The Art of Drawing Expressive Wolves
Or, Finding Your Wild Voice.
I feel that the most sustainable, profoundly personal, and deeply connected way to make art is to make it an embodied practice. What do I mean by that? We use our hands and eyes to make art, most certainly, but we can also use our feelings, our other senses, our imagination, our experience of the world, our desire to be curious and understand how it might be. How it might be to touch a particular wild being. How feathers and fur are under fingertips. How laying our head on their torso as they sleep peacefully might be. But also: How it might be to be a wild being. To roll our shoulders and unfurl wings. To feel our legs grow strong and agile to run through forests. To sing like a songbird. To how like a wolf.
Have you ever heard a wolf howl? Even if only in a video or your imagination, there's something that stirs deep in our animal bodies when we hear that sound. That ancient call speaks to something primal in us, reminding us of our own wild nature. While I am sure the sound strikes fear in some, for me, oh, tears prick my eyes and I want to throw my head back and join in! My body says there was a time when I could have made that noise too, but it has been lost, through generations of separation to the wild.
Perhaps, like drawing, finding our wild voice takes practice.
When we approach drawing a howling wolf, we're not just capturing a pose - we're honouring a profound act of communication that has echoed through time.
Understanding Wolf Language
Before we even think about putting pencil to paper, let's talk about what a howl really is. Wolves don't just howl at the moon (though countless romantic AND horror stories would have us believe otherwise). They howl to connect with their pack, to warn others of their territory, to express joy or grief or belonging. Each howl is unique, a signature song that helps pack members recognize each other from kilometres away.
When we take time to really understand this, it transforms how we approach drawing a howling wolf. We're not just capturing a shape - we're honouring a moment of wild expression. Communication through physical articulation, and with the help of reverberation effects through the land.
The Body and Voice Connection
Try this embodiment exercise, and try it with the abandon of a child. We are going to become wolf:
Stand tall, feet grounded, shoulders loose, posture high
Feel your own throat, notice its structure
Tilt your head back slightly
Feel how your whole body wants to engage - did your back unconsciously arch? Your shoulder blades slide down?
Notice how even imagining a howl changes your posture
This physical understanding helps us see how a wolf's entire body participates in their howl. Their voice emerges not just from their throat, but from their belly, from their whole being.
This is a form of shapeshifting that we have held in our bones for time untold. Through curiosity we can connect - to the beings we adore and revere, and to our lineage that lived much closer to the wild millennia ago.
The Anatomy of Expression
When we really observe a wolf in full howl, we begin to see how every part of their body contributes to this powerful expression:
Their neck elongates, creating that upward curve
Their chest expands to support the sound
Their face shows both power and vulnerability
Their eyes close or half close in a sort of bliss
Their lips come together to act like a funnel for the sound
Even their ears adjust their position
Their very posture tells a story of connection
That's what makes drawing wolves so special - they express themselves with their entire being, just as we do. Every muscle, every subtle shift in position adds to their story.
Finding Gesture in Stillness
Even in a still reference photo, a howling wolf vibrates with energy. The key to capturing this lies not in perfect anatomical rendering (though that will come), but in finding the feeling of the gesture first.
Try this before you start drawing:
Close your eyes and imagine the sound of a wolf's howl
Feel how your own body wants to move in response
Let your hand move freely, as if conducting music
Notice where the energy flows
Carry this feeling into your first marks
This is how we begin to translate feeling into form.
Building Form Through Feeling
A wolf's howl starts deep inside and emerges through layers of their being, so we do the same, and build our drawing through thoughtful layers:
Start with Energy
Loose, flowing lines capturing the gesture
Feel the upward movement
Don't worry about perfection
Let your marks dance
2. Find Structure
Look for basic shapes
Feel how they flow together
Think like a sculptor
Keep your touch light
3. Add Form
Build roundness gradually
Notice how light plays across fur
Keep some areas loose
Let others become more defined
4. Define Details
Focus on expressive elements
Honour the unique features
Keep that feeling of movement
Stay connected to life
The Dance of Graphite and Colour
Adding a wash of coloured pencil to graphite is like adding harmony to a melody. It doesn't need to be everywhere - just like in music, sometimes the power is in what we leave out. Think in layers. Think of how wolves harmonise. Who leads? What is strongest in resonance? Consider:
Where colour might enhance the feeling
How it can support the form
When to let graphite shine alone
How to build subtle layers
Remember: We're not trying to create a photorealistic rendering (though we can if that brings us joy!). We're trying to capture something more ephemeral - the feeling of a wolf's voice carried on the wind.
Letting Your Own Wild Voice Emerge
Here's something beautiful to consider: every artist who has ever drawn a wolf has done it differently. Just as every wolf's howl is unique, every artist's interpretation carries their own voice. Your marks, your way of seeing, your connection to these wild beings - it's all uniquely yours.
When we draw with this understanding, something magical happens. We're not just creating an image; we're participating in an ancient dialogue between humans and wolves. We're adding our own voice to a story that's been told through art since humans first drew on cave walls.
To Practice of Wild Connection
Every drawing, sketch, painting, is an opportunity to not only celebrate this human animal body that allows us to create this way, but also to embody the beings we revere and study and honour. Shapeshifting in this way is part of our ancestry, don’t forget.
Next time you sit down to draw a wolf - whether howling or in any other pose - take a moment first. Breathe deeply. Feel your own wild heart beating. Remember that you're not just making marks on paper; you're participating in a practice of connection that spans eons.
Because in the end, isn't that what draws us to create wildlife art? This deep desire to understand, to connect, to celebrate these remarkable beings who share our world?
Let your pencil dance across the paper. Let your heart guide your hand. And most importantly, let your own wild voice emerge through your art.
