#anatomical reference

Zhu Zanjin (~2016)

So because I draw wings a lot, I thought I’d offer my opinions on their anatomy for reference if anyone wanted them. Technically speaking, an average adult human would need a wingspan of around 20 feet to fly.   The musculature is based on a condor, and I compared the condor’s structure to that of smaller birds, and exaggerated the adaptations for size even more - note the flanges on the bones for muscle attachments.  The light pink in the bottom diagram is the skin and fat layer in which the feathers are anchored.  Each feather has a small muscle and tendon at its base.

Without magic, these things will be /heavy/.  Even if the bones are hollow they’re probably 20-30 lbs each, there’s a lot of muscle there.  But especially at the spine, where they would likely show as a rounded hump when the wings are folded.

There’s also an extra joint up near the scapulae, which is intended to bend upward, allowing the wing more freedom of movement around the ribcage and arms.

Credit Source: Japanese artist on Twitter @satoshikawasaki

And here, finally, is Winston fully pulled open.

You can actually see where the hinge between the two portions of fused ribcage was severed, and full detail of the chest portion from which his keel extends. (That entire plate that I'm holding up like the hood of a tiny car made of bone.)

At its base, above his heart, you can clearly see the distinctly ribbed branches of his trachea and his smooth esophagus between them running up the middle of his syrinx (vocal chords).

His air sacs have kinda fallen to the side here, but under his heart is his gizzard, stomach, and you can see a few loops of both his large and small intestines.

His wings are not skinned, but the skin is translucent enough to clearly see the bones and blood vessels.

Though an unspeakably sad, heart breaking job, this was an absolutely fascinating project that I am glad to have been able to document and share the results of.

I really wanted to get more detail for educational purposes, but I had to stop when my hands started to shake.

Shaky hands + bloody mess of a scalpel was NOT a risk I was willing to take, and there wouldn't be anything more to glean from tissue left to break down in open air.

His remains were carefully wrapped in paper towels so that Ankhou couldn't see, and Winston was burried in my front yard.

Some more Pose Sketches. One week left of classes and then I can start doing more of these!

Free download here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/more-poses-8276133      (If you use them, please reference me, so more people can check out my work! Thank You!)