Mentoring in Animal Anatomy and Creature Design -- Muscles, Part One

[Moai]

Mentors- Cory Trego-Erdner, known around these parts as Moai

Mentees- realitychek, Noe, Micaiah Nelson, Me,Myself,&MeAgain

The aim, intent, purpose, and goal of this thread: to teach my mentees a thing or two about animal anatomy and biology and how to apply that knowledge to designing original creatures, and to learn a thing or two myself. Duh.

Lessons and assignments: This "course of study" is going to be like a very small classroom, with lessons and assignments presented to all mentees at once, with lots of one-on-one attention between myself and the mentees. The typical lesson will focus on a particular group of animals (say, split-hoofed animals one week, carnivorans the next week, and marine mammals the next week, just as an example). The lessons will focus first on the anatomy of that particular kind of creature, and then point out particular design elements of that creature that the mentees can add to their visual libraries, in order to apply those design elements to later creature designs. There will be two main types of assignments: sketching assignments, in which the mentees draw from reference (or, if possible, from life), and concept assignments, in which the mentees create original creature designs. There will be lots of drawing involved, but you wouldn't be here if you weren't into that. This is going to be a fairly flexible course in which the mentees can finish the assignment at their own pace, though I may start to nag them if they're slow.

Duration of the course: Since I plan to cover pretty much every type of animal from apes and antelopes down to starfish and earthworms, this will be a fairly long "class." It may take well over a year to go through all the various classes and phyla.

TO ALL NON-MENTEES- Feel free to follow along and even do the lessons. However, please don't post any artwork here, or indulge in spammish behavior. This is a place for my mentees and I to help each other, not for the general public. If you feel you have something relevant to say (a critique, feedback on how I'm handling things) by all means post it!

***

Inspirational Links- Very incomplete, will be updated!
CAer Longshao's deviantart: http://yty2000.deviantart.com/
Creature artist blog for several CA artists: http://creatureartists.blogspot.com/
Nemo Ramjet, brilliant scientific-minded creature designer
Deviantart: http://nemo-ramjet.deviantart.com/
Homepage: http://www.nemoramjet.com/
Specworld, a speculative alternate Earth in which non-avian dinosaurs never went extinct, very well-thought-out and complete: http://www.bowdoin.edu/~dbensen/Spec/Index.html

[Moai]

ASSIGNMENT ONE- All assignments will be posted in big, white text like this, so they'll be hard to miss. Anyway, this assignment involves posting at least two pieces of artwork. First, post some creature designs that you think are sexay. These can either be by other artists, or they can be photos of actual animals. Be sure to name the artist and try to include a link of where the image came from. Optionally, you can also post an image of a creature design that you dislike, find ugly or uninteresting, etc. Again, include the artist's name and possibly a link, and please be respectful, especially if it's a CA artist. Lastly, post one of your own creature designs, just to show me where you are.

Oh, and introduce yourselves, too.

Edit: You can attach images using the attachment manager, or post them from photobucket or some-such. However, if your images turn in the red Xs or mysteriously don't show up on my screen, I will have to ask you to attach them. So there.

[Moai]

I'll do part of the first assignment by introducing myself. I'm not going to post any of my likes and dislikes just yet, since this thread is supposed to be about you.

My name is Cory Trego-Erdner, and I'm 20 and living in California. I've been drawing creatures for the last umpteen years of my life, and I've been interested in animals practically since birth. I was raised on the Discovery Channel, not Cartoon Network. So yeah, drawing creatures is definitely my forte. I'm currently working on improving the other areas of my artwork, such as character design, drawing environments, and all that. My formal education consists of several drawing, painting, and figure classes at community colleges. I'm not how I want to go in the Art School direction.
Other than art, I like to play the guitar and ukulele, surf, and read sci-fi and fantasy books.

[Spiralfish]

Im interested in creature design and becoming a mentee....

[Moai]

Sorry Spiral fish, but I'm not accepting any more mentees right now. I edited the first post just now to make that more clear. It makes me sad to turn you away, but the more mentees I have, the less attention I can pay to each of them. I looked through your sketchbook and I feel that your creature drawings are already very strong. Feel free to follow along with the lessons and presentations, just please don't post the art here for critique.
Again, sorry.

[realitychek]

Alrighty, I'll try and get the ball rolling I guess.

About me:
My name is Katie, I'm a 16 year old who lives in western new york. Started drawing from the start, mostly horses, but then got into different stuff and just weird creatures and the like. I have quite the thing for mythical creatures and dinosaurs as well. Currently I'm taking any and all art courses at my school, but that's been cut down since the school decided the high school only needs one art teacher but 4 gym teachers (um....WTF?!?)
Other interests: Watching movies, reading books, listening to classic rock and techno, camping, customizing model horses, and playing Frisbee.


Let's see, other creature designs that kick @ss.....



http://www.mikecorriero.com/index/Top/default.htm

^Nocturnal Predator by Mike Corriero, a member here on CA. I love his work, the detail and realistic-ness of his art is amazing to me



http://wrelm.com/newsite/Wshemonster.htm

^by Danelle Vierkant (WRELM here on CA) and yet again it is the attention to detail and realistic-ness of the piece that really strikes me.

and then, my most recent creature design, did up for teen challenge a few weeks ago (I do not like the rider at all, need to fix it up quite a bit) but I've found myself attached to the beast


Not so great, didn't have access to a scanner then, so had to take a picture of it with my dad's digital camera.

[Moai]

Hey, Realitychek! Nice to meet you. Mike Corriero is obviously one of the first names to come to mind when mentioning creature designers on CA.org. I was not familiar with Danelle Vierkant before you posted that link. Cool works! Thanks for sharing that.

I have quite the thing for mythical creatures and dinosaurs as well.

I think you'll enjoy this, then.

Well, I finally have all the materials I need to begin this thing in earnest. The first actual lesson and assignments should be up next week!

[Spiralfish]

Darn... well alright...

[Justin.]

Hey I'm Justin.

I'm not good at Animal anatomy or creating convincing creatures.

My favorite designs;
'Nuff said.

My most recent without doing one in 10 minutes,

[Moai]

Justin Oaksford, the post you chose for creature designs that you like is, in my opinion, one of the best dumps of creature designs ever to occur on CA.org. I remember my first viewing of that post, so many months ago. It was one of the single most inspiring events of my artistic life. M.C. Barrett is one of the great unsung heroes of CA.org. So, high five for choosing that, bud! You have good taste.

The first lesson coming soon!

[Moai]

Sorry for the delay in the first lesson, mentees. I've been a bit preoccupied. The first lesson will be up by Friday, at the latest. I promise!

But anyway, I have some news. The experienced and respected Mike Corriero has offered to function as a guest mentor. So, more crits and tips for you, mentees! Cool, huh?

[Gloominati]

hey ho, finally I could manage to visit the web again. My name is chirstof Grobelski, I am 19 years old and drawing seriously for about 3-4 years now. being really interessted in animals and their "design in generall I really want to improve my animal-anatomy-drawing skills and to apply them in new creature creations

i must admit that i do not have one certain artist in my mind that I would consider being THE creature designer, but there is one thread here on CA that really really REALLY kicks ass whan it comes to new and fresh creatures:

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=84095

uh and my most recent creature design:

[realitychek]

Sorry for the delay in the first lesson, mentees. I've been a bit preoccupied. The first lesson will be up by Friday, at the latest. I promise!

But anyway, I have some news. The experienced and respected Mike Corriero has offered to function as a guest mentor. So, more crits and tips for you, mentees! Cool, huh?

Oh wow!

[Mike Corriero]

Hey Guys,
I look forward to where you're at and where you'll end up with the help of this classroom-esque experience. I'll be taking a back seat to all of this but I'll chime in when needed or whenever possible. This is Moai's show, so he'll be handing out the guidelines, homework, schedules etc.. but I'll offer up my advice and crits on occasion. Hope to see you guys really push yourselves and get excited to further your education in this specific subject.

Thanks Moai,
Mike C -

[Moai]

Hello, mentees! Welcome to the first lesson. Again, I'm sorry for the delay.

This first lesson will focus on the skeleton, and the general bones, forms, and structures thereof. The skeleton I will show you isn't the skeleton of any particular species (though it does look somewhat like a dog), but is instead simply a generic skeleton meant to show you the typical bones and forms that are found in most skeletons. Also, since this class will be starting with larger, four-legged land mammals and gradually move on to less "ordinary" animals, this generic skeleton will have more in common with those kinds of animals than, say, the skeleton of a dolphin or an iguana.

So here it is: the generic skeleton.



Skeleton key:
1- Skull, consisting of cranium (head) and mandible (moveable lower jaw)
2- Cervical (neck) Vertebrae
3- Thoracic Vertebrae
4- Lumbar Vertebrae
5- Sacrum
6- Tail (Coccyx)
7- Scapula (shoulder blade)
8- Humerus
9- Radius
10- Ulna
11- Carpus (wrist)
12- Metacarpals
13- Phalanges (fingers) of forelimb
14- Ribcage
15- Pelvis (hipbone)
16- Femur
17- Patella (kneecap)
18- Tibia (shinbone)
19- Fibula
20- Calcaneus (heel bone)
21- Tarsus (ankle)
22- Metatarsals
23- Phalanges (toes) of hind limb

The generic skull.



The skull usually contains the brain, most of the sense organs, the eating apparatus, and the breathing apparatus, so it is obviously a very important part of the body.
Skull key:
1. Cranium- This is the main portion of the skull. It consists of many bones, but they are all fused together into a single piece, with none really capable of independent movement. Therefore, it isn't really important to know any of the individual bones. All of the following items, except for the last two, are part of the cranium only.
2. Nasal Opening- This is the "nose hole." Its shape varies considerably from species to species. In most mammals, a large piece of cartilage extends from the nasal opening, forming the snout of an animal. A general rule that I've noticed is that the larger an animal's snout is, the higher up the nasal cavity is on the skull. On short-snouted felines, the nasal opening is right there near the front of the skull, but on animals like tapirs, the nasal opening is significantly higher up on the skull. On the very long-nosed elephants, the nasal opening is higher up on the skull than the eye sockets.
3. Forehead- A flattish region generally behind the snout and between and/or behind the eyes. Its shape and size varies considerably.
4. Brain case- This forms the rear part of the skull. Obviously, it houses the brain, and equally obviously, in intelligent species such as apes it is much larger and rounder than in other animals.
5. Ridge- Many species have a ridge along the top of the brain case. This is where the temporalis muscles attach. It's prominence varies quite a bit; in lions and gorillas, the ridge is quite noticeable on the skull, but in humans it is practically nonexistent.
6. Bumps- These are lumps of bone on the rear underside of the skull. They include the auditory process, which is often just a simple hole in the skull directly to the rear of the zygomatic arch; the mastoid process, which is a round bump whose position and size varies; the styloid process, which are two wing-like points near the back of the skull; and finally, the condyles, where the skull interfaces with the spine.
7. Zygomatic arch- This form, also called the cheekbone, is one of the most important and form-defining on the skull, though its importance is less in some species than others. It tends to be thick, arched, and strong on carnivores (to support the powerful biting muscles), while weaker on herbivores, because chewing on vegetation requires less force than chomping through tough muscles and bones. Animals that have prominent zygomatic arches include felines and primates.
8. Eye socket- It should be obvious, but I'll tell you anyway. This is where the eyeballs are held. Its primary function is to protect the eyes and make sure that they are facing the right way. The eye socket is not always completely surrounded by bone. In carnivores and in large animals such as rhinos and elephants, it is only partially enclosed.
9. Unimporant hole- Most skulls have this little hole somewhere around the upper jaw. I think it's for a nerve or a blood vessel or something. However, it has no influence on the visible form on the animal, so you needn't bother wasting brain space on it. In fact, I don't even know why I included it.
10. Mandible- This is the second piece of the skull. It is shaped somewhat like a horseshoe with the ends bent upwards. The upper-back points of it go between the zygomatic arch and the brain case. Its hinge is located near where the zygomatic arch connects to the rear part of the skull (look at the back view image). The mandible is divided into two bones, a left half and a right half, but these are often fused together in mammals. It is quite a mobile bone, not only opening and shutting but in many species able to move back and forth and from side to side. Its primary function, obviously, is to aid in taking food into the body, and often to "process" (you know, chew) food to make it easier to digest. It does this job very well, which is why practically every large animal you see is a jawed animal (evolutionary advantage).
11. Teeth- These are located on the upper jaw (the maxilla), and on the lower jaw. They are probably the hardest objects in the bodies of most animals, even harder than bone. They are composed of several layers of different stuff, but that's not really important to know when it comes to drawing animals. Teeth can be divided into three basic types. The frontmost teeth are the incisors. They are used mostly for gnawing (rodents) and for clipping off vegetation (herbivores of all types). They occasionally grow into very large tusks, as in elephants and narwhals. The second type of teeth is the canine tooth. In carnivores, it is large and powerful and used to stab and hold prey, and is one of the most common killing tools in the animal world. In herbivores, it is used either for display and defense (as in pigs and hippos), or absent. The third kind of tooth is the molar, which are the rearmost teeth. In herbivores and omnivores, including apes and bears, the molars are flat, square, and numerous, for grinding food. In carnivores, the molars have evolved into sharp carnassial teeth, which slice meat in a scissor-like fashion.

The generic front limb.



Front limb key:
1. The scapula- Also known as the shoulder blade, it is one of the more important bones in the body when it comes to form. It is a fairly flat bone that "floats" near the front of the ribcage, held in place more by muscle attachments than by bone attachments. Therefore, it is a very mobile bone. It consists of four main parts. There is the spine, which runs down the middle of the scapula, and is an important landmark. Above and below the spine are two flat regions where muscles attach. The fourth part of the scapula is the joint, which forms a ball-in-socket joint with the humerus.
2. Humerus- This is the single bone of the upper arm. It is a fairly simple bone. At the top, it forms a ball-in-socket joint with the scapula that allows it considerable freedom of movement (more so in some species than others), and at the bottom it forms a hinge joint with the ulna. The length and bulkiness of this bone varies according to species.
3. Ulna- This is one of the two lower forelimb bones. At its upper part it forms a hinge joint with the humerus, which means that the humerus can only flex and extend. That is, it can only bend forward, closer to the body, or backward, extending away from the body. It cannot turn or rotate in any other direction. The uppermost point of this bone forms an important landmark.
4. Radius- This is the other lower forelimb bone. It is thinner near the elbow joint and thicker near the wrist joint. It is a rotating bone, allowing the front foot (or hand, in primates) to twist backwards or forwards. When the two forelimb bones are parallel, the palm of the hand is facing forward, and when the radius is crossed over the ulna, the palm of the hand is facing backward. This movement is much more important for animals such as primates or felines, which need to climb and hold onto things with their front feet. For some animals, such as horses, being able to twist the front foot is not important, so the radius and ulna have fused together.
5. the Carpal complex- The wrist joint is composed of many small bones, but it is only important to know one of them: the pisiform bone . The pisiform bone juts out on the back of the wrist. On carnivores, there is a little pad of flesh that looks almost like a sixth toe that forms over the pisiform bone. If you have a dog or cat, go check this out. The rest of the carpal bones can be summarized as a single form. As a joint, the wrist can usually move back and forth, and side to side, but not rotate. Any rotation that occurs happens with the radius.
6. Metacarpals- These are the hand bones. There is usually one for each phallanx, or finger/toe. They are attached to the carpal bones and fairly immovable, with the exception of the innermost one (the "thumb") which can often has a bit more freedom of movement, especially in primates. In many herbivorous species, the metacarpals are long, thick, and fused, becoming in essence a third segment of the leg, rather than part of the foot. Each metacarpal ends with a hinge joint with one of the phalanges.
7. Phalanges- These are the finger and toe bones. Usually, there are three of them in each of the outer four fingers or toes, and two on the innermost finger or two. Often the last bone in each phalanx forms the core of a claw or hoof. Every joint in the phalanges is a hinge joint; phalanges can curl in or extend out, and nothing else.

I have some chores to do now. I'll update this post later. For know, just send me your email addresses, if you don't mind, so I can send you some images to study.

Continuing onward, now with the spine and ribcage.



The spine and ribcage, like all bones, have three functions: to provide structural support, to protect organs, and to provide a place for muscles to attach. The ribcage houses many of the most important organs of the body (the heart and lungs), while the spine houses the spinal cord, which transmits messages from the brain to the rest of the body. Knowing the exact shape and number of each of these bones is of limited importance. It is the big picture that you're after.
1. The atlas vertebra, so named because it supports the globe of the head (though the head is globe-like in few animals other than humans). It is quite different from most other vertebrae, in that it is basically a ring of bone with no body or spinous process (the part of the spine that juts outward, taken to the extreme in animals like Dimetrodon and Spinosaurus). Together with the axis vertebra, it forms the joint which allows the head to be so mobile.
2. Axis vertebra- This is more similar to a "regular" vertebra, except that it has a knob, called the odontoid process, on the front. This is what the atlas pivots on when moving the head. In many animals, the spinous process on the atlas vertebra has been modified into a fairly large fin of bone, onto which muscles attach.
3. Cervical vertebrae- The vertebrae of the neck. The atlas and axis are included here. In mammals, there are almost always seven of these, regardless of the length of the neck. In quadrupedal animals, the cervical vertebrae are often rounded or boxy, without prominent knobs or spines jutting from the top or sides.
4. Thoracic vertebrae- These are the vertebrae to which the ribs attach. The bodies of these vertebrae are usually smaller and the spinous processes higher, in comparison to other vertebrae.
5. Lumbar vertebrae- These are the vertebrae between the ribcage and the pelvis. They are often bulkier than other vertebrae, with squarish spinous processes, and broad transverse processes (the projections that emerge from the side of the vertebrae).
6. Sacrum- The sacrum consists of several vertebrae fused into a single bone. This is where the pelvic bones and several muscles attach.
7. Tail- The first few vertebrae of the tail are actually firmly within the bulk of the body, and look more like regular vertebrae. As the tail tapers towards the end, however, the bones become smaller, longer, and more featureless.
8. True Rib- These emerge from the thoracic vertebrae and form the ribcage. It is called true because (via some cartilage) it attaches to the sternum. They are long, thin, curved bones.
9. Rib Cartilage- These attach ribs either to the sternum or to other ribs.
10. Sternum- Also known as the breastbone, this is where the ribs join together on the front (or bottom, in quadrupeds) of the ribcage. It also serves as a place for muscles to attach.
11. False Ribs- Rather than attaching to the sternum, these ribs attach to the ribs before them.
12. Floating rib- These ribs don't attach to anything at all, except vertebrae. Many animals don't have them.

And here's the compared lines of the spine of a human being and of a quadruped animal. The curve of the human spine has been modified significantly to support our more upright stance.



Here are some images from wikipedia of individual (human) vertebrae.
The atlas.

The axis. Notice the large knob on top, on which the atlas pivots.

Two views of a general cervical vertebra.

Several thoracic vertebrae. Not the holes on the side for the attachment of the ribs.

A lumbar vertebra.


Continuing onward now with the pelvis.



The pelvis is, in my opinion, the most difficult area of animal anatomy, both bony and muscular. The pelvis is a very unusual, complex shape, with many forms, ridges, bumps, and holes curving around each other, and it looks completely different from every angle. It is necessary to learn it well, though, since it is an extremely important part of the skeleton, and significantly influences the visible form of most land vertebrates.
1. Sacrum- The sacrum can be considered part of the pelvis as well as part of the spine. Rare is the drawing of a pelvis without the sacrum. This is the only place where the pelvis attaches to the rest of the body.
2. Ilium- This is a large, flat, wing-like piece of bone at the front of the pelvis. An important attachment point for the gluteus muscles, its size, shape, and angle varies considerably from species to species. It also protrudes under the skin and is a very important landmark on the body. Why is it named after the city of Troy? I have no idea.
3. Ischium- The rear part of the pelvis. It consists of two tuberosities (projecting bumps or ridges) with an arch between them. The tuberosities are landmarks on the body. In herbivores, the ischium is usually quite a bit narrower than the ilium. In carnivores, the ilium and ischium are often more or less equal in bredth.
4. Ischial arch- The bony curve between the two projecting tuberosities.
5. The cotyloid cavity- This is the socket for the hip joint, where the femur attaches to the hip.
6. Hole- These two holes are present in almost every pelvis. I do not know what they are called. Probably not terribly important.

Specific pelvis studies: a horse and a dog.



The pelvis is a difficult structure to simplify and generalize, so I decided to post these two studies I did of a herbivore (horse) pelvis and a carnivore (dog) pelvis. These are much more specific than the previous diagram. The studies are from W. Frank Calderon's Animal Painting and Anatomy.
1. Sacrum.
2. Ilium.
3. Pubis- Together with the ilium, ischium, and sacrum, these form the four major parts of the pelvis. The pubis is the lowermost and innermost part of the pelvis, where the left and right hipbones come together.
4. Ischial arch.
5. Ischial tuberosity- A projecting knob or ridge on the rear end of the pelvis. Its shape varies.
6. Cotyloid cavity.
7. Supra cotyloid crest- A ridge of bone above the cotyloid cavity (supra means "above"). In the dog, it is pretty much continuous with the crest of the ilium.
8 and 9- The crest of the ilium. I was going to give them specific names (tuber coxae and tuber sacrale) but it turns out that I labeled them wrong, and it's not important anyway.

I suggest that you do multiple studies of the pelvis from several angles. I'll post some animal anatomy book reviews to help you.

[OldJake666]

Can I PLEASE join in on this. I've been doing TONS of creatures for the 100th cow so this would really help!
Jake

[Justin.]

My name @ gmail.com

Jake

If you can't do my assignments this month, taking on another mentor really isn't a good idea.

[Moai]

Jake, there's nothing stopping you from reading what is written in this thread and learning from it. However, I'm not taking any more mentees. That means no artwork-posting in this thread, please. Sorry, man.
Justin, prepare for an onslaught of animal anatomy scans!

[Mike Corriero]

Most "Imaginary" creature designing even the oddest and most unique derive from anatomy of some sort whether it be human or animal..in the end it's a mix and match combination of the two and an understanding of how the bones, joints, muscles and overall biology of a being or creature works that counts. Starting with basic animal anatomy such as a quadruped mammal will teach you about how a real animals system works in order to achieve a believable "imaginary" animal/creature.

I myself could use a brush up and some help on a bone for bone break down of existing animals to further help my understanding of concept design in this area..we all could. So make sure you guys really read up on what was posted and even do your own research on these areas. Animal biology is complex, the skeletal system is complex enough in its own right let alone the muscles, nervous system and huge array of variation in anatomical structure from one animal to the next. Just think of it in terms as a huge library and source reference, something you should soak in for later on.

Moai, unless the images you're sending are confidential or work you've done..perhaps you should post links here to keep on hand. Assuming they are photos and not artwork. A list of photo links could be useful.

[OldJake666]

My name @ gmail.com

Jake

If you can't do my assignments this month, taking on another mentor really isn't a good idea.

You're right I just thought that because I'm in the process of so many creatures that this would be really helpful and it is!
Put me on the list for next round!
Jake

[Moai]

I updated my earlier post with the spine and ribcage. The pelvis and hind limb will have to wait until tomorrow. I may also update my segment on the head, thanks to some info from a new animal anatomy book that I checked out from the library. See? The learning never stops!
Mike Corriero, I agree 100% with what you said. By all means, students, do research on your own! There is a wealth of information in the libraries and on the internets. As for the images I'm emailing, they are copyrighted illustrations from animal anatomy books, so posting them where just anyone can see them wouldn't be good. Maybe emailing them wouldn't be a very good idea, either. I'll put up some animal anatomy book reviews tomorrow, so the mentees will be able to go and do some studying themselves.
Jake Cobrin- Next round! You're on the list!

See you guys tomorrow.

[OldJake666]

Jake Kobrin- Next round! You're on the list!

Sweet!

[Moai]

ASSIGNMENT: Get an animal anatomy book and do some studies of skeletons! Make sure it is about animal anatomy, not "how to draw animals." There is a difference. Please stick to bones and skeletons. Muscles will wait, for now.

Here are some books to point you in the right direction. Probably any library you go to will have at least one of these. Most of these books focus on the horse, dog, lion, and cow far more than any other type of animal. That is good enough for us now, but when you want to learn about other types of animals it can get annoying.

Gottfried Bammes, The Artist's Guide to Animal Anatomy. This is a very good book. The illustrations are clean, clear, and simple. Bammes is a master at seeing and depicting planes. He treats animal structure like an engineer, and has some very useful information if you bother to read the text as well as look at the pictures. Cons: A bit of horse worship going on here. The section on the hind leg is almost exclusively about the horse. Other sections, though, give the other animals a more fair treatment.
W. Ellennberger and Dittrich H. Baum, An Atlas of Animal Anatomy- The illustrations here are exhaustive and extremely detailed, to a fault. This book can be somewhat overwhelming, because the anatomical plates are not simplified or artistified in the least. You will have to do your own simplifying when studying these images, which can be very difficult if you're just beginning to learn about animal anatomy. Also, there is no text except to name the bones and muscles. A very good reference book, but not really a how-to for beginners. Worth checking out, anyway.
Yvonne Francoise Jossic, Anatomy of Animals- The same illustrations as the previous book, only smaller and not labeled (WTF??).
W. Frank Calderon, Animal Painting and Anatomy- An older but still very good book. The illustrations are very nice, clear little pencil drawings. The way he draws the bones has a way of clarifying things for me more than other books do. I highly recommend this one, if you can get it.
Eliot Goldfinger, Animal Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form- This is an excellent book, though I'd recommend it more for learning muscle anatomy than skeletal anatomy. It should be adequate, though. It is probably the most complete animal anatomy book out there, at least when it comes to musculature. Highly recommended.

That's all I have. If you can't find these books but the library or bookstore has other books, assess the quality of the book before getting it. Are the illustrations good, or amateurish? Are things drawn many times, from many angles, or just once? In short, I recommend getting only good, complete books, if at all possible. If, for some reason, you can't get your hands on a book, message me and I will email you some images. These images are scanned from some of the above books and probably copyrighted, so I want to send them out only as a last resort.
So, grab some books, do some studies, and post what you draw, and the critiquing will commence!

Mike Corriero, feel free to add some more books, if you have any to recommend.

Oh yeah, about searching for references to study on the internet: I find that any images I can find on the internet are of a much lower quality than those in books. If you can find good, clear images, though, by all means do some studies!

And a little link to see what you'll be able to do with the knowledge you're getting: Imaginatomy.

EDIT: Also, visit any history or natural history museums in your area, if you can. They often have a few good skeletons for you to study. The local museum in my hometown of Santa Maria, for example, has a Smilodon (saber-toothed tiger) skeleton. Real skeletons are obviously much more informative study subjects than flat images.

[Mike Corriero]

Moai- Concerning bone structures..not off hand but that's a great inspirational little gem of a link you found there (Imaginatomy). Later on when you get involved in the skin/muscle and actual structure and variations of animals I have a book I can recommend that is a great resource for photo reference mixed with a little Illustration.

If I come across anything bone related, book or web-link (high res) I'll post it.

Mike C -

[OldJake666]

I have a huge book called The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Do you know if this is good for mammal anatomy?

[Caskin]

Another good anatomy book is Cyclopedia Anatomicae which has great references for not only animal, but human anatomy as well. Overall a really good book. They have a nice comparitive anatomy section in the back where they show side by side all the different animals they covered (dog, horse, cat, pig, monkey, camel, deer, sheep, bear, lion, etc)

A nifty site for anatomy is www.digimorph.org which has 3D rotations of many skulls, and probably the only place I've been able to find with good references to bat skeletons. I also greatly enjoy browsing www.skullsunlimited.com and looking at all the skulls they have available. If I had spare cash I would DEFINITELY shell out for a couple of their natural bone or museum replica skulls (homg. bones. drool).

Hope you don't mind me popping Maoi, just thought these would be some good additions to the list of references you gave .

[Moai]

Jake- I used to have that book! Big sucker, isn't it? I was a fool to get rid of it. Anyway, I don't remember how good it was in terms of skeletons and muscles, but it should have some great images of the outer forms and behavior of animals.
Caskin- Awesome links! When I become an eccentric billionaire, I'm going to buy my own Mastodon skeleton. I don't mind you dropping by at all. The book you recommended certainly sounds good. My bastard local library system doesn't have it though.

Anyway, I'm going to update my lesson one post with the final images and info. Lesson two will come once you guys start posting your studies.

[Moai]

My first post was too long, so I'm posting the final bit of it here.

The hind leg.



In many ways, the hind leg is a mirror image of the front leg. It has a single upper bone, two lower bones, and hand and finger bones in a virtually identical arrangement to the foreleg.
1. Femur- This is the thighbone. It is a long, strong bone, with a few features worthy of more specific mention. Its lowest region forms part of the knee joint.
2. Great Trochanter- This is a large protuberance at the top of the shaft of the femur. It is sometimes a landmark on the body, though it is often hard to see, and is an attachment point for many pelvic muscles.
3. Femur Head- This very round lump of bone fits into the cotyloid cavity in the hip. It forms the ball in the ball-in-socket joint of the hip.
4. Condyles- Condyles are rounded projections that occur on many bones, functioning the in the articulation of joints (especially hinge joints). The condyles of the femur are particularly large and noticeable, so I thought I'd mention them.
5. Patella- Commonly called the kneecap, this is a large and important sesamoid bone. It increases the ability of muscles and tendons on the upper leg to act on the lower leg. The knee keeps tendons (the tissues that connect muscle to bone) from flattening onto the leg bones when the knee joint is flexed.
6. Tibia- This is the main lower leg bone. Also called the shin bone. In many animals, pretty much the entire front edge is subcutaneous; that is, almost directly under the skin. Its upper part forms part of the knee joint.
7. Crest of the tibia- Though the entire front of the tibia is subcutaneous, as I just said, the crest of the tibia is especially noticeable, and functions as a landmark. The crest of the tibia often juts out just as far and just as noticeably as the patella, making the "knee" to appear very long on some animals.
8. Fibula- The other lower leg bone, the fibula is very slender, and doesn't support weight, at least in humans. In many animals, such as herbivores, it has fused with the tibia. Its lower end makes a protruding bump on the ankle.
9. Calcaneus- This is the only one of the tarsal bones worth knowing. Forming the heel bone on humans, it protrudes quite a bit on most quadrupeds, making it an important landmark and something to be sure to note when drawing.
10. Tarsus- Basically, the same exact thing as the carpal bones in the front foot. Several odd little bones bunched together in the ankle joint. I don't see any reason to learn them individually.
11. Metatarsals- The long bones that form the body of the back foot. They are analogous to the metacarpals. There is usually one for each toe. Herbivores like cows are and exception; they have one thick metatarsal onto which all the toes attach. Luckily, they only have two toes.
12. Phalanges- Little different from the phalanges of the front foot. Some animals, such as cats and dogs, have fewer toes on the back feet than on the front feet.

And there you have it! A very general, basic summary of the land mammal skeleton. Once we start learning specific animals, I will detail how each differs from this generic skeleton.
Now, go study!!

[OldJake666]

I'm not your mentoree oficially but I'm still following along and completing the assignments. I bought Eliot Goldfinger, Animal Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form and it friggin rocks. A mad rush to borders before they close and 50 bucks from my wallet... well worth it.

[Justin.]

Which one of those would you see is the least expensive? Not to be a cheapo but I'm an intern on my own here =P