Learn to Draw Elephants

by John Davidson December 12, 2018

Elephant

For our third exercise, let’s render this heavy mammal, who likes peanut, also for this challenge we’re going to render it focus on its body texture as well the background. And don’t forget to study the picture below before you begin.

https://learn-to-draw-books.myshopify.com/products/learn-how-to-draw-portraits-of-african-animals-in-charcoal-for-the-beginner

Again transfer this outline to your working paper, and we’re set to go.

Learn to Draw Elephants

Steps:

1. Begin Shading the Dark areas, using the Soft Charcoal S. with your Flat Brush: left hind leg, shadow on the right ear and shadow on the left face.

And shade the shadow with the same Charcoal tone but use light pressure for this to be safe you can another layer later.

Learn to Draw Elephants

2. To see the right contrast at this early stage we can begin working the background, using the guide below use Charcoal shave with Large Round Brush, use dabbing strokes when rendering the sky, work slowly but surely and working with the consistency of the value as well a good transition from dark(soft Charcoal) to light(hard Charcoal).

3. Next is to render the clouds in the sky, you can use your Vinyl eraser but if you have an electric eraser the better- it can erase deeper making the white of the paper more visible compared to any other eraser.

4. Finish the rest of the background using the guide below:

5. Soft Charcoal S. with Flat Brush, use light pressure.

6. Hard Charcoal S. with Round Brush

7. Medium Charcoal S. with Round Brush

Note: For the middle ground area with C. add details using Medium Charcoal Pencil to add some effects and blend it with Tortillon to soften, for B. areas details draw light thin and short horizontal random lines with Medium Charcoal Pencil and again soften it with Tortillon.

Finish the details and texture of the subject:

First Apply tone the body of the elephant by dabbing a Hard Charcoal S. with Round Brush.
Second Draw details like the eyes, lips and tusks using Hard Charcoal S. and soften it with tortillon, so that it will not look so sharp.
Third Next add wrinkles to the following areas using Hard Charcoal Pencil: trunk, ear, body and legs,
Fourth Apply Highlights to the following areas using Kneaded eraser: ears, front face beside the trunk, body, tail and legs.

After you’re finished, check your work for any corrections, and then spray it with fixative. And we’re done. Wow you had finished half of the exercises in the eBook, good job and give yourself a pat in the back. Now take a break and after that get back and start the fourth exercise.

Hey! Look… it’s like a scene from a movie, the part where the popular Jungle man calls his elephant ally.

Download the entire book with illustrations

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Learn to Draw

Learn to Draw Elephants

Elephant

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