Assignment 6: Part 2 (Animals)

 Assignment 6: Part 2 (Animals)

In the second part of the assignment, we were supposed to make 12 non human drawings in relation to our first 12 drawings. I chose animals that my first humans made me think of. The drawings are all in chronological order, like the first half of the assignment (left to right, up-down). 

1. Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) on the left as a representation of Ursula K. Le Guin. Not only are females bigger than males, with the largest preserved shark being a female at 5.83 meters and weighing an estimated 2000 kilograms, but like Le Guin never stopped writing, sharks on average never sleep and almost never stop moving.

2. Black Sheep, although not a species, is a rare physical development caused by a recessive gene in domestic sheep (Ovis aries) that results in a discoloration. The black sheep on the right is representative of Tim Burton, a black sheep in his own right.

3. The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) on the left is a species of purely nocturnal predatory birds. It is a representative of Gerald Brom because, like an owl, Brom is associated with creepy things and mostly operates unseen.

4. The Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) on the right is a species of semi-aquatic birds. It is a representation of Isaac Asimov. Since Asimov is both a science fiction author and a biochemist, I figured that a good representation of him should occupy different environments. The puffin is ideal for this because, one of their most fascinating features is that their feathers have adapted to enable them to fly and swim. 

5. The White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) on the left is a near threatened species, and the only of the 5 rhino species that aren't endangered. Also known as a "square-lipped rhino" they are a species adapted for grazing. They are representative of Henry Cavill as they mostly keep to themselves and aren't as fearsome as one might think, but they can be intimidating at times.

6. The Atlantic Mudskipper (Periopthalmus barbarus) on the right is a species of fish that inhabits fresh, salt, and brackish water. They sswim, naturally, but they have adapted suction cups and specialized bone structure on their fins that allow them to walk. They can walk on land as long as their gills remain moist. This makes them perfect representations of Franz Kafka, who's work in writing is very similar to someone exploring places no other "fishes" go. He's like a fish out of water in his own right. 

7. The Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) on the left is a species of critically endangered ape found in the rainforests in Asia. With DNA 97% similar to humans, the average orangutan is incredibly intelligent, capable of using tools, building structures, learning sign language, and (you guys gotta look this up), driving! That's why I've chosen the orangutan to draw as a representation of Octavia Butler: it's rare and it's scarily intelligent.

8. The Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) on the right is a representative of Eleanor Roosevelt. The Spotted Hyena is an animal with complex social structures, with specially adapted teeth made for crushing bones. It's an opportunistic carnivore that will hunt, but will also scavenge if they have to. "What does any of that have to do with Eleanor Roosevelt?" I hear you ask. Well, here's what. The Spotted Hyena social structure is matriarchal, with the females being bigger, stronger, and able to dominate males. Females lead the average hyena's group. The lowest ranking female is still a rank above the highest male. Personally, I think it's the perfect representation of a feminist.

9. The Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) is a type of bird known for it's melodious call. While thinking of symbolism, I remembered a story my sister liked to tell when she was younger, about an emperor who had a Nightingale in his garden and spent most of his time listening to the Nightingale sing, thinking about how it was a shame how such a beautiful song could come from such a plain looking bird. One day, an inventor came to the emperor with a gift, a beautiful, golden, bejeweled, mechanical Nightingale who sang just as beautifully as the real Nightingale. The emperor then spent most of his time listening to the mechanical bird, leaving the real nightingale and his garden neglected. Until, one day, when the mechanical nightingale broke down. The emperor wept over the fact that such a song was lost with his favorite gift, but stopped when he heard a familiar song outside his window. He went outside and saw the Nightingale sitting on a branch and, grateful for a song, sat down in his overgrown garden and listened to the Nightingale sing.

I thought of that legend, and I thought of Maya Angelou. Her voice was like a nightingale's song, often imitated but never duplicated.

10. Here's a rare sight: the Blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) on the right. How I've drawn it is how it appears in nature. Most people wouldn't realize this, but the image we all associate with Blobfish (the one that looks like if Patrick Star had a nose and melted while frowning, is not what a typical blobfish looks like. That picture of a blobfish is what happens to a blobfish when it's removed from it's natural habitat 4000 feet below the ocean surface, and the muscle mass used to keep it alive becomes gelatinous. I chose this animal as a representation of Stephen King because, like Stephen King only seems to be recognized for his horror writing, the blobfish is only known for that one embarrassing picture.

11. The Red-Eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas) on the left is symbolic of Albert Einstein. After learning about Einstein's development as a child, I wanted to draw an animal that went through metamorphosis. I considered making the monarch butterfly, the cicada, and the common newt among subjects, but ultimately settled on a Red-Eyed Tree Frog because of how recognizable it is, like Einstein. 

12. The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) on the right is a bird of prey. Unlike the Barn Owl, as seen previously in this post, the Great Horned Owl is a diurnal hunter, meaning it normally hunts during the day, usually mornings and evenings but sleeping during high noon. You can tell if an owl is diurnal if it's eyes are yellow. I chose the Great Horned Owl as a symbol for Guillermo Del Toro because, like Brom, Del Toro is associated with the supernatural, as an omen of death. Unlike Brom, I associated Del Toro with a diurnal species of owl, as he is considered more mainstream, with more of his work known by the public.

Extras:

Here's the paper I used to draw 24+ ink wash drawings on.

Lemurs!

Here's a picture of something I've done for my environmental literature class. It's a poster of four different species of lemurs, a kind of primate that's native to Madagascar. Left to right, there's the Ring-Tailed Lemur, the Sifaka Lemur, the Mouse Lemur, and the Aye-Aye. 

The idea was to make a project that affected the observers in some way, so I made this poster based on some of my favorite endangered animals to inspire (hopefully) intrigue and curiosity.

I'm glad that I had more ink.