Lovely Locks: Painting A Sculpted Mane And Tail

Introduction

Ever since the sculpted mane and tail gained prominence in the early 90s, we’ve been painting away on those lovely locks with a multitude of methods, all successful more or less. And new ways are evolving every year, such as the painterly streaked approach gaining popularity today.

But it’s not easy. In fact, all the different approaches are a testament to how tricky painting hair can be as many different interpretations attempt to make sense out of its very pesky texture and its passive physics. Because if hair is hard to sculpt, it’s even harder to paint convincingly, and it just looks like we’re all still trying to figure it out. I actually hope we never do only because all the different techniques are exciting and cool!

In that spirit then, I’d like to share with you my method. Maybe you’ll pick out aspects that are helpful or maybe get you going along a new route of exploration in your own work. Either which way, let’s get going!…

The Hairy Problem

Yes, hair. Hair hair hair hair hair. Uffdah. This is probably the most difficult texture and feature to sculpt, hands down, and definitely one of the most difficult to paint. All this is due primarily to its passive physics that are chaotic, which is very hard for the human brain to mimic, it's situational, which is prone to contrived regimentation by our pattern-loving brain, and it's highly detailed with all the striations, which are often nitpicky to render. Wrap it all up then, and we have ourselves a bit of a challenging pickle.

As such, some painters simply opt to let the sculpting do the work and paint the mane and tail one flat color, while others use drybrushing or airbrushing to add in soft, generalized striations or color shifts, while still others paint streak-by-streak, heavily shading and highlighting the beautiful folds and forms in a very painterly way…and everything in between all of this.

So to tackle hair, we have to understand exactly what it is, don’t we? To start then, the mane and tail are keratinized strands that are pigmented (with color) or unpigmented (white), depending on the presence of a marking or not. And while color genetics dictate the hair color, some grooming tactics bleach or color it for whatever reasons, so be mindful of that when picking references.

Hair also comes in different textures, often breed-dependent. For instance, Arabians tend to have super-fine, silky hair while drafters can have thicker, coarser hair. As a general tendency, the “hotter the blood,” the finer the hair, which applies to Arabians, Tekes, Marwaris, Kathiawaris, Persian Arabs, and other “thin-skinned” hot bloods. In contrast, the “colder the blood,” the tendency is towards coarser hair. There are exceptions, of course, but just pay attention to texture in field study and in references. What’s more, the tail hair tends to be coarser than the mane, which can be quite fine at times (and some feathers tend to be even finer, depending on the breed. For instance, Shire feathers are rather silky while Brabant feathers are coarser and Friesian feathers are kinda in-between).

Ultimately though, the main goal is to make the hair look like hair: Wispy, striated, complex in tone, shaded and highlighted, layered, and most of all, full of “organic chaos" dictated by passive physics. Always remember that hair has passive movement which can make its configurations truly something to tackle! Movement, posture, wind, and serendipity all have their effects on hair, all of which we have to capture. Zowie! It’s a lot to juggle, and often on rather tricky shapes and textures that have been sculpted in. Ooof. But with certain artistic approaches, this is all doable. For that then, it’s smart to refer to some good references when painting hair if only to jostle loose our brain’s propensity for regimentation caused by its pattern recognition response. Because it’s shockingly easy for our hand to fall too much into a rigid pattern when it comes to painting hair, ultimately reducing the look of organic chaos and leaning more into artificiality. Like the more regimentation kicks in, the more it looks like our hair was painted with a fork, or rather it has evenly spaced striations and tendrils.

For that then, always remember that the mane and tail are comprised of countless tiny strands that all work together to drive home the look of “mane” and “tail.” What’s more, they lay independently, but they also function together as tendrils and clumps, behavior that affects how we have to paint it, too. More still, they can bunch up into twists, "cords," or also “witch’s knots” (also called “fairy knots"), which are happenstance configurations that require special attention. On top of that, the hairs that lay on the top surface tend to be the most sensitive to breezes, but the tips often are as well. 

As for coloration…goodness...the options! Lean into those references big time! Like, we have all the different different colors and tones, then we might have to factor in staining or sun bleaching, then we have the potential colorations of the different layers, then we have to factor in striations plus the interplay of colored hair or white hair if patterns are involved, and finally, we can infuse highlight and shading to punch it all up a notch. Put it altogether and the mane and tail can spin into a lot of complication very quickly. Phew!

We also have to account for volume as different breeds have different degrees of volume in their follicles. For example, Arabians, Tekes, and Marwaris tend towards less volume whereas Friesians, foofy cobs, Shetlands, Dartmoors, some drafters, and even some Morgans tend to have a profuse volume of hair. This affects how a piece is sculpted, and so how we paint it because we’ll have to contend with different textures, but also more or less hair to paint.

On that note, we also need to think in terms of layers much of the time, even if the mane and tail have been brushed out, de-clumping them. In this, different layers can exhibit different tones or coloration which we have to account for, or the different layers can move independently, creating more of an impression of wispiness. If we’re lucky, all this will have been sculpted in to the mane and tail, but if not, we can still fudge it if the formations permit it. For instance, the more generalized and “loose” the sculpting, the more likely we can add in this feature in a painterly way but the more detailed and “tight” the sculpting, the less able we are. In other words, we can allow the sculpting of the mane and tail guide our creative decisions.

But perhaps the biggest takeaway is this: We have to attend to scale as a prime directive, and so it’s important to understand that no brush, pencil, etching, nib, or other tool can actually recreate a single strand of hair even at 1:9 scale. Just think about how teensy tiny that single strand would have to be at that size and, well — we just don’t have the technology to duplicate that (yet). A single hair is just too tiny! So what we actually are painting are strands of hair, clumps of hair, working together to give us the look of wispy hair. This is an important distinction because it'll inform how we paint hair in more effective ways. In this, think instead about painting progressively finer tendrils of hair the more wispy we want to render it, more like this:

• “Micro-tendrils”: A small clump of single strands into a skinny, wispy tendril. In other words, this is the skinniest stroke our brush, nib, or pencil can manage.
• “Macro-tendrils”: Medium-sized clumps of hair that act independently of either the micro or mega tendrils, adding dimension and dynamism. 
• “Mega-tendrils”: The large tendrils that form the basic shapes of the mane and tail as it wisps out towards the ends, or the biggest swatches or "tentacles" of hair.

Of course, those are just generalizations to simplify the ideas as there’s a whole spectrum of everything in-between micro, macro, and mega tendrils. But even so, the main point is that these different types of tendrils behave differently than single strands, which we need to understand. For example, micro-tendrils are heavier than single strands but are the lightest of the three, and so are most prone to being flung round in a breeze. Then macro and mega tendrils are that much heavier and less prone to movement unless physics really warrants it. For another, tendril behavior changes whether brushed out or au naturel. Specifically, they’re more wispy and diffused when washed, de-tangled and brushed out, or they’re “sticker” together the more au naturel they are. That’s to say the more washed and brushed out they are, the more diffused the hues, tones, and white and pigmented hairs tend to be and the more micro-tendrils take over whereas the more “pasture” they are, the more they clump together into macro- and-mega-tendrils. And then there's everything in between due to all the varying circumstances. Pay attention to that in references as that can play into the narrative or movement of the sculpture. On that note, tendrils “stick together” randomly, or that’s to say that hairs of different colors, particularly pigmented hairs and white hairs, don’t segregate, but mix together, an effect we have to account for in our painting if we want to really capture the look of hair, particularly in braided hair. And finally, different degrees of fineness of hair will affect how it clumps and moves. For example, silky Arabian hair can be more prone to wispiness than drafter hair simply due to its finer texture. So overall, think in terms of skinny tendrils rather than skinny hairs, and we have a better chance at nailing the texture.

Now a concern particular to our art form is being adaptive to how the mane and tail are actually sculpted. Each sculptor tackles hair in their own way from either “looser” and more generalized to “tighter," more highly detailed and striated. Or some sculptors sculpt their hair in long continuous strands while others “break them up” more, and everything in between. This is to say, as painters, we're asked to adapt to how the sculpting is actually rendered because our primary job is to flatter the sculpture best, and that often means working with the sculpture rather than against it. This can make our job all the trickier, but this is exactly why having a big toolbox of techniques as options is so important. Indeed, one approach may not work for every sculpture so well, and being able to switch our gears a bit is just the ticket. In that spirit then, let’s get into it!…

Media

I paint my manes and tail in a multi-media approach because I find that each medium has its own bonus that contributes nicely to the overall effect. For that then, I use:

• Acrylic paint: I like Golden Fluid Acrylics and Liquitex Soft Body acrylics.
• Color pencils: I use Primscolor, Derwent, and Faber-Castell. A couple of notes about color pencils though. First, sealants tend to interact with them insofar as pale colors tend to vanish whereas golds, yellows, and ochres tend to become more garish, so color accordingly. Second, the Prismacolors are more waxy and so lay down more intense color but are prone to “bloom,” or cloudiness if applied too thickly. In contrast, the Derwents and Faber-Castells are less waxy and less prone to bloom, but lay down less intense color. So use them accordingly.
• Pastel pencils: Primarily I use The General’s 4414 White Chalk pencil.
• Conté pencils: I mostly use black, rusts, and browns.
• Testor’s Dullcote: As a sealant to reinstill “tooth” and set the pencils before progressing to the next step. Just a light dusting will do, don’t soak the surface.

Tools

Likewise, I use specific tools to apply this media, such as:

• Round brushes: In various sizes, these would have fine points and nice bellies to hold a good reservoir of paint so you don’t have to stop and re-dip your brush to break up a nice, clean continuous line.
• Airbrush: I use the Iwata HPC-BS Eclipse, bottom feeder, my faithful workhorse.
• Pencil sharpener: Use whichever sharpener gives you a fine point because that’s the trick to using the pencils, keeping a pointy point to avoid “chatter” and allow for precision.
• Blender stick: I sometimes use these to burnish the color pencils—gently! If you’re not gentle, you’ll tear up your paintjob.
• Pointed Q-tips: I use these to soften and “set back” the pastel and conté pencils. Just a couple of gentle swipes is enough otherwise you’ll blend all your work away.

Haired Out

So now that we have our media and tools, let’s use them! Now the way I paint my manes and tails is from generalized to detailed in a progression, with some back and forth at the end to make adjustments. Now I'm just going to show you a mane here, but all the ideas and techniques apply to tails and feathers, too. So here we go!…

• First pick the lightest color, or the color of the tips, and paint where your reference indicates, flat and opaque. Be precise and tidy, especially if the tips lay on the body.
• Then pick your darkest color, and paint where your reference suggests, flat and opaque. Again, be tidy and precise, especially if this color lays along the crest. For extra points, don’t paint a straight line along the crest, but paint in tiny spokes, or striations to make it look like it’s growing out naturally.
• Next, pick your medium color and paint that where the reference tells you, again being tidy and blending into both the dark and light colors as streaks rather than blunt chunks. Keep things striated, "spikey," and “hair-like” as possible where the colors meet. Now you have a blank canvas ready for finessing. (Figure 1)
• Now I take the airbrush and carefully paint in blending streaks to marry together the colors better in a softer, diffused manner. I have to be careful not to hit the body and ruin the paintjob though as I work to get in crevices or twists n' turns, so what I sometimes do, if warranted, is to bag the sculpture in a plastic grocery bag or Saran Wrap to mask it out first, or use painter’s tape to create closer masking. I’m pretty precise with the airbrush and I tend to stay away from the tips (which is why we painted our tips the lightest color), especially if they lay on the body, but I may do that masking off just in case if things are really complicated in coloration (then I clean up with acrylic brushwork later). Anyway, so once I’m done, I’m ready for detailing. (Figure 2)
• Dust lightly with Dullcote and let dry.
• Now I use conté (in this case in browns and rusts) and pastel pencils (in this case in white) to make strategic striations if the colors are warranted, softening with a pointed Q-tip in one downward gentle swipe to “set it back” more, so it doesn’t look penciled on. Just be sure to account for the flow and lay of the hair when penciling to stay consistent with the sculpting. You can even add in additional wispy details of micro-tendrils if you wish if the hair is sculpted generalized enough. When done, dust lightly with Dullcote and let dry. (Figure 3)
• It’s color pencil time! I use color pencils a lot for coloring manes and tails and I use different colors for all the variegation, highlighting, and shading. I may augment this with acrylic brushwork if I don’t have the right color for what I need. Again, you need to adapt to the lay of the sculpted mane or tail, but you can add in wispy details of micro-tendrils if the sculpting allows it. As you layer these on, you may need to dust intermittently with Dullcote to reinstate “tooth" to the surface. Use the blender stick to burnish the pencils to set them back into the paintwork more, if you wish. Then once done, dust lightly with Dullcote and let dry. (Figure 4)
• Then I added an airbrushed golden glaze to color the whites more flaxen. (Figure 5)
• Now I make adjustments, using the airbrush to blend and soften and blur, especially the starts and ends of the pencilwork, and add on more painted-on or penciled-on striations to amplify punch, depth, and more detail as the sculpting warrants. Basically what we do here is to diffuse the pencilwork so it "sits back" into the paintwork rather than looking penciled "on top." (Figure 6)
• When done, spray adequately with Dullcote and finito! You should have a beautifully colorized and wispy-looking mane and tail. (Figure 7)

Tips

There’s definitely a knack with this approach but these insights make it easier and produce better outcomes: 

• Practice! This approach definitely is done by "feel," so play around with it on a junker first.
• The airbrush needs a lot of precision and skill to use it without blasting areas of your paintwork on the body. This is where bagging and masking can be helpful if you don’t have this degree of control yet, or if the tendrils lay en masse on the body. Or you could just lean into brushwork or pencilwork more in those areas instead, it’s up to you. 
• Color pencils, and the conté, and pastels in particular, can look artificial and “painted on top” if not set back into the paintwork with blending, especially with blurring their starts and ends. To do that, I lean into the airbrush to blend those portions into the surrounding areas, especially the color pencils, so it all marries together better. But without an airbrush, you can rely more on brushwork and more pencilwork to do that blur for you. Or you could add a layer of oils if you like, if that’s one of your chosen media. Either which way, if that pencilwork isn't "sat back" into the paintwork, it can compromise the illusion of touchable, wispy, silky hair pretty quickly. So don't just lay down the pencilwork and call it a day.
• Pencils don’t always come in the colors you need, right? So just use paint and brushwork to fill that gap. Or another option is to rely on the white pastel pencil to create striations, spray with Dullcote to set it, then use the airbrush to tint the white to the color you need, and that can work like a charm, too. Then just continue with your pencilwork or brushwork as usual. But this is a nifty trick to add a lot of glow to your coloration as the white base really allows a tint to “pop.” 
• Keep those pencils sharp! You want to avoid imprecision, missed areas, or “chatter” and a pointy tip does that for you.
• Work in layers as a lot of back n’ forth work with airbrushing and brushwork and pencilwork lends complexity, glow, and depth. In essence, we don't want to see how the hair was painted per se, just that it's nicely painted.
• The white pastel pencil and white paint can be really helpful for adding wispy blending or detailing to unpigmented portions.
• If there are white unpigmented sections, this is where understanding micro-, macro-, and mega-tendrils really come into play as it blends with the pigmented portions because the blending of the two really highlights striations. We have to recognize brushed-out or pasture-rough textures as well as that will change how we paint the intersections of white and pigmented hairs. In other words, if that hair is really brushed out, that intersection can be more diffused but if it's more au naturel, it can tend to be more sharply defined into tendrils. Either which way, you can use the white pastel pencil to input the white, or you can use paint, or use both, it's up to you. (Figure 8)
• Always go with the flow of the sculpted hair, don’t fight it. However, you can add wispy detailing if you wish, as warranted.
• Think about shading in the deepest crevices and highlight on the highest points, but don’t go too crazy with this as you also have to account for the hair’s actual coloration, too. 
• What’s more, your shade and highlight colors should change as the tones change in the different areas of the hair. In other words, don’t use that dark brown color you used in the rusty portions for the blonde portions. Mix up a new blonde-shading color instead. This will keep the colors clean and clear.
• Paint like you mean it. In other words, your strokes should be bold and confident and not exhibit an imprecise, unsteady hand. Absolute clarity, cleanliness, and precision are key to a well-colorized mane and tail.
• Try to avoid colorizing the mane and tail in “chunks,” but as striations that chunk together, if that makes sense. We don’t want the hair to resemble tentacles, but look like hair.
• You can approach the mane and tail literally in their coloration or painterly with lots of shadings, highlights, and painterly striations. Either way — and everything in-between — works.
• You can paint in a highlighted sheen to the hair if you wish with pencils, conté, pastel pencils, or brushwork.
• If you do brushwork or pencilwork, you have to really commit to it. In other words, don’t just add a few striations and call it a day. That look’s too sparse and unfinished. Really dig in more thoroughly. It looks better and drives home the impression of hair better.
• Brushwork and pencilwork allows you to really play with micro-tendril behavior, so have fun with it if the sculpting allows you to.
• The real trick to this method it getting the pencilwork to not look like pencilwork, and the brushwork not to look like brushwork, and the airbrushwork not to look like airbrushwork. Like if we can immediately see how it was colorized because it’s so simplified in its application, we missed our mark. It should be complex enough to get folks wondering how we did it. That’s how finessed it should look.
• All this works equally well on feathers, mustaches, or long body hair, too.
• If you don't have an airbrush, oils are a good alternative choice for painting and glazing. If you don't use oils, try an acrylic drying retardant to give you more open time.
• If you're working with a black mane and tail, you can still highlight and shade it with grey conté or color pencils, and/or with brushwork incorporating Interference Blue. You can even use the white pastel pencil if you glaze over it with blues or purples as a highlight, or rusts or browns to marry it with the body or for sunburnt coloration.
• If you're painting a white mane and tail, again, you can still shade and highlight it with greys and greiges, and even consider tan or golden tips, especially on the tail, to denote staining.
• The colors you choose for your color pencilwork makes a huge difference...they should be as spot on to your target colors as possible if you can manage it. In other words, don't try to always change the color with glazing (with the exception of the white pencils) unless you can't help it, but pick the right color right off the bat. This allows you to maintain as much of a hint of a striation as possible rather than having to cover it too much with paint trying to change its hue.
• Layer layer layer! That's the secret to this method. So don't expect it to look good in one or two layers. For example, my finished product in Figure 7 was five layers of back and forth work.

Conclusion

Painting a lovely mane and tail does take some doing, but it’s all within our reach with a bit of know-how and practice. And there are many ways to get to a beautiful result, so this is just one of many methods that work equally well. But hopefully this tutorial gave you new ideas to play with, which is one of the benefits of sharing our methods. 

Just be sure to practice a bit with this approach on a junker first as it takes a bit of finessing to get it all married together nicely. But above all, be patient and meticulous. This technique takes time to build up the layers and complexity for it to read well enough, so just work through each step carefully.

So practice, be meticulous and precise, blur and blend, and you’ll be creating gorgeous hair in no time! And this method can be a bit meditative, too, especially the pencilwork. And it’s so cool to see the layers stack on each other so nicely, bringing your hair to life right in front of you eyes! So take what you will from this tutorial and see if you can make it work for you, too. The truth is, this method, while a bit tricky, is also a ton of fun and so applying some of these ideas may help you get really haired out, but in a good way! Indeedy, painting this imposing texture isn't such a hairy proposition as it may first seem! With a bit of practice and know-how, you can be whipping up terrific tresses toot sweet!

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not’?” – George Bernard Shaw

Lovely Locks: Painting A Sculpted Mane And Tail

Heads Up!: Artistic Guidelines for Sculpting the Equine Head

Introduction

Of all the aspects of the horse that could give a sculptor the most fits, it would probably be the head. My gosh—what a complicated structure! So many features, angles, alignments, shapes, landmarks, textures, and details to factor in, and then we have conformation and breed type complicating matters even more. And if that wasn't enough, horses have individual faces just like we do, and so each of our sculpted heads should be unique. And it's all crammed into a relative small, fiddly area. Is it any wonder then why so many artists pull their hair out as they sculpt one? 

Now I wrote a massive, 20-part in-depth series on the equine head in 2017 from a structural and functional point of view, "Heads Above The Rest." Parts 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are of particular interest as related to this post, being more geared more for artistic interests. Yet there are some additional artistic ideas we can learn and tricks we can apply that will make all this technical information a bit easier to translate into clay. So let's talk about a more artistic perspective now rather than such a clinical one. In this, we'll rely more on structural concepts rather than anatomical points to make these ideas more widely accessible across skill levels. So let's just dive in head first, shall we?

Brief Evolutionary Background of the Equine Skull for Perspective

The equine skull is large but nonetheless defined by efficiency—there's absolutely nothing about it that adds ornamentation or extra weight. This is due to the horse's evolutionary lifestyle: They eat abrasive grasses and run away fast in a straight line over long distances to escape predators. This is a grass eating, running machine. But the nutrients in grass are locked up in an abrasive silica shell (it's what keeps a blade of dead grass upright) that can only be released by being ground up into a mash to be processed by gut bacteria (in the cecum in the equine) into digestible nutrients the horse's body can absorb. And all that grinding of an abrasive substance necessitates a battery of large, constantly-growing long teeth. Grazing also requires a long diastema that projects the heads further forwards to nip off grasses while still keeping the eye high on the head to scan the horizon for predators. Put that all together then and we have the big, long head of the horse. However, the horse also has to be an efficient energy user to sustain a fast pace for a long time to survive predation, so a big head is actually a liability, right? So what's the solution? Well, no horns, antlers, or racks, and large sinus cavities to lighten the load, that's what. So the horse now has the benefit of a large, powerful jaw with big grinders and large sinus cavities for air intake but without the liability of a really heavy head that would slow him down. What's more, the head is predominately held up passively by the tension of the fan-shaped nuchal ligament, a powerful yellow ligament that lies deep inside the neck like a giant, robust rubber band. This means that horses expend minimal effort even holding their heads up, increasing efficiency even more. The horse is truly a marvel of evolutionary engineering! 

So what's the point? Well, evolutionary pressures shaped the horse's head a very specific way so it really doesn't have much plasticity without running into trouble fast. This is exactly why we don't see the extreme cranial variations as we see in dogs, for example. It also means that everything is there for a reason—nothing is superfluous. It's of a Spartan design that works purposely and beautifully. And this has implications for our sculpture, doesn't it? Indeed, when we veer too far into stylization, especially breedy stylization, we're aren't only compromising realism, we're also compromising the depiction of the animal's well-being. The head is the only means to intake air, water, food, sight, hearing, scent, and make vocalizations plus there needs to be room for all the roots of those big teeth. Aren't we obligated then to recreate it suitable for those biological needs first and "beauty" second? It's something important to consider.

Cranial Relationships and Alignments

Now let's look for structural relationships that can guide our hands with greater clarity. In this, we need a framework to build our head, something consistent enough to act as a template for the necessary comparisons but also allows for adaptability for all the variations out there. Even so, the equine skull does have some specific relationships that are universal despite all the variations based on breed, species, gender, age, and individuality. Now we've explored some in A Head Of The Pack: Basic Guidelines For Sculpting The Equine Head, and Structural Relationships: More on Equine Topography and Successful Sniffers: Tips For Sculpting Equine Nostrils, We're All Ears: Sculpting The Equine Ear, and Pleasin' Peepers: Sculpting The Equine Eye, some in The Three Ps, and some in that head series, specifically Part 14. Just please remember that while some associations are consistent anatomical alignments, others are only baselines, springboards for making the necessary adjustments as needed to fit the diversity we find in life. But we have to start somewhere, don't we? 

To that end, these are the universal alignments that don't really change with variation or conformation per se, being the most fixed:

• The last molar sits just in front of the eye, about near the middle of the teardrop bone, while the first premolar sits about midway under the Buccinators. 
• The back of the jaw should flow up to the back to its “button” underneath the zygomatics.
• The ear canal is aligned with the zygomatic arches and the orbit.
• From the front, we can form a "T" between the front canthi and the median line of the head. The same can be said for the tips of the teardrop bones, the nostrils (when symmetrically held), and the corners of the mouth (when symmetrically held). This helps us to maintain symmetry between the two sides of the face.
• The orientation of the eye has two general planes. The first angles inwards at the bottom and outwards at the top. The second angles slightly inwards at the front canthus.
• The top branch of the “Y” vein flows from the front canthus of the eye to the front of the teardrop bone while the second branch flows towards the nostrils.
• When seen from the front, the skull forms an elongated and inverted isosceles trapezoid due to the narrower mandible and broad brows.  
• The ears are set on the crown of the head, on the sides, seated into their cranial "cup" right behind the line of the jaw (rami) and behind the zygomatic arches on either side of the crown, in front of the occipital crest with the bulb and aligning with the EENA. This is perhaps the one of the most fixed anatomical features of the head, most consistent across the board.
• From beneath, the jaw bars form an elongated triangle, widest at the rami to meet each other at the chin. They’re rounded, not sharply rimmed, and have an underline that represents the individual characteristics of the particular horse.

Now these alignments can serve as a starting point to develop your necessary variations because they have more individual variability:

• From the front, the "V" at the bottom of the ear tends to sit on a plane parallel to the median to pass in front of the eyebrow flesh near the front canthi, depending on breed or individual variation. In other words, some breeds or individuals have wider or more narrow crowns which changes how close or far apart the ears are set.
• The alignment of the ear–eye–nostril (EENA) often forms a straight line. Notice that the teardrop bone and the mouth generally parallel the EENA, too. However, the EENA can vary between individuals, breeds, or species because...
• The internal axis of the skull is what tends to dictate head shape. Specifically, the equine head can be categorized into three basic types: (1) The arched or convex head, (2) the concave head, and (3) the straight head, with plenty of variation in between. What this means is that the axis of the head can be variable dependent on the individual, family, or breed, with a central axis being bent down, bent upwards, or straight, respectively speaking, beginning generally around the tip of the masseteric ridge. For example, many Iberian, Kladrubers, Murgese, Lippizzans, or Draft breeds can have a convex head in which the entire nasal portion of the skull drops downwards from the EENA, producing a distinctive “ram–head” appearance. In contrast, Arabians and some pony breeds may have a dished head in which the nasal portion is lifted slightly upwards from the EENA (though sometimes Arabians have a straight EENA but with a dished nasal bone and jibbah). In contrast, Morgans, Saddlebreds, stock breeds, and Thoroughbreds tend to have straight heads that more closely follow the straight line of the EENA. Now granted, there's a lot of diversity in all this, so regard those axis alignments as guides, not gospel. But it does mean that the shape of the head doesn't have to be created by the shape of the nasal bone alone, but also created deep inside the skull with its internal axis. This is why some sculptures that merely change the nasal bone without attending to the head axis may look odd. For example, they can appear too “dolphin-like” if a dish was created by gouging down the nasal bone with the added dome of the forehead. Sometimes we also see the jaw bars suffering reduction as well, making the head appear fluted, “seahorse-like,” or pinched in the middle (and when the nostrils are flared, we have an odd trumpet–like shaped head). On the other hand, a head can be made to be too deep if made to be more convex by simply adding a curve to the existing nasal bone. So remember to attend to the head axis first the deciphering references or sculpting.  
• The anterior and posterior canthi of the eye are angled at an approximate 42˚– 44˚ angle to the EENA. However, different individuals or breeds may vary. 
• The angle of the lower angle with the "button" of the zygomatic somewhat echoes this 42˚– 44˚ angle.
• Seen from the top of the head, looking down on it, the eyes are angled about 33˚ to the median line of the head. However, some breeds or individuals have more or less of an angle.
• When seen from the front (nose on), the top rim of the eye often protrudes a snidge farther out whereas the bottom rim of the eye often dips a snidge farther in, causing the plane of the eye to angle inwards at the bottom. However, some eyes can be more up-and-down due to natural variation, so look for that in your references and field study.
• When seen from the front, the brows are usually the widest portion of the cranium, with the bulge of the eyes themselves usually the widest part of the head itself. However, in horses with narrower heads, their brows can be about as wide as the ear bulbs. Also the eyes of senior citizens can be more sunken due to reduction of the fat pad behind the orb. On the other hand, on some muscular stock breeds such as the Quarter Horse, the robust jaw muscles over the ramus may be the widest part of the head.
• The chin usually ends somewhat near the back of the nostrils, or to varying degrees in front of it if they're droopy.
• When seen from the front, the “V” at the top of the nostril, where the rims meet, is oriented more towards the median than the lower aspect of the back rim, which protrudes more outward. This puts the nostril on an inward slant towards the top, predominantly along the back rim. In contrast, the comma cartilages tend to orient more upright, often with an elegant inward curve in the middle. However, some individuals can have more uprightly angled nostrils or nostril movement can distort this angle, so look for it in life study and your references.
• The zygomatics can exhibit some variety in how prominent and "cut" they are, so pay attention to all their diversity.
• The bulbs of the ears and the brows of the eyes are about as broad as the wings of the Atlas bone though there is some variation with how wide or narrow the top of the neck is, so look for that in your references and life study.

Serve it all up, and these handy guides can help us in the shaping of our equine heads with a lot more clarity. For example, when we understand that the ear, eye, and nostril are important landmarks that are skeletally oriented, that gives us better use of the EENA template, doesn't it? Another thing to remember is that the head is mostly subcutaneous bone on the dorsal and ventral aspect, and mostly subcutaneous or partially subcutaneous fleshy muscle along the sides. For this reason, we need to sculpt the bony parts convincingly as bone and the fleshy bits as flesh; otherwise our head won’t be as believable as it could be. For instance, the hourglass–shaped nasal bone should appear hard while the cheek’s Buccinators should appear fleshy. In contrast, the ears, lower nasal bone, and comma cartilages are made of cartilage and should appear appropriately firm but bendy. For example, the ear flute itself is relatively thin, making the ear malleable and able to be bent and distorted easily. 

As for relative head width, that's a function of individual, breed, and even gender and age variation. For instance, Arabians tend to be quite broad across the brows whereas Iberians can be quite narrow. Likewise, foals can appear broad across the brows thanks largely to the contrast with their undeveloped, narrow lower faces. Likewise, stallion heads can appear broader due to their cranial muscular development whereas mares can seem more slender. Paying attention to head width is important since it plays such a big part in the believability of our sculptures. 

On top of everything, the equine profile can exhibit a spectrum of undulating characteristics distinctive to each horse. Indeed, each of our profiles are different and so are those of horses. So we need to pay special attention to the horse’s profile to capture breed type and individuality. Again, all this presses the issue of studying heads from multiple angles and using references from multiple views. Honestly, the more angles and dimensions familiar to us, the better we are at translating it all into our clay. Plus, the more references we work from, of different angles, the better success we have at trouble-shooting problems. On that note then, always use good reference photos and learn to see the anatomical structures underneath the skin. Also make ready use of protractors, rulers, and proportional calipers—they’re your best friends when sculpting the head. Above all, field study field study field study! Get out there and observe the real deal and snap your own photos.

Basic Cranial Landmarks

Much of the equine skull is subcutaneous bone or nearly so, and so the head owes most of its shape and size to the skull itself, providing plenty of landmarks to guide us. In other words, the skull isn't defined by fleshiness so much like a human face, but more by bone. This is probably because the equine head has been "telescoped" forwards to project the incisors forwards and to make room for the battery of big teeth needed for nipping and grinding grasses, "stretching" his face forwards below his eyes. Most of this space then didn't "fill up" with lots of flesh or muscle, but kept a more Spartan structure of fascia, hide, and bone with thin, strappy muscles. The only really fleshy muscles are on his cheek and jowl, and of course the fleshiness of this muzzle and around the orbit. But this is great news since it provides us with lots of cranial landmarks to map out his skull accurately. Heck, even the muscles are often so obvious, some can serve as landmarks as well. So for the skull itself, the most obvious landmarks are:

• The masseteric ridge (teardrop bone)
• The zygomatic arches
• The Salt Cellar
• The nasal bone (and its median groove)
• The forehead (sometimes the temporal line, or the external frontal crest, can be felt, even seen on the forehead)
• The poll
• The jaw bars
• The caudal rim of the jaw (rami)
• The “button” underneath the zygomatics
• At a point just in front of the jowls in the hollow between the jaw bars, we can feel the underside of the Basihyoid bone of the Hyoid Apparatus (the swallowing mechanism)

The cranial cartilages are also palpable:

• The comma cartilages and its distal "button" at the end (sometimes we can even see it as a small bulge)
• The ear flute
• The ear bulb

Use all these landmarks as a connect-the-dots using the EENA as a guide, and you'll have a pretty good handle on the size, shape, axis, and structure of your sculpted head. Now here's the thing: The set of the eyes, the actual shape and length of the skull, the angle of the muzzle to the axis of the head, and the shape of the zygomatics can vary a bit from animal to animal based on individuality, breed, or species. However, remember that the set of the ears is an anatomical one so we can use that as a starting point to block out the rest of the head. So in sequence, think about blocking out the head thusly (you don't have to do the final sculpting of them yet, just get them in place:

1. Length of head
2. Axis of the head
3. Depth of head at the jowl and bars
4. Set of the ears based on the EENA and the back of the jaw
5. Set of the eyes based on the EENA and the ear (which we'll discuss in a bit)
6. Location of the nostril based on the EENA and the axis
7. Teardrop bone, often somewhat parallel to the EENA
8. Breadth of jowl
9. Zygomatic arches and temporal line
10. Angle of the mouth, often somewhat parallel to the EENA

Now maybe you have other methods that work for you better, but even so, think about checking your heads based on this sequence since it tends to map it out quickly and reliably. It's also a highly adaptable method for any kind of variation you find in life.

As for the teeth and gums, the front twelve incisors are easy to see if we lift the lips. The tushes are also easily seen from the side if inspecting a stallion or gelding (though sometimes a mare will have some or a full set). If we’re quick (and the horse is accommodating), we can even study the tooth surfaces of the incisors, too. The molars and possible Wolf’s Teeth (if present) are more difficult to see, so if we can observe a dental exam that uses a mouth speculum, it’s educational. Being so, we might even be able to catch a glimpse of the palantal drape, tongue, and the ridged hard palate.

The external aspects of the nostrils are easily palpated and observed. The front and back rims of the nostrils are evident as is the upper fold of the posterior rim over the anterior cartilage at the top "V" where the two rims meet. The tail of the comma cartilage can be palpated and sometimes seen as a subtle bump. The false nostril is abundantly clear when the horse flares their nostrils or snorts, too. The features on the muzzle can also be easily seen and felt from the lips to the chin to the whiskers (or just the whisker bumps if the whiskers have been shaved). The lips are easily seen and felt, and the corner of the mouth makes an important landmark. Likewise, the eye area can be gently felt from the eyelashes to the eyelids to the whisker bumps. The outer aspects of the ear flute, bulb, and its details are easily seen and palpated as well, even the medial and lateral crus of the medial helix.

Facial musculature can either appear as generalized, in moderate detail, or in "dry," crisp detail, depending on the breed, individual, management, climate, level of exertion, or circumstance. "Dryness" can also be expressed in different locations of the head with some areas in dry detail and others more generalized—it all depends on the individual and circumstances. Yet because the skull is mostly palatable under the skin, nearly every fleshy facial feature is a landmark, depending on how crisply it’s expressed. Yet six fleshy features are stand-outs as useful, relatively consistent orienting landmarks:

• Quadratus labii inferioris
• Levator labii sup. alæque nasi
• Caninus s. pyramidalis nasi
• Zygomaticus major
• Buccinator
• Masseter

All of these bony and fleshy landmarks help to guide our proportions, planing, and placements so we get things right. Really, the equine head is very precisely constructed so it's important to orient things properly. So continually recheck as you sculpt since things can go sideways rather quickly if you aren't paying close attention, especially if you become taken up in the magic of sculpting and lose sight of the big picture. In particular, sculpting expression tends to cause us to lose sight of the head's technicalities so keep those calipers and references close at hand and regularly recheck the EENA as you sculpt.

Basic Cranial Proportions

Because the equine skull has some common relationships, it also has another proportional set of baselines we can use to springboard into more adjustments as needed. Again, these are merely starting points to start creating our variations as needed for breeds, species, ages, individuals, and even genders. Even families within breeds can have their own cranial tendencies, so pay attention to that as well. So a few major proportional cranial relationships are:

• The length of the head in front of the eyes is elongated—the horse’s head is stretched forwards in front of the eye. Because of this, the typical equine head is usually divided into thirds: (1) From the base of the ear “V” to the front canthus of the eye then (2) from that point to mid-head then (3) from that point to the end of the muzzle. However, different breeds and individuals can vary. This means you have a quick way to properly place the eye between the ear and the EENA. Just make sure you don't place your eye on top of the tooth roots, i.e. too low.
• The depth of the skull from forehead to the bottom of the ramus is about 1/2 the length of the head, generally speaking. Some individuals or breeds may be more or less, and old horses are often less, especially through the bars, since their teeth have reached their terminal limit.
• Ear length is about that one-third measurement, with variation of gender, breed, age, and individuality.
• Muzzle depth is about that one-third measurement, with variation for breed, age, and individuality.
• Jowl breadth is about that one-third measurement, with variation for breed, gender, age, and individuality.

Basic Cranial Variations

Variations are the norm rather than the exception! Individuality, breed type, family tendencies, species distinctiveness, gender characteristics, and age growth stages all factor into all this diversity. Even nutrition can affect cranial development, and the horse's condition can affect how the head looks as well. For instance, foals have infant cranial structure, being less developed and "softer" in definition. In short, they aren't simply shrunk down adult heads. On the other hand, the heads of old horses can be more slender through the bars since their teeth have reached their terminal limit, narrowing the head a snidge. Plus their heads can appear more gaunt and bony from their diminishing nutrition because of their terminal teeth.

Basic Cranial Visualizations

So from an artistic point of view, we can block out the equine skull into some artistic structural ideas or shapes to help us along. Indeed, breaking down the horse’s head into simple shapes can help us quite a bit. So with that in mind, here are some helpful associations:

• The muscles of the mouth and cheek form a nested "M" and "W." However, the buccinators can be more like a solid wad of flesh or a slightly different configuration, too, depending on the individual's variation.
• The nostril forms a “6” on the right side and a backwards “6” on the left side. 
• The flute of the nostril forms a kind of "V" from the back of the posterior rim.
• The front rim of the alar cartilage of the nostril forms a “C” when relaxed and more of an “L” on its side when dilated. 
• The top aspect of the zygomatic arches is like a "U" oriented towards the poll while the lower aspect is like a "Y" oriented towards the ears.
• From the top, the nasal bone should be centered on the median line, and often has a subtle hourglass shape with rounded sides. The narrow "pinch" in the hourglass shape often occurs at the ends of the teardrop bones.
• The upper lip can be thought of as a little box that twitches, pooks, tweaks, stretches, and wiggles, being actively mobile.
• From the side, think of the skull in three parts: The "box" for the ears, the circle for the upper head, and the "shoebox" for the lower face. 
• From the front, we can think of the basic shape of the head is like a kite with a tail—a diamond for the forehead and the tail for the nasal bone.

Basic Ear Structures

I'm an ear geek so I pay very close attention to them when sculpting since they're just so darned complicated (and fun) to sculpt with their subtle curves and shapes. But not only is their structure complex, ear shapes are quite individualistic, too. No two pairs of ears are alike! What's more, ear size and shape can be a function of breed, gender, species, and age. For example, smaller, curvy ears are typical of an Arabian as is the pronounced curl of the Marwari. On the other hand, larger, longer ears are typical of a mare, and proportionally larger ears are common with foals. What’s more, some breeds actually require the ears to be a certain length such as the Shetland with ears that shouldn’t exceed 5” long (13cm). Also, the ears may be placed closer together on the crown on some breeds, too, such as the ASB, Kathiawari, Marwari and Akhal–Teke. This is usually caused by the narrower structure of the crown of such breeds as compared to the Arabian, Morgan, or Quarter Horse who tend to have wider crowns. So pay special attention to the varying attributes of the ear since all these factors play a part.

As for the ear itself, it's a delicately fluted “scoop" (pinna, plural: pinnae) with an inner (medial) rim that's more rounded and more deeply curvaceous with an outside (lateral) rim that's flatter and less curved. Of special note is the “V” where the two rims meet at the bottom since it has some interesting features. In particular, the bottom of the curvaceous medial rim, near the "V," has a curious fold created by the lateral and medial crus of the helix, which changes as the ear rotates, a detail often missed by artists. Instead, many artists simply make this area a straight rim by mistake, for instance. The ears have wrinkles, too, which are typically located where the pinnae meets the skull when rotation folds the skin. For example, when pricked forwards, wrinkles can be found between the pinnae and the head along the median line of the bulb whereas if they’re laid back, wrinkles can be found along the back of the bulb. The pinnae also often have visible veins, notably along the back of the flutes and around the ear bulbs, which really lend a sense of thin skin and fine hair for sculptures depicting hot bloods or even athletic effort. Now if the ears are clipped, note the soft, delicate ridges inside the ears. On the other hand, fuzzy, unclipped ears can be a wonderful touch for feral horses or those shown in a natural state. (Note: Some regulations now dictate against shaving out the ears.) Note that the ear hair is oriented inwards or forwards and not so much outwards, towards the rims. Also minor faults such as lop ears can add a bit of character to a piece meant to be eccentric. Likewise, ears with nicks, cuts, missing tips, etc. can imply an interesting backstory which can be effective for sculptures of feral horses, ranch horses, wild horses, or roughstock. In fact, certain breeds have specifically notched ears for identification such as the Icelandic Horse. Ear tags might also be a curious option, accurate for certain populations tagged for research. And because ears are a consummate tool for adding life to a sculpture, their expressive qualities go far to impart genuine equine character and narrative. For example, ears can be pricked and drawn together more when the horse is tense or intently focused on something, or drooping in a floppy “V" when the animal is sleepy, relaxed, or dozing off. They can be floppy and wobbly in response to motion, too, such as we see on some gaited horses (especially gaited mules), or when horses shake.

Other Thoughts on the Equine Head

Above all, remember the evolutionary biology of the equine head. It's a study of economy—every bit is there in a specific way for a critical biological reason. Being so, it has very little fudge–factor for our imposed aesthetics or misinterpretations. With so little room for error then, cranial structure cannot be fudged—we need to be clear about its construction to get it right. That's because so much about the equine head is literal with so much being subcutaneous flesh and bone. So if we make a mistake somewhere, that will likely develop into a systemic problem that will skew everything else. So check your placements against the EENA and the subsequent alignments often as you work.

Yet, at the same time, it's easy to get confused since so much is interlaced together, alternately becoming deep and superficial layers. It's also made up of all the fleshy components of the body: Bone, cartilage, fat, tissue, muscle, tendon, ligament, fascia, and hide, all of which are specialized for the head itself, giving us an array of structures and textures we have to mimic properly in a relative tight space. Plus, facial muscles come in multiple forms. For example, some are flat or strap–like like zygomaticus major while others have fleshy muscle bellies like the buccinators while still others are in-between like the masseter. And on a thin-skinned, “dry” face, much of the fleshy delineation is often readily seen, making precision even more important. So when recreating fascial musculature in clay, pay attention to these qualities when considering the shape and thickness of particular bits to avoid creating a head that’s too bulky, puffy, bulbous, or meaty, especially in the mid-face between the eye and nostril. What's more, pay close attention to detail and fleshy texture since the tiny aspects of the hide and skin on the face is so varied and often squishy and velvety. The ears, muzzle, and nostril exhibit a high degree of motility and sensitivity, too, and the brows and lower lid are fleshy and expressive, especially so with the upper lid and brow.  And thusly, we also have to consider expression which is a whole 'nuther subject in itself! 

All this conspires then to make sculpting the equine head especially tricky. Indeed, it's a part of the body most often flubbed up in sculpture for good reason. So it's a good idea to do lots of research, artistic exercises, checks and balances with proportional tools, life study, and of actually palpating the heads of many horses to program their features into our hands. 

Conclusion

Approaching the equine head from both an anatomical and artistic perspective can be helpful since each symbiotically informs the other. But being able to artistically understand things can be a more practical approach for a sculptor, allowing us to also "back trace" to the anatomy for another point of view. Truly, it's not enough to just know anatomy, we also have to translate what we know accurately into clay, right? That's where our artistry comes in. So while these two different knowledge bases need to be developed, they also need to be synced for the most effective interpretations in clay, and that takes its own special care and training.

For this reason, it's often handy to understand the equine head from multiple points of view. For example, from evolution to anatomy to conformation to breed type to viability to artistic visualizations and such, all of which conspire to give us a more rounded, complete view. Because, indeed, the head alone gives us plenty to chew on! And all the cranial features are interdependent, too, since we're also talking about a holistic system here. No aspect of the head functions as a biomechanical stand-alone. Therefore, understanding each feature separately as well as how it fits into the holistic whole isn't just informative, it's fascinating.

Because make no mistake—we need plenty of clarity when sculpting the horse's head. So much is going on in such a tight space and each aspect is completely dependent on the other for structure and placement that we have to hit our targets each and every time for it all to fit together properly. And that's the trick of it—if we develop a system to plot out our head efficiently, everything should fall into place like a connect-the-dots or jigsaw puzzle, and then it's simply a matter of banging it all out. To get to that point then, it just takes a lot of study, visualizations, and practice practice practice. For that, try some artistic exercises like drawing EENAs and other alignments onto photo print outs, doing sketches, and sculpting quickie maquettes (in non-hardening clay) to get practical volume under your belt. Because sculpting the head may be difficult, but it does get easier the more of them you sculpt. You'll also become more comfortable infusing eccentricities into your heads as you become more familiar with plotting out its basic structures. Indeed, you may soon find yourself collecting references of novel heads that inspire you as your fascination and confidence grows.

The horse's head is probably the most important part of the piece to pin down accurately. As a visual specials, we humans home in on the face instinctively, don't we? We just naturally key in on the face. So when we learn to sculpt more accurate heads on our sculptures, we're actually maximizing the connectivity our work has with the viewer. Why? Because the more accurate our sculpted heads, the more people are drawn to them in a positive way, and that spells good things for how our work connects with people. Absolutely, the horse's face is a direct line to the horse lover's heart. Mimic that effectively in your clay then and your work will come very close to triggering that same happy response they would have with a real horse, and that's a potent connection that gets horsepeople right in the feels in the best way. And what better way to get ahead is that?

"Simple is never that simple."

~ Phillip Roth

Heads Up!: Artistic Guidelines for Sculpting the Equine Head