As I mentioned before Dromornis may have had features that served to intimidate a foe and avoid combat that could be seriously damaging. I happened across the fact that the cassowary (Casuarius sp.) has five bare quills on it's vestigial wings. These were once the primary feathers. I also noticed the very conspicuous wings of the ostrich (Struthio camelus). The female is all brown but the male is black with white plumage on his wings and his tail. I was looking at the skeletons of ostriches, rheas and emus. It turns out that the wings of the rhea are the largest, but those of the ostrich look the most impressive due the colour and nature of the plumage which seems to look more fluffy. (The rhea is brown all over). The ostrich also seems to hold out its wings more to the side, perhaps because the African climate is so hot. Anyhow the emu has the most vestigial wings of all. They are the shortest and I think they are comparable in length to those of the cassowary; after all they do have a common ancestor. It seems that these dromornthids had wings similar to those of the emu and perhaps the cassowary. Here I was experimenting with adding quills to the wings of Dromornis. I have an image of these birds threatening each other with them; rattling them to make an intimidating sound as they screech at each other. Maybe, to look more impressive, they had black and white bands on them.
Amongst the wings you can see how I am playing around with the general form of the animal, especially the head. Really, you have to make an utter mess of things if you really want to learn how to draw any subject.
No comments:
Post a Comment