Lion Art Study: Part 1
in order to both strengthen my general art skills and develop an original art style for Empyrean, I've been practicing lions a lot. this post is to share my progress, outlining my beginning research into realistic anatomy and colorations. Nearly all of these are drawn over real pictures of lions.
I began by outlining facial shapes for lions of varying ages and sexes. I didn't ad manes, colors or anything else, focusing on the face shapes.
I then outlined (nearly) whole bodies of lions. I made sure to use action poses to see how their flesh moved with the action. The biggest struggle is the hind legs, but I'm getting better at them.
I then studied the pelt colorations. I simplified the patterns in order to properly view them. Almost all lions have spots, even well into adulthood. They simply get fainter with time. These spots are used as camouflage.
I then focused closer on the face colorations. With the colors all being similar, I made sure to create a version that showed the separation clearly.
I moved onto manes next. All models shown have full and dark manes, I forgot to include models with lesser manes. I wanted to focus on the color gradients that can appear.
paws paws paws paws. This is the one I needed to practice the most. I love the shape of paws, and how versatile they can be when it comes it expression.
finally, I revisited lion faces. Instead of characteristics, I focused on how the facial muscles and skin move when expressing. As I was doing these, I realized I've been drawing the teeth wrong for years. I always drew four teeth between each set of canines, but there are actually six. Maybe my lions just have poor dental.
