I would strongly encourage you to use what you DO have access to. If you can’t get out into the jungle to draw leopards or the savanna to draw elephants that’s ok. Over time it will make you a better, faster, and more well rounded artist. There is no better way to build your own visual library then by getting out into nature and observing real animals in a real environment. I am a big believer in the concept of a “Visual Library.” That is the visual record and knowledge that you accumulate over your life that you can call upon when sketching and drawing. But, as great as those tools are they do not replace the need to draw from observation. And with sites like Youtube you can even find recorded or live streaming video of them in action. You can find detailed, high-res images of everything about them. With the advent of the internet there are a ton of great sites and online resources for finding a huge wealth of information about animals. So here, in my opinion, are “ The Essentials of Animal Drawing.”ĭRAW FROM LIFE – (Use what you have access to) I also wanted to elaborate on some of the points from the video in the article below. I’ve created a video that runs about 28 minutes long for you to watch my process. So, I thought it might be fun to give the readers of Cartoon Brew a few tips on my process and approach to drawing animals. I get questions about animal drawing all the time. The more you understand the anatomy of real animals the better your imagined designs will be. Also, it makes me a better concept artist and creature designer. Understanding animal anatomy and motion makes me a better animator. They really are one of my favorite subjects. In fact, over my career I have become pretty well known as the “the animal guy.” If I’m not animating them you are very likely to find me illustrating and drawing animals. It might seem apparent from that list, but I am a HUGE animal lover. Over the years I worked on many films including Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and more. I’m also an art educator and run a website called.

Hello Everyone! My name is Aaron Blaise and I’ve been an animator, wildlife artist and animation feature film director for the past 30 years.

Animal s k etch