A praying mantis

A study of a praying mantis with folded grasping forelegs, four walking legs, and veined wings on textured paper. Mark the head, elongated thorax and abdomen along a tilted axis.

A way into the drawing

1. Establish the construction

   Mark the head, elongated thorax and abdomen along a tilted axis.

2. Resolve the main structure

   Attach the folded forelegs and four walking legs at their correct body joints.

3. Develop the detail

   Build the wing cases, antennae and selected foreleg spines.

4. Control the values

   Shade overlapping joints and the wing-case planes without losing thin limbs.

A small thing to tryCount two forelegs and four walking legs before refining any spines.