Drawing aardvarks (Patreon)

I realised the other day that I didn't have Orycteropus - the modern aardvark - done for The Big Book. So here's this. And I've deliberately shared these two illustrations to show you part of my drawing process. Based on photos, I initially draw a tremendously bad outline - which I then have to modify a great many times such that I get the proportions right. I take measurements from photos, and try not to rely on the same one photo too much. Eventually, enough details are done that a complete version is produced. I then ink it in, eventually erasing the pencil outline and adding in details. 

I might do a few more aardvarks but I'm not yet sure - very little is known of the proportions of the extinct ones. There must still be quite a few placental mammals yet to do but I'm not sure yet what I need to concentrate on... I think I need to do a great many whales. That will probably be a project for 2019.