How to draw a Lion
How to draw a Lion: The Lion, powerful, majestic beasts that run in prides. So what is it that makes us want to capture these wonderful big cats in art. Any big cat is an art in themselves. Yet the male lion has this big mane that stands out. Catching this in art work, is an art of its own. Yet you can do allot with this most prized of features, of the male lion. 
So lets go ahead on our lesson on how to draw a lion. Remember..... we are breaching subjects where we want to get the best out of each and every subject that we do. Its not just another animal. I want you to draw, when you choose your next subject. I want you to really focus on the animals strengths, its beauty and individuality. This way, your art work is going to shine out, where other artists art work wont. Doing your home work on your subject is a must, if you want to capture the very essence of your animal. Be-it pet or wild animal, study beforehand will make your subject come to life on your canvas or drawing board. You can see here by this picture of the lions skeleton. On how to draw a lion, the strong shoulder blades and leg bones of the lion needs to be observed, and the way the skeleton is constructed. How different the front shoulder blades and back legs are to your own form. Now you cant see this on a live animal, thought seeing how the skeleton is constructed will give you an idea of the limitations of the big cat movements. 
I have sketched you an example of a male lion, see how I have made the lions mane as his main feature. This is the lions biggest asset. And I want you to also concentrate of this feature when drawing him. Remember to use your guidelines when drawing out his proportions firstly, then fill in his details.
How to draw a lion face on can be more difficult than drawing a lion side on. If you remember to sketch the shape of the lion. As the example I have done here for you. You will have shapes in which to guide you.
Do remember, that when drawing an animal front on as I have here that you need to get the overall shapes. The guidelines which we normally would draw in, to get the shape of the animals front legs. The lion is quite stout in the legs, his main power and bulk is more in his powerful shoulders. So don't make the mistake of thinking that his form is the same as any other big cat. They all have their own specialties, his is power; and running on flat land. And that's how he's built. "The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery" - Francis Bacon
The male lion is also bigger than his female counterparts.
And study the amount of mane the lion has at different stages in his life.
When he is younger, the growth of mane is not so think and long. This sketch
is showing a male lion in the prime of his life. When old - his main begins
to get thinner. So do take this into account when drawing the lion and how
you want to portray him, young, to old. Don't be too nervous, and just sketch to your hearts
content. You will get better with practice, and encourage yourself when you
find that you are understanding more and more about how to form your lion
with greater ease. Remember practice, practice.........
Lets return from
How to draw a Lion to Big Cat Art
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