Start date: Thursday 19th September 2024

Subject: Sketching Wildlife on Brown paper

Medium: Graphite & White Ink Pen on Kraft paper

Course length: 6 x 1.5 hour classes (9 hours total)

Included in the workshop: All tuition, reference photos (emailed), feedback and recording of the course.

A workshop kit containing everything you need is available to purchase for this course for £8.99

Suitable for: Beginners and advanced artists.

Location: Live via Zoom – instructions sent after booking.

Time: 7pm-8:30pm GMT (Please be ready with your materials by 6.45pm)

Price: £99

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6 PLACES REMAINING

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Would you like to give your sketches a different look?

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Toned paper opens up a whole new world of possibilities for your wildlife sketches. Brown toned paper in particular gives an underlying warmth to the otherwise monotone greys of graphite pencil.

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Using pencil and white ink pen on brown Kraft paper gives a softer, more natural look to a

sketch. The brown paper brings out the natural mid tones, while the white ink pen creates an atmospheric, sometimes dramatic sunlight effect against the softer shadow tones of the graphite pencil.

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In this course, we can forget about the mid tones and, instead, focus on basic pencil sketching textures, some important details and, of course, those impact highlights.

 

Lesson 1 - Thursday 19th September - Squirrel Monkey

We begin the course with some interesting textures, in the form of a delightful squirrel monkey; one of the most intelligent monkeys that gets its name from nimbly hopping from branch to branch, like a squirrel.

With few facial details to concern ourselves with, we can focus on the short, dense fur texture with both the graphite pencil and white ink pen. We will use a little imagination to change the rope in our reference to a rainforest tree branch.

The overall effect will that of the strong sunlight and hazy shadows of the squirrel monkey's habitat.

 

Lesson 2 - Thursday 26th September - Impala

This week's sketch takes us to the hot, dusty and somewhat drier haze of southern Africa. The warm hue of the paper effectively portrays both the overall colour of the impala and the warmth of its habitat.

The white ink pen will take centre stage this week, picking out the strong outline, horns and muscle

definition of this handsome antelope. The graphite pencil will be used more sparingly to show form and minimal features through the dusty heat of the impala's environment.

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Lesson 3 - Thursday 3rd October - Camel

I often like to include a character study in these courses, and this week we have just that; a profile portrait study of a very characterful dromedary camel.

The focus in this sketch will be very much on features; trying to capture the character of the camel first

and foremost. The major part of the sketch will be graphite on the brown paper, with more limited use of the white ink pen to pick up soft highlights and a touch of backlighting.

 

​Lesson 4 – Thursday 10th October - Painted Dog

The African wild dog, or painted dog as it is often known, is Africa's largest and, without doubt, most handsome canid species.

There are two areas of focus in this week's sketch; firstly the classic hunting pose in profile and secondly, the multi-toned colouring of the painted dog – from the dark muzzle, to the tan, white and dark grey markings of the fur. It almost seems that this medium was designed to sketch this subject. 

The result will be a very striking image of this sadly persecuted carnivore.

 

Lesson 5 -  Thursday 17th October - Meerkat

For many of us, the massive rise to fame of meerkats in recent years, from 'Meerkat Manor' to the slightly more dubious and cliched website commercials, have tempered the desire to create 'serious' works of wildlife art of this small and obviously cute member of the mongoose family.

However, the pose of a meerkat on guard while the rest of his pack forage for food makes for a lovely,

characterful sketch.

This week's sketch focuses on the body shape and facial features of the meerkat. Naturally, the brown

paper helps to convey not only the colouring of the meerkat, bus also the heat of its desert habitat. The white ink pen will be used to strengthen the outline as well as creating a suggestion of early morning backlighting.

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Lesson 6 - Thursday 24th October - Lion

The face of a mature male lion can show strength, wisdom and often the scars of a hard life. Indeed, the African male lion is one of the most utilised animal symbols in human cultural history.

Our final sketch will be a profile portrait, discovering how to use the white ink pen to portray the strong features of the lion. In addition, we will see how, using all parts of a pencil lead from side to tip, we can create strong facial features, as well as softer fur textures.

What an iconic image to finish the course on!

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There is a kit available to accompany this course, which includes:

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MATERIALS REQUIRED/KIT CONTENTS

 

• 2B Graphite Pencil

• 2 x White Ink Pens

• Kneadable Eraser

• A4 120gsm Brown Kraft paper (10 sheets)

• Reference Photos (6) - included in the kit, or emailed after booking.

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​** Kits are posted out a week before the course starts **