Latest Version of the Vitruvian Dragonfly

Here's the latest version of da Vinci's classic illustration:

I just love this dragonfly, the Paddle-tailed Darner, aka the Happy-face Dragonfly.  Such beautiulf colors and patterns.

The Vitruvian Dragonfly

We're all familiar with da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, which explores the proportions of the human figure.  Inspired by it, I decided to put together a version for dragonflies.  Here it is, the Vitruvian Dragonfly:

This uses the stick figure I sketched some time ago.  It's based on the Happy-face Darner, also known as the Paddle-tailed Darner, and is taken from a photo, ensuring that all the proportions are correct.

The da Vinci Code

In Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks on flight he considered many different flying animals – birds of course, but also a moth, a flying fish, and a dragonfly.  (Actually, Dennis Paulson notes that the fish shown on this manuscript page is a gurnard, a fish that never leaves the water.  Still, it has incredible pectoral fins.  Thanks, Dennis!)