‘Monkey’ Art: ‘Fingers and Thumbs’ A Pencil Drawing By Kevin Hayler

This post reveals the story behind my chimpanzee drawing “Fingers and Thumbs.” I’ll explain how I came across the subject, why I chose to draw it, and how the final image came together.

If you’ve ever wondered how artists find their inspiration, develop a concept, and turn it into a saleable piece, this one’s for you.

This is my pencil drawing of a baby chimpanzee, and yes, I know it’s not a monkey, it’s an ape, please forgive me but so many customers call them monkeys I had to use it as a keyword. Apologies if that annoyed you.

I’ve drawn this chimp sitting slightly hunched and one hand holding its bif toe. The chimp’s gaze is directed just off-centre, and its expression is calm and gentle

The fur is detailed with fine, overlapping pencil strokes, varying in texture across the body, arms, and head. The base is a series of random cross hatching. The background is left blank to keep the focus on the subject.

The Story Behind This Chimp Drawing

I photographed this youngster at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. It was taken at a chimpanzee sanctuary set up by the Jane Goodall Institute to care for orphaned and rescued chimps.

They aren’t wild, but they live semi-free in a large protected area within the reserve.

This chimp was Looking back, the only thing I would change is the angle of the eyes. They’re not quite looking at the viewer, and in hindsight, I wish they were.

Eye contact would’ve added more punch. But the pose was lovely, relaxed and alert, and that was enough to carry the drawing.

This image was always intended to be commercial. I knew it would work. The subject has universal appeal, and as soon as I saw it, I thought, “That’ll sell.” And it has consistently. It has the ‘Ahh’ factor.

When customers ask for ‘monkeys’ they nearly always mean a baby chimp or orangutan. I sell very few true monkeys which may come as a surprise to some.

Artists shouldn’t make the mistake of drawing or painting an adult without a baby attached. They are nowhere near as popular. The only exception, in my experience, is a silverback gorilla.

The Importance of a Good Title

Sometimes a title just pops into your head as obvious, this was one of those occassions.

The title “Fingers and Thumbs” fits this drawing for a few reasons. First off, it’s literal, the chimp’s hand is gently wrapped around its foot, and those details stand out in the image. But it also hints at something more human.

It’s a phrase (idiom) we all know, and it brings out the connection we feel when we see those familiar gestures in other animals.

The title nudges people to see the chimp more like a child than a wild animal. That small moment of recognition makes the image feel relatable to every parent.

A good title doesn’t need to explain everything, it just needs to steer the viewer in the right direction. This one does the job.

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My Original Reference Photo

This reference photo is never going to win an award. It’s a snapshot. My approach is to aim the camera and take as many phoitos as possible. One of them will be usable. This was the case here.

My reference photo shows the baby chimp sitting comfortably in its mother’s lap. You can also see the support of another chimp behind it, but in the drawing, I chose to leave the mother and background out entirely.

Removing mom allowed me to focus all the attention on the baby. It simplified the composition and made the pose more self-contained. I simply cropped the baby from the image.

To create a base, I used random cross-hatching to suggest bedding/grass instead of trying to replicate the mother’s fur. It gives the chimp a surface to sit on without overloading the drawing with detail.

That decision gave me more control over the balance and flow of the image, and it kept the emphasis where I wanted it, on the expression and those small hand and foot details.

By isolating the baby and adjusting the setting, I turned a casual snapshot into a clean, composed portrait.

‘Fingers and Thumbs’ A Framed Pencil Drawing of a Baby Chimp

This is how the drawing looks once it’s properly mounted and framed. I’ve gone for a thin black frame with a wide, off-white mount. It’s a classic setup that works well for most of my prints. Giving the drawing space helps it breathe and lets the image speak for itself.

‘Fingers and Thumbs’ Hanging on the Wall

It’s not always easy to picture how a drawing will look in a real room. These four mockups show how the same framed chimp print fits into different spaces.

Black and white artwork is easy to live with, it works with just about any style or color palette. Hopefully, this gives you a better feel for how it might look on your own wall. Here are two normal living room and bedroom ideas

These are my essential drawing materials:

• Pentel Mechanical Pencils 0.3mm
• Derwent Graphic Drawing Pencils
• Daler-Rowney Heavyweight Cartridge Paper
• Jakar Battery Eraser
• Tombo Mono Eraser Pen
• Faber Castell Putty Eraser
• Blu Tack
• French Box Easel (A good portable alternative)

To find out why I use these drawing tools, read this: The Best Drawing Supplies

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