The Art of Painting Animals [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONTainting animals and birdsThere is an old saying, "A horse is beautiful to look at but terrible to draw," and this is quite true, particularly if you do not understand the physical structure and behavior of that animal. Whether you are drawing an elephant or the family pet, the same axiom holds true.A very good example is the oil painting of "Saint Martin dividing his cloak with the beggar" by Jorge Manuel The-otocopuli, who was the son of El Greco. (See Figure 0.1.) He worked in a conspicuously distorted style like that of his father, but his horse and figures look right even though they are stylized to enhance the painting's emotional appeal.In this book the horse wOl be used as the basis for understanding the physical structure of animals. The wild duck willserve as the model for the structure, wing construction, and flight characteristics of birds. If you understand the bone and superficial muscle structure of the horse, you should not have any trouble drawing other animals, whether they are large or small. Their anatomy is basically the same.However, it is important for artists to understand that great animal art requires a knowledge of the subject that is to be painted. The success of the illustrations is dependent upon the artist's design, enthusiasm, and emotional interpretation.This book is designed to assist the artist and the sculptor in approaching these problems. The comparative anatomical drawings and sketches of animals and humans, and the accompanying text, will be a guide to understanding their actions.