Tiger Drawing

Myra Naito
6 min readNov 16, 2022

Step by Step Process

I thought I’d take you through the step by step drawing process of my latest tiger drawing.

Charcoal tiger drawing on paper (Artwork: Myra Naito) 18"x24"

Every artist has their own particular step by step drawing process (or processes) that’s unique to them. Here’s a peek into mine…

Reference Photos

I always use reference photos. My drawings are so detailed that it would be impossible to do the work with the animal sitting in front of me. And in the case of this tiger drawing, where would I get a real live tiger to pose for me?

Also, there’s no animal in the world that will sit still long enough So the first part of my step by step drawing process is to obtain portrait quality photos.

Portrait Quality Reference Photos

By “portrait quality” I mean photos that are primarily not blurry. That seems like it would be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at what some people give me. I also need shots which have a nice clear, close up view of the animal’s face. Again, you’d be surprised. It is supposed to be for a portrait after all! How can I draw the animal’s face if the photos don’t show it clearly? To see exactly what I’m looking for in reference photos check out my page on Planning Your Photographs.

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Myra Naito

Freelance copywriter who is passionate about art and fitness. Check out my art blog at mnatiodesigns.com/blog/ or follow me @mnaito_fineart .