I'll show you how to simplify the animal anatomy into geometric forms so that you can sketch an animal in profile view.
We'll also look at the similarities between human and mammal anatomy to understand how the limbs move.
In class, you'll practice the approach to sketching animals as demonstrated
REFERENCE BOOKS:
Animal Drawing by Joe Singer and Norm Adams
How to Draw Animals by Jack Hamm
sketch or paint a historiated letter OR
develop an imaginary animal that might be found in a bestiary
use a marker or pen to imitate a woodcut.
choose a real or imaginary creature and research the symbolism
HERE is a printable pdf of animal skeletons, including a cow, sheep, pig, and goat.
If you would like to buy a book on animal drawing, I recommend either of these:
Drawing Animals, by Adams and Singer, pub. by Watson-Guptill
Animal Anatomy, by Ellenberger, pub. by Dover
We'll begin with comparative anatomy and look at the way the limbs bend. Pay attention to the position of the shoulder blades in various animals to understand the proportions and movement of the forelegs.
B. Waterhouse Hawkins, Man, Gorilla, and Bear, 1860
Pierre Belon, 1560
We'll use these woodcuts for inspiration in developing style, line, and hatching techniques.
anonymous
from Ulisse Aldrovandi's book
Albumasar. Albumasar de magnis coniunctionibus. Augsburg: Erhard Ratdolt, March 31, 1489
from various editions of the Hortus Sanitatis, originally published in 1484
1669, artist unknown
wood engraving by Thomas Bewick