#Animal references

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

So many people have offered to contribute their own photography for the anti-AI animal art reference repository, which is awesome. As discussed in previous posts I'm not yet to the point with setting it up where that's viable, but it's a goal!

I've created an option on the contact form - if you're interested in contributing, please ping me using that (it's linked below) and select the "contribute your photos" message category. This way I'll have everyone's contact information and can reach out directly when I can start accepting submissions. If you've already sent a message/DM to either this blog or @animalphotorefs, please use the contact form to re-send your information so I've got it all stored in one place.

I think it's so cool how many people want to contribute their own work to the endeavor. You guys are rockstars.

As a thank you, here's my favorite photo of a howler monkey I've ever taken (not howling here, just doing a hecking big yawn).

[ahb-writes]

Horse Anatomy

I previously mounted a short research adventure into the expressions evident in horse ears (see Random Research Dive: Horse Ears).

Naturally, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon an array of art tutorials regarding a horse's facial muscles, leg shapes, nostril orientation, and more.

❯❯ How should horse's front/hind legs look, depending on the weight/load it carries? (sources: The Mane Quest; Most Animated Horse Assets Are Subpar: An Illustrated Guide)

❯❯ What about facial details? Which parts of a horse's face are largely composed of soft cartilage? In which direction do the muscles typically pull? (source: OhLarnSheDrawn)

[phaphame-reference-images]

Animal References -- Bird References Group 01

Image #1 - #10: Ostriches

Image #11 - #13: Baby Ostriches

[chessalein]

When you need a bear bite mark reference but you are too scared to google it because you might see gruesome pictures (´。＿。｀)

Is there like... A data bank of bite marks made by people who just have an animal skull and press them into turf or so?

[sonyshock]

Could I possibly have your animal pintrest folders

Im... New into the furry fandom and all-

There you go~! I admit, I didn't share the link earlier because I know there's probably a lot of miscategorized stuff and what is 'rodent+rabbit like'. It's very much made for myself and how I like to draw creatures that do not exist 🙏🙏🙏 I'll add the link to the original post too and delete this later 👌👌

[thivell]

REFERENCES

MY ART AND DOODLE BUDDIES HERE TAKE THIS

It’s an head angle reference finder- you can specify things such as age, gender, facial expression and move the model head for what angle you want and it’ll find references for you!

There is also an animal one- ENJOY💕

[ivys-and-p0isons]

hello!!! I'm gonna start posting on this account to help semi-boost my oc story on ao3 :3

It's called " Primal Uprising ", and I'm looking for more audiences that may like it! It has drama, lore, fluff, angst, ‼️ TRIGGERING TOPICS ‼️, Queer/Lgbtq+ themes, and more that I will update to this account! I posted the first part already, here's the link!

[sopuu]

animation of jimmy getting owned in real life

bonus gif of him celebrating i made for funsies :] oh the oblivious bliss...

[caprine-bees]

New photo refs for the paleo artists out there, courtesy of Knuckle Bump Farms' naked emu chicks.

Like seriously, look at these guys and their stupid little arms.

[canisalbus]

✦ Fashionably late ✦

[egophiliac]

somebody asked for some Lilia with Meleanor, except the ask appears to have mysteriously vanished from my inbox (???) so uhhh. this one's for you anon! sorry Mel took your ask back to the afterlife with her!

[dracl-dragon]

:D

The Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository is live!

You can find it at: https://www.animal-photo-references.com!

Here's how this repository works: all photos were taken by me, a human, at zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and other facilities with animals in human care. There is no AI involved in the photo editing or creation and there never will be. Right now there's 56 species on the site; my catalog has over 300 and I will be uploading the rest of them as fast as I can.

Artists creating derivative or transformative works (without AI) have blanket permission to use these references. Yes, even for work you're going to sell.

All other usage/reproduction requires permission, but assume I'm friendly and please do ask! That's educators, researchers, the media, people who need images for a school presentation, etc. This is just to retain copyright/control in case they're scraped/reused unethically - it doesn't meant I don't want folk to have access! So please do reach out via the contact form on the repository website, I don't bite and I'm most likely going to say yes.

Please don't repost the repository photos to your own blogs: I've created @animalphotorefs as a dedicated blog to share photos from the site, and of course I'll reblog a lot of it here! That again just helps with retaining copyright and sourcing of the images. If you really want to repost some for a specific purpose, please just ask me first!

Also, folks, this project has no funding. It's just me and my camera.

There will never be a paywall on the site - I believe resources like this absolutely must be free for everyone to access. So please, please, please support the repository if you use it. Want sneak peeks at photos, cute videos I take, or to help choose what I photograph and what gets posted first? You can do that through Patreon (and there's a free trial on the most interactive tier!) If you'd like to just drop a tip, I've also set up a Ko-Fi.

I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of the repository.

To whet your thirst for cute photos, here's an Indian rhinoceros contemplating a goose.

[sparrowlucero]

The greatest injustice ever faced is that I almost certainly started the still thriving "clown husbandry" tag on here, but any discussion about it (from a know your meme page to a youtube video with 500k views) says it's a joke of "unknown origin" or credited to this post, likely bouncing off of mine (which was actively circulating at the time with like 30k notes):

This is a tragedy for many reasons, most of all because it wasn't just an offhand joke but actually a direct response to some of the funniest online hate I ever got:

They're erasing the truest history of tumblr: its desperate need to seethe and argue over every obvious joke with more than 10 notes.

anyways here is the canonical pet clown. according to me

[phaphame-reference-images]

Animal References -- Bird References Group 02

Image #1: Ancona Duck

Image #02 - #05: Blue-Billed Magpie 01

Image #06: Bluebird

Image #07 - #09: Boat-Billed Heron

Image #10 - #13: Canary

Image #14 - #16: Chick (unknown species)

Image #17: Chick (chicken)

Image #18: Crow (guest starring deer)

Image #19: Cute Bird (unknown species)

Image #20 - #21: Dracula Parrot

Image #22: Eurasian Coot

Image #23 - #25: Eurasian Hoopoe

Image #26 - #29: European Finch

[markscherz]

Meet the seven new frog species we just named after iconic Star Trek captains!

Artwork by A. Petzold, CC BY-ND 4.0

At the right time of year along rushing streams in the humid rainforests that stretch the length of Madagascar's eastern and northern mountain ridges, otherworldly trills of piercing whistles can be heard.

Are they birds? Insects? Communicator beeps? Tricorder noises?

No, they're little treefrogs!

Boophis janewayae. Photo by M. Vences, CC BY-SA 4.0

Until recently, we thought all of the populations of these little brown frogs across the island were one widespread species, Boophis marojezensis, described in 1994. But genetics in the early 2000s and 2010s showed that there were several species here, not just one.

Now my colleagues and I have shown that they are in fact eight separate species, each with unique calls!

These whistling sounds reminded us so much of Star Trek sound effects that we decided to name the seven new species after Star Trek captains: Boophis kirki, B. picardi, B. janewayae, B. siskoi, B. pikei, B. archeri, and B. burnhamae.

Photos of all new species described by Vences et al. 2024. CC BY-SA 4.0

I subtly and not-so-subtly built some Star Trek references into the paper, but probably the best one is this one:

'Finding these frogs sometimes requires considerable trekking; pursuing strange new calls, to seek out new frogs in new forests; boldly going where no herpetologist has gone before.'

— Vences et al. 2024

There’s a real sense of scientific discovery and exploration here, which we think is in the spirit of Star Trek.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that there are at least two Trekkies amongst the authors (including yours truly). As fans of Star Trek, we are also just pleased to dedicate these new species to the characters who have inspired and entertained us over the decades.

On a personal note, this marks a milestone for me, as it means I have now described over 100 frog species! I am very pleased that the 100th is Captain Janeway's Bright-eyed Frog, Boophis janewayae (if you count them in order of appearance in the paper)—she is probably my favourite captain, and I really love Star Trek: Voyager.

You can read more about the discovery of these new species on my website! You can also read the Open Access paper published in Vertebrate Zoology here.

[dystopiansewerrat]

they’re all weird(affectionately<3)