Sloth Reaching for Cecropia Leaves

Reach is what this drawing is about. The sloth lies along a horizontal branch with its body relaxed and one arm stretched right out to the left, hooked onto a vertical trunk by three long curved claws. That stretch pulls the eye across the page and gives an otherwise still animal something to be doing. The trunk on the left is drawn with long wavy bark lines running its full height, and they are satisfying to follow with a pencil in two or three close browns. Above and to the right hang big ribbed leaves, each with a strong center vein and a ladder of side veins, arranged in a canopy over the whole upper half. The branch underneath carries knots and a rough textured surface. The sloth wears a smiling face with shaded patches around the eyes, and its coat is drawn in short overlapping strokes that run down the body. Keep the animal lighter than everything around it, because the trunk and the leaves both carry a lot of line work.