many different 5 Head shapes and forms when drawing dogs’ heads,

that curve to the back of the head, with a good

but you should still draw with a common

brow that can be drawn to focus attention on

knowledge of the structure. This gives you

the personality and character.

a base that allows you to adapt to different

3 similar across the vast variety of dogs, there is Muzzles While the structure of the muzzle is also room for expression. The marks you use will push the idea of tight skin over the teeth, or huge, sloppy pads hanging off the nose and back into the cheeks. The nose is box-like, with

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outer part of the ears are curved and located

proportions in your design. Try sketching the expressive marks in the head down into the body and connect them as one whole unit.

Look for that natural flow of rhythm.

Below Jackelyn Bautista, Digital Dog, 2013.

With a few brushstrokes on her iPad, Jackelyn created a solid representation of a happy shepherd.

Digital sketching programs have become a very portable tool.

Above Glen Eisner, Sleeping Husky, 2005.

Glen reduced the entire portrait to a simple dance of shape and line.

A white box and muzzle with features make for a sensitively drawn subject.

Below Glen Eisner, All Tired Out, 2013.

With a quick, sure hand, Glen has nailed a sketch full of soft flesh and bony structure. Use confident, sketching marks to sell the spontaneity of your subject.

Above Gary Geraths, Faithful Kekko, 2016.

In this watercolour and pencil portrait I chose to focus more on the features and the red fur texture instead of the correct structure. Capturing personality is what’s really important.

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Pulling the pieces together

Capturing dynamic markings

Due to the sheer volume of differing markings on animals, you will have to be inventive and fluid in your approach to drawing them. There is a lot of suggestion and interpretation in the shorthand methods you can use to define the distinct characteristics of camouflage and colouration.

Tips to get you started

1

Patterns and visual flow Many animals have

white borders. Remember that shapes curve

a pattern of markings on them, making it easier

over the moving form. With limited time, start

to explain gesture and form. There is a weird

at the head and neck, or that big area at the hip

combination of organisation and randomness

to establish the shape rhythm, and fill the rest

to any pattern of surface markings. The idea is

at your leisure.

to see both working in concert. Find the bigger forms first and block them in with line or tone.

Edit out the distractions of little erratic spots or stripes. Find a couple of stripes or marks that

These elements can be found in creatures with

reinforce the original form.

long and short hair. You can use lines of various

2 on these animals is either a curse or a blessing.

Tiger and zebra stripes Drawing the stripes

lengths and widths to define how surface markings and forms work in tandem. A little, puffy dog can have dark markings but lots of

On one hand, you have an obvious rhythmic

hair, so the dark tones will fan out and suggest

pattern; on the other, stripes can become as

a soft surface. On the other hand, light spots on

visually boring as looking at a picket fence –

short hair can be suggested with short dashes

uniform and flat. Use the spirit of what you see.

of overlapping line for a condensed, dark look.

Stripes break and fork at the shoulders, hip and knees, and wrap around the legs. shapes To expect anyone to draw a 3 Giraffe complex arrangement of spots on a giraffe in

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patterns Many small pets and 4 Random animals have random patterns and colours.

feathers, and markings With complex 5 Birds, feather patterns try and layer your colour.

Suggest a few solid shapes and patterns on the wings or tail. That will indicate how it fits

five minutes would be asking the impossible.

the wing and tail area volumetrically rather

Simple shape design is the key. Here you have

than becoming a flat pattern. Find your colour

interlocking shapes like paving stones with

shapes and quickly block in the feather shapes.

Right Gary Geraths, Zebra Tail, 2016.

With a brush full of watercolour I used just the rhythm of the stripes to block in the form of the animal. Try this process and you will master it quickly.

Centre Gary Geraths, Tropical Plumage, 2015.

Often with birds I will capture the patterns and colours by first painting expressively with watercolour. While that dries, I use coloured pencils for shapes and edges.

Below Shiho Nakaza, Giraffe Family, 2015.

This sketch is an example of how a hint of markings on one animal can be stand in for a group. The spots do not have to be exact but should be descriptive.

Below Gary Geraths, Mungar After Eating, 2013.

Using ink and pencil I blocked in the black and white markings of this tiger to quickly define his curving forms. I used the white pencil to give his fur texture.

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Fleshing out your sketch

Below Gary Geraths, Take-off, 2016.

As I drew this back view, I paid special attention to the pattern of feathers filling the wings and tail. The overlapping paint strokes give volume and suggest action.

Above Gary Geraths, Quick Crows, 2015.

One joy of drawing birds is watching how their shapes change as they twist and cartwheel in the sky. Combine the body and wings to get the action right.

Below Shiho Nakaza, American Coot, 2015.

In this quick, sure watercolour, Shiho describes a little marsh bird looking for food. The beautiful colours do not interfere with the basic shape and line of the bird.

Above Gary Geraths, Wounded Hawk, 2015.

I used watercolour and pastel pencils to show how feathers can be suggested with a few strokes of the brush. Let the wing and body shape tell the story.

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Catching birds in flight

Birds are fascinating to watch and sketch. Whether they are gracefully gliding along air currents or diving at a furious speed to catch prey, there are dynamic designs to be found in birds’ movements and appearances. You will need a quick mind and hand when you try to capture these creatures at different points of take-off, flight or landing.

Tips to get you started

1

Bird structure There are thousands of different

for long-distance flights, or to hover and then

species of birds, encompassing a multitude of

dive on prey. These wings have a rectangular

sizes, proportions and flying actions, but the

base that is attached to the body with

basic structure could almost be seen as human.

triangular shapes stretching to the tips. Block

Birds’ wings have arms and fingers (which on a

them out and put them in action with slightly

bird would be primary feathers) that form

curving forms. This will give you a solid base

triangular wing shapes and operate in a similar

on which to sketch the individual feathers with

way to how humans would flap their arms like

interesting serrated edges at the tip.

wings. Make sure you give your drawing a liveliness and organic swing-and-sway.

One of the most fun aspects of 2 Take-off sketching birds is their long-running take-offs

and folding wings As a birds readies 4 Landings for a landing, body angle and motion come into play. The wing folds in and the shapes overlap.

The bottom of the body and legs swing

or explosive quick leaps off a perch to gain

forwards to touch the ground or grab branches.

flight. This is when the size and shape of the

Draw these actions with a combination of

wings are exposed and where you have to

curving and angular lines where the wings,

sketch in their proportions and match the body

talons and body come together.

shape to wing. You will most likely be drawing a catching the air to lift its body off the ground,

feathers To complete your sketch, use 5 Tail the tail feathers to enhance your image. The

define the shape quickly, because its position

tail bends and twists to help direct the bird’s

will change fast.

flight, like a rudder on a ship. It is shaped like a

rather curving, zigzag form. As the bird starts

3 drawing flying birds are the length, shape and Wing design Basic points to focus on in

fan – draw it with curves and attach it to the body, capturing its grace and the way it counterbalances the wings and head. Feathers

use of their wings. Soaring and high-speed

also form serrated edges that make for an

wings are long and slender to catch updrafts

interesting accent and catches the viewer’s eye.

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Materials and techniques

Loose colour pencil drawing Coloured pencils are just the right instrument for quick animal drawing in the field, especially when creating scores of images.

Sometimes all you need is a shirt pocket full of pencils and a sketchbook to get you through a day of making art.

Tips to get you started

1

Pencil for every use One of the best reasons

weight of the animal in action. It can be tricky,

to choose coloured pencils is that, given their

because it calls for an aggressive approach,

waxy makeup, they do not smear much.

but it will also ensure the shape and gesture

Regular pencils have their advantages – they

do not get out of control. You can juggle these

can certainly lay down an expressive mark and

approaches, but make sure the correct image

create a convincing picture – but graphite

is the primary concern.

easily smears and you can lose all the marks you make, creating a mess on the paper and ultimately ruining the image. If you choose coloured pencils the drawings will look fresh

continuous lines that define the outside border

and clear no matter what.

of the animal’s form. Let your line copy, as close

2 companies manufacturing coloured pencils of Endless choices There are a good number of

as possible, the proportions and line of action that surrounds your subject. Use a combination of long and short strokes to make bold

all sorts of hardness and colour. One technique

statements strong enough to capture an

is to find a pencil with a softer ‘lead’, sharpen

impression of the animal.

it longer, and then use the big side of the point to paint the animal’s form. Block in the shadow shapes and smaller forms to create a solid

pencils There are literally 5 Multicoloured thousands of colours in pencil form. Layering

image. Then, use a harder pencil to punch

some of these colours into a series of drawings

up the textures and details.

can add excitement, power or even an element

3 get a very solid, quick drawing is to simply use

Pure value A really great way to loosen up and

of whimsy to your creations. Do not be afraid to lay down broad fields of one colour and then aggressively scribble over complementary

blocks of value to hammer an animal’s image

colours to build a solid composition. As before,

onto the page. You can use a colour pencil block

it may mean making lots of mistakes, but you

or the side of a china marker to knock out big

will see your progress as you move along.

planes and shapes that define the size and 102

contours In the opposite direction, you 4 Simple can reduce your drawing to just a few quick,

Left Nikolai Drjuchin, Casual Lioness, 2015.

The sureness of Nikolai’s layering of line gives a sense of animation and a slight distortion of proportions to this lioness. Note the crazy laying of colour lines.

Colour pencil sketch outline

Swift shadow shapes

Darker detail and form Above Gary Geraths, Grazing Draft Horse, 2017.

When you are drawing large animals, use big planes of coloured pencil to get the image quickly in place. Then lay in the shadow shapes and dark anatomical forms.

Right Gary Geraths, Proud Ostrich, 2015.

I furiously sketched in all of the gestural big forms and the neck and legs first. Then I coloured in the shadow pattern with crosshatching for volume.

Above right Gary Geraths, Begging for Treats, 2015.

Layering colours will add to the excitement and power, or even create a whimsical element.

To start out, I painted in the shape and hands with Prismacolor blocks.

I scrubbed the light areas over with white china marker to pull the textures together.

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Key elements Being able to draw recognisable heads, portraits and body shapes is vital for making your animal drawings believable, but with so many types of animal out there it can get confusing! The good news is that with a few bendable rules and helpful tips it should be relatively easy to master the structures, personalities and expressions of all manner of animals.

Head shapes and structures Birds

Puppy

You cannot go wrong starting out with a simple oval shape that you can change and pull out to match the bird’s face. The diamond-shaped beak fits right over the front and into the cheeks like a mask.

German Shepherd

Dogs

No other animal has so many variations of basic head shape. It can vary from using a circle/ball for a bulldog to an elongated oval/egg for a wolfhound.

View the simple but elastic rounded form as the basis for the skull, then add a box or triangular form for the muzzle.

Retriever

Heron

Eagle Horse Sparrow

Duck

Cow Parrot Cats

With their large jaws and relatively small muzzles, cats – big and small – have a rounded or shortened oval shape to their heads. One big difference between cats and dogs is cats have wide cheekbones that make for a firm, round form, whereas dogs have heads that taper at the sides.

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Cows and horses

House cat

Tiger Lioness

When drawing these heads, there are a couple of points to keep in mind. The head shapes are very square in cattle-like animals and rectangular in horse-like creatures. The addition of short or long, wide or narrow muzzles will complete the whole structure.

German Shepherd

Ears – shapes and connections Dogs

With all those varieties of dog ears it is best to draw the general shape to begin with. Ears can be very curvy, or have angular forms, but do not forget to create a curving arc at the top of the head to attach the ears to.

Cow

Basset Hound Cattle

Cats

Felines need great hearing for hunting, so their ears are always snapped up to attention. Big cats tend to have rounder-shaped ears, while house cats’ ear tips are pointy, but both have curving connections to their heads at the base.

Lion

House cat

Many cattle and similar animals have ears that are mounted horizontally on the sides of the head, below a set of horns. Use a spoon-like shape with a blunt-ended tip as a guide when you sketch them in.

Basset Hound

Eyes and placement German Shepherd

Dogs

Lion House cat

Dogs’ eyes can vary from small and very beady to large and soulful. The shape is generally an oval with an angle downward to the nose. I focus a lot on dogs’ eyes because they seem to bring out so much emotion and personality.

Cats

Cats are hunters, so their eyes are placed on the front of their heads.

There are usually curving upper eyelids that wrap around the temple, with a lower tear duct that accents the sides of the nose.

Horse

Terrier

Sheep and goats

These animals’ eyes are generally placed high on the face and are surrounded by fur and fleece. They are rounded, with big eyelashes and smallish brows that, when drawn right, can give the animal a unique character.

Sheep

Cows, giraffes and horses

Grazing animals are constantly looking out for predators, so their large eyes are placed on the sides of their heads. Pay attention to and accent the thick brow and eyelids that provide shade and protection for the eyes.

Goat Giraffe

Cow

Lamb 123