Shapes Can Be Helpful in Learning to Draw Animals

By Charlene Sim

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.

If you draw various animals with standard shapes, like squares, triangles, rectangles, or dots, which are all arranged in different ways to create 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 offers you an easy approach to putting together varying sections of varying animals. After some practice, you'll come to realize the shape of each animal that you sketch, and how each segment is put together.

Utilizing shapes when sketching animals won't create true images, however it will give you a result similar to cartoons or animated characters. If this is your sphere of interest, then that's all that you need. Ed Emberley, a distinguished artist, has published various books that demonstrate many different ways to sketch common animals utilizing nothing more than a few different shapes. His books are basically targeted to drawing for children, but they can help out a serious beginner to gain a structural awareness of sketching.

The next step would be to merge the shapes together to draw animals that have more realism to their look. Just like an object that you draw with a pencil and then erase to remove overlapping lines, you can start with shapes joined together, and then erase the connecting lines so that each body part flows more smoothly into the other. With drawing practice you can eliminate the boxed look and hard angles to create animals that are a good step closer to looking real.

So if you want to draw animals but don't have any inherited skills, then a good way to learn how to draw is by starting with shapes. Look at different animals and decide how you want to put them together using only a stock supply of shapes. Once you've mastered that particular technique, you can use the skills you've developed to more comfortably take the next step. If you're serious about wanting to learn to draw and paint, then this is an easy and fun way to begin. - 29928

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