How to draw amazing animals

With sharp beaks and talons, bald eagles hunt fish and small animals.. Special fringes of skin between its long toes spread out on top of the water as the lizard zips along at a speed of

Smithsonian

WRITTEN BY KRISTEN MCCURRY ILLUSTRATED BY LEONARDO MESCHINI

Smithsonian

African elephant 4

Alligator 6

Arabian horse 8

Baldeagle 10

Barn owl 12

Basilisk lizard 14

Black rhinoceros 16

Cheetah 18

Chimpanzee 20

Eastern diamondback rattlesnake 22

Emperor penguin 24

Galapagos tortoise 26

Giant panda 28

Giraffe 30

Grizzly bear 32

Harp seal 34

Humpback whale 36

Koala 38

Lion 40

Meerkat 42

Monarch butterfly 44

Peacock 46

Platypus 48

Poison dart frog 50

Porcupine 52

Red kangaroo 54

Tarantula 56

Vampire bat 58

Stick insect 60

Wolverine 62

Websites 64

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AFRICAN ELEPHANT

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The African elephant is the largest land animal on

Earth and can weigh more than 9 tonnes Its long trunk

has more than 10,000 muscles The elephant uses its

trunk to breathe, smell, drink, make trumpeting sounds

and grab things To help with that are two small

finger-like extensions at the end of the trunk

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ALLIGATOR

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This ancient species has managed to survive for

millions of years, unlike dinosaurs! Alligators will eat

nearly anything that crosses them They swallow small

prey whole Alligator eggs don’t start as male or female

– the temperature of each nest determines whether the

hatchlings in it will be male or female

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ARABIAN HORSE

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The Arabian is the oldest known breed of riding

horse, bred in Arabia before the seventh century It

is believed that Genghis Khan, Napoleon and George

Washington all rode Arabians These horses are

about 15 “hands” high at the withers (shoulders)

That equals about 1.5 metres (5 feet)

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BALD EAGLE

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This national symbol of the USA was once nearly

extinct, but its numbers are growing again With sharp

beaks and talons, bald eagles hunt fish and small animals

They will even steal prey other animals have caught

With their wingspan of about 2 metres (6½ feet), these

birds can be spotted throughout North America

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BARN OWL

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The barn owl is one of the most widespread of all

birds It has a white, heart-shaped face It has small

eyes for an owl, but is still a good hunter of small

rodents Barn owls have been known to nest in the

roofs and lofts of barns, which is how they got their

name

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BASILISK LIZARD

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This medium-sized green lizard’s claim to fame is

its ability to walk – or run – on water when frightened

Special fringes of skin between its long toes spread out on

top of the water as the lizard zips along at a speed of 1.5

metres per second It can keep this up for 4.6 metres or so

and then swims the rest of the way to its destination

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BLACK RHINOCEROS

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This two-horned rhinoceros from Africa is also known

as a hook-lipped rhino, which describes the pointy feature

on its top lip Its large front horn may be up to 1 metre

long The rhino uses this horn to defend itself and to tear

out bushes or even trees After this fierce display, the

plant-eating rhino eats the leaves and twigs

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CHEETAH

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The cheetah holds the world’s record for fastest

land animal, capable of running speeds up to 113

kilometres (70 miles) per hour This big cat is built for

speed, with a long spine and legs, and a large heart

and lungs But the cheetah’s a sprinter, not a distance

runner, and can only maintain this top speed for a

short time

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CHIMPANZEE

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This African ape is humanity’s closest relative Chimps

are social animals that live and hunt in groups, although

they are mainly plant eaters They are intelligent animals

that communicate with one another using gestures,

expressions and many sounds Chimps use tools, such as

sticks, to catch ants and may even use plants as medicines

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EASTERN DIAMONDBACK RATTLESNAKE

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The famous rattling sound of a rattlesnake is its last

warning before it strikes The venom of the eastern

diamondback can be deadly to humans, but most won’t

strike a human unless they’re being bothered This, the

largest rattlesnake in North America, can grow to 2.4

metres long and can strike at prey from about a third of

that distance

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EMPEROR PENGUIN

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At 1.2 metres tall, the emperor penguin is the largest

penguin It is also the deepest diver of any bird, diving

down up to 550 metres in search of food Females lay

one egg and leave it between their male partners’ feet to

incubate during the cold Antarctic winter The females

then head off on a 60-day fishing trip, in search of food

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Found only on the Galápagos Islands, these giant

tortoises grow to a great size and live to an old age They

may reach 1.5 metres or more in length and can weigh 250

kilograms They may live longer than 100 years! These

slow-moving plant eaters graze on grasses and cacti, but

can survive for a year without eating

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GIANT PANDA

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These quiet, bamboo-munching mammals eat for

16 hours a day, because it takes a huge amount of

bamboo to feed them That means they also produce

a lot of waste that they must get rid of – up to

50 times a day! Giant pandas use a thumblike part

on their wrists to pick and feed themselves bamboo

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GIRAFFE

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Every part of the giraffe is long, from its legs to its

neck to its tongue These African mammals are between

4.3 and 5.8 metres tall, and have legs up to 1.8 metre

long and tongues 53 centimetres long These long features

help the giraffe reach high into trees to eat leaves

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GRIZZLY BEAR

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This species of brown bear is a 272 kilogram giant

that eats nearly anything – fish, berries, nuts, roots and

animals, including moose Named grizzly for the silvery,

“grizzled” tips of its fur, this bear will fight to protect its

young or its food Grizzlies are also fast They can run up

to 48 kilometres per hour

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HARP SEAL

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Baby harp seals are born with a furry white coat, but

they shed it a few weeks after birth Adult harp seals

have sleek grey or white fur They have dark markings

on their backs in the shape of a harp, which is how they

get their name These social, ice-loving animals travel

long distances each year to reach mating grounds

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HUMPBACK WHALE

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Humpbacks have long fins that they use to steer,

brake and defend themselves These fins can be a third

of the length of their 18 metre bodies Humpbacks are

known for their moaning songs, which can be heard 32

kilometres away These giant mammals eat up to 1,360

kilograms of food per day

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KOALA

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Koalas are Australian marsupials that need to eat up

to 1.4 kilograms of eucalyptus leaves a day This diet

doesn’t provide many nutrients, which leaves koalas

with little energy A koala keeps its baby (or “ joey”) in

a pouch After several months, the joey crawls onto its

mother’s back and stays there until it’s about a year old

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LION

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Lions live on the African savannas in groups called

prides, which are made up of 15 lions Prides have

many females, one or two males and young cubs The

females work together to hunt zebras, antelopes and

even hippos Males defend the pride They often fight

other males over leadership of their prides

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MEERKAT

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When a meerkat is in its standing position, it’s looking

out for predators – typically jackals or birds of prey

Meerkats spend their nights in underground tunnels

During the day they hunt nearby for insects, lizards and

small rodents Sometimes one meerkat will stand guard

while the others hunt, sending out a warning call if it sees

a predator

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MONARCH BUTTERFLY

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This large butterf ly is a common sight throughout

North and South America It journeys up to 2,900

kilometres for its winter migration to California or

Mexico Monarchs lay their eggs during the return trip

in spring Adults live only three to four weeks, so their

offspring must continue the trip for them

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PEACOCK

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Peacocks, also called peafowl, are beautiful blue-green

birds with a large spray of feathers on their tails But only

the males have these feathers, which they fan out and

display to females The females, called peahens, are less

colourful Peacocks are turkey-sized birds that belong to

the pheasant family and live in warm climates

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PLATYPUS

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This Australian mammal, also called a

duck-billed platypus, is perfectly built for the water It

has a streamlined body for fast swimming and thick,

waterproof fur Its unusual bill allows it to shovel

through dirt and plants to find insects, frogs and

crustaceans to eat

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The skin of poison dart frogs contains the poison

mentioned in its name The frogs use to it to fend off

predators The poison of a few species can be deadly to

humans Some people of the Amazon rainforest put the

poison of these frogs on the tips of darts They use the

poison darts to hunt animals

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PORCUPINE

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The quills of a porcupine are long, sharp hairs that

grow together to make pointy bristles The quills are

usually pointed down, but the porcupine will raise

them in defence when threatened If an enemy gets

too close, the quills have jagged barbs that work like

fishhooks to painfully stick in the predator’s skin

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RED KANGAROO

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Red kangaroos have powerful hind legs that always

move together They can travel up to 7.6 metres in

one jump They can also lean back on their strong tails

and kick their feet at enemies Baby kangaroos (called

“ joeys”) are the size of a butter bean at birth and stay

in their mothers’ pouches on and off until they are

about 8 months of age

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TARANTULA

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Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders that some people

keep as pets Tarantulas catch their prey by chasing it

instead of using a web They hunt insects, small toads

and mice These spiders can be 5 centimetres long

with a leg span of almost 13 centimetres Their bite

can be painful to humans, but it’s not dangerous

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VAMPIRE BAT

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Vampire bats got their gory name because they feed on

blood – typically the blood of farm and forest animals A

57-gram bat can double its body weight after a blood meal

Like other bats, vampire bats use echolocation to find

their prey during nightly hunts They use heat sensors on

their faces to detect warmth from prey animals

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STICK INSECTS

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Stick insects are excellent at hiding Their bodies

look like small branches or twigs of trees Like

sticks, they don’t move much Stick insects sit still,

nibbling on leaves and hiding from predators They

even have a way to camouf lage their offspring – the

eggs of some species look like seeds

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WOLVERINE

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Wolverines are short, stout members of the weasel

family that look like small bears with tails For their small

size, they are strong, fierce hunters They attack rodents,

sheep, deer and even reindeer in their northern and

tundra habitats If desperate for food, a wolverine may dig

into the burrows of hibernating animals and eat them

Do you want to draw some unusual animals? Perhaps this website will give you some inspiration.

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