Animal Drawing: Emperor Penguin with Chick

We had a drawing workshop this week on penguins and I wanted share one of the projects with you. The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 122 cm (48 in) in height and weighing anywhere from 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb). The dorsal side and head are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches. Like all penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat.

Materials: heavyweight drawing paper, sketching pencil, sharpie marker and soft chalk pastel .

Step #1: Draw light guidelines down the center and across the middle of the paper with sketching pencil. Draw a circle for the head and a large skinny oval for the body.

Step #2: Draw in the the penguin beak and eye. Extend the head circle to attache to the body oval.

Step #3: Draw in the penguins wing/flipper and its markings. Draw in the penguins webbed foot.

Step #4: Draw a small triangle for the shape of the chick.

Step #5: Draw in the chicks beak and eye. Add its wing and markings.

Step #6: Draw in the ice and a horizon line. Time to add your own details and finish with your choice of mediums. I like to use chalk pastel for this project, but watercolors also work great.

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