15 steps to drawing animals

Acclaimed animator, director and wildlife artist Aaron Blaise share his observational and illustration advice to help improve your animal artwork

Improve your animal artwork with Aaron Blaise’s advice.

Long before I was a director and animator with Walt Disney Feature Animation, I was a lover of wildlife. Growing up as a bit of a wild child in the swamps of south Florida, I would typically be found running through the woods, barefoot of course, tracking animals. I would draw them in my sketchbooks or even collect the bones of animal kills and save them for later study.

It was always my dream to be an illustrator for National Geographic and to see the world. Instead, I went on to Disney and a successful animation career, but I still found a way to pursue my love of drawing animals by working on classic films like The Lion King and Brother Bear. Now I want to share some of the knowledge from my years of studying animals with you!

1 OBSERVE FIRST

Before you start to draw, stop and really look! Take a moment to observe and study the animal. How does it move? Often you’ll notice patterns of movement. What’s the animal doing? Can you anticipate where it will be next? If it’s a hot day it might be heading for shade, for example. These sorts of details can be crucial in helping you capture details because animals often won’t sit still and pose for you – especially in the wild!

I do my homework on what animals I’ll see in a certain area

2 DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU GET THERE

I do my homework on what animals I’ll see in a particular area. For instance, on a trip to Alaska I may try to learn everything I can about grizzly bears, muskox and moose before I arrive. I’ll study books and do research to learn about their muscles, skeletons and patterning. I’ll even watch live webcams of an area to give me a sense of the environment. This information will aid me when I’m on location, and save a lot of time.

3 TAKE A MENTAL PICTURE

Animals often don’t sit still. To combat this I’ve developed a technique of taking a mental snapshot. I don’t stare at the animal the entire time I’m drawing. Instead, I’ll glance at the animal and then quickly look away to my page. By doing this the last image of the animal that I saw is frozen in my mind. Combined with my research on anatomy, I’m able to get an accurate drawing down on the page.

4 BREAK THE BODY UP INTO SECTIONS

This is an observation I’ve made over the years. Most quadrupeds can be broken down into six main areas: the head, the neck, the front legs and shoulders, the body, the rear legs and hips, and finally the tail. This may seem like a simple observation, but once you break the animal up this way you can overlap those areas in any orientation in space.

5 UNDERSTAND BASIC COMPARATIVE ANATOMY

People ask how do I know all these details about the animals I draw? The answer is: I don’t! But I do know comparative anatomy. Most animals, especially mammals, have all the same “parts” – just spaced out differently. And this is true of humans as well. Once I understood that I have basically the same parts as a lion, just in different locations, it was a eureka moment in my ability to draw them.

6 WATCH YOUR PROPORTIONS

Now that you understand that most animals have the same bones and muscle groups as you do, it’s just a matter of playing with the proportions and getting those correct. This is primarily a matter of practice and repetition. But once you start to get the spacing and proportions right, you’ll be able to draw your subject in any pose or angle.