Human beings are very good at anthropomorphizing animals and objects in thought and speech but when it comes to drawing humanized animals, it's not always evident as to how to make the animal appear more person like. This article will provide several suggestions to help your drawing technique.
1Look at humanized animal drawings of other artists. Try to work out quickly what makes them look more human than animal. Don't try too hard to guess the reasons - it's your initial, fast reactions that reveal the most telling features.
- Some animals to check out include those created by Beatrix Potter, Brambly Hedge characters, Wind in the Willows characters and Disney animals.
2Add clothes to the animal. This is probably the most obvious way to make the animal appear more human-like. It might be a whole outfit of clothing or just pieces of clothing, such as a top, pants or just jewellery.
3Change the way that the animal walks. In general mammals and marsupials walk on all fours. Of course, there are exceptions such as the kangaroo and birds, fish, insects and the like have different ways of walking. However, take a basic four-legged animal and draw it walking on only its two back legs and it soon starts to look very humanized. Even fish can be drawn walking on their rear end and tail.
4Draw the animal carrying objects. As soon as an animal is carrying something other than food or nesting material, it begins to take on a human-like dimension. Think of an animal carrying a basket, a fishing rod, a sword or similar items and you'll start to see it as humanized.
5Have the animal doing something that only humans do. There are plenty of choices here but technology presents some of the greatest contrasts, such as a cat typing on a computer, a rat talking on the phone or a toad driving a vehicle. Or, the animal might play a sport (holding a golf club, tennis racket, hockey stick, etc.), play a board game, have a sword fight or cook a meal, etc.
- Dancing animals are striking as a drawing subject.
6Style parts of the animal's fur to look like human hairdos. Comb-overs, buns, beehive dos, plaits and the like can all make the animal appear more human. And don't forget beards, mustaches and even baldness.
7Use speech bubbles to show the animal talking or thinking.
8Use exaggerated facial expressions to denote certain emotions. The manner in which you draw the eyebrows, lips, nose, eyes, etc. can all say something about the emotional state of the animal. Of course, emotional states are a very human trait, so this can certainly humanize the animal.
- Smiles are good. As are upturned or down-turned eyebrows.
Things You'll Need
- Quality drawing paper
- Drawing pencil and eraser
- Inspiration from photos and drawings of animals and humanized animals