A cute reference photo helps you create a cute animal sketch.
Animals are a favorite subject of artists, and the types of animals an artist can draw range from serious wildlife portraits to cute and comical cartoon animals. If your artistic preferences lead you to the cute side of things, you have a number of visual references upon which to draw. These furry friends range from cuddly cats to dorky dragons. But all of them have a few things in common; the skills to draw them are exactly the same.
Instructions
1. Look for reference pictures of cute animals. Some animals are inherently cute, while others are made cute because the illustrator drew them that way. Select the pictures that have the most appeal to you; it will motivate you during the drawing process.
2. Notice how the animal is shaped --- more specifically, look for the basic geometric shapes that make up that animal. For example, if you're drawing a cute kitty, notice that its head is oval-shaped with its ears being made up of small triangles. The body is made from a modified egg shape. A long, curly cylinder forms the cat's tail. To practice finding the shapes in your reference picture, place a piece of tracing paper over the photo or illustration and block out the shapes of the animal you're drawing.
3. Add the basic geometric shapes of the animal to your page. The practice you've done with the tracing should act as a good guide. Recreate the same basic shapes on your drawing paper that you did on your tracing paper. Doing this will help you position your drawing in the center of your paper and will ensure that your drawing is proportionate.
4. Draw in the defining lines. To know where to place the detail lines, look closely at the reference picture; for example's sake, pretend it's a dog wearing a doggy coat. You might notice that your animal has some fur near his collar area that's made up of jagged lines and that he wears a coat that reaches down to his waist. The key to drawing in these lines is to notice where they fall in relation to the other lines on the animal; some of the lines come from the geometric shapes. In the case of the animal's jacket, you see that the hemline of his coat falls just about two-thirds of the way down the side of his body. Some people prefer the scribble or gesture-drawing method, which allows you to scribble in the details lines until the basic shapes emerge. This will help you fill in the missing lines; you'll have extras, too, but you can get rid of those later.
5. Get rid of the extra lines. Use a clean eraser to remove the lines you no longer need.
6. Fill in the details. Notice if the animal has a funny expression on his face like furrowed eyebrows. Make sure to get the last rhinestone on his collar. Details like this add character to your drawing.
