They say life drawing is the best practice. I agree, simply because of how difficult it is. Drawing still-lifes is tough. Drawing a person is difficult, even when they’re being paid to stand still. Drawing live animals is just frustrating. They don’t hold still. If you want a dynamic pose, it’s fairly easy to capture the line of action, but details fall into the black hole of “I forgot how that looks.” Plus, at the zoo, you become nearly as big an attraction as the animals you’re drawing.

As a side note, has anyone noticed that most parents say really ignorant things to their children at the zoo? If they just took a moment to read the sign, they’d know that orangutans aren’t monkeys, and the bongo isn’t going to eat you.

Anyhow, I got into a rhythm today. Near the end of my zoo trip, I had my sketch on, and had it on good. I’d appreciate any comments about these sketches - which work best, and why.