New Tricks

I learned a new trick this afternoon. How to scan an image !!!!! I'll get this techie stuff yet ! This cute little guy is a pencil sketch I made while wandering the wilds of the St. Louis zoo. An intrepid fellow artist and I braved unbearable heat and humidity to get to the zoo's climate controlled bird house and do some sketching. I was quite proud of this one simply because the birdies do tend to move about and are not cooperative models. That said, this guy and a feathery friend were snoozing so I could actually complete a decent image.

I really wanted to keep things simple and just folded a few sheets of colored drawing paper in half, stacked them and clipped them together with a bull dog clip. The resulting package was firm enough to draw on so all I needed was that and a pencil and I was off and sketching. Drawing animals takes some patience..more with yourself than with the critter. They are doing what is natural and that is precisely what gives life to the drawing. You can actually see how the stand or perch and move about. It may take several warm-up sketches for you to develop a sort of visual short hand that will give you nice results. Details definitely come last or from you memory. It is really a great exercise for sharpening your drawing skills.

Next time I plan on making some sort of envelope or sandwich board to protect the drawings a bit better. Keeping things simple is still a major goal. I am waiting for the weather to improve just a bit more so I can move onto the elephants and tigers. Oh My !