Go Tokyo Your Experience
The Truth about Butterflies: Misconceptions in Creation and the Influence of Specimens
For animators, cartoonists, or artists, reference materials are essential in the creative process, especially when they want to depict unfamiliar things. However, many creators may not be aware that the references themselves may be misleading, especially when they use butterfly specimens as references.
Recently, many Japanese netizens have discussed that when depicting butterflies, creators often draw based on the appearance of the specimen, and the wings of the specimen are artificially adjusted, which differs greatly from the actual shape of the live butterfly. Let’s explore together the true form of butterflies and the misconceptions in their creation.
Specimen and Reality: Two Completely Different Butterflies
Japanese netizen “しぐまる” recently posted that many creators refer to butterfly specimens when depicting butterflies. However, the butterfly wings in the specimen were manually adjusted and usually fully unfolded to display their symmetrical beauty. In reality, the wings of living butterflies are mostly drooping and overlapping. This difference made him pay attention to whether the depiction of butterflies was accurate when watching various works.
This topic has sparked a heated discussion among many netizens. Many people are starting to examine their favorite animations, comics, and illustrations to see if the butterflies in them have also been drawn as specimen types. Even some painters reflect on their own works to see if they accidentally made mistakes.
The morphology of butterfly wings: specimen vs. living organism
The butterfly wings in specimens are usually fully unfolded, while the wings of living butterflies in reality do not. During rest, butterflies usually let their wings droop or slightly overlap. This is because the wings of butterflies need to be retracted after flight and do not always maintain a fully extended posture.
However, for visual aesthetics, the wings are intentionally unfolded during specimen preparation to showcase the symmetrical beauty of butterfly wings.
Therefore, when creators refer to specimens, it is easy to overlook this detail, resulting in the butterfly’s form in the work not being natural enough.
Feedback and Correction from Netizens
After this topic sparked discussion, many netizens began to share the butterfly forms they found in various works. Some works depict the exact appearance of the specimen, while others accurately reflect the posture of a living butterfly. Here are some interesting feedback from netizens:
The real wings will overlap, but when unfolded, they are indeed more beautiful
Many netizens agree that although butterfly wings are more natural in reality, the shape of the specimen looks more beautiful.
I checked the CD cover and found that many of them have butterfly paintings, but most of them are of the ‘specimen’ type, only Gandalf is of the ‘living’ type
Some netizens also carefully examined common visual art works, such as album covers, and found that most of the butterfly paintings were in specimen poses.
I really like butterflies, so I often draw butterflies, but I often feel that fictional works don’t need to pursue authenticity, so I deliberately draw butterfly specimens
Some creators also expressed their intention to depict butterflies as specimens, believing that creation does not have to be confined to reality and that art can be freely expressed.
Osamu Tezuka’s Butterfly: Accurate and Aesthetic at the Same Time
During the discussion, some netizens also mentioned the works of Osamu Tezuka, the “god of manga”.
He pays special attention to the true form of living butterflies when depicting them, demonstrating extremely high accuracy in details. This has also become a model pursued by many creators when depicting nature.
The difference between a butterfly specimen and a living butterfly may seem like a small detail, but it is crucial in the creative field that demands strict attention to detail. This discussion reminded many creators that when creating, they not only need to refer to materials, but also need to be aware of the source and authenticity of the reference materials. Although the morphology of the specimen is more in line with aesthetic standards, the true natural form also has its unique beauty. How to balance reality and beauty in creation is a question that every artist needs to consider.
Whether it is specimens or live butterflies, their respective beauty is worth exploring and expressing by creators. I hope this discussion can provide inspiration for more creators and help them depict the beauty of nature more accurately and creatively in their future works.