A meerkat, skunk, armadillo, tortoise, snake and bearded dragon have attended a miniature art exhibition curated by the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), to see their ‘pawtraits’ for the first time.
The animal life drawings, hung in an animal-sized art gallery made to scale and titled Please Don’t Eat the Art, were created by third-year students studying a degree in animation at UCA. From black-and-white depictions in charcoal and pencil, to sketches in oil, pastel and watercolour, around 100 students took part in an animal life drawing class, with the ‘best in show’ selected for the unique exhibition.

Harriet Croucher, a lecturer in animation at UCA, and organiser of the exhibition, said: “I don’t know when else in their lifetime the students would be able to draw animals up close and personal, working on your artwork alongside you. And as they move constantly, students often end up surprised by what they produce – we got some well- observed and expressive artworks. But, never have we welcomed the animals back to see the drawings for themselves – and what better critics? I’m just glad none of them ate the pieces.”

An animation student added: “Being able to draw animals as they are – the texture, colour and markings – helped us capture their personality and their essence, and when they started running around and causing chaos that was fun.”
The meerkats, Arlo and Frodo, checking out their ‘pawtraits’

Other notable alumni from UCA’s animation course, who feature animals in their work include Mark Baker, one of the co-founders of the animated series Peppa Pig; Grant Orchard, the creator of Hey Duggee; and Darren Walsh, who created Aleksandr the meerkat for Compare the Market.