Star of the Stripes

Portrait of a Tiger

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Tiger. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

By now you know I love drawing any animal with spots, but one with stripes comes in a very close second. A tiger has been on my list for a long time, so I'm really glad to be able to check this one off. Each time As I start a drawing of yet another incredible animal I dive into research about it's history, current condition, behavior and general facts. And over and over again I seem to always find out how few of these amazing animals are left in the wild. Here's the breakdown by subspecies of the tiger that are still out there: 

Bengal tiger: Less than 2,000
Indochinese tiger: 750-1,300
Siberian tiger: Around 450
Sumatran tiger: 400-500
Malayan tiger: 600-800
South Chinese tiger: Extinct in the wild
Caspian tiger: Extinct
Javan tiger: Extinct
Bali tiger: Extinct

Unbelievable right! Such an incredibly, majestic, and beautiful creature hunted nearly out of existence for their body parts. Out of nine subspecies of tiger the last 3 are extinct, one is extinct from the wild, and the rest are endangered. Something all of us should be aware of. 

Tigers are the largest cat species. They can weight up to 700 pounds and can leave up to 26 years. At the turn of the 20th century there were around 100,000 tigers, now in the wild, the estimate is between 3,000 to 4,000. 

Just beginning with the face

Close up of the eye

Working on the ears and whiskers

The head getting closer to completion

Just love the quality of the Moleskin paper. 

Inking in the background

My work space and tools

The final drawing (click on it for a larger view)

The final head

A detail of the final eye

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt