Drawing Tutorials - The Tiger's Appearance

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Drawing tutorials - the tiger's appearance
Tigers stand high on the list when it comes to the number of animals with which an artist needs to be familiar. It seems there are more divergences of opinion on the tiger, his size, his strength, his markings than perhaps any other of the big cats. Some authorities have him growing to be 13' long and 700 lbs. heavy. A 10' tiger (counting tail) is a mighty big one. Many naturalists say the heaviest tigers exceed the largest lions in weight. The fact is, even a 500 lbs. tiger is a giant.
It may be helpful for the artist to know that tigers in northern regions of Asia (northern China, Siberia, Korea) are larger with thicker fur. Grown tigers in southern regions (Sumatra, Java, Bali) are smaller, around 250 lbs, with shorter coats. Southern tigers in warmer climates are more brilliant in color as a rule. Midway geographically, Indian tigers vary in size; the Bengal can be a monster. Where the temperature changes, a big cat in winter may have an 

Drawing Tutorials - The proper way to stripe a Tiger

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Drawing Tutorials - The proper way to stripe a Tiger

As simple as one might think placing tiger's stripes would be, some particular observations may be of help. The number, shape and thickness of the stripes vary on individual animals. On most tigers the general direction taken by the stripes on the sides conforms with the slant of the ribs beneath (see figs. 1, 3, 4 & 5). Yet a loose skinned, heavily-furred type may have lanky flanks and belly sag which tend to stretch out these curves,(see fig. 2)this does incline toward a 'flat' look, especially from a straight side view.

Fig.1 has a thick "boomerang" stripe angling under the stomach. On the spine are split stripes tapering off between `the side markings. No animal ever has continuous stripes going around the body. They are always broken somewhere; a few may be mere dashes. The thick side stripes of fig. 3 are like a bow (of a bow and arrow). Both 1 & 2 have the lower shoulders more or less devoid of stripes. If there is a plain area, that's where it will be, and many big tigers have it. Some huge tigers have little more than pin stripes (fig. 5). Fig. 4 widest stripes are a little like twisted teardrops.