Nature Drawing Videos

One rainy Sunday afternoon, my 5-year-old and I sat down to nature drawing videos on Youtube. He always has paper and pencil, markers, crayons, etc. nearby, so this sounded like a perfect fit for the afternoon. We had just been looking at some of Mark Daniels' work. He is a local artist who does caricatures, rain barrels, illustrations for natural areas, etc. He does great work and has his own style. After looking at this inspiration, my son wanted to do more drawing and art of the natural world.

My son wanted to know how to draw a fox, but I wasn't sure how to draw one. We thought we'd check out some videos and see what others have done. We started with an owl drawing video. Clipboards were a nice way we could draw on the couch with a laptop; however, I'm sure a dining table or drafting table would work for many people. We followed the general directions step-by-step, pausing as needed.

Can you tell they are owls? They were both unique and similar to the examples, but each had their own flavor. Our little guy was happy with his results!

We kept drawing all afternoon, trying a cardinal, fox, walrus, and sea serpent! While our fox was quite simple, here is another more natural looking option. 

I thought using the how to videos was a good way to spend our afternoon and look at ways to translate animals into paper and pencil drawings. We keep finding our drawings around the house. It's a nice reminder of our quality time together and how we can learn and grow as we try new things. How do you improve your drawing skills?