REVIEW: Science of Creature Design: Understanding Animal Anatomy (nonfiction book) by Terryl Whitlatch

Science of Creature Design: Understanding Animal Anatomy is nonfiction. I bought my copy used.

Review:

As other reviewers have mentioned, the title is a bit misleading. While Whitlatch does include detailed illustrations of skeletal and muscular anatomy of several types of real-life beings, including labeling that allows readers to note features that different animals have in common, there isn't as much here about science and Whitlatch's creature creation process as I would have liked. Some of her creature illustrations include info on which real-life creatures inspired them (for example, the "Welankus" that combines aspects of hellbender and Pinacosaurus anatomy), and Whitlatch occasionally highlights particular things about individual creature anatomy that she thinks readers should pay attention to, but it's generally up to readers to figure out exactly how Whitlatch use real-life influences to create believable fantasy creatures.

There's a huge (on two folded pages) cladistic chart of biological life that might help some readers find inspiration for creature combinations and influences. Whitlatch also mentions some of her sources for reference photos and video, including a site I hadn't previously heard of before, Rhino House, which sounds like it'd be a treasure trove for artists and animators. There's also a full chapter just on horse anatomy - it's clear that horses had a huge influence on Whitlatch's art, to the point that she writes "There is no animal more important for an animal artist and creature designer to draw well and understand than horses" (91). I'd imagine, however, that any animal that an artist has easy enough access to in order to sketch frequently, in numerous poses, would probably make understanding other animals easier.

The book ends with an interview with Whitlatch. Overall, as an art book I really enjoyed this. Whitlatch's creature art is wonderfully detailed, and the book's large pages display it all beautifully. I don't draw or paint much myself, beyond occasional sketches and scribbles here and there, but I could see this book being helpful with future animal needle-felting projects that require the creation of wire armature.