This blog includes hints and tips from my own experience of sketching at Melbourne Zoo. It has some very different experiences from other on-location urban and nature sketching situations. I hope that this assists anyone who would like to join me one day to sketch at the zoo. I plan on visiting often over Spring/ Summer. send me a message if you want me to let you know when I am going.\
As I read over this, it seems a bit negative, but I am hopeful it is just a reality check.
There is so much joy in observing animals as you sketch and making that connection and understanding of their bodies and behaviours.
First up – the cost is $42 for a day’s visit. That can be an expensive day. But for $126 you can get a membership, which allows you to visit for a year and you can go for just a few hours a couple of times and get your money’s worth quickly. I get very tired of sketching for a whole day. I so have learned to arrive at 9 am, when they open, and leaving after lunch is usually enough for me, by about 2 pm. I also have plans to just drop in for an hour or two, as it is so close to the city and the tram is to the door.
As I write this in September 2022 you need to book online for the day you want to visit, unless you are a zoo member.
Plan in advance
I usually bring my own lunch, instead of queuing at the food stations. Also, rehydrate and bring water. Sketching at the zoo involves a lot of sitting and standing, and a bit of walking ( we did 8000 steps in 3 hours).
Don’t bring too much gear – just the basics. You have to carry it all and need to get comfortable with what you can do in the space and time you have and the opportunities offered. I usually sketch with watercolour pencil in a 13 x 19 cm Moleskine Watercolour sketchbook. But on my Zoo visits, I take a larger old record book. It is my Zoo book. I use my watercolour pencils but don’t add water to the page. It is thinner paper and I just don’t have time. I use the pencils as I love to draw and I know the colours to pull out of my sketchwrap quickly.
Dress for the weather and season. The zoo is mostly outside and what you do may be dependent on the weather… or whether you decide to go at all.
Look at the map – on their website, in advance, and then you can collect one at the zoo. There are sometimes closed paths and you can’t always get to where you want to go.
There are a LOT of animals. If you look at the map and website and choose some areas in advance.
sketching animals – the reality
Remember you are here as a sketcher and not a visitor trying to see everything in one day. You won’t see them all.
You have to be flexible – go with the flow of what is available to sketch.
Don’t expect to sketch a specific animal. Some exhibits are closed.
Animals move! Some animals are out of view or walk away as soon as you start sketching them, and don’t come back.
The lines below are monkeys. I gave up. They never returned to the same spot. At these times, I just stood back and enjoyed.
These may be koalas and a wombat.
Other animals return to the same position such as elephants, zebras, and giraffes feeding and there may be a few of them so you can use another in the same stance,
Sometimes it is better to sketch the more obscure animals and not the “go to” ones that everyone wants to see. ie tigers, lions, elephants, ones. Visit the Tapir or the tortoise.
Animals have strange body shapes. They are often not what you think they are or the image you have in your mind. Observing this is part of the joy of sketching and also the knowledge you gain by returning to sketch the animals again on return visits.
I have sketched elephants for many years, and I still have to stop and observe how the lip connects to the trunk and body.
or you just get to draw what is offered…
Other People
The zoo is a popular place! But it is a large area with the animals spread out in different areas. Be prepared for the crowds. There are lots of families with strollers on public holidays and weekends, and school holidays are also silly. The perfect time would be a weekday. But then there are the school groups to contend with. AND 9am -10am is the quietest visitor time of the day.
In general, people usually don’t stay long observing animals. But they are continuously coming and going. They can crowd you out in their enthusiasm to see the animals and get up close to the glass or viewing area, and completely ignore the concept of personal space. On the other hand, one will be interested in what you are doing.
Note: inside spaces are usually crowded.
As a sketcher
Manage your own expectations of what you can achieve and don’t be disappointed. A scribble on the page is enough. You may have a lot of unfinished lines.
It is hard to sketch with other sketchers, as everyone will have different interests and time that they are prepared to wait to sketch a specific animal. It is probably better to have meeting times and places to catch up before heading off again.
I hope that my experiences prepare you for a future zoo visit as a sketcher. Please let me know any hints and tips you have.
Happy Zoo Sketching !
Nice giraffe sketch – my favorite animal.
One time I did a drawing class in the zoo. The tutor wanted to start us off with an easier subject – the slow moving tortoise. Unfortunately on that day, the tortoise was quite active, and even at its slow pace, the minutest move changed the shadows and therefore the patterns on the shell. But it was still fun.
Be prepared for the uninhibited comments of children – they will tell you exactly what they think of your artwork!
I have found that children are much better behaved in school groups than with their parents. A weekday is by far the better option. But not during school holidays!
All very helpful suggestions Alissa and not negative at all, just realistic. Our recent experience sketching cattle and horses just confirms all that you have said. Even though those animals were in smaller yards and completely visible still didn’t mean they were easy to draw. Indeed I much preferred my pages of small snippets of the position of the animal rather than trying to capture the whole.
Very helpful tips! I love sketching at the zoo, and my experiences are much the same as yours. The important thing is to lower expectations about making complete and perfect sketches and just enjoy the “life drawing” aspect of gestures. I like to start several gestures, and as the animal returns to a previous gesture, I return to that sketch. Eventually, one of them ends up more finished than the others, and I like the dynamic nature of the whole page with varying degrees of completion.