Sketching and painting animals

[sonjacraen]

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=752730#post752730
After posting some Wetty's ask my how I work.
A beloved carriage of Baron.
This is the way I work.
I take several pages and sketch them when they are relaxed or sleeping.
When they change a little there pose ,you change your painting or drawing also a little.
when they change there pose completely-take the next page and start a new sketch.
After a time you will see that they always will take one of 5 or 6 the same poses.
If you have sketched them in those different poses ,then you can start to paint .Chance to with to pose your pet is taken at the moment.
You can also work from a picture,but then you get a predictyble result.
Drawing,sketching in live poses is more difficult,but also much more fascinating.
A black or a white animal is very difficult.In watercolorpainting I never use of maskeringtools.That's the real way to work with watercolor.All the whites must come from the paper itself.
This is my little help look with your eyes half closed and you will see nuances ans shades you normally don't see.
I wish all Wetty's a lot of succes.
Wetty also
Sonja

[llis]

Thanks so much Sonja. I know that teachers browsing this forum will really benefit from passing this information along to their budding artists. Keeping a sketchbook full of poses that animals make is a great idea.

I think this would be a great idea too for even the little ones. They could even use their sketchbook as a way to practice their writting skills as they could write what the bird or animal was doing when they sketched them. :)