Animal Illustration with Charcoal and Ink
A course by Laura McKendryArtist and Illustrator
A course by Laura McKendry, Artist and Illustrator
Embrace the simplicity of ink and charcoal and learn to print, draw, and paint striking black-and-white illustrations full of expression
When you stop to observe the world around you, whether it’s a beloved pet or a stray pigeon, drawing it can help you gain awareness of how we all coexist. Illustrator Laura McKendry, who’s collaborated with names like Laura Ashley and Waterstones, aims to study our relationship with our surroundings in its purest form.
In this online course, learn new techniques to print, draw, and paint your favorite species. Discover how eliminating color allows you to focus on shape and expression, and compose striking black-and-white illustrations bursting with life!
If you’d like to learn more about creative illustration, take a look at her other Domestika courses: Creative Watercolor Sketching for Beginners and Illustrating Nature: A Creative Exploration.
What will you learn in this online course?
15 lessons & 24 downloads
Opening Your Toolkit
6 minutes, 17 seconds
An Introduction to Monoprinting
9 minutes, 45 seconds
Next Steps in Monoprinting
7 minutes, 39 seconds
Experimental Monoprint Animals
19 minutes, 37 seconds
The Basics of Charcoal Drawing
16 minutes, 57 seconds
Choosing a Reference Photo
20 minutes, 4 seconds
What's included in this course?
Meet Laura McKendry, your teacher for the course. She introduces her work and talks about how she got into animal portraiture, as well as the artists whose techniques and philosophies have inspired her over the years.
Start by taking a closer look at the necessary materials, before diving straight in with some exciting monoprinting exercises to warm up. Explore a range of ways to make bold and unpredictable patterns with ink, and see how to use objects from around the house as artistic tools. Laura also talks about how to keep your cool in frustrating situations.
Then, your teacher shares how she uses charcoal sticks in her artistic process. After selecting a reference image, experiment with some different methods for drawing a dog’s head with this expressive and forgiving material. See how to include details like gestural lines, whether working with live subjects or from a photo. Move on to explore tone and depth whilst learning to balance accuracy and freedom of creative expression.
Now play around with charcoal powder. Focus on taking advantage of the strange and unpredictable results, without getting too caught up in the end result, and discover its dramatic effects and expressive marks. Next, Laura teaches you the foundations of a strong composition and how to map out your final piece, so you have the confidence to combine different techniques to paint living subjects.
To wrap up the course, Laura gives you some parting tips on sharing your creations with the world.
What is this course's project?
Create three separate illustrations: an animal series using monoprint patterns, a charcoal drawing of a dog (or other animal of your choice), and an illustration of a pair of animals using charcoal powder.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone interested in the world of animal illustration or with the desire to create black-and-white illustrations using a playful and expressive approach.
Requirements and materials
You don’t need any previous experience to take this course.
As for materials, you need:
- Block printing ink
- Paper
- A sheet of acrylic or glass
- Erasers
- Stick charcoal
- Charcoal pencils and charcoal powder
- A few other household objects
Reviews
- 1 month ago
I liked this course a lot, in spite of how little time I had/how long it took me to get through it. The instructor is very winsome and explains her process well. I find I'm not very good at it (yet?), and I don't *love* the feel of charcoal, but it is really fun to try my hand at something I knew virtually nothing about. I think I'll keep practicing!
- 2 months ago
Laura was clear, organized, and very inspirational. I love all her classes. She thinks outside the box and works in highly creative ways.
- 2 months ago
Un corso davvero utile per esplorare forme e materiali espressivi! grazie
- 2 months ago
This was extremely helpful. The instructor is clear, precise and detailed in her commentary, and the exercises were great. As were the resources. Loved it.
- 3 months ago
An helpful and inspiring course with clear instructions.
Her book cover illustration for André Alexis’ novel Fifteen Dogs was nominated for the V&A Illustration Awards in 2016. She also teaches short courses on drawing and illustration at Central Saint Martins and the University of Arts London, and runs online workshops that focus on finding ways to unlock creativity while perfecting creative techniques.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
The Monoprint: Safari Animals
- Opening Your Toolkit
- An Introduction to Monoprinting
- Next Steps in Monoprinting
- Experimental Monoprint Animals
- U3
Charcoal Sticks: A Dog
- The Basics of Charcoal Drawing
- Choosing a Reference Photo
- Building Blocks
- Increasing the Intensity
- U4
Charcoal Powder: A Pair of Lemurs
- Experimental Charcoal
- Building a Composition
- A Pair of Lemurs
- U5
Sharing and Storing
- How to Photograph, Scan, and Share the Work
- How to Store the Work
- FP
Final project
- Animal Illustration with Charcoal and Ink
What to expect from a Domestika course
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
PLUSIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and covers foundational techniques for drawing animals with charcoal and ink, making it accessible even if you have no prior experience.
You’ll need basic materials like charcoal sticks, powdered charcoal, ink, erasers, paper, and some household objects for mark-making and monoprinting. The course also covers how to choose the right paper and tools.
You’ll learn expressive drawing techniques, monoprinting, how to depict animal fur and features, use erasers for highlights, and experiment with found objects and various tools to create dynamic, textured animal illustrations.
No drawing experience is required. The course starts with the basics and encourages experimentation, making it ideal for those new to animal portraiture or to charcoal and ink techniques.
You’ll learn how to use fixatives and other preservation techniques, including comparisons between archival fixative and hairspray, to keep your charcoal artwork safe from smudging and damage.
The course teaches various techniques like smudging, dry and wet charcoal, eraser drawing, and using different tools to create realistic and expressive fur textures in your animal portraits.
Yes, the course encourages experimenting with household objects such as forks, toy cars, rolling pins, and string to create unique marks, textures, and monoprints in your animal art.