Sketcherie: Lemurs!

At first I thought, hey, I'll post up my mammalian sketches every day! Then I realized that (a)that would get really tedious, and (b) that would end up with all you poor following folk seeing things like The Day of the Lemmings. To summarize what I learned from drawing lemmings:

Lemmings are really, really boring to draw.

Seriously they're just little circles with dots for eyes. I was bored like a softwood pine under a devastating beetle onslaught. Did I mention I make myself draw every creature for thirty minutes apiece with either hand? Because I do! A solid hour of fuzzballs, ugh.

But see, you don't have to see or hear about that (the above rant was only a sample of my boredom-induced ravings. Trust me, I COULD GO ON.) thanks to the power of procrastination planning! Planning and saving material! Yes!

Instead, here are several pages of lemurs, some of the most fantastically fun and drawable creatures on Earth.

One thing that's really baffling me so far is how to draw the distinction between fur-texture and shading in a grayscale media. One of these lemurs especially had some serious fur ruffles on its limbs- but trying to draw that in, it looks like he's just striped. Fur-portraying advice, anyone?

Hiatus? What Hiatus?

I haven't been slacking! I've been sketching! Look, some kangaroos. Drawn right AND left handed.  Because I WILL get the full benefit of my ambidexterity, consarn it.

Why kangaroos? Why two pages of kangaroos, not to mention the painting drying in my studio? Well...


I have never drawn a really good tiger.

This may not seem like a terribly important fact. Rarely does the fate of the world depend on an immediate skillful rendition of tigerhood. But I really WANT to draw a good tiger. Tigers haunt my migraine auras. They chase me in dreams (where they like lollipops and where vests) and are unspeakably gorgeous in real life, and I routinely get ideas for tiger-based pictures.

That I don't draw. Nor do I draw the random ideas for pictures based on llamas, elephants, harp seals, koati or zebu cattle. I don't draw these things because I can't draw them, and I can't draw them because I don't draw them. Not only am I a Hack*, I am A Hack of Very Little Experience. And this is not entirely my fault- I've had other things to occupy my time in this particular go 'round on the Life board-- but of all the things that interfere with my Arting Fun Times, a lack of drawing experience is the only one I can definitely alter.

At least with the help of good photo reference.

Hence my great glee at finding the National Geographic Book of Mammals in the clearance bin at the local Cheapo Bookstore. As far as I can tell, it exists for no other purpose than to give Hacks a great slab o' photo reference. So I'm planning to spend the year drawing my way from kangaroos to zebras, a new beastie every day. Maybe I'll get some finished pieces out of the deal, maybe not. But at least, when I next want to draw a Koatimundi, I'll have a basic idea of where to begin.

Oh.

And if it takes the rest of the year, I will draw a really GOOD tiger.


* I am a hack, oh yes I am, never doubt it or challenge me on that. But the Talent Rant is for another day.