A different way of learning to sketch
Sketch Safari did not begin as a plan to make an “animal course”.
It began with a set of photographs. Quiet moments. Animals caught between movement and stillness. Not posed. Not dramatic. Just present in their own space.
When those images were shared, what stood out was not anatomy or spectacle. It was behaviour. Weight. Rhythm. The way each animal sat within its environment.
That became the starting point for this course.
Sketch Safari is not about learning to draw animals accurately in isolation. It is about learning how to make stronger sketching decisions, using animals as expressive, forgiving subjects within natural scenes.
You do not need to have drawn animals before.
You do not need specialist knowledge.
You do not need to work fast or draw from life.
What you need is curiosity, patience, and a willingness to build a sketch in stages.
This course shows you how.
How the course is structured
Sketch Safari is made up of six full workshops, each focused on one animal in its environment, alongside technical exercises, bonus sketches, and behind-the-scenes material.
Every main workshop follows the same underlying structure.
You begin in pencil. This is intentional. Animals are complex shapes, and starting in pencil allows you to understand proportion, balance, and relationships before committing to anything permanent. Pencil is used positively, not for endless correction, but to refine shape and placement.
From there, each sketch develops in layers.
Pen and brush pen.
Controlled colour.
Tone.
Selective detail.
Colour is always limited. Usually three colours, sometimes paired as complementaries to create neutral tones. This keeps decisions simple and prevents the sketch from becoming overworked.
What changes from workshop to workshop is not the process, but what the subject teaches you.
Each animal has been chosen because it presents a specific sketching problem to solve, not because it looks impressive.
Elephant: Weight, grounding, and presence
The elephant workshop sets the tone for the entire course.
This is not a lesson in texture or detail. It is a lesson in restraint.
You begin by placing large, simple shapes and allowing the body to feel settled on the page before anything else is added. The aim is to create a sense of weight and calm. If the elephant feels solid and grounded, the sketch is working.
Grasses and distant trees are introduced early, not as decoration, but to establish scale and context. They show how large the animal is and how naturally it belongs in the landscape.
Tone is added sparingly, only where forms overlap and where the body meets the ground. Nothing is rushed. Nothing is forced.
This workshop teaches you how to slow down and let form speak before detail.
Vulture: Restraint, negative space, and control
The vulture introduces a very different challenge.
Here, the subject is defined as much by what surrounds it as by the marks you place on the page. The bird is perched, still, slightly apart from the activity below.
This workshop focuses on negative space and subtle tonal shifts. Feathers are suggested rather than outlined. Stronger lines are reserved for claws and key structural edges.
Colour remains muted. Tone does most of the work.
The central lesson here is control. Knowing what to leave out. Trusting that one carefully placed shadow can describe an entire wing.
It is a powerful reminder that clarity often comes from restraint, not complexity.
Zebra: Rhythm, movement, and commitment
The zebra workshop shifts the energy.
Here, the challenge is rhythm. Stripes are not treated as surface pattern, but as structure. Their direction and curve describe the turning of the body and the distribution of weight through the legs.
Continuous line plays a central role. By keeping the pen moving and resisting correction, the pattern wraps around the form naturally. The sketch begins to feel alive rather than stiff.
Tone is built with brush pens and fineliners rather than paint, allowing the stripes and shapes to remain confident and clear.
The background is layered carefully to create distance without pulling focus.
This workshop teaches commitment. Trusting your eye. Letting rhythm carry the sketch forward.
Giraffe: Pattern, depth, and variation
The giraffe introduces subtlety.
Her markings are not fixed or uniform. They are still forming, lighter in places, responding to the structure beneath them. This gives you the opportunity to explore pattern as a tool for describing form and depth, not decoration.
Rather than repeating shapes mechanically, you build the markings gradually, allowing variation to guide the eye.
Grasses are introduced throughout the sketch, not added at the end. They help anchor the giraffe into the scene and create layers of space from foreground to background.
Some areas are sharpened. Others are allowed to soften and dissolve.
This workshop teaches you how to guide attention without forcing it.
Lioness: Expression, tone, and quiet authority
The lioness workshop is about stillness.
She is resting, fed, calm, and entirely in control. That mood shapes every decision in the sketch.
Hatching follows the planes of the face and body, changing direction as the form turns. Tone is built slowly to preserve softness and light. Highlights are protected. Nothing is overworked.
The face leads the sketch. Small tonal decisions around the eyes, nose, and mouth carry more character than heavy detail ever could.
Foreground grasses are introduced carefully, using positive and negative space to hold the lioness within her environment without overwhelming her.
This workshop teaches you how to suggest emotion and presence through tone alone.
Baboon: Texture, mark-making, and energy
The baboon brings movement back into the course.
This lesson focuses on texture and varied mark-making. Fur is built using short, directional hatching rather than smooth shading. Marks change length and direction to create rhythm.
Tone is controlled so darker areas retain structure and do not flatten.
The tree plays an active role in the composition, framing the baboon and creating depth through layered branches and leaves. It is not a backdrop. It is part of the story.
This workshop encourages confidence over neatness. Letting the sketch breathe. Allowing energy to emerge through repetition and variation.
Technical exercises and bonus workshops
Alongside the six main workshops, Sketch Safari includes technical exercises that isolate specific challenges, such as texture, grasses, perspective, and tone control.
These are designed to be practised separately, so mistakes happen off the main sketch.
There are also bonus quick-sketch workshops, including pencil studies and continuous line drawings. These shorter sessions help loosen your hand, sharpen observation, and build confidence without pressure.
You will also see Ian’s pre-sketches, including ideas that were changed or abandoned, and hear conversations with Rebecca about the moments behind the photographs.
What this course really teaches
Sketch Safari teaches you how to:
Start with big shapes instead of chasing perfection.
Use tone and hatching to suggest weight and form.
Create depth and grounding without filling every space.
Let pattern guide the eye through a sketch.
Decide what to leave out and when to stop.
These are not animal-specific skills. They are core sketching skills.
Animals simply remove some of the pressure. They do not demand perfect accuracy. They allow you to focus on judgement rather than correctness.
Many students find that after this course, their urban sketches improve as well. Buildings feel calmer. People feel less intimidating. Marks feel more intentional.
Final Thoughts
Sketch Safari is a course about learning to see more clearly.
It uses animals as subjects, but its real focus is observation, structure, and integration. How a subject sits within its environment. How layers build meaning. How restraint creates clarity.
Whether you have never drawn animals before or simply want to deepen your sketching practice, this course offers a steady, thoughtful way forward.
Not rushed.
Not overwhelming.
Just clear, grounded learning.
Ready to learn more?
Sketch Safari is available now, with six full workshops, technical studies, and bonus sessions that build confidence without pressure. If you are curious about applying this way of seeing to your own sketchbook, the course offers a clear place to begin.
