Sunday, May 28, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 52 - Wapiti

Wapiti

 Today's sketch is the wapiti, also known as the elk is said to be one of the largest land mammals in North America and Eastern Asia.   Only males have antlers and they use it for defense, together with the front leg kick.  It is said that they are less likely to group with other elks when they have their antlers, which they usually retain for more than half a year. But once antlers have been shed,  they form bachelor groups and worked together in fending off predators.



Photo reference courtesy of Ben C. Masters













Friday, May 26, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 50 - Running Deer

Running Deer

For this day, it's a drawing of a running deer, frozen in mid-air across a field, as if it's flying.  A graceful and elegant animal.  Ready to escape from any potential danger.   It's now my 50th sketch,  and I'm half-way through my 100-day sketch challenge.  By now, I've already settled into a daily routine of sketching. Some days I finish early, some days not. One thing's for sure, I always lose track of time while doing it, 'coz I enjoy it.













Daily Sketch Day 49 - Reindeer Strolling

Reindeer Strolling
Credit:  Photograph used for reference by Alexandre Buisse

Another deer with huge antlers is the reindeer.  The reindeer and the caribou are the same animal.  It's surprising to know that both male and female reindeers grow antlers compared to other deer species. They're also the only mammals that can see ultra-violet light. This means that white fur or urine which are impossible if not difficult for humans to see in the snow, the reindeer can clearly see them in high contrast. Awesome.













Friday, May 19, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 43 - Wetland Buddies

Wetland Buddies

Whenever there's a cow, an egret won't be far behind. A former work colleague provided me with a the photo of this, taken from his trip to Vietnam.  My first impression was that the cow and the small bird were buddies. After doing a little research, I found out that it's a cattle egret, known to have a symbiotic relationship with cows, oxen or buffaloes. They usually sit on the back of these animals and eat little bugs that bite and tend to bother the cows. It's not Drawing Birds Week yet, but today is an exception.











Monday, May 15, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 39 - Cow Face

Cow Face

After weeks of drawing cats and dogs, I'm back to drawing hoofed animals. I've previously sketched horses, donkeys and zebras as part of the ungulates or odd-toed animals. This week is the start of my Drawing Cows Week, another ungulate but even-toed animal.  I'll be including bulls and buffaloes  as well. And so... here's a simple pencil sketch of a cow's face. Mooooooo...................






Thursday, May 11, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 34 - Cheetah

Cheetah

Today's sketch is the fastest land animal in the world - the Cheetah. This cat has an elongated body and legs that's built for speed. Tan in color and has spots all over it's body. It's one of my must-draw member of the cat family.

























Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 33 - Roar

Roar
My Drawing Cats week wouldn't be complete without a sketch of a male lion. So here's my sketches of a lion's head in different stages of a roar.



Monday, May 8, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 32 - Cat Poses

Cat Poses
I decided to extend my Drawing Cats Week for a few more days. I'll be doing new ones soon. for the meantime, here's an old sketch. 













Sunday, May 7, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 31 - A Lioness Sleeping

A Lioness Sleeping
Another old sketch for a very hectic day -  a lioness sleeping.














Daily Sketch Day 30 - Big Cats

Big Cats
Here's a loose sketch of some feline animals. As huge and ferocious some of these can be, their behavior can be observed to be very similar to those of a regular house cat.  Same can be said in drawing them.
























Saturday, May 6, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 29 - Cat Stare

Cat Stare
Another busy and hectic day. Didn't get to do any sketch. But, I did a few cat sketches before, so here's one. Meow.






















Friday, May 5, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 28 - Blue Eyes Kitty

Blue Eyes Kitty

This sketch was  all I could do in a very busy, and tiring day.  Called it Blue Eyes Kitty, Funny how the stripes looks like a camouflage outfit. Perhaps this cute and tame looking kitten is really a fierce and mean cat warrior ninja. Mmmeooooooowwwwwww!!!!









Thursday, May 4, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 27 - Lioness and Cub

Lioness and Cub









Today's sketch is simple. Just a rough drawing of a lioness and her cub in a tender moment.  This sketch I dedicate to my mom who passed away yesterday morning .  That's all.















Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 26 - Tiger

Tiger
After the cute cuddly kitten sketch yesterday, it's the ferocious Tiger for today. Just like the Zebras,  those Tiger stripes were great visual cues in finding the major anatomical landmarks that helped me draw this Tiger a lot easier. But it took me longer in rendering this though.  Partly because I was trying and testing different styles in rendering it.  Also because there were some chores I needed to do today that I didn't get to start drawing until it's already quite late in the day. Much as I try to avoid it, I missed my deadline again.   Well...tomorrow's another day, another chance.







Monday, May 1, 2017

Daily Sketch Day 25 - Kitten Playing

Kitten Playing

Starting today, it's drawing cats week. I'm starting with this cute kitten playing with a yarn. This time, I'm trying a Chinese painting look where it's mostly brushwork. I think this technique is suited for the soft furry animals like this kitten. I still penciled in the rough drawing initially to get the correct proportion. Then just used a Mimosa preset brush from Artrage4 to achieve the effect, erasing the outlines after.  I'm still learning how to do it well and I can see that it's not quite the same as the Chinese painting style.  But at least this style is quicker. Finished it earlier and would like to do so from now on.  Yay!














Daily Sketch Day 24 - Jerry

Jerry
Today's sketch is a yellow Labrador Retriever named Jerry. . I kept the line work visible, reminiscent of the visual style of  Disney's 101 Dalmatians. Achieving this look took some experimentation to get it just how I like it.   I always try to achieve the solidity of form in my drawings, and it always takes me many iterations to get it right. So once again, I worked past the 12 midnight deadline.   Now that it's done, I want nothing else but to sleep soundly like this dog.