Horses
When I look at a photograph of a horse, it looks incredibly complicated. There are so many muscles and joints. I just really don’t know where to start!
I always try to remember that there are experts available to help me all the time. These experts are all the artists who have drawn or painted horses before me. In this painting by Zhao Mengfu, done in 1296, the artist has simplified the horse, showing me what the most important lines are. For example, in the photograph, the curve of the horses neck is covered by its mane. Zhao Mengfu, however, shows that line quite clearly in his painting.
The Persian miniature painting shows me a simple shape to use for a horse’s body.
This Swedish Dala horse is very simple and yet instantly recognizable as a horse. We can learn from this what the very most essential lines and shapes are to make something look like a horse.
In this painting of a horse by Fernando Botero, the horses features are exaggerated.
Drawing Horses
Materials
Paper
Drawing tools
Process
Notice that although these artworks may look different, they all use the same basic shapes to construct the horse. We too, will use these basic shapes to make our horse drawings. Using pencil, draw a basic “skeleton” for your horse. You can play around with proportions (the sizes of the shapes) like Botero, or you can simplify the shapes, like in the Dala horse. Notice the important similarities in all the pictures. The front of the head is flat and the line of the neck connects at the top of the head. It is also helpful to make the head angled down. The back legs of a horse are bend “backwards” compared to the way our knees bend. Even though the Dala horse’s legs are not bent, they curve slightly in that direction. These are all details that will help you make your drawing look more horse like.
2. When you have drawn your “skeleton” you can grab a pen and fill in the details of the horse on top of it. What kind of horse will you make? Horses come in many different sizes and colors. Will your horse have a rider? Where is it standing? I was inspired to make a simple, decorated horse like the Dala horse.
