Portrait of a King

Drawing a Lion, the King of Beasts

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Lion. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

Here's a sad fact. About 10,000 years ago the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. Now there are only 32,000 of them, down from 200,000 just a century ago. Yet they are still not declared an endangered species. And what really shocked me was that Between 1999 and 2008, more than 7,500 lions were killed for sport. Fifty-five percent of those individuals were shipped to the United States, just terrible! I can only hope that this changes and people realize how fragile these incredibly strong animals are.

Lions to me are one of the most beautiful and majestic cats. The male lion really does fit his name, and looks like a king. My goal for this drawing was to create a character the says I'm proud, I'm strong, and I'm not going to look at you for pity. This is one of first animals in my series that is looking away, and not directly at the viewer. The other goal for me was to conquer drawing hair. Hair has always been a challenge for me to draw. So what better subject to get over my fear of hair then drawing a lions mane! Below are a series of photos I took as I drew. I'm slowly getting better at documenting my drawings as I do them. I hope you enjoy my time lapse shots. And if anyone has any question about my process, please don't hesitate to write, or comment on this blog. I would be happy answer anything and will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for looking.

Starting with the eye. I always do

My pen of choice. Uniball PowerTank .05

The mouth is done.

Inking in part of the background

Working on the Mane

Close up of the Mane

Layers of lines.

I always start and then finish with the eye. Adding the finishing touches.