Eh. I got bored. Been working on Flash lessons over the weekend, aside from cleaning and seeing Inkheart. But I noticed there weren't any riding tutorials on DA. Seriously? What's up with that? If someone knows of any, please link me.
I make no claims to be an expert, so all of the self-proclaimed riding experts can hold their tongues. I barely know how to ride, and I don't ride regular horses. I ride gaited ones, which require little to no work on the part of the rider. Heck, Peruvian saddles were designed to make you sit way BACK, like a big cushioned car seat. All they lack are cupholders and an air conditioning vent in the pommel. So yes. I don't really ride. I sit and the horse walks in a overtly flashy manner. With my crippled spine, balance alone is an issue for me.
But on the other hand, I do have a bunch of fantasy characters that need to ride various large creatures. (Which was what I was looking for in the first place when I discovered DA's terrible lack thereof.) So I attempted to apply what I know about horseback riding to wolfback and tigerback. The dubious idea that big cats would ever suffer such trappings notwithstanding, I concluded that the power of the shoulders could handle human weight.
Also, the "wrong" drawings are HILARIOUS. I just searched for some drawings on DA and went to town. I mean, drawing horses in the correct positions alone is difficult enough, but to add a rider on top of it ... Yeah. Some people need help. So I drew this. Enjoy!
I make no claims to be an expert, so all of the self-proclaimed riding experts can hold their tongues. I barely know how to ride, and I don't ride regular horses. I ride gaited ones, which require little to no work on the part of the rider. Heck, Peruvian saddles were designed to make you sit way BACK, like a big cushioned car seat. All they lack are cupholders and an air conditioning vent in the pommel. So yes. I don't really ride. I sit and the horse walks in a overtly flashy manner. With my crippled spine, balance alone is an issue for me.
But on the other hand, I do have a bunch of fantasy characters that need to ride various large creatures. (Which was what I was looking for in the first place when I discovered DA's terrible lack thereof.) So I attempted to apply what I know about horseback riding to wolfback and tigerback. The dubious idea that big cats would ever suffer such trappings notwithstanding, I concluded that the power of the shoulders could handle human weight.
Also, the "wrong" drawings are HILARIOUS. I just searched for some drawings on DA and went to town. I mean, drawing horses in the correct positions alone is difficult enough, but to add a rider on top of it ... Yeah. Some people need help. So I drew this. Enjoy!
:origin()/pre00/ab53/th/pre/i/2015/120/f/2/bridle__bit_and_reins_tutorial_by_jullelin-d37k7u3.jpg)
I do have a question though. How would you draw the rider on a bipedal mount? Something pretty vertical is rather easy, but what about a theropod? Like if you could conceivably have a t-rex mount? Would you place the rider over the shoulder blade? Would you interfere with the balance, or should the rider be over the hips?
I imagine a big mount like a T. rex wouldn't worry so much about its center of gravity being knocked off. But definitely a smaller mount like an ostrich would need a carefully balanced rider.
Finally someone who gets it.
Awesome tutorial, this helps me so much in developing my drawing skills. A lot of things I struggle with make sense now, so I can make my practice time more productive.
I also love how you thought of people riding other animals than horses. I imagine large sized animals that can be ridden on like lions.
James Gurney suggested Skybax riders (people riding giant Quetzalcoatlys) laid flat to avoid interfering with their mount's wings. Plausible, but definitely not dynamic (you couldn't lean over and throw stuff riding a Skybax.) You can Google Skybax for his illustrations.
I know a lot about wing mechanisms and how flight evolved, but riding a flying thing pushes past the idea of "How much room for the rider?" and into "How does the rider not interfere with flight?" Evolved flight is so delicate.
But the good news is very few people know how flight works anyway. I'm with you that a rider's knees being behind the wing would be better (it would only interfere with the mount's ability to folds its wings as opposed to flap) and maybe even further back than that (no touching feathers at all, which gets into the lying down position James Gurney suggested.)
"Heels down!" said every trainer ever lol. Especially jumping! Dressage isn't as much. Although, bareback can be done with your foot totally hanging because your balance is all in your core and thighs. I have been developing a looser leg in my riding but bareback, my whole lower leg is kind of "just hanging".
Even if you dont have time to draw one about riding bipeds, just as a general inquiry, do you have any tips about it? I sadly dont know much about riding myself, but the thing about the balance was very, VERY helpful to me
Thank you once more!
(Me Getting distracted sorry)
I agree your ''wrong'' illustrations are hilarious, and kinda remind me how funny it is for someone who weights like 150 to be on a miniature pony or regular pony just not large pony