Drawing & Painting Wild Animals

Popular artist and tutor, Vic Bearcroft, shares his love of drawing and painting wild animals in his new book, Painting and Drawing Wild Animals, published by Search Press. Encouraging you to paint from life, Vic suggests visiting wildlife parks, zoos and sanctuaries to study animals and their behaviour yourself to build up an understanding of their habits and movements in more natural environments. He also describes how you can use photography or wildlife documentaries on television if you are unable to see the animals in person. With clear step-by-step examples, Vic shares his tried and tested techniques for capturing animal features-such as eyes, fur and noses-in watercolour, pastels, charcoal and acrylics. There are chapters on materials, colour, and reference material as well as sections on individual animals, such as big cats, ungulates, bears, elephants, apes and dogs, with six full step-by-step projects for you to work through.

Loved the detail and instruction of how to draw animals.I can’t wait to try and draw as instructed.

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Vic Bearcroft is a self-taught professional wildlife and pet portrait artist, who specialises in pastel on velour, but also works in pencil, watercolour, coloured pencil, charcoal and acrylic media. Having spent part of his childhood in Kenya, Vic has been drawing animals since he could hold a pencil. Being passionate about wildlife in general, and particularly interested in wolves, Vic works with a large number of animal welfare and conservation organisations worldwide, donating prints, merchandise and funds. He says: “While I consider myself to be a wildlife artist, I prefer to paint close-up intimate portraits of animals as individuals, rather than in landscape settings. My aim is to capture not only the likeness of the subject in my painting, but also the life and soul in its eyes.”