[JohnSilva]

Fantasy Anatomy FINALS thread.

-Please post your final image here, along with the thumbnail template image.

-Please include your username on the thumbnail template, this is very important for the polling process!

Template found here: .PSD template
Please also make sure to attach your Final image with CGHUB’s attachment manager.

The winning entry will be added to the Anatomicae Banner, Anatomicae Gallery for all to see and it will be given a Medal for it!

Any and all participating artists who post their final image will receive an exit critique.

And the Winner is Trasto!

Thanks to all of you who participated, see you next round

[yongs]

here's mine! The Hippogriff

and my reference pics

[Trasto]

Here's my entry: A Sea-Dragon; an aerial life for evolved into an aquatic one. The front limbs and wings have changed in ways similar to those of the seal and penguin. Joining in a coherent structure the wings and scapula of the dragon has been the most interesting part of the design proccess. The hind limbs are atrophic, in a similar way to a whale's, with only a residual, detached pelvis. The slender snout mimics a bit that of an indian gharial. All in all; it's been a really interesting challenge. Hope you like it.

[choo]

Frens- what we got so far is rad. We don't have a post up yet so I'm guessing we're still looking for more finals. If you did work for this challenge, please post so you can get a critique!

[Smirtouille]

[choo]

Yongs-
I like your offering for the delicacy and sensitivity. The rendering the underlying bones is especially nice in passages where you get a good sense of curvature and volume (the skull.)

You did a very good job incorporating your original references, and its nice to see the conscious decisions you made in altering the lion's frame to accomodate the hippogryph. The narrowing of the ribcage and lengthening of the femurs works well- though I wonder at the fluidity animal's locomotion with such long upper leg bones.

The issue you run into the actual realization of a hippogryph/gryphon, though, is making a convincing musculature that matches the requirements of its body. Gryphons look great on heraldry, but we are forced to overlook the animal's anatomical shortcomings. I remember doing an assignment for the great fantasy creature/anatomist Lars Grant West and having a conversation about just how hard it is to make gryph-type creatures that work on a realistic level. That said your creature is much, much more successful than my attempt at it. )

I'm referring mostly to the structuring of the back, forelimb, and wing muscles (and where they attach.) Such a large creature would require -huge- muscles at the back of the neck and front shoulders to support wings. We don't see that in birds because of their low weights and hollow bones- When you talk about the flying capacity of an animal the size of a large cat, with solid bones, things start getting really messy. You did a good job attaching the avian musculature to the gryphon, but this poor guy would never be able to fly. Keep in mind that has nothing to do with the quality of your rendering and more to do with the difficulty of your chosen subject. All things considered, you did this very well.

Trasto
I originally typed up your critique, Trasto, but deleted it because I wanted to double-check some of my books and sources to make sure I wasn't off-base. Turns out I was! I'll get to that part, but first I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy the finish of your image. This grimoire/bestiary stuff can be very fun to draw, but a lot of people fall into the trap of going overboard with their choice of texture and font. You did a very good job making the image meld well, and it serves the actual illustration very well.

The muscles of the creature are very well realized, if not a bit ''terrestrial.'' I originally mentioned that it seemed like the bones were very large and heavy-looking for an aquatic creature, but then I looked up the bone structure of seals in Eliot Goldfinger's book, Animal Anatomy for Artists - and your creature is very much in keeping strong muscles and frame of an aquatic mammal. You handled the challenges of the limbs and muscle layers well, even in that potential trouble spot where the two masses of muscle meet over the creature's scapula. The rim of bone poking through is a nice touch. ) The animal's locomotion is something of a question- You've got some -really- strong muscles on the fore and back limbs and a very strong tail, but the way in which the back limbs are structured is very bird-like. Makes you wonder if the creature ''flies'' through water or uses its tail for propulsion.

Smirtouille
Again, what we have here is a great, professional-looking offering that shows the amount of effort put into it. I can very much appreciate the level of polish you brought to this work.

This is my favorite image in terms of the level of polish found in the skeleton and muscle frames. You really get a sense of weight and form in the bones, and the texturing of the sinew and muscles is great. It's very similar to some of those academic anatomical illustrations you see in charts- which have a certain level of beauty all on their own. Either way it is great to see you make bold decisions and carry them through to a polished final.
Structurally speaking, the bones look good. At first the size and rotation of the pelvis was a bit jarring, but it serves as a good anchor point for the great mass of the base of the tail and the fluke. The strength of the bones leading away from the pelvis makes it very strongly clear that its back end is its main method of propulsion. Also the rhythm of curves- that of the neck, the spine, and the tail- gives the creature a nice sense of unity and elegance.

I'm assuming from the muscle diagram that the white areas indicate places of cartilidge/sinew. The partition of the muscle between that thick sinews in the tail is somewhat confusing, because it seems to indicate the muscles there contract vertically (from underside to top of tail) instead of laterally. Trying to find specific examples of the muscles in this limb-type (whale, dolphin) came up with a blank though, so I'm really clueless as to how that section should look. Function aside it does have a very nice patterning, and is graphically nice to look at. )

[Smirtouille]

Thanks for the critique, choo.

[choo]

Gentlemen-

I am extending the vote a few days so we can promote the poll and get your work some more traffic.

[Trasto]

Thank you for the critique, choo. Curiously enough, I have used Goldfinger's book along with another animal anatomy treaty, by a german teacher called Gottfried Bammes, as the main reference source for this image. And I agree the locomotion of this animal, with rowing front limbs, a swimming tail and underwater flying wings looks a bit awkward but that may well be one of the most compelling aspects of fantastic creatures. All in all, It's been an interesting and rewarding competition.

[choo]

Congratulations, Trasto! You have won this challenge!

Excellent work on this challenge friends, each of your came up with a great and compelling image that perfectly fit the challenge criteria.

[yongs]

thx choo for the crits! not just mine but for all of us, opened up a new array of elements for me to think about during recreation of anatomical drawings. Thank you! and congrats Trasto

[gegege]

greay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!