You say, "This week we will be going over the basics of 'taur construction. Those of you who have been to my classes before, know that I would rather give you pointers on how to draw your own things rather than just show you how *I* draw them."
You say, "This week is no exception, so before we get into the drawing for today's lesson we'll go over a bit on researching your picture."
You say, "Now the biggest hurdle to overcome will be your subject species. Like any furry drawing, the raw number of critters out there you can draw is so huge it makes doing a standard way of drawing them pretty much impossible. So your first step will be to find some photos of your subject species."
You say, "Luckily, the net is a great source of photos. No matter what creature you decide to do, odds are that someone has taken pictures of it and put them up on the net. Let your search engine do some of the work for you. ;)"
You say, "If you wish, do a search now to find your favorite animal to reference as we go along with the class today. I'll give you a minute before we continue."
You say, "Now that you may have a picture of your favorite critter, we can begin discussing the hows and whys of making it a 'taur model. I've done a quick scetching of one myself. It's the basic centaur, and today's visual. Please look at the pic a moment.
You say, "As you can see, I've left a lot of detail out so you can take a look at how the model was built up."
Piccillo motions to the side-view model and says, "The first problem you will face, and the most difficult, will probably be the merging of the upper human-like body with the lower animal body."
Brongaar nickers, "one of the problems I am having with the centaur/equitaur bodies is legs... I always get the hock-hoof too thin"
Piccillo assumes not, and continues. "Now look at the spine, which I've done in green. Now spines go in smooth straight lines running from the base of the skull to the end of it in a normal figure...but with a 'taur, we see an immediate problem - in order for it to be like they are, the spine has to have a joint at the 'waistline' of the human half.
Piccillo nods to Brongaar, "We will go over legs a bit later in the class."
Brongaar nickers, "I curve the spines, but that makes the transition higher on the 'human' torso"
You say, "Now besides causing a 'taur a lot of back problems, it also causes we - the artist - some headaches as well. A joint in the spine would require a lot of muscles to support and protect it."
Piccillo nods, "That's another way of doing it - there are as many ways of drawing 'taurs as there are species it seems. It's why I try to teach by having you make your own ideas first if possible - I don't want to pass on my habits...or mistakes, which I do honestly make."
You say, "Either way, curved a lot or jointed, if we follow a 'natural' way of looking at it the waistline will need some specialized muscles to protect this sensitive area. It's going to absorb a lot of shock, and artisticly this may show as a thicker waist. Even a bit of a tummy showing that is muscle, and not fat."
DonQuixote thinks amoung of shock it's going to absorb would be partially dependent on species, no? I mean, something that just ambles along slowly won't need as much of a shock absorber as something that tends to run, jump, pounce, etc
Rox goes, "I dunno about that when it comes to taurs..."
You say, "You'll have to think about what species you are drawing of course. Quite right Don, but all creatures do have the capability to move 'fast' for their choses species - relatively speaking - and have to be designed with that in mind."
You say, "Even elephants can move pretty quick for their size, and even their amble translates to a lot of weight shifting about on their frames."
DonQuixote nodnods, elephants can move _very_ fast. ...so can hippos. I once saw a hippo chase a zookeeper into a building
You say, "The upper body won't require much work besides the waist, but you have to keep some things in mind."
You say, "The bigger the upper body is, the more pressure would be placed on the spinal column - therefore the more stress. There are quite a few ways you can show how a 'taur could 'naturally' develop and react to this."
You say, "One could be that the upper body looks a bit smaller than a normal-sized human would - making it lighter and less of a strain on the back."
You say, "Or you could go the opposite route, and make the upper body more thick and trunk-like. Large masses of supporting muscle, to take the pressure off the spine with sheer brute force."
You say, "The muscles might develop differently than just a smooth joining. You could have a large knot of muscles traveling up the spinal column as support - making the 'taur look more 'alien' than anything else. ;)"
DonQuixote notes some of the added muscle mass could take the place of the redistributed organs from the upper body, as discussed last week, also? :,
You say, "These are all ideas, but in the end it's up to you to decide how you want your picture to look - there is nothing wrong with any of them, or just doing the classical joining of a human top/animal bottom."
Piccillo nods to Don, "Correct, almost like a tissue-based 'shock absorber' built around the waistline."
You say, "Another thing that might be affected is pose. Would you feel your 'taur should naturally lean back, to more evenly distribute weight, when at rest? Would they lean their human tops forward when they run?"
You say, "These are things you should think about if you decide to draw 'taurs a lot. It would be a good exercise, even, to make a list of some common actions (running, eating, carrying things in the arms) and write down how a 'taur might do them differently than a two-legged creature. It will help you develop your own way of drawing them...make them unique to you."
Brongaar nickers, "when an Equine based 'taur Centaurs and Equitaurs run woulf the upper torso assume the position of the neck of a non morphic horse?"
You say, "Well, it's hard to say Brongaar. I know how *I'd* draw one - I usually only lean them forward a little bit, and not as much as a horse's neck. But is that the right way? It is for me, but maybe not for you. :)"
You say, "A lot of art is subjective and also objective - it depends on what you want to do and what you want your audience to see. I'm afraid there isn't an easy answer that I can give you in this case - not and be fair to you developing your own style."
Piccillo snugs Kanada gently, patting her hair and saying "It's not much of an answer I know, but is it enough for now?"
Brongaar nickers, "here is my logic... my player works around horses for pleasure... am pretty close to a belgian/TB mix whose head weighs in at aroung 120-150 lbs... I am studying his moves as he is worked"
Koalinda says, "I think if the human torso part was small, and the arms held back, that leaning forward would work."
Brongaar nickers, "I am basing most of my new batch of 'taurs off him and a larger full blooded belgian mare..."
You say, "Remember to try your own thing - there's a good chance you've got an excellent idea and design going I'll be trying to learn from you sometime. ;)"
You say, "Okay, not much longer for today's class students - so hold those student figits in, we are almost done.
You say, "Now the legs get tricky, as like all the other parts we've seen there are several ways we can do them - depending on what they want. But let's look at what they have to do first before we decide."
You say, "The legs have to carry a lot of weight. Even for a normal animal. But with the 'taur, a *lot* of extra weight is placed over the front two, and since the torso is usually straight up, it's directly positoned over them."
You say, "Not only will they have to support that weight, but think of movement. What happens when a 'taur moves or stops suddenly? Having the torso whip around a lot with all that jolting would be painful - just ask any horse rider about that. ;) So a 'taur would develop with ways to compensate for all that whiplash they'd receive otherwise. A lot of that would fall to the legs - not only in build, but also in how they hold themselves and move about."
You say, "Rapid turns could even be damaging without the proper build and means of turning."
You say, "So, what does this all mean for the legs of a 'taur? Well for me, that translates into thick forelegs - much thicker than the standard animal, and a heavy and wide chest full of muscles to take the pressure off the upper body."
You say, "The back legs I also make thicker than normal, as they must provide additional motivational force."
You say, "The best way to show how I feel they should look is...well, kittens. ;) Young animals like kittens often have larger legs than their adult counterparts. Bigger paws, and a slightly different structure in their leg and bodybuild than a sleek adult. I try to get a bit of *that* look into my 'taurs, as I feel the overdeveloped legs are a more natural thing for them to have."
Rox ahs and nods, glancing atta RL kitten... "Cute..."
You say, "But that is my opinion, and others may be better - eithter for you or in general. Would anyone like to state their views of it for us to go over?"
Brongaar nickers, "now this isn't a taur, but it gives a chance to critique how I draw my non-morphic equine legs... http://levingnetworks.servehttp.com/gap/brongaar/images/Valkyries.jpg note the far left..."
Piccillo restates "But that is my opinion, and others may be better - eithter for you or in general. Would anyone like to state their views of it for us to go over?" as he looks at Brongarr's work.
Shalom purrs, "Oh, well, think it's a matter of style, it should be noted for example, that a horse has no trouple at all carrying around one or two people, those buggers can support a lot of wieght how they are."
You say, "I like the pose, but the horse's legs look a bit fat to me. I'd try to slender them out more, and perhaps make them longer depending on the breed."
Rox goes, "It looks to me that they're too broad, yah..."
DonQuixote nods to Shalom, except a person sitting on a horse isn't directly over the front legs like an anthro torso would be, so the weight is spread out between the 4 legs a bit more than it would be in a taur
Piccillo nods. "Yes Shalom, but they do carry them mid-back...not over the front legs as a rule. Honestly, nobody really *knows* how that would affect a species' development - so a lot of what I am saying, like I have stated, is based off my opinion. You should develop your own style and takes on the subject of course. :)
Brongaar takes a look at his Belgian reference pics he took last week...,"yeah a bit too big on the legs..."
Rhan'lav looks at the pic, and things the front legs are... positioned wrong... Maybe...
Shalom nods to Don "True, a bit more, but this is why I say it's stylistic.
Rhan'lav notes that the forelegs should be a bit more like arms... The way they are positioned, I think they're more like normal legs...
You say, "Other than that the picture has a lot of style...very nice concept, and the faces are well-done. :)"
*end of lesson*
