First in a series of three pictures.

I took three of the most complex body shapes I am used to draw - a puffin, chakasa Fuocoblu and elysius gryphon Siria - and tried draw them "flat". That is not caring much about perspective and anatomy but trying instead to show at once all the most important features of their bodies, and to show them from all the nicest point of view(s) at once. I guess it is a slightly cubist experiment, altough the sexy curves and the similarity to specific animals are so important for anthros that they are one of the defining traits, and thus I haven't changed them much.

The purpose of this kind of pictures is to test how well I remember the important traits of the body, because to show them all at the same (no cheating bt hiding some part behind others) I must know well the way they are shaped. So obviously they are drawn freehand with no references. The arrows point out the details that I got wrong or drew in an unpleasant way, details on which I need to focus more carefully.

I consider these to be anatomical studies too and will be doing more in the future. While drawing muscles and 3D figures is great for learning anatomy, sometimes it is just too complicated to outline the anatomy of fantasy creatures that way. Many types of modern anthros are supposed to have body structures which are not found in any real animal and I find it almost impossible to figure out from the beginning the internal anatomy of things like the joint between upper and lower torso of a taur - it's better to start by clearly figuring out the outside of the body. In fact, as I try to progress with my work and see more clearly the anthro bodies I draw, I notice that even figuring out the details of the external look of unusual anthros is very hard. I have been drawing chakasas for years and yet I am not quite sure of the shape of their hips!