Week #9 Begins: Draw An Elephant 🐘 ||15 Steem Prize to be won by @eliany

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Hi, Steemian!

I participated in last week's drawing challenge organised by @eliany and I must admit that I enjoyed every bit of the experience from the research on gorillas to sketching a beautiful picture of this primate. This week, I'm about to do the same with the elephant. I've been able to read up on this intelligent creature from different sources. I hope that you will learn from me as well. First, I'll tell you what I know about the elephant, after that, I'll share how you can sketch a beautiful image of it.

Do you know that...
The ears of elephants radiate heat to help keep these large animals cool? There is more to learn about the elephant.

An elephant can best be described as a “huge” grey-skinned animal with a trunk and gigantic incisor teeth on its upper jaw popularly known as ivory tusks (this is present in some species). They feed on barks, roots, grasses and fruit. There are only two species of these extremely large majestic herbivorous mammals— African elephants and Asian elephants. Two easy ways to distinguish one from the other are by their ears and body size. While the African elephant has larger ears that resemble the map of Africa, Asian elephants have round ears similar to the Indian subcontinent. Also, their ears and bodies are slightest smaller when compared with their African counterparts. Regarding longevity, wild elephants tend to live for up to 60-70 years.

Qualities

• Size
  At birth, the average elephant weighs about 200 pounds. Over time, they can grow as tall as 10 feet at the shoulder, and gather a body mass of about 18, 000 pounds. Most males reach their full size at 35–40 years. To maintain this body size, elephants consume about 50 gallons of water daily. They are also large eaters who need a minimum of 70, 000 calories daily — a perfect reason why they are always eating and sometimes get into trouble with farmers. The largest elephant ever recorded in history is said to have been about 13 ft tall and weighed 24, 000 pounds. Their trunk contains 150, 000 muscle units (i.e. 300 pounds). Due to their enormous size, elephants are one of the few living creatures that cannot jump.

• Herd
  The social structure of these mammals, especially African elephants, is matriarchal. The herd which is led by the biggest and oldest female consist of other adult female elephants known as cows and their calves. On the other hand, adult males called “bulls” tend to roam on their own, sometimes forming smaller disjointed all-male groups.

• Emotions
  They are very sensitive and are said to express warmth, grief and fear. They use their trunk to cuddle their young ones as a way of comforting them. Elephants can only get defensive when they sense danger or a potential threat.

• Intelligent
  These mammals have a denser temporary lobe and 10 neurones in their brains which enables them to remember things vividly. The matriarch passes on the age-long knowledge of landscapes and water routes to the younger generation. Research shows that elephants can identify different human natural languages too. With their excellent memory, elephants can readjust their schedule to arrive just in time for the fruit they are seeking to be ripe. Their memory capacity is so large that they never forget.

• Creative
  I watched a documentary on an elephant called Ruby who was so skilled at painting. At that point, it wasn't stated whether she was only a victim of humans who exploit animals. Her works are quite invaluable even after her demise.

Relevance to the ecosystem
Elephants are known as ecosystem engineers. They can uproot trees to get tasty treats from the top and pluck a single berry from a branch by grasping it with their finger(s) present at the tip of their trunk. During the dry season, elephants dig up waterholes from dry river beds with their tusks and trunk for other animals to drink from. They also disseminate seeds which are usually present in their dung.

Their Importance to Man

• Elephants are usually poached for their tusk which is used for the production of ivory products.

• They are also a good muse to humans. I have never seen an elephant but I have read a lot about them. Have you ever read the story of seven blind men and elephants? Let me share my favourite poem about the elephant.

Miss Mary Mark
All dressed in black
With silver buttons
Right down her back
She asked her mother for ₦50
To see the elephant
Jump over the fence

The elephant jumped
It jumped so high
It reached the sky
Right out of sight
And never came back
Till October 1
October can walk
October can talk
October can eat with a knife and fork

Time to draw!

Items needed

• Fruits (very important)
• Charcoal pencil (soft)
• 5H pencil
• 2B pencil
• Cardboard
• A ruler
• Eraser

Once you are done purchasing these items from an art store, lay them out on a flat surface. If you are using an image online, then you can print it out so you draw grids on it. An alternative is using grid apps like Artist Grid etc.

• Draw a grid on the cardboard paper

• Begin sketching using the other grid as a guide.

• Shade the darker colours first with the charcoal pencil if you will be using pencils too. This is because charcoal pencils can't blend with conventional pencils.

• Shade the lighter areas.

• You are almost done! Easy but not so easy, right?

Did you have a good read? See you next week.

About Me | 10% payout to @steemkidss | Nigeria