Hey! It's important to develop a solid understanding of form, perspective, and anatomy, since these are fundamental skills if your goal is to become a comic artist. I can't say whether Marcos has an extensive knowledge of horse anatomy or whether he drew this without references, but what I can confidently say is that he has a very strong understanding of form. Because of that, he's able to shade the horse in a way that creates a convincing sense of structure and musculature. He understands the underlying forms, which allows him to use light and shadow to describe volume effectively. For example, look at the front legs. In his drawing, it's very clear which leg is supporting the weight and which one is lifted. In your study, that distinction isn't quite as clear yet. I'm not saying it's wrong to study Marcos or any other artist. In fact, it's a great idea. What I would recommend, though, is spending some time analyzing why he shades things the way he does. Comic-style rendering often relies on carefully designed shadow shapes to create the illusion of form. That's why I keep emphasizing the importance of studying form and perspective. The stronger your understanding of those subjects becomes, the easier it will be to understand why artists choose to light or shade specific areas to create a stronger sense of volume, just like in the example of the horse and rider. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend taking the Intro to Drawing roadmap first, followed by Intro to Figure Drawing on Artwod. They can help you build a very solid foundation in drawing. Hope this helps!
