A Spring Snow

Drawing a Snow Leopard

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Snow Leopard. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

The ultimate cool cat! The Snow Leopard is one of those animals that looks too beautiful to be true. Almost like an apparition, it is extremely elusive and secretive, lives in remote mountainous regions, and is incredibly well camouflaged which makes it very hard to see. Sadly it is also extremely endangered with estimates of only 4,000 to 7,000 left in the wild today. In 2008 it was placed on the Red List of threatened species. For all those reasons I just had to add this majestic cat to my list of "Big Cat" drawings. It has always been one of my favorites.

Snow Leopard. original photograph by Anthony Festa

The inspiration for this drawing came directly from an amazing photograph that Anthony Festa took of a Snow Leopard. Anthony is a friend and amazing photographer. He does landscape, nature, and wildlife photography and his work is stunning! He graciously gave me permission to use his work as reference. You can see and purchase his photos on his website at selectimagesphotographycom. Thanks again Anthony for you generosity! The only thing I decided to change from the photo was that to Snow Leopard's look appeared slightly timid to me, so I tried to achieve a more confident stare and demeanor. I hope I was successful.

This time I took a lot more photos as I progressed through the drawing. Since people have been asking me more about my working process I thought more pictures will make it clearer. On this piece I started with a fine pencil sketch of the basic outline of the Leopard. After that the pencil is exchanged for my pen. It's all pen work from this point on. I usually always start some where on the animals face. This gives me the opportunity to breath life into the drawing, and then I slowly expand to finish the overall body. Drawing fur has always been a challenge for me. I feel I gained some knowledge this go around. I work from light to dark and begin by applying very little pressure to the pen as I let it glide across the paper. This let me draw the finest of lines. To achieve the darker areas I slowly build up those areas with layers of lines. After I have finished the inking of the animal I start brushing in the background with india ink. I love cutting out the animal. It almost feels like creating a sculpture to me. I do this with Pro Art India Ink. It's very thick and covers the papers quickly. I've noticed that different bottles have different consistencies of thickness, so I mix them to get that perfect flow. Thanks again for dropping by, and taking the time to visit my blog! It's onto the next animal for me!

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Spots in My Eyes

Drawing a Spotted Moray Eel

Available to purchase as prints and signed reproductions at:

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Spotted Moray Eel. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I'll never forget the first time I encountered a moray eel close up. I was a teenager and just started scuba diving with my brother Tony in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina. We loved diving and exploring the many ship wrecks that litter the sea bed along the Outer Banks. Most of the wrecks were merchant ships, sunk during World War 2 by German U-boats. And after 50 years underwater the metal hulks had become covered by coral that gave them the appearance as if they have been dipped in batter, fried, and now had a think layer of sea life crust coating. Throughout this coral coating are thousands of holes that a variety of sea life makes it's home. Various fish, crabs and lobsters use the holes as a safe place to leave. Our main goal was to find lobsters, and we would search endlessly for a large lobster to take as a prize home to eat. While looking in one particular hole, and sticking my head in to see if a lobster was home, I came face to face with a Spotted Moray staring back at me. As a Moray breathes it mouth opens and closes to force the water over it's gills in what looks like an aggressive motion. This startled me at first, but I realized it was just breathing, and I'll never forget just staring at it's beauty, gracefulness, and the exquisitely detailed camouflage skin patterns that cover it with amazement. I literally had spots in my eyes!

Spotted Morays are incredibly beautiful, graceful creatures. They can be found in the Western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Brazil. They can grow up to 7 feet long and live in depths of up to 200 meters.

Detail of the Moray's Head

Detail of the Moray's Eye

Me and my very close friend Shane O'Malley with the Spotted Moray Eel drawing I did for him.

A Twist of the Neck

Drawing a Giraffe from a Different Angle

Available to purchase as prints and signed reproductions at:

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Giraffe. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

By now you know I love spots. Take spots and put them on one of the most unusual animals on the planet, and you've got my attention. I've always been intreged by Giraffes, I've done a lot of sketches of Giraffes, but never taken the time to study, examine, and really get to know what an amazing creature one is. Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrail animal and the largest ruminant on the planet. Fully grown they stand 16 to 20 feet tall. 

When I started doing sketches for this drawing I was going to do a horizontal composition. Kinda like the one from my sketchbook (below). But something just didn't feel right. The Giraffe felt boxed in by the edges of the paper. It felt like it didn't have freedom to move. A vertical composition, which I do very few of, worked out perfectly. The one other aspect of the animal I was totally fascinated with was it's neck. One of the most amazing features of the animal. I couldn't just do a straight view of the neck. I had to show it's incredible beauty and anatomy as it twisted from top to bottom. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I had drawing it.

Detail of the Giraffe's Head

Detail of the Giraffe's Eye

Work in Progress after about 8 hours

One of my Giraffe sketches in a Moleskin