The cylinder is a very important shape when drawing nature. It appears in many things such as tree trunks and the arms, legs and necks of many animals. Cone shapes are seen in animals’ faces and ears.
.5mm mechanical
pencil with 2B lead
kneaded eraser
ruler
smooth bristol paper
tortillion
Create an ellipse. Use the same curve to create the bottom of the cylinder. Use a ruler to connect the top and bottom with vertical lines. Create the table edge. Add the cast shadow to the left of the cylinder. Make it darkest at the edge of the cylinder. Add the shadow edge with vertical pencil strokes. Allow a light edge to appear on the side.
Add some tone to the top of the cylinder along the front edge. Add tone behind the cylinder with your pencil. It is darker on the left side. Deepen the tones of the shadow edge, allowing them to get lighter as they move into the center. Be sure to use vertical strokes.
Use blending to finish the cylinder. Start with the background tone. Use the same procedure to finish as you used for the sphere and egg.
The tip of the cone should be in the middle of the square. Each side of the bottom is the same distance from the edge of the square border with the lines drawn down from the top point. The curve at the bottom is an ellipse, like the bottom of the cylinder above.
Use the same procedure to add tone as you used when drawing the sphere and the egg.
Use the same procedure to finish as you used for the sphere and the egg.
MANATEE
Graphite on smooth bristol
14” × 11” (36cm × 28cm)
FLAMINGO
Graphite on smooth bristol
7” × 9” (18cm × 23cm)
You can see in these drawings the importance of understanding basic shapes, like the sphere and the egg, along with the five elements of shading when it comes to drawing animals. Applying these elements to your work makes all the difference between a simple line drawing and true realism.