Twilight Assassin

World of leopards series

This is an image of a rare adult snow leopard slowly ploughing it's way through deap snow. It's another sketch that I've attempted of an animal that I've not had the privilege of seeing in the wild and is the second in my World Leopard series.

It has been sketched using Unison and Pitt Pastels on a white Clairefontaine paper.

The snow leopard, also known as the Ounce, is a felid in the genus Panthera and is native to
the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is now listed as being vulnerable on the ICUN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature intividuals which is expected to decline rapidly over the next 10 to 15 years.

Below are a sequence of photographs showing how I sketched the above image

I've now lightly sketched in a rough outline of the snow leopard. The image size is 24in X 16in

I've added a Unison blue background and then started on the tip of the tail

Gradually I'm working down the tail onto the leopard's back leg before moving to its back

I'm working on the back leg at my easel No 2

I'm gradually working on the front leg and also up the flank to the shoulder

Slowly the chest fur and leading leg are beginning to take shape

My rather untidy work station whilst using Unison soft Pastels

I've completed the shoulder of the leading leg and I'm now moving onto it's head next.

I'm now working down the head to the all important eyes and then softening the fur

This is the scanned image which was then framed at Framers Gallery