Horse of a Different Color

Drawing the Graphic Standard of Animals: The Zebra

Available to purchase as prints and signed reproductions at:

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Plains Zebra. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

First question. Are Zebras white with black stripes, or back with white one? All I knew when I was a kid was that I could draw the entire animal with one black marker, and that was cool! When I first realize I loved to draw, back in elementary school, the very first animal I attempted was a zebra. The graphic stripes were so inviting to draw. Simple by wrapping the stripes around the animal it gave the appearance of a 3 dimensional image. I drew Zebra after Zebra after Zebra, and never got bored. Plus, I could change up the stripes on everyone and make them all unique. Drawing this Zebra brought me right back to my first animal drawings, and even today I still love drawing a Zebra. Plus this animals true colors are two of my favorite...Black & white.

The stripes on a Zebra are unique to each individual, and that no two are alike is amazing. Due to over hunting for skins and habitat destruction they are endangered. One subspecies the quagga became extinct in the 19th century.

Detail of the Zebra's head

Detail of the Zebra's eye. My favorite feature.

 My Zebra in process. 

Here the head is almost complete.