Takeaways
- What I enjoyed the most about a solo trip to the zoo is that I could decide how long I wanted to linger and see the animals. I just like the relaxed atmosphere and the way that you can just get lost in what you’re looking at and be in your own head space, not really worrying about the people around you.
- The hardest animals for me to draw are the big cats, and the birds. The funnest animals to draw are ones with long noses, or the ones where they’re very large/have a lot of curves. I guess the easiest animals to draw were obviously the ones that were in rest.
- I also had a chance to talk some very nice volunteers at the zoo who saw me sketching and shared some kind words.
- Another thing that I really like about the zoo is that it is never the same trip twice. Sometimes animals are no where to be seen, and the next time that you’re there they are getting everyone’s attention. It’s just an endless possibility of subjects and entertainment.
What I hope to gain
I would like to be able to capture an essence of an animal in a quick and simplistic sort of way. I guess sort of like life drawing, but even less control. I also really need to work on blocking when sketching.. using basic shapes to get the form/proportion of the animal just right before going into details. Sketching is like an exercise… a muscle, if you will. If you don’t practice or use it as much, then you start to get out of shape.
One thing I like seeing is the progression from warm up sketching to just getting down and into the details. Every sketch gets progressively better and better, and I find that so invigorating. Sometimes I’ll start on a sketch, but won’t really like how it’s coming up and almost won’t to give up on the animal, especially if they keep moving. But as I push through those parts, I see that it does improve!
Anyway, I hope that you all can find some time to head to the zoo and just enjoy the animals at your own pace! I also highly encourage you to get an annual pass of some sort to relieve pressure on any trip that you decide to take at any time of the day.
Keep up to date on what I’m doing and see my zoo adventures on my instagram!
404 Modal