Meerkats... at an Aquarium?!?

Today I went with my family to St.Andrews Aquarium with the intention of finding and sketching some sea-life crabs, as research for some animation I will be doing as part of a visual effects project with fellow animation student Sarah Rettie: http://poppinsin3d.blogspot.co.uk/
However I only came across one Hermit crab, there were only a few others and they all appeared to be hiding from the world! Nevertheless there were lots of other creatures to draw:

One creature I discovered today was the Axolotl - I didn't even know they existed but turned out to be fascinating! They are a type of salamander and wild axolotl are actually near extinction! What makes them so wonderfully weird to look at is the external gills that branch off the sides of their heads like branches of turquoise coral or feathers. They kind of reminded me of Chinese dragons. Their head shape also is very reminiscent of the dragon character 'Toothless' from 'How to train your dragon'!

One of the most random animals that I was not expecting to come across today were Meerkats! Odd yes, but entertaining most definitely!

I even came across a crocodile! Dangerous research to the max!

Observational Drawing at Camperdown Wildlife Centre! :D

Yesterday morning I went to Camperdown Wildlife Centre. I can't actually remember the last time I'd been there, but it brought back lots of childhood memories!  It was cold and raining (had to put on the big coat and gloves, and my mum held the umbrella over me while I drew, so my drawing never got wet!) but it was a lot of fun! I managed to fill some more pages in my observational drawing book, so here they are:

As I was stood drawing the big tortoise, I spoke with one of the Keepers who told me the tortoise's name was Sid and was a real character! They have no idea what his exact age is, but he's fairly old. And fun fact: he can only walk in straight lines! So when they have him out, and he reaches a fence or wall, he has to be picked up, turned around and off he goes again! Sid the tortoise also yawned nice and wide giving us a view of the back of his throat! I have to say he was one of the best animals at the centre to draw... because he hardly moved!

 The wolves were moving around their enclosure quite a lot, which made them quite difficult to draw - I think they were maybe hungry and waiting for their food. The two Ostriches had a little barmy between themselves when their food arrived!

               

 The Short-tailed bats were the most entertaining of the day, and one of the most challenging to draw! I might have been out of the rain, but it was very dark and was drawing by a dim red light. The bats were flying very fast and right up to the glass. They were also having a good old nibble of the oranges that had been attached to the branches. One detail that I'd never noticed about these kind of bats before was that they have a horn attached to their nose, which makes them look like they have little rhino heads!

After Camperdown, we stopped off a B&Q and I sketched a burger van (good opportunity for some reference drawings for 'Krokodi' http://krokodi.blogspot.co.uk/)

These are a few drawings from when I was in St.Andrews last week: