Steemit Challenge S24W1: Animales

Hello everyone!

Today, I'm participating in @jesusnunez's Steemit challenge. It involves drawing an animal. I drew a rhino step by step, in a sketchy style. To participate: Register here: Steemit Challenge S24W1: Animales.

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In the calm of an afternoon conducive to creativity, I took my pencils and, driven by the desire to represent the quiet power of the animal world, I began to draw a rhinoceros, adopting a progressive, instinctive but structured approach, which allowed me to give birth to a living sketch, while retaining the freedom of the line specific to the so-called "sketchy" style.

I started by installing, in the center of my sheet, a small imperfect circle, which I did not try to make perfectly symmetrical, because my objective was not geometric precision but rather the construction of a flexible anchor point from which I could gradually build the head of the animal, this circle served as a main reference for the skull, then, starting from its right side, I drew a straight line which then curved slightly downwards in order to draw the top of the muzzle, while, from the left side of the same circle, I let down a long and gentle arc which represented the lower jaw, a line which I then extended towards the right, closing it to represent the rounded base of the face.

Seeking to balance the proportions of my sketch while giving thickness to the general shape, I then drew a second circle, slightly set back and higher than the first, placed on the left, which allowed me to represent the back of the skull, it was by connecting these two circles by a flexible curve that I was able to begin to shape the cranial vault, then I refined the line of the forehead as well as that of the muzzle in order to give them a more fluid appearance, more natural, in accordance with the anatomy of the animal.

Continuing this construction, I sketched the neck by drawing two oblique lines: the first, placed at the back of the head, went down to mark the nape of the neck, while the second, starting from the bottom of the muzzle, inclined slightly forward to draw the front line of the neck, which helped to suggest a certain robustness in the base of the skull, I also placed a small circle at the bottom of the face, on the right, to mark the eye, to which I immediately associated a horizontal line, just below, to suggest the mouth, while at the top of the muzzle, I inserted a small discreet ellipse, intended to represent the nostril.

The next step, that of the horns, required a little more concentration from me, because I wanted their shape to be both imposing and credible: I started by drawing a small triangular horn, leaning slightly upwards, just above the muzzle, then, lower down, I sketched a large majestic horn, which I started from a low point on the forehead and made it rise in a long curve upwards before so that it does not descend gracefully following the rounding of the nasal bridge, to complete the appearance of the head, I added two ears: one located on the top of the skull, raised towards the sky and slightly turned outwards, and the other, placed a little further back, took a similar shape, although less marked, to respect the lateral perspective.

Having reached this stage of my drawing, I took care to clean up the whole thing, gently erasing the construction lines that were no longer needed. This allowed me to brighten the sketch and see more clearly before approaching the next phase, adding details. I then refined the shape of the ears by introducing some internal folds, I redrew the line of the skull to give it more relief, I marked the skin folds of the neck and the wrinkles around the eyes, and I also reinforced the shape of the muzzle by adding some textures evoking the roughness of the skin.

Finally, in a final step where observation and patience took on all their importance, I took all the contours to darken them, I lightly shaded the areas around the eyes, nostrils, jaw and horns, taking care to follow the volume suggested by the light, and I even added fine hatching on certain areas to create relief, grain and substance, I also softened the inside of the ears with shading progressive, which I enriched with small tufts of hair, drawn one by one, to make the ear texture more lively.

When I finally put down my pencil and looked at the whole sketch, I felt a certain satisfaction in seeing how, from simple shapes and a few well-placed lines, I had managed to bring out the powerful presence, massive but calm, of this impressive animal that is the rhinoceros and I told myself that this moment spent drawing was worth much more than a simple exercise, because it had offered me an immersion in the gesture, in the look, and in the living.

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Thank you very much for reading, it's time to invite my friends @lil.albab, @miftahulrizky, @heriadi to participate in this contest.

Best Regards,
@kouba01