Capstone Project - Observational Drawings : Neanderthals
To get a better understanding of how to draw Neanderthals, I decided to do a range of observational sketches to compare how Neanderthal's differ to homo sapiens. The biggest thing I had to investigate was the proportions of a Neanderthal especially in their facial region. I looked into some examples of skulls that had been discovered (seminarsonscience 2019) (Smithsonian n.d.) and noticed that there were a few subtle but very important differences that determine the facial structures of both species. These were the main differences I spotted:
- Stronger brow bone
- Larger nasal cavity
- Smoother maxilla region
- Larger teeth
- Shorter cranium height
These features imply that Neanderthals would have had much larger noses, shorter chins, and a smaller forehead, you can clearly see this when comparing it to a homo sapiens skull. I researched into why they possessed these qualities and found that Neanderthals developed a broader nose and thicker bone structure to withstand cooler temperatures, whilst found in many areas of the world [at that time], Neanderthals were mostly native to tundra and temperate climates and so required a stockier build to last through harsh winters (Hendry n.d).
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| Skull studies. |
Beneath is a sketch using a reference of a Neanderthal woman seen in the article by Laura Geggel (2019) by artist Oscar Nilsson. I chose this subject to draw as i found her facial structure to be very interesting, you can really see the prominent brow bone and facial proportion differences well in this image, as well as that it is interesting to see the subtle facial differences between males and females. The female has much softer features compared to the male with a much smoother maxilla region and the lack of beard allows us to see the shorter chin much easier. We also see in this drawing that Neanderthals wore a lot of fur, likely to keep out the bitter cold. Researching a little into this, I found that Neanderthals were actually the first of the early humans to adopt the use of clothing, creating their articles from skinned animal pelts that were left to dry before being sewn together using animal tissues (Smithsonian n.d.). Not only did they use clothing for warmth, but much like modern humans, used clothing as a way to decorate themselves. There is evidence to show that Neanderthals created Jewellery and other accessories out of items such as animal teeth, necklaces and earrings were the most common kinds of accessories and were worn by both genders (Rapp Learn 2024). This research into clothing will prove particularly important when it comes to designing outfits for the characters within the game to wear, whilst I would like to combine both the look of prehistoric fashion and modern fashion, I still want the clothing materials to feel believable to the time period.
The final sketch I did on this page was a full body drawing based on a sculpture by Elisabeth Daynes (n.d.) entitled Female Neanderthal. This model allowed me to see how the full body of a Neanderthal might look, I found that they have a relatively short stature (Hendry n.d.) standing at around 5"1-5"5 (Smithsonian n.d.) with a relatively stocky posture. Too i noted that the arms of the Neanderthal are just slightly shorter than a homo sapiens, and along with that they also possess a wider ribcage. In the next set of drawings I explore this difference in proportions further. This subject also allowed me to do another study on Neanderthal clothing, the texture differences in fur, and how the clothing might drape across the body. In all of these sketches I found it really beneficial to see what the common colour pallets were and the textures that are seen on each subject, That way i can more accurately simplify them when it comes to creating characters in my chosen art style.
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| Neanderthal Studies Continued. |
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| Examples of Neanderthal Tattoos (Hendry n.d.) |
My final study was to understand the proportional differences between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens. To do this I gathered references of Neanderthal Skeletal structures in comparison to Homo Sapien skeletal structures (Denning 2007). I quickly drew them out and then using knowledge of musculature structures, i fleshed out both bodies to get a better understanding of how the proportions might look. As you can see, Neanderthals are a little shorter than humans with a flatter skull and wider chests, this allows them to be much stronger than humans with greater upper body muscle mass. Using this information, I will be able to correctly proportion my characters to be more accurate to how Neanderthals may have looked.
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| Proportion studies. |
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| A comparison of a human skeleton to a Neanderthal's (Denning 2007) |
Trello -
I have added this blog post to both the observational sketches and general research section as i feel the work i have done here goes hand in hand with both observational and research work. I have also adjusted some of the percentages on the tasks as I feel I can do more work in those sections [this is mostly in regards to thumbnails as looking at everything i have so far I think the percentage i have at the moment is less than my original prediction being 20%]. Despite this, I don't feel like I am behind on work and still feel very good about my position in this project. To add to this section, I might do some more studies on Neanderthal clothing to help better inform some design choices I made in my thumbnails.
Bibliography -
Anon, n.d. Hominin Fossils (Online). Smithsonian. Available at: https://3d.si.edu/collections/hominin-fossils(Accessed at: 29 December 2025)
Anon, n.d. Homo neanderthalensis (Online). Smithsonian. Available at: https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-neanderthalensis#:~:text=A%20Neanderthal%20would%20probably%20have,sew%20together%20tighter%20fitting%20clothing.(Accessed at:30 December 2025)
Choi, C. 2016. Prehistoric Tattoos Were Made with Volcanic Glass Tools (Online). Livescience. Available at: https://www.livescience.com/55289-prehistoric-tattoos-made-with-glass-tools.html(Accessed at: 30 December 2025)
Daynes, E. n.d. Reconstructions (Online). Elisabeth Daynes. Available at: https://www.elisabethdaynes.com/paleoart-reconstructions/(Accessed at: 30 December 2025)
Denning, K., 2007. Introduction to Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology: Humanity's Journeys (Online). YorkU. Available at: https://www.yorku.ca/kdenning/++2140%202006-7/2140-21Nov2006.htm (Accessed at: 31 December 2025)
Geggel, L. 2019. Faces Re-Created of Ancient Europeans, Including Neanderthal Woman and Cro-Magnon Man(Online). Livescience. Available at: https://www.livescience.com/64620-ancient-britons-facial-reconstruction.html(Accessed at: 30 December 2025)
Hendry, L., n.d. Bringing a Neanderthal to life: the making of our model(Online). Natural History Museum. Available at: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/bringing-a-neanderthal-to-life-the-making-of-our-model.html (Accessed at: 30 December 2025)
Hendry, L., n.d. Who were the Neanderthals?(Online). Natural History Museum. Available at: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/who-were-the-neanderthals.html (Accessed at: 29 December 2025)
Rapp Learn, J. 2024. Ice Age Fashion: The Murky Origins of Neanderthal Clothing(Online). Discover. Available at: https://www.discovermagazine.com/ice-age-fashion-the-murky-origins-of-neanderthal-clothing-46142 (Accessed at: 30 December 2025)
seminarsonscience (Psued.), 2019. Neanderthal Skull (Online). Sketchfab. Available at: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/neanderthal-skull-46bcd68bedbb4bcc85048c1002489b4d(Accessed at: 29 December 2025)
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