Lifelike Animals

GIRAFFES IN A LANDSCAPE

Many of my animal drawings are portraits with little or no surrounding backgrounds. But sometimes I want to show more of the relationship between an animal and its environment, so I’ll place the animal in a larger landscape. There are several important aspects to carefully consider when creating this type of composition:

1. How and where is the animal placed in its environment?

2. How do dominant features such as large trees, rocks, and mountains affect the size and placement of the animal and its visibility?

3. How do the animal(s) and other dominant features affect the balance of the composition?

4. Does the vegetation directly relate to the animal? Does it match the animal’s natural habitat?

5. Is there a distinct foreground, ...