How I use Storytelling in my Animal Art

It might not be obvious, but there is sometimes a story behind my drawings. I often draw a picture because I like it, on other occasions I have the idea first. This may be because there’s a call for art with a specific brief or something sparks an idea. Storytelling is all about character, so I do try and add a sense of this to my art, by use of medium, colour and composition, as well as the pose of the animal. This means taking a LOT of reference photos to get something that works, as it’s very hard to get wildlife to pose for the camera! Here’s a few examples.

Storytelling Through Narrative - It’s a Cat and Mouse Game

For my entry into “Sketch for Survival” competition in 2022, I wanted to create an image that was more than just a portrait of an endangered species. I came up with the idea of depicting a large and small species, in this case a tiger and a harvest mouse. My aim was to highlight the importance of protecting all endangered species not just the large, well known ones, but also those that don’t grab the headlines, and are equally importance to maintain biodiversity. I’m not sure how well this comes across, I did get at least one comment on social media saying it looked like the Tiger wanted to eat the mouse! It did get highly commended though, so the judges must have got what I was trying to say.

"It's a Cat and Mouse Game" highlights the importance of all species within and ecosystem

Storytelling Through Character - Fearless

Last Summer Queen Street Gallery in Neath held an exhibition entitled “There’s no Place Like Home” inspired by the Wizard of Oz, so of course I had to draw a lion. In the story of the Wizard of Oz, the lion finds his courage. I’ve written more about this in a previous blog, which you can read here, but I’m hoping the direct gaze of the lion gives a sense of silent strength and courage and it gives a sense of his character. And of course every good story has a strong main character!

"Fearless" depicts a strong character, essential to any story

Storytelling Through Composition - Timeless Soul

OK so this one might be more tenuous, but there’s often talk on TV and social media about the various full moons throughout the year, which we seem to have special names for here in the UK. One of these is the “wolf moon”, which is the name given to the first full moon in January. I love watching the wolves at Bristol Zoo Project and have LOTS of photographs of them, so it was an easy choice to combine a wolf with the moon to create what I hope is an interesting composition. And if you’re wondering where the name “Timeless Soul” comes from, it’s from the lyrics of “Bark at the Moon” by the legendary rock start Ozzy Osborne!

"Timeless Soul" depicts a Wolf Moon

To be continued…

Storytelling and creating characters with my work is something I’m looking to expanding on in my work, especially given the prominence of animals in Welsh mythology and folklore. I’ve just finished a piece that illustrates this, look out for it in a blog post in coming weeks, follow me on Instagram for updates!