ib color guide

8/3/2019 IB Color Guide

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ib-color-guide 1/10

Canine Anatomy and Colour Guide(Content © 2008-2012 Boots, #66642. Redistribution for educational purposes only.)

Anatomy Notes: (The Skeleton)

Knowing the structure of a dog is key in correctly drawing and critiquing one. Byknowing where the bones and joints are, you can progress in drawing and rating dogs in different

positions, with the anatomy being mostly accurate. Keep in mind, however, that different breeds do have different body shapes. Some breeds are stockier, while other leaner. It is best to

read the breed standards so you know what, physically, will be different on a Bullmastiff

compared to, say, a Pharaoh Hound. It terms of proportions, dogs tend to have a body length of 3head lengths. The length from should-to-elbow is usually equal to that of elbow-to-paw, as is the

ratio from hip-to-knee and knee-to-paw.

Note eye placement: place it too high, and it's in the brain, too close to one another or too

far away (depending on the breed) will cause problems if it was a real dog. Also beware of joints

where they do not belong. Though a dog's skeletal structure is very much like humans (it lacks acollar bone), dogs do not have elbows in the middle of their forearms. The dog's elbow is

between the Humerus and Ulna, where it bends, like a human's (meaning dogs do not bend their

arms backward at the joint, as well). High hocks are also a problem amongst stylized canine art--

often, I see newcomers to the dog-art world draw the hocks so high up and close to the knee, thedog wouldn't be able to bend it's leg in real life. Keep in mind that a dog's head is not a block.

While some breeds do have a "squarish" appearance about them, they are not completely

rectangular.



Anatomy Notes: The Muscular System

Like the skeletal structure, the muscular system will vary from breed to breed. Some

breeds (given they get the required amount of exercise) will have a noticeable larger muscle

development than others. Compare a Greyhound to an American Pit Bull Terrier, for example.While both are strong dogs, sight hounds are lean so they can run, while APBTs are muscular to

pull and for strength as the original breed required. Therefore, you will occasionally be able tosee the bulging muscles in some dogs, like you do on humans. This will alter the shading andcoloring of some dogs, especially if the light source is dramatic. However, the longer hair on

some breeds will obstruct the observer from seeing any obvious muscles.

The following color guide should help you to understand some of the FP color terms, as

some of them are confusing and can be mistaken by artists to mean something that is not

genetically possible. The examples proceed the explanations. As a rater, it is your responsibilityto check to see that the color submitted is possible for the breed and that FP has the breed color

as an option. For example, even though brindle-spotted Dalmatians exist, they are not a

recognized color on FP and should therefore be disqualified. The examples I provide are not perfect, and shades/variations exist. Drawings should not substitute looking at real images under

various lighting conditions.



Colors

Golden/yellow/ red are all shades of red with range from the deep mahogany of an Irish

setter to the light cream of a West Highland White terrier. Coat color is not affected by a dog

being black or liver pigmented. A red dog may have a black, brown, blue, or isabella colorednose depending on its genetics. Sometimes a tan color is called “fawn”, as in a pug. This is not to

be confused with the “fawn” of a diluted liver/isabella.

Brindle: red stripes that can vary in shade (from light cream to deep mahogany) with black, blue, fawn, or liver stripes mingled in. Whether the black stripes are black or not depends on

other factors, such as the dog being liver and the dilution gene and/or the graying gene being present. For instance, a blue brindle dog will not have blue/black stripes on a gray base and

images that do should be disqualified.



Mouse gray: fawn/Isabella which is diluted

liver. A chocolate dog with the graying gene

will also appear mouse gray. Nose, paw pads,

and nails will be mouse gray. Eyes will be very

light amber, almost greenish. Examples:

Weimaraner, Bedlington Terrier

Blue: diluted black, slate. A dog with the

graying gene will also appear blue. Nose, paw

pads, and nails will blue. Eyes will be lightamber. Examples: Thai Ridgeback, Yorkshire

Terrier

Chocolate: liver/brown, but not to be

confused with the deep red like in an Irish setter.

It can vary slightly in shades. Nose, paw pads,and nails will be chocolate. Eyes will be amber.

Examples: Labrador Retriever, Sussex Spaniel

Black: black color, can vary slightly in

shades. Nose, paw pads, and nails will be black.

Eyes will be brown. Examples: Black

Norwegian Elkhound, Flat Coated Retriever.



.

Merle: affects only the black, liver, blue, or mouse gray in the coat. If a dog has the merle

gene and any of those colors in any of the coat, random patches will be diluted to a lighter color.

“Blue merle” refers to black dogs with merle, and “red merle” to liver dogs. The amount of merle

can vary from almost no merle (dog looks almost completely black) to heavily merled (dog lookscompletely diluted with a few dark patches). A blue or isabella dog can be merle, though patches

would be hard to see. Merle dogs can have blue eyes.

Harlequin: Found most commonly in Great Danes, this is a merle modifier that turns the

diluted coat color white, so the dog is left only with colored patches. Harlequin affects the

entire coat, including the red (or tan, cream, etc.) parts. A dog can have no black/chocolate/blue/mouse gray in the coat and still express harlequin markings.



Tan points: tan points are represented as pips over the eyes, tan on the muzzle, pips on the

cheeks, triangular shapes on both sides of the chest, inside the legs so that it covers the front of

the paws, inside the ears, and tan around the vent of the tail. Tan points can vary in shades of red

and can even be brindle. Tan points override merle.

Sometimes an artist will make mistakes when coloring a tan-pointed dog because she/he does not

know the correct form of tan markings. The following images are some unknowing mistakes

artists sometimes make:

Tan-pointed dogs do not have tan on the tips of the tail and always have pips on the chest. The

dog on the right at first glance looks correct, but is not: Notice the tan starts from the outside of

the legs instead of the inside. While the incorrect tan points of the right dog can pass, a dog with

severely incorrect tan points like the left should be disqualified.

Sable: can vary in shade and type. It can be like the sable of a GSD or like that of a hound.Basically, it will have the base color which is black, liver, blue, isabella, or gray and then red

hairs mingled in. A dog can have little sabling to where it looks like a regular red dog, or a lot so

that it looks like it almost has tan points. Colors such as “black and cream”, “black and silver”,“black and gray”, etc. are really variations of sable and not black on a gray coat. Many sables

also have a mask . The red of a sable coat can be brindled. Examples: Keeshond, German

Shepherd Dog, various hounds and terriers, Afghan Hound.



Gray/Silver: light cream, not literally gray or silver colored. Think the light cream of

Siberian Husky or American Eskimo dog. “Gray and tan”, however, refers mostly to terriers that

have the graying gene which causes the black in the coat to turn to a silver color, as seen in

Yorkshire terriers. Images which feature “black and silver” as literally black on a base of

silver/gray should be disqualified.

Black mask: often found on dogs with the sable gene and brindle gene. Despite the FP

name, a mask will not always be black. If the dog has liver pigmentation, the mask will be liver.

If the dog also has the dilution gene, the mask will be diluted. If a dog is merle the mask may bemerled. A mask often includes pips over the eyes and cheeks, and black ears. A mask will cover

any markings (such as tan points) except for white markings. A chocolate/ mouse gray/ blue dog

with a literal black mask should be disqualified.



White markings:White trim covers just the extremities-- the

chin, sternum, toes, tail tip, sometimes napeof the neck. White trim may or may not be

genetic. Some breeds can have a bit of white

on the toes or chest without it due to thespotting gene.

Irish spotting (also known as “mantle” insome breeds) covers the feet, the muzzle, tail

tip, chest, and sometimes has a blaze and a

"collar" around the neck. (such as the classicBorder Collie marking and English Springer

Spaniels.)

Piebald (also known as black and white

spotted in breeds other than the Dalmatian)

has the irish spotting of white legs, chest, andneck with more white on the body in varying

amounts. The dog will look 50-75% white

with patches of color. Example: Pointer

Extreme piebald will leave a dog completely

or almost completely white except for maybea bit of color on the ears, bit of color on the

body, or a mixture of them. Example: Bull

Terrier

White markings: White markings always starts at the extremities (chin, sternum, toes, tail

tip, sometimes nape of the neck) and works its way upwards with the eyes and ears usually the

last to be effected. Because of this, you will not have a dog with a white body but colored feet, or

white eye patches. White will cover all other colors and markings with the exception of ticking.Dogs with white paws will usually have pink paw pads and clear nails.

A dog with incorrect white markings (such as a white eye patch, colored feet, or tail tip) should

be disqualified as such markings are genetically impossible.



Black and white spotted: if referring to a Dalmatian, this will refer to a Dalmatian-

spotted coat. If not, it will refer to a white base with patches of color, but not spotted like a

Dalmatian. Images representing “[color] and white spotted” that display spots like a Dalmatian

opposed to piebald should be disqualified.

Tricolor: a dog with tan points and white markings. The tan will not border the white but will

be placed as normal, only with white markings covering it in bits. Example: Bernese Mountain

Dog. Images displaying incorrect tricolor should be disqualified.

White: can refer to a very light cream, like in a West Highland white terrier. Not to be

confused with a dog with extreme piebald. May have cream/darker colored ears.



Ticking: Ticking is little flecks of underlying color and is visible only on dogs with white

markings. The amount of ticking can vary from minimal to heavily flecked; it is usually found on

the legs and muzzle, but can be all over the body like a Pointer. The fur appears as it normally

would without white markings, meaning if the dog has tan points, the flecks will show the tan points. If the dog is brindle/merle, the ticks will be brindle/merle. Incorrectly colored ticking is

grounds for a disqualification.

Roaning: Most often in Australian Cattle Dogs, roan is white hairs mingled with the colored

hairs, sometimes giving a blueish look to black dogs. This may be extreme ticking, as it is seen insome pointers. All the rules of ticking apply to roan. Again only present in dogs with white

markings.

ib color guide

Documents