Draw it better #9 Contest Entry: Elephant theme

My Elephant on Pen and Ink
A contest hosted by @sirsensei

Elephant population nowadays is decreasing due to poaching. They are hunted because of their ivory tusk, which has a huge value in the black market. It is so unfair for these humble giants to be slaughtered just for the sake of their ivory tusk. The ivory tusk which God gave to them as a useful tool for digging waterholes and breaking down tress had caused them their untimely death. Because poachers targets the biggest amongst the herd for they have the biggest ivory tusk. Killing the adult leaders and living the young ones with no leaders to teach them their navigational route in each season to search for food and water. Each herd depends on their leader which is the oldest female called the matriarch. The matriarch teach the young ones on how to survive the harsh conditions of the African desert. She possesed wide memory of different routes and survival skills, locations of sources of water like rivers, lakes and streams locations of grasslands and fruit bearing tress that gives them the needed nourishment for their huge six tons body. It seems that she had a natural compass in her head. The matriarch leads and teach the herd handing down the knowledge she acquired from her ancestors therefore she played a vital role for the survival of their species.
Another cause of the the dwindling of their population is the change of their environment or habitat. The urbanization of areas in Africa wherein their natural habitat was greatly affected because their supposedly grazing areas were converted into cities. I hope that the government will consider these matters so that we could leave harmoniously with the animals because they help us also in return in germinating the seeds thus making the world greener for they in a way plant trees for us.

I was so deeply touched and the thought of loosing these wonderful creatures saddens me as I drew this piece. I hope this contest will create an awareness because this magnificent creature, if illegal poaching will not be curtailed and over population of humans will not be controlled thus affecting the balance of nature then they can only be seen on galleries as a painting or a carving or stuffed on display lifeless like the mammoth because they are all extinct. Let us not let this happen that they will be gone from the face of the earth because of man's selfishness.

Thanks to #drawitbetter contest hosted by @sirsensei

In this drawing I used pen and ink method and draw the subject on A4. I did this during my free time at work that is why I used pen. I just focused on the elephant itself and giving the ivory tusk white so it superceeds and serves as a focal point or a point of interest. And I did this an hour after lunch.

The Final drawing

Sketching the outline

I Started from the left because I am a right handed person and cross hatching is easy when started from left.

Filling from light cross hatchings to dark.

Until all is completely shaded.

I hope you like my post. HAPPY NEW YEAR and thanks a lot! @karlosuno