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!!!