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modesty — Horse Drawing: Heads
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Published: 2007-03-18 17:58:04 +0000 UTC; Views: 17752; Favourites: 284; Downloads: 1845
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Description
Horses are seriously one of the hardest animals to draw and most definitely the most difficult to animate. (Spirit is the only animation I've seen that got it right. Japanese tend to make horses run like dogs.
Even in Twilight Princess and Shadow of Colosus. Horse riders know...but I still love them games.) Anywho, I take a very different approach to horse heads. I don't remember where I learned it, but it must of been from a book. A majority of tutorials use a combinations of circles and lines. Okay, no...it's MUCH easier to use a BOX. It's true. I've tried the circle method for years and ended up failing, but when I learned the box method it was smooth sailing.
I just realized I forgot to add a comment on horse lips.
Ah wells...look at some reference pictures...there's tons on DevArt for horses. 
Artwork © Modesty
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Comments: 30
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These are such amazing tutorials and references -thank you!
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You're welcome. I'm glad they help.
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Wow, this is really helpful! I never thought to use boxes, always circles... but screw the circles, boxes are way better!! +fav!
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Yay, glad boxes helped you too.
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Maybe boxes for drawing horses are better, but I use circles to draw arabian horse heads(love arabians 
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Arabians do have a unique head shape.
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I draw horses too
I just never draw the ears right...
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I personally use several different meathods, depending on how I feel, and have not yet tried the box meathod. I guess everyone has to do what works for them! Your tutorial is really interesting...I like how you did the swiveling ear part. I would have never thought of that!
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I tend to switch between a circle or box method. It looks like you actually have a reference around judging by your images...UNFAIR ADVANTAGE.
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I couldn't imagine having to be away from my horse for more than a week! Honestly I can't draw while looking at my horse...She won't stand still long enough. I have drawn horses for as long as I can remember, I got my horse two years ago when I was in seventh grade, and have no idea how I learned to draw. That probably explains why they don't follow any certain meathod.
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^_^ I had a horse in 7th grade too! I think we first got one for me in 5th grade, but we had to sell him because he had a skin tumour that was getting WAY too expensive to treat and well...we don't live on a farm. 
Horses were one of the first things I started drawing. I learned from a lot of how to draw books. One of them actually HAD this box method that I used for this tutorial and for some reason that made it so much easier. Although, I still put the EYE in the wrong spot and make the forhead too wide.
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I have the same problem. I've had less and less time to spend with my horse since school started. Its awful because we board her about a 45 minute drive away and I can only see her once a week.
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We also boarded at various places that were all roughly 30 minutes from where we lived.
I named my 2nd horse Hans. :3 His registered name was "Assistance" which I always thought was a little lame. His sire was Skip's Assistance and show judges used to make fun of my horse's register name.
My mom wanted to call him Mac because he was originally called "roanie" by the people we bought him from. (Mac-a-roanie...it was clever.) :3
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Ha ha! That's funny! My horses name is Delights Jazzie Doll, wich is why I'm called DelightsJD. Her mother was Dolls Taffy Delight. They don't kinda make sence when you say them, but they aren't as awsome as Skip's Assistance. You mentioned Judges, what events did you participate in?
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Harness, Showmanship, English Equatation, English Pleasure, Western Pleasure (my favorite), and Western Equatation.
I learned to jump with Hans, but we never competed in Jumping. He was pretty short for a horse. (Only 15.3 hands.
Usually we just did local shows, but once we went to an AQHA show and actually ran into the original breeders of Hans. 
They told us how he got the scars around his ankle. (Which was also slightly bigger than the other but you couldn't tell because it was a sock leg.)
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My horse is a Tennessee Walker, but we never go to any shows. I learned to go over small jumps with her. How did your horse get the scars? When Jazzie was under a year old she got caught under the bars of a pipe stall. Her whole back end was raw and blistered. Now, you can't tell she was ever injured. Horses are amazing healers!
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Oooo...Walkers are suppose to be awesome smooth to ride. :3 I've only been around the Quarter Horse/Paint Horse world with a few Arabs mixed in.
Apparently when Hans was a foal, he got his leg caught between the slat boards of his stall and almost broke his leg. You could only see the scars if you clipped the leg...which we had to do for shows. But luckily since it WAS his white sock foot, some baby power helped hide them. :3
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I've always wanted a brown paint! They say she is smoother than other horses, but I have only ridden walkers for so long that I don't notice.
Poor Hans! I would have never thought to use baby powder...My horses mother broke her leg a while back. I believe she healed without any problems and is showing again.
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That's lucky for the mom. o_o
Hans was registered a Red Roan, but he really looked a bit more like a strawberry roan to me. We tried to double register him as a Paint but his spot wasn't big enough.
Yep, Baby powder after washing, drying, clipping makes a white sock REALLY white. 
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Yay! I will remember the baby powder thing next time I wash my horse! She has two socks on her hind legs and they always look yellowish...it ruins her pretty red coat...Do you put the baby powder on before the leg dries?
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After the leg dries. Otherwise the baby powder clumps. 
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I just wanted to make sure. We will probably be giving her a bath in the next few weeks, if the weather allows it...unlike the other people at the ranch, I don't like giving a horse a bath if it is windy or even the slightest bit cold. Even if it's hot outside the wind can make you cold!
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horses are *quite* hard... and you're right about how weird they seem to run in anime
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you forgot that horses don't smile!
heh, I glomped you!
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Yeah they don't...*frownez* Whereas cats always smile.
How's that new foal doing?
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The baby is fine. I went into his stall on Saturday and played wiggle the fingers. The motion seems to attract baby animals, and horses, and they come close and then I play scratch the face and neck. He is funny and had to use all of his senses on my arm when I first entered (looked, heard, sniffed, touched, and licked). I will have fun playing with him until Callie's baby comes. I should get a picture up for you.
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