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[theartofdrawinganimals]

i watched one (1) video on how to draw hands that changed my life forever. like. i can suddenly draw hands again

these were all drawn without reference btw. i can just. Understand Hands now (for the most part, im sure theres definitely inaccuracies). im a little baffled

[theartofdrawinganimals]

[theartofdrawinganimals]

Drawing tips by Disney artists Griz and Norm Lemay

[theartofdrawinganimals]

[theartofdrawinganimals]

Here is a round-up of all eight of the free digital brush packs that I’ve released so far for Photoshop CC, Clip Studio Paint, and Procreate!

You can download them on this page (click) Type in “0″ for a free download or tip any amount you so desire!

All my brush packs are totally free (tips optional but always very appreciated!) and can be used freely in any work, including commercial work that you profit off of, with no license or credit required. My goal with these brush packs is to make digital painting feel more achievable and accessible - especially painting environments, something I now LOVE but that used to intimidate me, & felt much more approachable with the right tools! Many of the packs also come with tutorial video content. I hope you enjoy!

[theartofdrawinganimals]

How to Draw and Design Gryphons and Hippogryphs by using photo references of eagles, lions and horses?

Draw everything individually, from multiple angles.

How to draw horses || How I practice anatomy || Gesture drawing

It’s like juicing up for a very tasty dream by consuming your favorite genre, characters, settings, etc and hoping your subconscious combines them.

If the final result is your target, and you see your drawing arm as a gun taking aim, then references are your bullets. Fill the chamber with reference unless you want to play roulette.

Your first step in reference gathering is to be specific. Know what you want and stick with it. I searched specifically for African Lion and Gold Eagle. Being specific helps you observe detail more accurately, and it already puts you one step ahead of generic designs.

I’m only going to tackle Lion + Eagle today for simplicity, but you can use this advice to combine two, three, or dozens of animals including horses.

Get your reference, and start practicing. Keep it simple and undetailed, only drawing the essence of the photo, rather than exact position and proportion.

Use action poses to practice! Even though they’re more challenging, they will infuse your final result with action as well. Look up things like hunting, fighting, walking, running, landing, etc to get action reference.

Practice most on the creature you’re having the hardest time with. That was Lions, for me. I even did a separate page where I studied the structure of their manes, since I wanted that in my griffin design.

Remember: you can trace photos as part of study! This is helpful for correcting proportions and anatomy. Make sure you are tracing mass and bones, not outlines.

Now that you’re weapon is loaded with reference, you’ll be able to design freehand without copying a photo. This is IDEAL because you won’t be slowed down by anatomy. Now what we’re here for: Design.

Creature Design Masterpost || Splice Vs Blend

This is going to be yet another visit to Splice vs. Blend technique, so strap in. Here’s some guys I drew after I finished studying. No photos needed at this stage because I’ve eaten them all.

The most common creature design technique is something I call Splicing. You take pieces of animals and graft them onto each other with stitches. Griffins are notorious for this with their bird talons on the front legs and lion paws on the back. That’s a creature that was formed through magic, not evolution. This automatically makes your griffin less believable. And probably a bit awkward in the walking department.

So here’s a new challenge: Blending. Take bits of each creature and put them in a mixer, letting the ingredients land all over the place and amongst each other. What if we had a lion skull, with an extra-thick bird beak in place of the jaws? What if the lion chin was still there in the form of a tuft of fur? Maybe the tear duct from the lion, and the eyelids of bird? Let’s give it lion ears with the furrowed brow so typical of raptors.

It already looks like a new life form, rather than a photoshopped amateur hour of recognizable animals. I could cover it in either feathers or fur and it would still be distinct as a new species. I want the classic lion mane in some form, so I’m taking the shape and turning it into long, fluffy feathers.

Don’t stop there! Try identifying what traits make an eagle and eagle, or a lion a lion, and sticking them between each other.

Keep combining! Challenge convention! Add and omit parts and pieces to your heart’s content.

Take this practice to all parts of all creatures. Throw new stuff in a blender instead of stitching it together. This especially includes color! You see a lot of spliced markings in novelty griffins, with a specific cat and bird. Artists get stuck on copy-pasting animal patterns because they’re afraid the ingredients won’t be recognizable, or they’re just lost in the sauce of loving tigers they forget to actually have fun with it.

It’s still recognizable as tiger and peacock, but much more compelling, wouldn’t you say? Go for something unique rather than staying with what feels “safe.” There’s a million griffin artists out there, but only one You.

[theartofdrawinganimals]

How I Study Anatomy

Everyone says NEVER TRACE!! THAT’S ART THEFT! Ok but we can do a little crime in the name of Learning.

Trace to learn, not to earn.

I like to take my own photos, but you can study whatever you want. Link back to original photos, and don’t post copied artwork unless the artist is dead, cool with it, or both.

As always with learning, start every sketch with the intent to throw it away (trash for paper, quitting without saving for digital) This takes the pressure off and lets you make Bad Art, which is very important.

So let’s make Bad Art of a Deer because I happen to have one handy

Start with a photo of your subject in a nice/neutral pose with all four feet visible. (so not like me)

Freehand copy it. Try not to stylize, focusing instead of matching proportions and pose. Don’t get too detailed!

It’s ok if your art looks terrible and has broken legs. I’ve drawn LOTS of deer so I have a leg up. Everyone’s art sucks in their own eyes and here’s where mine went wrong:

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Either lasso-distort (recommended for beginners) or redraw a copy of your first sketch with your reference behind it (scaled to match the main body of your sketch)

Put the original and modified sketches together and compare the differences. Write it down if you want. This shows you where your eyes saw things the wrong size, so you can correct for that next time.

After learning about both deer and yourself, try freehand copying again.

Marvel at your newfound knowledge and skill!

but there’s always room for improvement

You can stop here and move on to your real drawing, Or do another freehand-fix-compare cycle. I actually overcorrected my “draws heads too big” and veered into “heads too small.”

Another note on tracing: Learning HOW to trace is more important than anything you could learn By tracing. Draw the Anatomy, not the outline. In real life, things don’t have outlines, they have bones.

These are from the same shoot which is extra useful for consistency. The lines are minimal and follow where the animals joints are, and only important parts are drawn.

You won’t know what Important Parts means right off the bat, which is where in-depth study comes in. You need to do learn the hard parts to do the easy parts right.

Next up: how to study bones and muscles.

[theartofdrawinganimals]

I just had some…thoughts… about sticking animal heads on human shoulders. Bear with me.

I think the reason some anthros look really strange (I’m looking at you, Skyrim) is because animal skulls don’t attach to their spines the same way ours do. Our spines and skulls are very vertical, but many animals’ are closer to horizontal.

Some people solve this by giving the animal skulls a human skull shape on the back. But, to me it makes them look somehow bald(??) and just kinda weird in general. If, instead, you change their necks to curve so that the spine still connects where their four legged counterparts’ do, they no longer look yucky! (And also don’t need a hair-do!)

This seems especially applicable for animals like big cats, cows, and lizards — animals whose spines attach very horizontally to their heads.

Anyway, enjoy some more art I did while having these very specific thoughts.

[theartofdrawinganimals]

so someone on discord asked for how i color and i decided to go a little overboard !! 

[theartofdrawinganimals]

I’m not an expert but I like hands a lot so hopefully some of this was helpful!

[theartofdrawinganimals]

Art tutorials by Disney artists Griz and Norm Lemay

[theartofdrawinganimals]

I’m sure a ton of people already know how to do this, but I only learned recently, so I wanted to share one of my favorite thumbnailing tricks! Color matching is SUPER helpful to quickly map out potential color schemes :D

[EDIT] this is in Adobe Photoshop, sorry for forgetting to mention that!

[theartofdrawinganimals]

Basic sketching tips

IG: @mitchleeuwe

[theartofdrawinganimals]

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[theartofdrawinganimals]

Here are some guides to know how wolves talk

[theartofdrawinganimals]

I made a thing! I was thinking about this for a few days - because I realized that when I was young, I was also frustrated about being given the same advice over and over - without really knowing what it meant!!

Here’s 5 techniques which I have done before which have helped me grow as an artist, which are good for 5-minute warmups or just straight up challenges for your sketchbook! 

Obviously, these are not the ONLY techniques - they’re just the ones I find most fun! And maybe they’re not the most ‘correct’ ones out there, but it’s better than another comic about practicing more, right? 

Good luck to everyone on their drawings!

[theartofdrawinganimals]

Todays doodles are Myras personal Horse Acting Guide! 🐴

DISCLAIMER: im not a horse expert, but i’ve been hobby riding for 13 years and read some books through the years, so it’s just my personal experience. I dont know everything and people have different ways!