This is not really a tutorial, it's an insight on maybe how I work, and to
ENCURAGE PEOPLE TO DRAW FROM IMAGINATION AND NOT FEEL STUCK WITH USING A REF WHEN DOING REALISTIC HORSESSo we start from the beginning, looking at horses, to understand them, their movement, muscles, body and colours. I see horses everyday, but not everybody does.
YOU MUST TAKE THE TIME TO SIT BACK AND REALLY THINK ABOUT HOW THEY ARE BUILTWithout the skeletton or muscles horses would not excist, and they matter a lot how you should draw a horse, so here we start.
All horses has the same muscles and bones (except arabians that has an extra pair of ribs, they are awful I know), so you know how they work you'll get movement soon. I think back on the skelleton when doing the guiedlines to get proper anatomy, and on the muscles when "forming" the horse when colouring. But we'll get to that, know, just take some time looking at horses. There are alot of good pictures on google at the horse skelleton and muscles, mine are very rough, but then again some details are irrelevant when getting some skin and fat on it
I did this because it's fun
`ChewedKandi has certainly gone out of her way to keep the vector community on the right path. Always making sure that her talents are infinitely scalable, Sharon has put her bezier curves to excellent use, and firmly anchored herself as an inspirational leader. We're absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for June 2013 to `ChewedKandi. Congratulations, Sharon! Read More
Sta.sh
Det här påminner mig om att jag verkligen borde försöka göra mer studier, speciellt när det gäller muskler och bakben, hals och, hm, allt annat. I och för sig brukar alla mina försök urarta i förvrängda seriehästar i slutändan... Men, men, någon gång kanske jag kan få till det
I rarely use references, though sometimes I'm simply stuck and cannot think of a pose to draw from mind, then I'll search for some horse photos to help me come up with a pose, but even then, I rarely stick to drawing just from one photo. I also use refs when I'm trying an entirely new angle, but even then, I usually add my own twist. I just don't like to literally draw photos.
I also made my own skeleton and muscle studies a while back and I can say that it definitely helped me a lot, especially on the legs (which are the parts that I still struggle with the most...).
So yeah, this is really great, I'm glad you're encouraging people to draw from imagination. I don't mind artists using refs for hard poses, but using a ref for EVERY SINGLE pose and angle, it starts to annoy me a little.
Still, there's no better way to break that habit than to study horses in real life and do your own studies
Any yes, the best studies you do yourself... but like I said, not everyone get to see horses every day, so then you robaby need to take more time really thinking about how a horse looks xD
I mean, after drawing horses for years, you should be able to at least draw a decent work of a horse walking in a plain side view angle, right? I think so :/
I actually had a little conversation with someone who draws from photos and she told me something quite interesting. While I, myself, am inspired by music/life/etc to draw, she's inspired by the photos she sees and that's why she draws from them. But I must say, she usually adds her own twist and changes the colors more than often, so it's not a complete copy of the photo. And she does draw from her mind sometimes.
Yeah, if you don't the chance to watch them in real life, it's harder, but you can also search for some videos and study from them XD