Do you need to know the skeletal system of a Canidae to draw them well?

Question

Well im really into art, and have been drawing my whole life. (14 years) And one of my favorite things to draw are wolves. I read a while ago something one of the artests of wolf's rain (anime 2003) said. (not exactly quoted) That to able to draw a wolf, or any animal well you need to know the skeletal system...

In my opinion im fairly good at drawing. I don't know the skeletal system of a dog or wolf, i kind of know the shape when I think of it, b/c I have searched pics of canidae skeletons before, But don't really think of this while drawing a wolf. So do you think it would improve my drawing if I did know?

I know it's hard to answer this without seeing some pics of mine, so heres my account on DeviantART.com I have pics of wolves from wolf's rain and other wolves as well. If you want check them out here

http://lil-sweet-pea.deviantart.com/

(Sometimes it won't work, if not, do the old copy + paste into the we brower up top =] )

Answer 1

Having a greater knowledge about something will always be beneficial in some way.

Your wolves are nice, however if you needed to draw a wolf in a very hard pose - could you do it? If you could, then you've got a rough idea of the skeletal system anyway, and don't necessarily need to know every bone by heart. However, if you struggle with a hard pose, then I'd recommend you do some research.

Also, don't forget - muscle structure is very important too!

Answer 2

It would definitely improve your drawing. It's the same principle as drawing the human figure - it's important for an artist to study anatomy, because there's a subtle but important difference between being able to draw the shapes from observing what appears on the outside and really understanding what is going on under the surface. If you know and understand that (and it's not difficult to learn, just takes observation and practice), you should never make any drawing mistakes, and you can go into more detail.

A book on animal anatomy should help - if possible, find one that also shows you where the major muscle groups are, because those are also important to form. Knowing where the muscle masses fall helps you with shading, as you know exactly where there should be definition lines and light and shadow. Practice drawing parts of the bone and muscle structure and visualise how the fur wraps over the top and how the parts look from different angles, and think about it whenever you are drawing. For that matter, do the same with human anatomy if you like drawing figures!

Your drawings are extremely good for your age, by the way. Good luck. :)