Drawing Wildlife in Pencil, Ink and Wash with Shannon Dwyer

Develop your signature style for drawing wildlife in pencil, ink and wash with illustrator Shannon Dwyer in this new short course.

This course is designed to introduce students to the art of drawing birds and wildlife through various techniques to capture the essence of their chosen subject. 

Through a series of guided lessons and fun, practical exercises, students will learn techniques for capturing the unique characteristics and details of animals. Learn how to draw realistic animals, portray textures, bring depth and shape, and depict emotions and motion using different techniques. Drawing inspiration from reference images, videos, and the diverse styles of a variety of wildlife artists, students will hone their drawing skills to develop their own signature style and creative flair! 

The course will focus mostly on drawing and sketching with pencil, with the option to experiment with different mediums such as ink, charcoals and paints as the student’s body of work grows. Shannon will do demonstrations and provide a range of tips and tricks to help you improve your hand-eye coordination and methods to keep your initial sketches loose. Students will receive individual feedback throughout the classes, learning to enjoy the journey of the drawing process because this is where the essence of your subject is captured - injecting your unique artistic flair before adding in the finishing details of the chosen subject.

This is a fun and relaxed class where you can utilise Shannon’s love and experience in wildlife drawing and illustration, to explore, grow and gain the skills and confidence to depict a range of wildlife expressively and produce one or a series of sketches, drawings and illustrations on paper, as well as a whole new range of practical drawing skills.  

What to expect

Suitable for all skill levels, the course provides a fun and relaxed environment to explore the following:

• Drawing warm-up exercises 
• Basic perspective. Understanding proportion and distinctive features of different species
• Expressive mark making
• Fundamental skills including mark-making, creating texture, line, form, outlining, light and shade
• Developing compositions and a range of subject matter within the image-making process
• Learn to embrace happy accidents
• Work across a variety of subject matter
• Practical exercises focusing on gesture drawing and capturing movement
• Encouraging individual style and creative expression in wildlife drawing
• Experimentation with abstract and stylized representations of different animals

What will you achieve?

Students will:

• Experiment in both quick, expressive approaches to drawing, as well as experimenting with texture, linework and layers. 
• Complete a series of studies in the first few weeks of term, with the goal of developing one substantial work by the end of the 8 weeks.

Is this course right for me?

This course is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced students who wish to develop their drawing skills.  While suitable for all skill levels, it is particularly helpful to those looking to transition from drawing to painting as the broad and expressive techniques used can act as a wonderful segue.

Material List

You will need to bring the following materials: additional materials may be added as the course progresses and this will be discussed in class., and a list will be supplied at the end of each class for a reminder of what to bring for the next lesson.

• Lead Pencil HB and 2B.
• A3 sketchbook
• Hard Eraser
• A3 Watercolour paper pad or individual sheets
• Art Spectrum® Liquid Spectrum concentrated artist Ink - black
• Speedball Pen & Nib Set
• Rags/old tea towel
• Watercolour brushes (optional)
• Watercolour/Gouache paints (optional) 
• Sharpener
• Ruler

About studio classes

Our class sizes are small, ensuring you receive the individual tuition you need. We have a maximum of 12 students per class.

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