Sustained Investigation #5

russian rarity.

5 ½’’ x 6 ¼’’

graphite, watercolor, ink pen

Amur leopards are being killed because of poaching. Since they're so hard to find, many poachers use foot traps to catch them, so I drew the foot of a leopard. Once again, I didn't know what to do in the background, so I focused on their habitat, which is another reason they're being killed- habitat destruction. Amur leopards live in Russia, so I used watercolors to make evergreen trees. I've never done just feet before and I wanted to try a new angle/view and drawing a foot would be perfect for that.

I used H, 2B, 4B, 6B, and 8B graphite pencils. I also used watercolors (I couldn't find specific colors for the green), and .05 Micron ink pen.

I made sure to focus on different values, because that's something I struggle with. I tried to show the detailing of the fur with little lines. I emphasized the claws by making them a little bigger than normal and coloring them in quite dark. I was originally going to do a whole leopard laying down with his paw outstretched, but I was getting frustrated and it wasn't working out, so I used a new angle and decided to draw the paw. Next, I could add some clue that leopards are being killed with foot traps, because it's not really evident that's why they're being poached unless I explain it.