Aaaaaand we’re off! Today, July 1, is Day one of the Zooly Art Challenge, and your animal prompt for today is the Snow Leopard. If you’re just now dropping in, see my previous three posts for the info on the challenge:
The Zooly Art Challenge — the basics
Zooly Art Challenge Rules — well, more like guidelines
The Zooly Prompts — for those who just can’t wait to see all the fun ahead

The posted photo of the day is not meant to define your reference material; we encourage you to do some research and find the reference image (or images) that speaks to you, or even to work from your own imagination if you like. If your inspiration is from another photographer or artist’s work, please give them credit along with your posting on our Facebook page, or your Twitter or Instagram (with hashtag #zoolyartchallenge).

Royalty-free photo from pexels,com

When I research an animal to draw, I like to read about them too. It helps me understand their habits and how I might portray them much better than just finding a photo or two that I like and copying it. I guess you could say it helps me give them a personality. So every day when I post the day’s prompt, I’ll put an interesting little tidbit that I’ve found — it’s up to you to chase down more to satisfy your own curiosity. Remember, the internet is the artist’s friend!

Snow Leopard — The remarkable thickness of the snow leopard’s long, flexible tail, which helps it maintain balance on its native rocky terrain, is due not only to a very thick coat of fur, but also to being a fat storage site! This plump and cozy appendage can be used as a blanket, protecting the snow leopard’s face from the cold when asleep.
—Wikipedia 

And a bit of a change in plans for my postings here: I’ve decided to show mercy on those of you following by email, and post a week’s worth of the prompts at a time, starting with tomorrow’s. I’ll post my own drawings in batches as well, so that I don’t inundate anyone’s inbox. The Zooly Facebook page is the place to be if you want to follow daily, and I’ll be posting my own work as an album on my own Facebook Page (which you can always find by clicking on the link in the right hand column). I’ll also be doing some work-in-progress shots for this blog.

Happy creating!
… and Happy Canada Day!

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