Using Shapes to Learn How to Draw Animals
Learning how to draw animals can be fun, as there are so many different types of animals out there. However, because of the high variety of animals in the world, being able to consistently draw different animals will pose a challenge, since they are all so different. While there are certainly groups of animals that have similar shapes and features, a good cross section of animals will still offer up a number of different challenges in terms of drawing them accurately. There are some drawing tutorials that offer tips on how to use shapes to draw different types of animals.
When you sketch different animals with standard shapes, such as triangles, squares, dots and rectangles, which are all arranged in assorted ways to produce body parts and features, then you’ll have a simpler time drawing. This can be good practice at drawing, although it might seem a bit childish, since it provides you with a simple method of assembling various sections of different animals. After some practice, you’ll come to understand the shape of each animal that you draw, and how each segment is assembled.
Using shapes when drawing animals won’t produce true pictures, but it will give you a result similar to animation characters or cartoons. If this is your field of interest, then that is all that you require. Artist Ed Emberley has published a number of books that explain many different ways to draw common animals making use of nothing more than a number of different shapes. His books are essentially aimed at drawing for children, but they can help a serious novice to gain a structural awareness of sketching.
Using shapes to draw animals is just the start of a process of learning how to draw. As cute as some of the images may be, it is really more an exercise in learning how to make use of structure to improve your overall drawing ability. Once you have created an animal with only shapes, you should then look at erasing some of the straight lines and create more curves and an even flow from one part to another. Drawing people would be your next step, yet before doing that you will need to eliminate the forced aspect of creating pictures with shapes.
If you are interested in learning how to draw animals, then you have a number of ways to learn, but drawing through the use of standard shapes is one effective and fun method. It can be good drawing practice to restrict yourself to a certain process, and after you have finished with the simple shapes, you can move on with the knowledge of how animals are put together. This will help make you a stronger and more competent artist.
Learning to draw is possible for anyone with the right instruction and the willingness to try. You may already know how to draw but simply want to refine your technique or learn a new style such as how to draw animals. Rest assured that you can learn these techniques.