Meerkat pages at Lincoln Park Zoo - made 2023-04-22

Meerkat pages! at @lincolnparkzoo

Some favorite moments from this Spring. These can be tricky to draw because they’re so fidgety even when they’re sitting relatively still way up high on their security-guard hill at this zoo.

The diagramming on the first page is something I started doing when drawing the vultures taught me that I didn’t really understand the vultures by memory. I’d continuously be surprised that I’d draw them well from observation, but then look away for a matter of seconds and not be able to draw from memory. So out of frustration I started diagramming the vultures' features to prove to myself that I was paying attention. I’ve really liked this practice and now do this sometimes before I even test my memory. Unsure if it helps my memory but it certainly makes drawing from observation much faster and more fun.

Drawings from 2023-04-22, 2023-05-13 in pen & ink (with some ink-wash) #fromlife #zoo #meerkat #inkdrawing #fountainpen #penandink #lineart