Naturalistic Animal Drawing with Graphite Pencil
A course by Amy Dover , Artist and Illustrator
Learn to draw realistic creatures by exploring traditional and contemporary techniques to create detailed pencil sketches
Learn to draw realistic creatures by exploring traditional and contemporary techniques to create detailed pencil sketches
When the love for animals and the art of graphite illustration meet, you get captivating artwork like that of Amy Dover. Her work is a playful interpretation of the natural world, and has been internationally recognized in exhibitions across the globe. She’s created illustrations for clients like Urban Outfitters, and for charitable organizations like World Animal Protection.
In this online course, she takes you on a safari adventure to illustrate a detailed animal portrait with just a humble pencil. Learn an array of drawing techniques to help shade, blend, and texturize realistic detail with a whimsical touch.
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 13 downloads
- 96% positive reviews (163)
- 5,120 students
- 17 lessons (3h 15m)
- 13 additional resources (1 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Draw a naturalist portrait of a panda bear in pencil.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for animal lovers who want to improve their drawing abilities, from beginners to advanced artists.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is required.
To take this course, you need:
- ⦁pencils (of varying grades)
⦁paper
⦁tortillons
⦁a sharpener
⦁an eraser
Reviews
Amy Dover is a UK-based artist and illustrator specializing in drawing our animal friends. She has worked as an artist for 14 years, has had her work exhibited internationally, and has collaborated with international animal charity organizations. Amy is a practice-based Ph.D. student at the School of Arts and Culture, Newcastle University, and has a master’s from Edinburgh College of Art. She also works as a senior academic at MIMA School of Art and Design at Teesside University.
Amy has recently been creating work on the human impact on endangered species and the sixth mass extinction, hoping to raise this as a critical concern. In addition to her activism and academia, she also works as a commercial illustrator in design, advertising, and publishing. Her clients include Target, Urban Outfitters, Redbull, The Royal Ballet, Barbour, Sperry Top-sider, Beels & Co, ThinkSpace, and many others.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Looking and Seeing
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A Brief Look at Natural History Illustration
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Materials
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Warm-up Exercises
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U3
From Mark Making to Making a Mark
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Light and Shade 1
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Light and Shade 2
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Drawing Textures and Details
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Proportions
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U4
Creating the Drawing
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Reference Images and Initial Sketch
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Trace Drawing
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Underdrawing and Blending
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Adding Details and Texture 1
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Adding Details and Texture 2
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Finishing Touches
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U5
Extras
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Photographing the Final Piece
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Drawing Animals on Location
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FP
Final project
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Naturalistic Animal Drawing with Graphite Pencil
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
papitha
awesome
kimorgan44
PlusExcellent course. Shows you how to use the pencils to make your work three dimensional. Her techniques could be used on many subjects not just animals.
zaxaropoyloy
Amazing course, really helpful tips
cfermino
Curso incrível, estou gostando muito da didática
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carolau29
el curso esta bueno es muy util y se aprende de maravilla lastima que no tiene la opcion para cambiar de idioma
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