All right, hereās my contribution to the art tutorial infographic world, part 1 of 2. Ā Iāve noticed that even in professional illustration, so often the humans and environments and armor and whatnot is really, really greatā correct anatomy, lighting, proportions, like āwow this is fantastic WAIT what is up with that HORSE?ā
First is that I spend 15 hours a day, 365 days a year looking, touching, handling, and just generally being around horses. Ā
Second is that most peopleĀ do not. Ā
Artists have lost touch with their connection to horses as contemporary society has lost touch with them. Ā Generally, we donāt have that constant presence of horses in our lives that previous generations did, as horses arenāt part of the everyday landscape any more. Ā They donāt work the fields, they donāt cart the goods, they donāt deliver the mail or transport you to the next town down the road.
However, we still see horses all the timeā in movies, books, illustration, ads and logos, we are presented with the image of horses all the time. Ā So we assume āyes, I have seen horses often and I know what they look like.ā Ā Because of our exposure, we as artists donāt always feel like we need to heavily reference the animals as if we were drawing something we donāt see everyday (say, like elephants or giraffes or sea cucumbers). Ā Our brain just kind of plugs in āhorse shapedā and we go with that.
And I suspect that ends up being where a lot of these common mistakes occur. Ā Dogs are familiar, but we can easily find a dog to draw from live, to see the way the shapes of its face are put together in 3-dimensions. Ā Cats, humans, birdsā¦ if we venture just a little ways outside our studios (or in some cases, inside), we can find live models to study easily. Ā
You canāt really do that with horses. Ā Theyāre a commodity, sequestered away behind fences on private farms and shuttered away in barns. Ā So few people really get the chance to be up close and have that hands-on experience to really learn how a horse is put together.
So hereās some things, based on my own experience both drawing and working with horses, that might help you if you find yourself needing to draw one for yourself.
The approach I took might be more complicated than absolutely necessary, but I tried to present the subject of āhow to draw horsesā a little differently than Iāve seen it done before. Ā I hope someone finds it understandable, and more importantly, helpful!
If you share this, please donāt delete my commentary about it above. Thanks :3
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