I forgot I even had this blog!

It's been a very long time since I've updated this blog. I completely forgot I had it! A few years have passed since I've posted a thing on here. So we'll be back real soon with another update on how to draw animals.

Meantime you can check out my Art Blog Animal or my Farm blog Mad Bush Farm while I come up with something else for you to try out. Any requests let me know.

Eye see you - Animal eyes

Drawing the eyes of an animal can be challenging. Eyes come in different colours, sizes and shapes. A cat's eye doesn't look the same as a dogs, or a cows eye the same as a chickens. Sounds complicated right? Not as complicated as you think. The key to it all is of course practice - lots of it no matter how wierd or strange you may think your drawing turns out gives this one a go anyway. This eye isn't from any one particular critter. It's one I made up so I could have some practice as well. For this you'll need a selection of pencils H, HB,2B & 6B. don't worry if you haven't grab whatever you do have even a ball point pen will do or even a kids crayon. One thing I am not and that's an art teacher. This is all for fun and it should always be that way. The final image is a little blurred and my camera has decided to have a flat battery. You'll see the stages used to create a whatever critter eye.

Draw a Basic Circle and half circles with an H Pencil

I added in extra lines as I went as you can see. Don't worry too much if they are not the same
Very Lightly with the H Pencil shade the area as shown

Using an HB in the outer part of the eye strengthen the outlines and if you want you can add in some detail with simple lines then gently shade in underneath. Darken the pupil with a 2B pencil.
On the outer part around the pupil use the HB to shade around the edges. Don't worry about the extra bits and pieces I have added I did that just for fun.

Using a 6B Pencil darken the pupil further then gently using the same pencil shade over inner edge of the eye and when you're done you have an eye see you!

Easy to draw Scribble Dolphin

Dolphins are wonderful creatures. They give so much enjoyment when they frolic and play. Where I live there is a great big harbour just ten minutes drive away from my farm. It is part of the habit where the rarest dolphin in the world can be found. The Maui's Dolphin is so rare there now only just over one hundred left. There are many many different kinds of dolphins, some rare others not so rare. They are mammals just like us breathing air, warm blooded and they feed their babies (called calves) with milk. A group of dolphins is called a pod. This dolphin is based on an Atlantic Spotted Dolphin but I'll be just doing the general shape so you can get an idea of how easy a dolphin really is to draw. This one is a scribble dolphin. I've deliberately left all the lines (and the mistakes) on so you can see how simple shapes are used to make the drawing come together.

These are the basic shapes I used:

• Ovals
• Triangles
• Curves
• Lines

I used an HB pencil for this one but you can use any pencil you like. The first few images aren't very clear because I used the wrong camera setting!!!! Next time I'll make sure I use the right settings. You don't need fancy paper. Any paper will do even the kids jotter pad if you don't have any around. Sounds a bit rough but this is for fun and enjoyment. You can rub out your pencil lines once you have got the shape you want. Darken the lines and you have a dolphin. The drawing I've done isn't a masterpiece. It's for practice and as they say practice makes perfect - in my case...hmmmm LOL.
Here's the instructions for you to download. File Size 181 kb

Easytdrawscribbledolphin

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Pets animals animal drawing

Why can't I draw that critter!!!!

Ever seen a photo you just what to draw but when you do it ends up looking like anything but what you were trying to draw? Frustrating isn't it. You've so carefully studied it and dream of producing a wonderful drawing all your friends and family admire and say "How wonderful!" Instead you've ended up with a purple elephant with crossed eyes and a crooked trunk. I've been there too. I spent years attempting to draw animals and failing miserably at it. I didn't go to art school nor could I afford to pay for any lessons so in the end I ended up teaching myself with a lot of help from a big stack of books and lots and lots of practice.

One basic rule should always be applied.

Keep it simple!!!! Everything including us have a basic shape. Circles, ovals, rectangles and triangles.

The mistake that we make is attempting to draw every detail and outline - don't. Start off with a basic simple shape first.

There are some wonderful books out there on drawing. If you're starting out I'd recommend the Walter Foster series of learning to draw books. They're full of easy ways to draw all manner of critters,people, shapes and landscapes. Best of all they're affordable!!!! Get one for starters and practice the lessons. It may be a little frustrating at first but in the end with practice you'll create a wonderful artwork.

As I can I'll be posting up some easy animals with step by step drawings so you can see how they come together.

I'm an animal nut and so are my kids. We have a crazy twelve acre small farm with five cows, two horses, two cats, six chickens and lots and lots of other critters who live in our bush. You can visit our farm and family/media blog at Goings on at the Mad Bush Farm. Don't worry we're all certified completely sane.

Just to let you know I'm far from a professional and perfect artist here's one of my first attempts and drawing a Snow Leopard....
I did this strange looking critter way back in 2003. Can you what's wrong with him? His nose is far too long for starters. Take a look at his back paws one is far too small. In other words he's out of proportion which means nothing looks like its fitting right. Poor Snow Leopard I think he'll be having a lot of trouble walking in the cold snow.
I don't mind showing my glitches as I call them. Not all art work turns out perfectly. I've thrown more drawings in the bin than I've kept. since then of course I've learned a lot more about drawing big cats. I hope by showing my sometimes very bad art that we all have to start somewhere. And this is one I did in early 2008


Big improvement don't you think? You can do it too. Pick up a pencil any pencil grab a piece of paper and learn to have fun!!!! That's what drawing is all about is enjoyment and learning something new from each drawing you do. Get lessons if you can - it always helps. If not try out the Walter Foster books to start. The link is on the sidebar for you to click. Have fun and keep drawing!!!