What do you think?
Rate this book
Science of Creature Design: understanding animal anatomy
What is creature design? We all have a notion―mostly consisting of evocative images of otherworldly beings galloping, swimming, flying, and often attacking the hero of an epic film or story. But what makes a creature believable? In the follow-up to her bestseller, Animals Real and The Fantasy of What Is and What Might Be, world-renowned artist Terryl Whitlatch reveals the secret behind believable creature anatomy. How anatomy applies practically to the natural history and story is the prime cornerstone on which successful creature design hangs, whether the creature is real or imaginary. Studying, understanding, drawing, and applying accurate anatomy to an imaginary creature will make viewers suspend their disbelief to welcome a new vision into their worlds. We invite you to immerse yourself in the intricate workings of numerous animal anatomies―and the beauty they possess―in the Science of Creature Understanding Animal Anatomy. Whitlatch’s delightful and charismatic illustrations will inform and thrill readers with every turn of the page. She shares valuable techniques reaped from years working for Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Feature Animation, and on such films as Jumanji, Brother Bear, and The Polar Express. In addition, Whitlatch exemplifies an endless love for real animals that continues to inspire her fantastic imaginary creatures, which have captivated audiences around the world.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2013
17 people are currently reading
666 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 1, 2016
Final Score: 4.5 stars
Ideas or aspects of the book that I enjoyed:
1. It is really helpful to see full design work at multiple stages (skeletal, muscular, with and without fur).
2. Whitlatch's understanding of expression and anatomy really shows in the illustrations.
3. The explanations of how animals are classified scientifically are fascinating, as are the descriptions of individual animals.
4. The artwork is beautiful, and Whitlatch helpfully labels the drawings with the medium and support used.
5. Whitlatch has a splendid understanding of story, and I enjoyed her focus on how every piece of the art should be tied to the story, to its purposes and environment.
6. The cladistic chart is well explained and really clear.
7. Whitlatch is an expert. Her observations on relationships between species and how form follows function are perspicacious.
Ideas or aspects of the book that I did not enjoy:
1. This is not a teaching resource for natural science illustration. There is little to no explicit how-to.
2. Relatively little of Whitlatch's process is shared. Drawing from life and from references are mentioned, but again, no specific or particularly applicable art techniques are shared.
Ideas or aspects of the book that I enjoyed:
1. It is really helpful to see full design work at multiple stages (skeletal, muscular, with and without fur).
2. Whitlatch's understanding of expression and anatomy really shows in the illustrations.
3. The explanations of how animals are classified scientifically are fascinating, as are the descriptions of individual animals.
4. The artwork is beautiful, and Whitlatch helpfully labels the drawings with the medium and support used.
5. Whitlatch has a splendid understanding of story, and I enjoyed her focus on how every piece of the art should be tied to the story, to its purposes and environment.
6. The cladistic chart is well explained and really clear.
7. Whitlatch is an expert. Her observations on relationships between species and how form follows function are perspicacious.
Ideas or aspects of the book that I did not enjoy:
1. This is not a teaching resource for natural science illustration. There is little to no explicit how-to.
2. Relatively little of Whitlatch's process is shared. Drawing from life and from references are mentioned, but again, no specific or particularly applicable art techniques are shared.
November 25, 2024
As other reviewers have mentioned, the title is a bit misleading. While Whitlatch does include detailed illustrations of skeletal and muscular anatomy of several types of real-life beings, including labeling that allows readers to note features that different animals have in common, there isn't as much here about science and Whitlatch's creature creation process as I would have liked. Some of her creature illustrations include info on which real-life creatures inspired them (for example, the "Welankus" that combines aspects of hellbender and Pinacosaurus anatomy), and Whitlatch occasionally highlights particular things about individual creature anatomy that she thinks readers should pay attention to, but it's generally up to readers to figure out exactly how Whitlatch use real-life influences to create believable fantasy creatures.
There's a huge (on two folded pages) cladistic chart of biological life that might help some readers find inspiration for creature combinations and influences. Whitlatch also mentions some of her sources for reference photos and video, including a site I hadn't previously heard of before, Rhino House, which sounds like it'd be a treasure trove for artists and animators. There's also a full chapter just on horse anatomy - it's clear that horses had a huge influence on Whitlatch's art, to the point that she writes "There is no animal more important for an animal artist and creature designer to draw well and understand than horses" (91). I'd imagine, however, that any animal that an artist has easy enough access to in order to sketch frequently, in numerous poses, would probably make understanding other animals easier.
The book ends with an interview with Whitlatch. Overall, as an art book I really enjoyed this. Whitlatch's creature art is wonderfully detailed, and the book's large pages display it all beautifully. I don't draw or paint much myself, beyond occasional sketches and scribbles here and there, but I could see this book being helpful with future animal needle-felting projects that require the creation of wire armature.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
There's a huge (on two folded pages) cladistic chart of biological life that might help some readers find inspiration for creature combinations and influences. Whitlatch also mentions some of her sources for reference photos and video, including a site I hadn't previously heard of before, Rhino House, which sounds like it'd be a treasure trove for artists and animators. There's also a full chapter just on horse anatomy - it's clear that horses had a huge influence on Whitlatch's art, to the point that she writes "There is no animal more important for an animal artist and creature designer to draw well and understand than horses" (91). I'd imagine, however, that any animal that an artist has easy enough access to in order to sketch frequently, in numerous poses, would probably make understanding other animals easier.
The book ends with an interview with Whitlatch. Overall, as an art book I really enjoyed this. Whitlatch's creature art is wonderfully detailed, and the book's large pages display it all beautifully. I don't draw or paint much myself, beyond occasional sketches and scribbles here and there, but I could see this book being helpful with future animal needle-felting projects that require the creation of wire armature.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
March 26, 2019
Very disappointed in this book.
There's really no "science of creature design" here; no explanations of form/function, how various anatomical features would work/have to work, and so on. At best there are some pretty, well-executed illustrations of a handful of seemingly randomly-chosen animals (including the skeletal and muscle structures) and a few original fictional creatures, and a handful of speculative/fictional creatures based on existing real creatures.
I'm not an artist, but I really don't see how this book would contribute meaningfully to anyone's understanding of animal anatomy, its impact on function/life, or how to design speculative creatures on that basis.
There's really no "science of creature design" here; no explanations of form/function, how various anatomical features would work/have to work, and so on. At best there are some pretty, well-executed illustrations of a handful of seemingly randomly-chosen animals (including the skeletal and muscle structures) and a few original fictional creatures, and a handful of speculative/fictional creatures based on existing real creatures.
I'm not an artist, but I really don't see how this book would contribute meaningfully to anyone's understanding of animal anatomy, its impact on function/life, or how to design speculative creatures on that basis.
February 19, 2025
Returned to the library because my drawing interest waned again but the author is a genius and I really enjoyed my time
February 5, 2025
This was an awesome book! It's very useful for understanding the basic anatomy of real-life animals as well as understanding scientific terminology when referring to said anatomical characteristics.
While I did love the book, and I will be using it as a reference point for anatomy practice/studies, there was little to no mention of Whitlatch's process or a definitive how-to guide on drawing these animals.
And, for a book called the "Science of Creature Design", it's more a book about real-life animal anatomy and not much fictional creature design. While there are a few examples of fictional creatures, there is very little explanation as to how to do it yourself, and/or actually apply what you learn from real-life creatures to fictional ones.
Overall, I did really enjoy it and I'll definitely use it a lot. I think the aspects of actually making fictional animals will be touched on more in detail in her other book, the "Principles of Creature Design". I think the title for this one is just a little misleading.
While I did love the book, and I will be using it as a reference point for anatomy practice/studies, there was little to no mention of Whitlatch's process or a definitive how-to guide on drawing these animals.
And, for a book called the "Science of Creature Design", it's more a book about real-life animal anatomy and not much fictional creature design. While there are a few examples of fictional creatures, there is very little explanation as to how to do it yourself, and/or actually apply what you learn from real-life creatures to fictional ones.
Overall, I did really enjoy it and I'll definitely use it a lot. I think the aspects of actually making fictional animals will be touched on more in detail in her other book, the "Principles of Creature Design". I think the title for this one is just a little misleading.
June 1, 2024
This book is a good thing to reference for some anatomical examples of select species, and I appreciate that Whitlatch points to using scientific classification as a way to understand anatomy of adjacent yet more obscure species. I also appreciate seeing examples of her phases of drawing from gesture to rough skeletons to fill skeletons to musculature to fleshed out. However, if you’re looking for a book with guidance and things to consider, steps to take, etc, I wouldn’t say this is it. It’s more just out-of-context examples of works she’s done with very little text. However she does have an excellent and rigorous class on Schoolism that I highly recommend. There’s also another book that’s much more thorough called Fundamentals of Creature Design: How To Create Successful Concepts Using Functionality, Color, Shape, & Scale which I’d recommend over this to someone looking for actual guidance in book form.
May 12, 2018
This book being more realistically oriented than the last one of Whitlatch's I got my hands on, I enjoyed this one more. Though I gave up on drawing any kind of creatures, I still need to have the same knowledge in order to write them: appearance via practicality for the environment they are in. Showing how she bases her fantasy/sci-fi creatures off of ones that already exist is a good way for artist or writer to get ideas that can be believable for an audience. I did skip some pages with detailed skeletons and musculature, since that wasn't my primary reason for reading the book, but it serves as a good primer for all kinds of animals, from dinosaurs to fish to primates to birds.
January 24, 2021
Oh my, this book is a gift to any artist who is fascinated by the natural world.
April 30, 2022
This is a gorgeous and exciting book. It's also crazy useful for getting your proportions to work.
July 5, 2024
Liked the illustrations, but found the print so small, it was really hard to read it.
June 26, 2025
inspiring
September 7, 2025
Wonderful!! I learn more every time I open it back up
February 28, 2022
Very informative chapters and lovely artwork. Mainly pictures for those who are curious.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews