Animal Illustration: Capturing Wildlife in a Sketchbook

A course by Jenny Rae , Artist

Artist. Exeter, United Kingdom.
Joined February 2021

Learn to turn complex anatomy into simple shapes and portray the essence of an animal through illustration and collage

96% positive reviews (111)
3,478 students
Audio: English
English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn to turn complex anatomy into simple shapes and portray the essence of an animal through illustration and collage

Use nature as your inspiration to create stylized animal illustrations in your sketchbook. Self-taught artist Jenny Rae turned her two biggest passions, drawing and animals, into her full-time career. She specializes in animal drawing and illustration and paints everything from pet portraits to tattoo designs.

In this course, Jenny takes you through her process for capturing the essence of an animal through the medium of illustration. Experiment with different techniques and materials to create unique illustrations which celebrate wildlife and its creations.

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What will you learn in this online course?

11 lessons & 16 downloads

  • 96% positive reviews (111)
  • 3,478 students
  • 11 lessons (1h 26m)
  • 16 additional resources (3 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Create a stylized illustration of an animal using pencil, watercolor, and collage techniques.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

This course is for anyone interested in learning to illustrate animals using stylization techniques.

Requirements and materials

A basic understanding of drawing is beneficial but not essential.

You will need paper or a sketchbook, pencils and/or pens, old paper for scrapbooking, glue, colorful paper tapes, watercolor paints or pens, and brushes.


Reviews

3,478 Students
111 Reviews
96% Positive ratings

Jenny Rae

A course by Jenny Rae

Teacher Plus
Artist

Jenny Rae is a self-taught artist from the UK who specializes in animal drawings and illustrations. Her grandfathers who were both artists themselves encouraged her to draw from a young age and, inspired by family visits to Bristol Zoo as a child, animals quickly became her favorite subjects. She went on to do a work experience placement at the same zoo where she spent time honing her drawing skills before going on to study animal behavior at Aberystwyth University. Jenny used illustration as a form of therapy throughout her studies before turning her passion into a career.

Today she illustrates everything from pet portraits to tattoo designs for her clients as well as sharing her work with her five-figure following on Instagram.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
  • U2

    Making a Start

    • Selecting Your Media and Material
    • Choosing Reference Animals
    • Complex Anatomy to Simple Shapes
  • U3

    Developing Your Sketchbook

    • Warming Up with Practice Sketches
    • Creating Your Own Poses From Your Imagination
    • Bringing Visual Appeal
    • Colouring With Watercolours
  • U4

    Finishing your Work

    • Building Up a Collage
    • Photographing and Sharing Your Work
  • FP

    Final project

    • Animal Illustration: Capturing Wildlife with Watercolors

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Animal Illustration: Capturing Wildlife in a Sketchbook. Illustration course by Jenny Rae

Animal Illustration: Capturing Wildlife in a Sketchbook

A course by Jenny Rae
Artist. Exeter, United Kingdom.
Joined February 2021
  • 96% positive reviews (111)
  • 3,478 students