How to draw (cute) animals

Greetings and welcome to my new tutorial. As many of you know, I am somewhat fond of the critters and love to draw wildlife. There is such a wide range of animals out there! Now, I am no expert at animal portraits and cannot do realism to save my life, but here is my step-by-step guide to drawing animals. Cute fashion! My style tends me to over-exaggerate certain features like eyes and ears and aim for quirky expressions.

Step 1. What do draw?
First decide on a species. For the purposes of this tutorial I am concentrating on mammals. Do you have a favourite species? Maybe you could draw one of your pets?

Step 2. What does it look like?
Now you need some references. Always use a photographic reference. Never, ever copy off a handdrawn piece unless it is the only resource available. And don't rely on your memory either. It is surprising how many stereotypic features lodge in your brain, and make you forget other important factors. If you don't believe me, try drawing a rabbit. Unless you've drawn a great deal of bunnies, or see the real thing on a regular basis, chances are it will end up looking rather like this:

Now, compare it with the rabbit below.

Recommended resources are photographic books (the library is a good place to visit, if you don't own a small bookstore of your own). Or you can ramble along into http://www.flickr.com and search for whatever you like. Try to find more than one reference from different perspectives. It is best not to copy directly.

Or, if you prefer, you can draw from life. After all, cats do sleep 20 hours a day.

I have selected these references:

Courtesy of Pippin	Courtesy of Loralou	Courtesy of Loralou	Taken myself
Taken myself	Courtesy of Addicted2Shopping	Courtesy of Lise Bu	Taken myself

Even when closely related animals are involved the details are quite different. Now comes the first of the tricky states.

Step 3. Laying down the linework and Primary Features
Think of this as laying the foundations. You must look at your references and divide them up into parts. The easiest way to do this is to train yourself to see them not as features, but as shapes.

Start with the general head shape:
Felines and canines have a roundish, slightly squared facial shape. This is because, being predators, they need to have good spatial vision and be able to focus both eyes on their potential dinner.
Whereas ungulates and rodents/lagomorphs have a more rectangular one. As "prey species" they benefit more from having good peripheral vision and can see the afore-mentioned predators sneaking up from all angles (except right behind them...)

Sketch out the placement of the main facial features:
- Eyes
- Ears
- Nose or Muzzle

Step 4: Secondary Features

Here's where things get particularly fun. You have to look at your animal and think "what is it that makes this animal what it is?" Look for distinguishing markings - stripes on a tiger, the shaggy mane of fur on a wolf's throat. The rabbit's long ears. Now add in the secondary facial features - mouth, cheeks, eyebrows.

	PREDATORS Felines Felines tend to have short, rounded muzzles. Their ears are set at the edge of their head and usually point outwards. * muzzle shape - square or round? tigers have a squarer, more powerful muzzle * fur type - sleek or shaggy? tigers and long-haired housecats have a distinctive ruff of fur * ear shape - rounded or pointed? tigers ears are quite small and rounded, whereas most domestic breeds are more triangular. * eye size - big or small? If the feline is predominently nocturnal - as the smaller species are, the eyes will be larger in proportion with their bodies. These can be exaggerated in the name of cuteness, but when applied to tigers or lions may confuse the viewer as to what they are actually viewing. * Eye shape - almond or round? Although my two subjects here are similar, a persian's bug eyes are quite different from the narrow glare of a burmese.
	Canines Canines have a longer, more rectangular shape to their muzzles. Of course, some of the more mutated breeds of dogs - chihuahua and boxers for example, have far shorter and rounder muzzles. Their ears either are erect pointing directly upwards, or flop comically beside their face. Their eyes are smaller in proportion to their body size, although it should be noted that some canine species are nocturnal (fox and coyote for example). Some species of wild dog and domesticated breeds sport a ruff of fur about their face and neck. These are not quite as defined as their feline cousins, but should not be overlooked. Apply the questions above to your reference and use these to help pencil in the secondary features.
	PREY Rodents/Lagomorphs Rodents and Lagomorphs are about as closely related as cats and dogs. They have large, round, dark eyes identifying their largely nocturnal lifestyle and more pronounced eye sockets. Their ears are quite large in proportion, giving them good hearing - all the better to hear those predators! Their snouts are quite long and pronouced but their mouths are quite small. Eyes are set back closer to the ears, giving them "all-round' vision. Note the difference in noses from the carnivores above - these prey species have a "V" shaped nose, the nostrils rimmed with pink. Features to look for when drawing rodents and lagomorphs: * eye size - big or small? Most rodents have quite large eyes. * cheeks - ruffs/pouches? Rodents store their food in cheek pouches, which can be characterised by tufts of fur.
	Ungulates Hoofed animals are prey species of the larger carnivores and as such need good peripheral vision. Their eyes are set back in the sides of their head, near the base of the ear and at a distinctly different angle to that of a carnivores. Their snouts are quite long, their mouths small. They also have fleshy lips, used to pull leaves from trees or grass. Their ears are set high on their head. Features to look for when drawing rodents and lagomorphs: * nostrils or Dy Nose? Many ungulates have two separate nostrils, set to either side of their snout and rimmed with pink. Some, however, like deer and antelopes, have actual "dry noses" not unlike those of the carnivores. * head adornments To protect themselves and help defend mates, many ungulates sport defensive measures in the form of horns or tusts. Look for where these attach to the body and the form they take. They should be sketched in now if they're not already. * ear shape Ungulates have longer, pointed ears. Some, like horses, point directly upwards, whereas goats and deer may rest at right angles to the cheeks or droop downwards. * lips - narrow or wide? Ungulates have fleshy lips - browsers (tree eaters) have narrower lips often with prehensile properties, ideal for plucking. Others - like the white rhino which is a grazer, are much wider and act more-or-less like a lawnmower. Study your reference and imagine how it likes to dine. Also, look for tongues. Giraffes, for example, have very long tongues which they use to denude branches.

Step 5: The Fine Details

Now add in fur - density and markings. Look for the direction in which it runs and distinctive patterning. Don't forget the hair in the ears! Hair can be depicted in a series of strokes - long extended "V"s for long furred creatures and neck ruffs/manes, short "l"s for short furred creatures or just a flat coour for the very short furred animals, like horses. Also note that most mammals have whiskers. These are more pronounced in the smaller prey animals, but even large ones like horses have bristles about their lips and nostrils. DO NOT feel you have to draw EVERY single whisker. About 3-5 on each side should be sufficient. Gel pens work well for whiskers - try silver or white (on dark-furred animals).

Colour

If using colouring pencils, choose a range of colours. Most animals have a range of shading in their fur - especially brown or grey ones.

Note: These colours pertain to the Faber-castell Polychromos, my preferred pencils. You can find the chart of colours here: http://www.faber-castell.de/ (under "colour chart").

White - white, ivory, cream or pale blue, light grey. Be careful about overdoing the blues.	Black - black, purple or indigo, dark (paynes) grey, medium grey, light purple or blue for highlights.
Grey - Light grey, medium grey, dark grey, black. Use indigo for added emphasis of shadows. A light blue-grey can be useful but use it carefully and don't get into the bright blues.	Orange - dark chrome yellow, orange glaze, dark naples orange, terracotta. For dynamic shading use indigo or a greenish-blue. Try to avoid using red or extremely bright orange as this looks unnatural.
Reddish-Brown - sanguine, pompeian red, venetian red, indian Red, walnut brown, caput mortuum.	Golden-Brown - light yellow ochre, burnt ochre, brown ochre, bistre, nougat.

Now it's your turn! Here are some photographic references taken by Yours Truly. See what you can make of them. Try and work out what lifestyle the animal leads! Click the image to make 'em bigger!