I've got this book, Drawing Wildlife by J.C. Amberlyn, it's definitely one of the better instructional books on animal drawing that I've read (I got tons). It's got heavy emphasis on forms and structure that make the animal, rather than just a series of step-by-steps or finished illos. It has those, too, but in a good ratio, Amberlyn is a striking wildlife artist with a natural and unforced style. Here I went through one of the tutorials to draw a wolf:
Didn't come out too bad, but the trick with animals, just like humans, it's all about proportions. So I scanned in the final drawing to use an old trick to gauge my own. My drawing is in grey, with the source overlayed in red:
It looks like I'm a tad off, coming up short in the body length... it may take a few more attempts to get closer. The funny thing is I can easily adjust my drawing in Photoshop to match up, but that kind of misses the point, eh? I haven't really posted here, but I do enjoy drawing animals alot. A certain group of beasties figure prominently into one of my many side projects so I try to get my game up whenever I can. If you're interested in animal drawing, the book above is a good addition to any artist's library.
