Wolves Deadly Art

I'm Steve Backshall and this is Deadly Art.

I'm lucky enough to travel the world tracking deadly animals.

But in this show I'm picking 25 of my favourites.

Challenging my team of deadly artists to recreate a killer moment.

You'll get to make some art yourself and in the final show,

my team and I are going to choose which animals will make it

into my Deadly Art gallery.

This is no ordinary art show - this is Deadly Art!

On today's Deadly Art,

I meet a classic hunter in the forests of Norway.

Utterly ferocious!

My team push art to the limit in today's challenge.

I think we go dramatic with this one.

And you can make your own deadly art at home.

Today's animal is the largest wild member of the dog family.

And just wait till you see their deadly side.

We're looking at grey wolves, also known as Arctic or timber wolves.

Wolves have incredible stamina,

they can run for miles and miles without getting tired

which means that once they've chosen their prey,

it has very little chance of escape.

Time to meet the Deadly Art team,

who are ready and waiting in the studio.

Hey, I'm Mike, I'm a cartoon artist.

I like turning my drawings into stencils...

and making them deadly!

I'm Michelle and I just love being creative.

I'm all about getting stuck in and making stuff.

In just a moment, you'll join me in Norway

when I have a close encounter with a grey wolf.

Ooh!

I think I might have moved a little bit too fast there.

But now, here's the killer moment I'd like my artists to recreate.

And the artwork must include these three essential elements.

First, teamwork.

Wolves have a keen hunting instinct

and they'll instantly home in on any animal which leaves its herd.

They'll then bring it down with their powerful jaws.

Teeth. Wolves have 42 sharp teeth, which is ten more than humans.

These combine with powerful jaws and incredible stamina

to make them highly efficient hunting machines.

And howl. Wolves are famous for their spine-tingling howls.

HOWLING

Howls are used to communicate within the pack

or to warn other, neighbouring packs not to come too close

and they can be heard as much as ten kilometres away!

So, Mike and Michelle, let's see what you come up with.

Wow, what a fantastic picture.

-Check out those razor-sharp teeth and the menacing snarl.

-Yeah.

We can incorporate those elements into our art.

-Definitely.

-Take a look at this picture.

-Yeah, the piercing howl.

If that's how they communicate, we should do two.

-One howling and one prowling!

-I am loving it and I think we go big,

dramatic with this one. How about using wood?

Yeah, actually, that could work.

We could do lots of detail with the teeth and the fur.

-Loving it. Let's get to work!

-Let's do it!

Time for some more Deadly Art.

Mike and Michelle are on a mission to turn sheets of wood into wolves.

OK, so we've got all of our materials laid out.

Now let's get going with our two big, dramatic wolf models.

So I'm going to start with the wolf's leg.

We'll leave Mike and Michelle sketching their wolves.

But I'm off to the Arctic Circle in Norway

and a chance to get really close to some grey wolves,

who are being studied by a biologist called Tess.

As they're approaching...

they're chatting to each other.

Just kind of figuring out who's going to be the first to be allowed,

probably to come in and talk to Tess, not to me.

-Hello.

-Stay.

Hello. Oh, wow.

OK. Now they're starting to build up their confidence.

They're still playing with each other,

there's still definitely some nerves going on.

The fighting, the nipping, the scratching, the biting,

it all has a real function of keeping the team together

and keeping everyone in their right positions.

It also gives you a really good look at those teeth.

The canines are huge!

Utterly ferocious.

Tess knows each wolf and their different personalities.

As they come closer, they greet her by licking her face.

Although they might seem very much like domestic dogs,

these wolves are still wild animals

and our movements have to be slow and cautious.

I mustn't let myself forget how deadly these animals really are.

And the wolves are quick to remind me of who's in charge.

Go on. Look!

Ooh!

I think I might have moved a little bit too fast there.

And just got snapped at.

Just show that there's nothing in my hands.

Wow.

Just a...

Just a nibble but even so.

As individuals, wolves are awesome predators

but it's when they come together as a pack that they are really deadly.

The way they come together,

particularly before a hunt, is using a howl.

I'm going to try that now and see if I can get these guys to join in.

-Here we go.

-Give it a go.

THEY HOWL

WOLVES HOWL

HE HOWLS

The howl can be heard by other wolves over six miles away

and also acts as a warning signal to rival pack to stay away.

WOLVES HOWL

That was totally awe-inspiring.

Just like our Deadly Art.

How are Mike and Michelle getting on with their wolves?

So we've used our paper templates to draw our big shapes on to the wood.

All right. Let's cut them out.

Deadly Art is always extreme

and it wouldn't be the same without some power tool action.

But remember, don't try this at home.

Let's join Mike now,

who's going to show you how to draw your very own wolf.

It's Deadly Doodle time.

Just grab our pencils. This one is simple, all about letters.

So we're going to start with a big M in the middle of our paper.

M for Mike.

From then on out, it's all Vs.

A big V for the ear on the side. More Vs for the fur.

That zig zag line is for the scruff of the neck.

We're done with the pencil. Let's get a big, thick marker

and we'll add in the details.

Let's start with the deadly teeth.

Get those right.

Now we'll go on to the nose...

..which leads you to the mouth.

Come back around for the chin.

Bring that back down for another V.

Let's go back over those Vs with some nice, big, thick strokes.

Now we're going to do the bridge of the nose.

So that's just a few curved shapes, one big hump for the eyebrow.

Now we're going to add in the ear, here,

which kind of looks like a leaf.

Come back for the back over here with some other big, thick strokes.

What we need to add here is the eye. So that's another V.

We'll colour in the mouth...

so it looks wide open.

There you have it, a simple, deadly, howling wolf.

Great doodle, Mike. Make sure you DO try that at home.

We've cut out our wooden shapes. Now it's time for the fun bit.

We'll piece them together.

You can really see how big these beasts are going to be.

This is the size of just one of his legs!

And check out this, Mike. This is going to be his head.

These are going to look great! And more power tools!

I've finished drilling the shapes that can't be slotted together.

Time to start spray painting. How are you getting on?

Yep, er... Almost finished painting. I've just got this back leg to do.

-And the head?

-There's a special treatment for that.

I'll show you later.

-Hm! Chuck us the can, then.

-Sure.

-Cheers.

The wolves are starting to look deadly.

But right now, here's Michelle with a DIY.

I'm using Mike's wolf drawing to create our Deadly DIY.

We're going to place this on a black piece of card

and secure it down with a bit of masking tape at the top...

and at the bottom.

And then, using a scalpel, I'm going to cut around the edges of the wolf.

Starting off with its big, sharp teeth.

Whilst you're cutting out, be careful,

because we're cutting through the card.

So make sure you've got something sturdy underneath

so you don't ruin any furniture.

Now, I'm using a scalpel but you can use scissors.

If you do choose to use a scalpel, get an adult to help you.

Make sure, when you're cutting, you press really hard

so it goes right through the card.

And be very careful with your fingers whilst you're cutting.

I'm not going to cut right down to the bottom.

And you'll see why I do this a little later on.

Just going to leave it there...

then carry on with the top.

And now we've cut round the outline of the wolf,

I'm going to cut the Vs in the middle and the eye

and you'll see why I'm doing this a bit later on.

So once you've cut all the way around, inside and out,

you're going to...

take the tape off the top and remove the excess paper, like this.

When you get to the bottom, just gently...

rip it off. Like that.

So now, to add some colour, I've got some chalk.

I'm going to use a bit of yellow, white and blue.

Start off with the yellow

and just very carefully shade around our wolf,

taking it right to the edges of the black card

and I'm kind of doing it in like a circular motion.

And this is really going to help the wolf stand out.

I'm just mixing the chalk colours like this.

It gives a really great effect.

So on top of the white, I'm just putting a bit of blue.

Can you see how all the colours are mixing really nicely together?

We're going to take off the white piece of paper

and you'll be left with the wolf outline that you cut out before.

You're going to remove these V shapes,

so you're left with the holes.

And now for the clever bit,

I've cut a circle out of a cream piece of card

and this is going to slot behind our wolf.

And there we have our deadly, howling wolf silhouette.

Fantastic DIY, Michelle. Now, back to Mike with our big Deadly Art.

This prowling wolf is almost finished. It looks pretty deadly.

To define the features of the face,

I'm going to use a technique called blowtorching,

which is really simple. It's just heat and wood.

And what it gives is really nice, contrasting colours on the face.

Our artists are trained professionals.

Don't do this at home!

And the wolves are ready.

You know, I think these wolves turned out pretty well.

-Good call, using the wood.

-Yeah, the models look so menacing,

the way we've positioned them.

Now, you know, speaking of position,

seeing as we have a howler and a prowler, we have covered Teamwork.

-And check out the prowler's teeth. They are vicious.

-Yeah.

-Steve came pretty close to those!

-Yeah.

-Job done!

Well, I think there's one last thing we need.

-And that's a wintery location.

-Awesome.

So, it's time for the big reveal.

Remember, this is the killer moment I challenged my artists to recreate.

So let's take a look at the finished art.

Oh, that is spectacular!

This is truly deadly and it includes all my essential elements.

I wasn't expecting snow but it really helps create the atmosphere.

The wolves look stunning silhouetted against a cold winter's moon.

The position of that wolf really shows those fierce gnashers

from my killer moment.

Love the second wolf in mid-howl,

maybe ready to rally the rest of the pack to hunt down dinner.

You can get a real sense of the pack teamwork here.

Well done, Mike and Michelle! Art doesn't get any deadlier than this.

That's a top Deadly Rating from me

but will it make it into my Deadly Gallery?

Maybe. See you next time for more Deadly Art.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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