Home > Illustration > Wildlife > Reptiles> Tortoises > Galapagos Tortoise

Galapagos Tortoise

Galapagos Tortoise line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Galapagos Tortoise full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

A Galapagos Tortoise was one of my earliest animal subjects (done in Germany in 1999) but seeing as I've improved since then I decided to redraw this impressive reptile. As with all tortoises the ink drawing was pretty straightforward, but the color version was more difficult but I think it turned out fine - certainly much stronger than the original. The drawing is based on a photo by Eddie Anderson.

Information about the Galapagos Tortoise:

The Galapagos Tortoise is the largest living tortoise on earth. It is native to seven islands of the Galapagos archipelago. A fully grown tortoise can weigh almost 700 pounds and measure 4 feet long. These reptiles are very long-lived with a life expectancy in the wild estimated to be over 150 years.  2 of the 12 subspecies of the giants are now extinct. Until recently it was thought that some other species may pass into extinction, but thanks to conservation efforts and captive breeding programs many of these tortoises are slowly creeping back to stable populations.