I went to the zoo today during lunch with a friend. We drew the giraffes and they were in a playful mood. They came over to us a few times and sometimes seemed to pose just for us.
Back at work, when I had some down time I tried to take a couple of the rough gestures I had and do a memory sketch of them trying to capture the mood I saw at the zoo. So here's a few samples of the day.
The first two are straight sketches done at the zoo.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvDjEqvGqcR4VnEbE6WxaNH4oX0h0A7N7-DL372KnTaH5539t_y5NQQlpnGQOAf-e0b7FG3f_Dj98UP0toWoN9O-ag8H74OykEDZVU7Pleehbfk5XDBjHiJuTkwDFxYz5HF6rVNUUTUmo/s320/giraffe001.jpg)
I liked how this guy was stretching for the food on the tree.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7zWe0K8Wuz8_zUE-uXjKlNd02oQeCG3RSZ6HWJPYju9LeYTP9djuy9bOwhvgKKGABaoJLA080WVCh2DTwBdj1tDBRRxWLGYfLrCxAsGoDGCn29veYjO-zpcGrAXljYK7TTbhMZnFY7YO/s320/giraffe003.jpg)
This one was just acting so regal, going look at me. Draw me. Although I noticed that a lot of my drawings were of profiles. I have to remember to not do so many profiles.
This was a gesture I didn't capture well of the baby giraffe leaning against what I assume is the mother, but could be the father.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDK3o1UhWTV5OnE0AyGsadP5Dh1sKOoz_NxoPX2caPCH48P6b1bRsIfJn3McV91h429Zn9XqtqW3zhZ6iAbWSVwCeAWWvgw3EEJHAd-MlC4PLs2I6Gy-tK8V1pMFqKPHfJByBAfppE7ruh/s320/giraffe002.jpg)
So back at work on a trusty post-it I worked out this memory sketch, switching the position of the baby for composition reasons.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6oerLLqr4dllimwqemwrrlDoEnK_I8kje1e38GOluHDNf9ZxVdEa3VbDkqwZ5FcQjbpUWDKOcPaApxmVjiz2VJ8vrAOwhrp2H6sFBGSr3ein08mMXHgAXgkFDKegoQbmmTON4E9Evv0ur/s320/giraffe005.jpg)
And this was the last gesture at the zoo. This guy was so haughty in the way he/she strutted across the grounds.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvfmDGP0G_5tTZxv2db0Jc5KPl_RJEpawgXOFoaseH8rQ5GrbKcGVQAz_pYTVHH4reHXroivNa0VKD2jERrZbjk5cfk41ywjC_ZILUzAZ-32EJfVvxaHNzshBRAEBz0U5o9WbVdtMh3XH/s320/giraffe004.jpg)
So back at work on another trusty post-it I tried to work out a better way to get that haughtiness across.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxzuUFFGXqqojIO1s-2ZG-3qN9LZn_3-wSS51lPbmkLY-9QDKIpiAwlnDi4IA7qVZjH7bYVdc-c_15hpvZebDpYVwMRLqRVrImKkgE9pYoVu6UiX3PvIjtlLeeUr5-gPX1BQ4rPgCbDt_/s320/giraffe006.jpg)
I unfortunately couldn't remember the walking gait of a giraffe. Later I checked and yep the leg positions are wrong. The back legs should be switched.
I wish I could get a sketch like this started at the zoo and then have the animal in front of me to study and get the drawing right. But for some reason I always get flustered by the moving animal and try to capture exactly what they are doing instead of just looking. Finding a pose I like. Work it out as a gesture and then use the live animal in front of me to complete it. Maybe one day I can stop being flustered by the motion.
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