Three-Toed Sloth Climbing a Rainforest Tree

This is the most lifelike sloth on the site and the one that best shows how the animal actually moves. It climbs a wide trunk at a diagonal, gripping the bark with long hooked claws on both hands, its rounded back arched and its hind feet braced below. Every part of the coat is built from short overlapping strokes that follow the curve of the body, and there are thousands of them, so treat the fur as texture rather than as an area to fill. A pale base tone with a darker one worked into the shadow along the spine will do more than any amount of careful filling. The trunk behind it is scored with long vertical grain lines, and trailing branches hang down the left side carrying dozens of narrow pointed leaves. More foliage crowds in at the right. The face keeps the shaded mask and the faint smile that make sloths popular in the first place. Print this one for an adult or an older child with patience and a sharp pencil.