Planarians are possibly the single easiest animal in the world to draw. Sure, there are other animals with just as simple a shape, but those don't have little googly eyespots. If you draw a pointy lump without any googly eyespots, nobody is going to think it's much of anything.
I've loved Escher's "curl up" creatures since I saw them in a book as a kid. They look so much like some sort of cambrian lobopod (like Opabinia or Anomalocaris), but they have those delightfully creepy little human feet.
Huh, I had no idea Escher did things like this. I'll have to Google now.
ReplyDeleteI love Escher, and these are some of my favorite lithographs he made. There's actually a sci-fi novella where Escher's wheel-lizards are A. real, and B. used as riding beasts. : )
ReplyDeleteI have a little picture of the curl up creature maze my friend sent me! I love Escher's work and all of his surreal critters, so happy to see him mentioned down in your blog.
ReplyDeleteNot enough people recognize and speak of the genius that is the hammer-headed human-footed lizard centipede monsters from Escher's works.
ReplyDeleteDidn't he call the wheel-critters "Rollpens"? Sure I heard that somewhere.
ReplyDeleteHis planarians are just adorable...