The One Ring Forums: Tolkien Topics: Fan Art:
Drawing Middle Earth's equines: 101



swordwhale
Tol Eressea


Jan 22 2013, 4:22pm


Views: 274
Drawing Middle Earth's equines: 101
I've noticed a number of excellent fantasy artists who do great people (of various heights and types), terrific weaponry, awesome places...

...and their horses are, well... whattheheck IS that critter???

There are some truly awesome horse artists whose work can be found on the interwebs as reference. George Stubbs (18th century) is one of my favorites.

The inimitable Alan Lee does some totally awesome equines too. (He seems to like tall grey warmblood or Andalusian types).

I'm not awesome, but I grew up on horseback. My website has a few (free!) pages on Drawing Horses 101 for anyone, young or old, who wants to learn more about Dwarf ponies and Mearas.

http://www.swordwhale.com/drawing-horses-101.html
Go outside and play...


Starling
Half-elven


Jan 25 2013, 9:25am


Views: 166
I don't know what it is about Stubbs,
but his work just leaves me cold.
If I want some equine art, my go-to guy is always Munnings. I like the site this painting is on because it has lots of his horse studies, which I love to look at.
And, of course, Sam Savitt. I learned so much from his work about horse anatomy, breeds and colour.

Plus, if I want to see the power and movement of the horse captured in paint, I can never go past this.

I know what you mean about bad horse art. A good friend of mine once gave me a framed pastel study of a horse. The pastel work was excellent and the horse was beautiful, except for the unfortunate fact that its muzzle was about a third too long, and totally out of proportion. It completely ruined the image. I also found it really weird that this woman who had always been around horses couldn't seem to 'see' this problem. At least, I don't think she could, because surely she would not have bought it otherwise. It lead to a really interesting conversation with my sister, who knows nothing about horses, but knows plenty about art. She instantly spotted the flaw.

I used to be able to draw and paint passable horses, but it's ages since I tried.

By the way, I loved your site. But sorry, I can't teach you how to draw a spaceship.


swordwhale
Tol Eressea


Jan 25 2013, 8:13pm


Views: 230
oh how could I forget those....
In Reply To
but his work just leaves me cold.
If I want some equine art, my go-to guy is always Munnings. I like the site this painting is on because it has lots of his horse studies, which I love to look at.
And, of course, Sam Savitt. I learned so much from his work about horse anatomy, breeds and colour.

Plus, if I want to see the power and movement of the horse captured in paint, I can never go past this.

I know what you mean about bad horse art. A good friend of mine once gave me a framed pastel study of a horse. The pastel work was excellent and the horse was beautiful, except for the unfortunate fact that its muzzle was about a third too long, and totally out of proportion. It completely ruined the image. I also found it really weird that this woman who had always been around horses couldn't seem to 'see' this problem. At least, I don't think she could, because surely she would not have bought it otherwise. It lead to a really interesting conversation with my sister, who knows nothing about horses, but knows plenty about art. She instantly spotted the flaw.

I used to be able to draw and paint passable horses, but it's ages since I tried.

By the way, I loved your site. But sorry, I can't teach you how to draw a spaceship.
Sam Savitt is one of the finest. And Wesley Dennis who illustrated Marguerite Henry's books.
Go outside and play...