Como Zoo - Sparky the Sea Lion

Sigh... I'm completely unhappy with this sketch of Sparky the Sea Lion and his handler, but I guess they can't all be winners, right? Or for that matter, they can't all even be average.

Sparky is a Como Zoo fixture and recently celebrated a 50 year anniversary. Of course, since sea lions typically only live to be about twenty years old, there have been several Sparkys. I'm sure I'm wrong on this, as I'm recalling from the last Sparky show I saw with the kids, but I think the current Sparky is the seventh and also, a lady sea lion.

Como Zoo Orangutan

Another Como animal, the Orangutan, always seems the happiest to me. The orangutans, probably because they are a family, seem the least stressed and mental. The seem social, curious and even engaged with the people looking at them. Having said all that... it's still depressing seeing them in the zoo.

The orangutan is native to southeast Asia. It gets it's name from a combination of Malaysian and Indonesian names - "Orang" for "person" and "Hutan" for "forest" ... thus orangutan = "person of the forest.

Como Zoo Polar bear - Ursus maritimus

The last post with the giraffe from Como Zoo got me thinking it might be fun to do a bunch of Como Zoo animals. So here is the Polar Bear, the world's largest land based carnivore. The adult male can be up to 1,400 lbs and ten feet in length.

Giraffe - Giraffa camelopardalis

The tallest living land animal, the giraffe can be up to 18 feet tall.

At least once a year, we take the kids to Como Zoo here in St. Paul. The giraffes are a favorite. Of course, its always depressing to visit them, because they have no where to wander & they spend entire winters in an indoor cage that's about 100 feet square. But the kids don't get that aspect of it quite yet.

Cottontail Rabbit - Sylvilagus Floridanus (#3)

My third go at a Cottontail Rabbit. I'm really liking drawing with a ballpoint pen. All this experimentation with different pencils, leads, etc. Who would have thought that the cheapest, commonest writing instrument would appeal to me the most?

Drawing Fur - Annoyed Looking Housecat

I ran across this picture of a cat with an annoyed look on his face and thought it would give me good fur sketching practice.

Drawing Fur

In this Drawspace.com lesson, it's about drawing fur. Knowing which way the fur grows and the influence of light is most important here. Also, in this sketch I'm using a ballpoint pen instead of a pencil.