Assignment: Draw a Hipster Buffalo

I began a draft of this project years ago when I was living in central Denver, a region that naturally keeps its finger on the pulse of Buffalo hipsterdom.

This was really more of an emo buffalo. My grasp of hipsterdom during the making of this sketch was as tenuous as it is now. Where was I going with that spiked wrist cuff? This never quite blossomed into a finished piece, but Buffalo Exchange fished it from the archives a few months ago and suggested I put a bow on it. I was overjoyed, but my zeal was soon tempered by the realization that hipsterdom of all kinds might have been redefined during the period between drafts. I decided to crowd-source my research on Facebook. 

Some comments have been censored due to requests for buffalo nudity. From this thread, I gleaned that a fixed-gear bike would be an unavoidable accessory.

Try though I might, I knew I wasn't going to find a photo of a buffalo riding a fixed-gear bike on any Flickr album to serve as a model. Forming my mental sketch of a buffalo's anatomy and wrapping it around a bike was no small feat. If I've eaten a good breakfast, sometimes I can draw an animal from memory based on my loose knowledge of biology and a general instinct for when this femur or that antler looks right, but the combination seemed hopelessly improbable. I wish him luck with reaching the pedal on the hidden side.

I wanted to make it look natural. Not only natural, but elegant in the way that hipsters are elegant while engaging the absurdest postures, festooning themselves carelessly over their environment. This is where I arrived.

The buffalo's figure was itself a challenge. I wanted to work in some classic hipster anatomy, including a serpentine torso that somehow narrows as it approaches the neck, regardless of gender, as do the arms. Unfortunately, a buffalo of these proportions would scarcely be recognizable. 

I decided to make a minimalist of him in the end, partly for the sake of keeping his species obvious around the clothing and accessories. Besides, what in the past five years is more enduringly hip than a deep-V worn with chest hair blousing out of it? And if there's one thing that buffalos have in abundance, it's tufts wooly chest curls.

I'd like to thank Urban Outfitters, which served as a failsafe resource for cross-referencing styles. Someone in the comments identified this kind of hat as a "watch cap," not to be confused with your common beanie. 

I should add that I eagerly await the correctional comments from people who are absolutely not hipsters, but know one when they see one. Kind of like me.

Here he comes, pedaling his way down Riverfront Park to graze the farmer's market. Someone alert The Sartorialist.