Naturalistic Animal Drawing with Graphite Pencil
A course by Amy Dover, Artist and Illustrator
Learn to draw realistic creatures by exploring traditional and contemporary techniques to create detailed pencil sketches
When the love for animals and the art of graphite illustration meet, you get captivating artwork like that of Amy Dover. Her work is a playful interpretation of the natural world, and has been internationally recognized in exhibitions across the globe. She’s created illustrations for clients like Urban Outfitters, and for charitable organizations like World Animal Protection.
In this online course, she takes you on a safari adventure to illustrate a detailed animal portrait with just a humble pencil. Learn an array of drawing techniques to help shade, blend, and texturize realistic detail with a whimsical touch.
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 13 downloads
What's included in this course?
Meet Amy Dover, an artist, illustrator, and your teacher for this course. Hear about her creative journey, which took her across the globe to draw portraits of furry, feathery, and scaly friends for a living. She also shares a variety of influences that have inspired her work.
Get an overview of the history of artistic representations of animals. Amy then gives you a detailed list of materials needed for the course, before moving on to some drawing exercises to warm up.
Next, Amy teaches you some light and shade techniques to create texture and depth. Learn about proportions, from both observation and photographs.
Time to choose your reference images and start sketching! Discover how to copy your initial sketch neatly by underdrawing then blending your illustration. Add textures and realistic details using the techniques learned earlier in the course. Finish your piece by adding the final touches.
As a bonus, Amy shows you how to properly photograph your work, as well as how to draw animals while out in the field.
- 95% positive reviews (188)
- 6,312 students
- 17 lessons (3h 15m)
- 13 additional resources (1 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish (Latam), French, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Romanian · Indonesian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Draw a naturalist portrait of a panda bear in pencil.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for animal lovers who want to improve their drawing abilities, from beginners to advanced artists.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is required.
To take this course, you need:
- ⦁pencils (of varying grades)
⦁paper
⦁tortillons
⦁a sharpener
⦁an eraser
Reviews
Amy Dover
A course by Amy Dover
Amy Dover is a UK-based artist and illustrator specializing in drawing our animal friends. She has worked as an artist for 14 years, has had her work exhibited internationally, and has collaborated with international animal charity organizations. Amy is a practice-based Ph.D. student at the School of Arts and Culture, Newcastle University, and has a master’s from Edinburgh College of Art. She also works as a senior academic at MIMA School of Art and Design at Teesside University.
Amy has recently been creating work on the human impact on endangered species and the sixth mass extinction, hoping to raise this as a critical concern. In addition to her activism and academia, she also works as a commercial illustrator in design, advertising, and publishing. Her clients include Target, Urban Outfitters, Redbull, The Royal Ballet, Barbour, Sperry Top-sider, Beels & Co, ThinkSpace, and many others.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Looking and Seeing
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A Brief Look at Natural History Illustration
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Materials
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Warm-up Exercises
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U3
From Mark Making to Making a Mark
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Light and Shade 1
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Light and Shade 2
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Drawing Textures and Details
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Proportions
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U4
Creating the Drawing
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Reference Images and Initial Sketch
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Trace Drawing
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Underdrawing and Blending
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Adding Details and Texture 1
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Adding Details and Texture 2
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Finishing Touches
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U5
Extras
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Photographing the Final Piece
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Drawing Animals on Location
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FP
Final project
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Naturalistic Animal Drawing with Graphite Pencil
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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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.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 those new to animal drawing. No previous experience is required, and step-by-step guidance is provided throughout.
You will need a sketchbook, a range of graphite pencils (including B and H grades), a tortillon, erasers, a sharpener, and suitable drawing paper. Optional tools include fixative spray and measuring tools.
You will learn observational drawing, animal anatomy, sketching from life, creating texture and depth, blending and shading techniques, and how to capture animals using both traditional and experimental methods.
Yes, the course teaches you how to observe and sketch animals directly from life, in nature, and from reference photos, enhancing your field observation skills.
The focus is on traditional pencil illustration, but the course also introduces hand-drawn digital illustration basics for those interested in combining techniques.
Absolutely. The course starts with foundational exercises and builds skills progressively, making it ideal for complete beginners.
Yes, the course covers techniques for drawing realistic fur, feathers, scales, and other animal textures using pencils and blending tools.
Kurs bardzo dobry widać po zawartości i pracach uczestników !
Excelente maestra. Me gustó mucho su técnica y propuesta.
Felicidades y sigue Adelante.
heel goed! veel geleerd, duidelijk. deze bekijk ik zeker nog eens, ik weet als ik er een 2de keer ga naar kijken dat ik nog meer kan verfijnen door de goede en duidelijk uitleg, en ook door de oefeningen die ze je laat doen. als je toepast wat ze verteld ben je al een heel eind verder in het tekenen en til je jouw tekenniveau naar een veel hoger niveau.
Course is to short, to really learn to draw. She might be an excellent artisan and her drawings are beautiful but this is not a good format for starters.
I am enjoying this course. My goal is to go deeper into graphite and animal illustration, so this is great!