Oana Befort - Drawing Wild Animals: Essential Techniques and Fascinating Facts for the Curious Artist

2018 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.

First Published in 2018 by Quarry Books, an imprint of The Quarto Group,

100 Cummings Center, Suite 265-D, Beverly, MA 01915, USA.

T (978) 282-9590 F (978) 283-2742 QuartoKnows.com

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Digital edition: 978-1-63159-636-0
Softcover edition: 978-1-63159-349-9

Digital edition published in 2018

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Befort, Oana, author. | Reinbold, Maggie, author.

Title: Drawing wild animals : essential techniques and fascinating facts for

the curious artist / Oana Befort and Maggie Reinbold.

Description: Beverly, MA : Quarry Books, 2018. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017053646 | ISBN 9781631593499 (paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Wildlife art. | Drawing--Technique. | Animals--Miscellanea. |

BISAC: ART / Techniques / Drawing. | ART / Subjects & Themes / Plants &

Animals. | NATURE / Animals / General.

Classification: LCC NC780 .B36 2018 | DDC 743.6--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017053646

Design and Page Layout: Stacy Wakefield Forte

Cover Images and Illustrations: Oana Befort

To Samuel and Emma, may you always stay curious.
OB
For Brad and Wren and Phoebe, my fellow nature explorers and the loves of my life.
MR

I am so thankful that Joy Aquilino contacted me about illustrating this book, which features one of my favorite drawing subjects. What a beautiful opportunity! Thank you to Quarry Books and all its amazing staff, especially Marissa Giambrone and Cara Connors.

I am thankful for my amazing husband, Jeremy, for always believing in me and supporting my freelance work, for helping me thrive doing what I love while being a wife and a mother. Thank you for encouraging my passion and seeing beyond the countless art supplies and storage solutions!

Thank you, my beautiful kids, for your curiosity, love for all animals and creatures, and for the many zoo trips and countless hours of reading animal-themed books. I have learned so many things alongside you!

I would also like to thank my wonderful parents for giving me and my sisters the opportunity to explore the natural world and letting me follow my passion in the art field.

Last, I am grateful for Maggie Reinbolds beautiful writings, which coexist so harmoniously with my artwork and make the whole project come together.

OANA BEFORT

I offer my genuine thanks to Joy Aquilino for inviting me to collaborate on this wonderful project and for her eternal patience. Researching and writing about these majestic species reminded me again why I love wildlife and why I will work for the rest of my life to conserve it. I am also extremely grateful to San Diego Zoo Global, most especially Allison Alberts, Ollie Ryder, and the entire Community Engagement team (a.k.a. League of Extraordinary Women) for supporting me in my professional and personal pursuits. How lucky I am to work for an organization with such an inspiring mission and such a bold vision! Thanks also to the San Diego Natural History Museum, Cardiff Elementary School, and the National Science Foundation for igniting my love of science teaching.

I would also like to thank Marshal Hedin, for inspiring me to pursue a career in biodiversity conservation; Michael Renner, for dragging me all over the great state of California; and Susie Arter, for sending me all over the world in the name of science (much to my mothers dismay). I also want to thank my parents for so frequently taking us out into nature as kids (from Redfish Lake to Silver Falls), and my sister, Jenna, for always disappearing on long hikes... you taught me that there is always more to discover (you are still teaching me that today!). Last, love and thanks to my husband and daughters for reminding me of whats most important in life and for always being up for adventures in nature. Heres to many more years of exploring!

MAGGIE REINBOLD

IVE LOVED TO DRAW AND PAINT for as long as I can remember. All along, the natural world and its beautiful creatures have been my most important and personally satisfying source of inspiration.

As a professional illustrator, much of the artwork I create for my clients features flora; in my personal work, I also enjoy exploring a variety of fauna. Although my visual style is simplesome might call it nave or folk-inspiredbefore I attempt to interpret an animal in pencil or paint, I work to develop a solid understanding of its underlying structure and various visual details. I relish the time I spend studying an animal, its attitude or posture, how it stands, sits, and moves, the texture of its skin or the markings on its fur, and its other special features. Taking time to focus and simply observe makes the drawing process much easier, as well as more exciting and deeply inspired.

The goal of Drawing Wild Animals is to take you back to basics, to help you learn how to look at a variety of animals, starting with their proportions, which are expressed in simple shapes. Youll then be able to build on that foundation by adding details, textures, and patterns, which, in addition to strengthening your drawing skills, will help you develop an attentive inner eye and appreciate each animals unique beauty.

Although the step-by-step examples cover each featured animals essential characteristics, your personal study, plus a lot of practice, will enhance your artistic abilities and are important aspects of your artistic journey.

In addition, through conservation educator Maggie Reinbolds beautifully written and informative text, youll learn thought-provoking facts about each animal and its group or family, to give you a better understanding of its behavior and life in the wild.

Ive truly enjoyed creating the instructional artwork in this book and put a lot of love into it. My hope is that youll not only enjoy the information Maggie and I have created, but that youll find something to spark your curiosity and enrich the challenge of drawing and painting each step.

Most of all, have fun drawing!

OANA BEFORT