Artist and author Lili Chin on her gorgeous new book which illustrates more than 600 types of dog and explains where they come from.
By Zazie Todd, PhD
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Artist Lili Chin has just published her third book, Dogs of the World: A Gallery of Pups from Purebreds to Mutts. I love this book! It's a fun and informative guide to the development of dog breeds that belongs on every dog lover's bookshelf. Lili's adorable drawings of hundreds of dog breeds will put a huge smile on your face (not least because the book includes so many happy pups). It would be a great gift for anyone who loves dogs. So I was delighted to ask Lili about why she wrote this book and what she learned while working on it.
Dogs of the World is available from all good bookstores, including Bookshop (which supports independent bookstores) and Amazon.
How did the book come about?
The idea for Dogs of the World started about ten years ago when I learned that dog breeds had countries of origin, and I became obsessed with finding out which breeds came from where. Although I had drawn hundreds of dogs as a pet portrait artist and professional illustrator, I usually drew dogs from photos, and didn't know anything about breeds.
So I set myself a design challenge to learn to identify and draw all the breeds. My reference models were photos on the internet. This hobby project became a viral series of posters with dogs organized by geographical regions. It was mind-blowing to me that such a huge variety of dogs existed and that most of them were not "breeds" by kennel club standards, nor were they even mixed-breed dogs. This was the first time I had heard of terms like "landraces" and "village dogs" and I loved drawing them in my poster project.
After my previous book, Kitty Language was completed, I pitched Dogs of the World to my publisher as an expanded version of my poster series, which is how the book came about.
What was the most interesting thing you found out about the history or science of dog breeds that you included in the book?
An interesting thing that people may not be aware of is that the hundreds of today's known dog breeds were created only around 200 years ago, and even the term "breed" was not used until the 19th century. Although there are many varieties of dogs that have existed for thousands of years, the dogs we call "purebred dogs" are modern human creations. One wonderful book on dog breed history is Michael Worboys' Invention of the Modern Dog.
I learned that around the 19th century, Europeans took regional dogs, split them up, and standardized these into distinct breeds. So for example, where once there was a generic "spaniel" type with different sizes and a range of colors, the people of Victorian England took this spaniel population and split it up into lots of different spaniel breeds - each breed with its own distinct look and story. Hundreds of dog breeds were created in a short period of time.
What's also fascinating is that fanciers would crossbreed different types of dogs to reconstruct extinct types of dogs seen in historical paintings and literature, or were lost during the war years. In a way, many purebred dogs started out as designer dogs!
In the first part of the book, you have fascinating charts to illustrate things like coat colours, health risks associated with some breeds, and DNA tests for dogs. How did you develop these charts, and were there any particular challenges along the way?
These illustrated charts were my way of synthesizing information from different sources - books, papers, blog posts, podcasts, and conversations with dog people. They actually took me much longer to create than drawing hundreds of dogs! I was doing something I had never done before; and it was challenging to be selective about what to include and what to leave out.
I have posted a list of references on my website for the first sections of the book.
Another big challenge with creating these illustrated charts was that I had a limited number of pages to work with, and these were fairly small pages (compared to the letter-size infographics I usually create). I had to try to keep things as succinct as possible, get the main points across with as few words as possible and simple visuals.
My editors helped too, by asking the kinds of questions that a reader might ask. For example, the illustrated "predatory motor patterns" chart in my book was adapted from a section in Raymond Coppinger's book, How Dogs Work. My very first version of this chart looked like a spreadsheet with no pictures. I must have revised this chart at least five times... I kept doing this until there were no more questions. Everything started making sense when I added dog illustrations. Maybe this says something about me - I communicate better with pictures!
Many of the dogs in the book look very happy. Given that you have also written/illustrated Doggie Language, how did you make editorial decisions about how to show the dogs, in terms of body language and posture?
I am so glad you asked this question! Having spent so much time drawing "stress signals" in dog body language charts over the years, I intentionally wanted the dogs in Dogs of the World to look happy and relaxed! Purebred dogs (in books) are often presented looking very serious and meticulously groomed - as they would be for the show ring. Instead of drawing dogs that look like supermodels or super athletes, I wanted to draw dogs looking very homey; with casual haircuts and tongue-out smiles, the same way I usually draw dogs for my pet portrait clients. I wanted the dogs in this book to look like they could be our family members, asking for a treat or ready to roll in mud.
The book is very comprehensive in the breeds included. Did you fall in love with any new dog breeds while working on the book?
I don't have a dog right now, I miss living with a dog and honestly, I couldn't pick a favorite. I would love to meet all these dogs.
What's the main thing you hope people will take away from the book?
I wanted to create a dog breed book that offers more of a zoomed-out perspective of where breeds come from and how we think about and categorize dogs the way we do.
I hope readers will find it interesting to learn (as I did) that dogs weren't always breeds, or branded the way they are now. Kennel club breeds are only a small part of the amazing and diverse spectrum of dogs in our world, and breed names, traits, standards, roles, groupings, even countries of origin... all these things were decided by people and can change over time, and by place or by culture. I hope that this book brings joy, curiosity, and awareness of the depth of our responsibility for our dogs' health and happiness, no matter what type of dog they are.
I am interested to hear what people take away from this book!
Who will appreciate this book?
Anyone who loves dogs or is curious about dog breeds and history will appreciate this book!
Many thanks to Lili for answering my questions! If you love Doggie Language and Kitty Language, you will definitely love Dogs of the World! And if you don't already have those two books, be sure to check them out too.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.
Read More...
By Zazie Todd, PhD
This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn commission on qualifying links at no cost to you.
Artist Lili Chin has just published her third book, Dogs of the World: A Gallery of Pups from Purebreds to Mutts. I love this book! It's a fun and informative guide to the development of dog breeds that belongs on every dog lover's bookshelf. Lili's adorable drawings of hundreds of dog breeds will put a huge smile on your face (not least because the book includes so many happy pups). It would be a great gift for anyone who loves dogs. So I was delighted to ask Lili about why she wrote this book and what she learned while working on it.
Dogs of the World is available from all good bookstores, including Bookshop (which supports independent bookstores) and Amazon.
How did the book come about?
The idea for Dogs of the World started about ten years ago when I learned that dog breeds had countries of origin, and I became obsessed with finding out which breeds came from where. Although I had drawn hundreds of dogs as a pet portrait artist and professional illustrator, I usually drew dogs from photos, and didn't know anything about breeds.
So I set myself a design challenge to learn to identify and draw all the breeds. My reference models were photos on the internet. This hobby project became a viral series of posters with dogs organized by geographical regions. It was mind-blowing to me that such a huge variety of dogs existed and that most of them were not "breeds" by kennel club standards, nor were they even mixed-breed dogs. This was the first time I had heard of terms like "landraces" and "village dogs" and I loved drawing them in my poster project.
After my previous book, Kitty Language was completed, I pitched Dogs of the World to my publisher as an expanded version of my poster series, which is how the book came about.
What was the most interesting thing you found out about the history or science of dog breeds that you included in the book?
An interesting thing that people may not be aware of is that the hundreds of today's known dog breeds were created only around 200 years ago, and even the term "breed" was not used until the 19th century. Although there are many varieties of dogs that have existed for thousands of years, the dogs we call "purebred dogs" are modern human creations. One wonderful book on dog breed history is Michael Worboys' Invention of the Modern Dog.
I learned that around the 19th century, Europeans took regional dogs, split them up, and standardized these into distinct breeds. So for example, where once there was a generic "spaniel" type with different sizes and a range of colors, the people of Victorian England took this spaniel population and split it up into lots of different spaniel breeds - each breed with its own distinct look and story. Hundreds of dog breeds were created in a short period of time.
"I wanted the dogs in this book to look like they could be our family members, asking for a treat or ready to roll in mud."
What's also fascinating is that fanciers would crossbreed different types of dogs to reconstruct extinct types of dogs seen in historical paintings and literature, or were lost during the war years. In a way, many purebred dogs started out as designer dogs!
In the first part of the book, you have fascinating charts to illustrate things like coat colours, health risks associated with some breeds, and DNA tests for dogs. How did you develop these charts, and were there any particular challenges along the way?
These illustrated charts were my way of synthesizing information from different sources - books, papers, blog posts, podcasts, and conversations with dog people. They actually took me much longer to create than drawing hundreds of dogs! I was doing something I had never done before; and it was challenging to be selective about what to include and what to leave out.
I have posted a list of references on my website for the first sections of the book.
Another big challenge with creating these illustrated charts was that I had a limited number of pages to work with, and these were fairly small pages (compared to the letter-size infographics I usually create). I had to try to keep things as succinct as possible, get the main points across with as few words as possible and simple visuals.
My editors helped too, by asking the kinds of questions that a reader might ask. For example, the illustrated "predatory motor patterns" chart in my book was adapted from a section in Raymond Coppinger's book, How Dogs Work. My very first version of this chart looked like a spreadsheet with no pictures. I must have revised this chart at least five times... I kept doing this until there were no more questions. Everything started making sense when I added dog illustrations. Maybe this says something about me - I communicate better with pictures!
Many of the dogs in the book look very happy. Given that you have also written/illustrated Doggie Language, how did you make editorial decisions about how to show the dogs, in terms of body language and posture?
I am so glad you asked this question! Having spent so much time drawing "stress signals" in dog body language charts over the years, I intentionally wanted the dogs in Dogs of the World to look happy and relaxed! Purebred dogs (in books) are often presented looking very serious and meticulously groomed - as they would be for the show ring. Instead of drawing dogs that look like supermodels or super athletes, I wanted to draw dogs looking very homey; with casual haircuts and tongue-out smiles, the same way I usually draw dogs for my pet portrait clients. I wanted the dogs in this book to look like they could be our family members, asking for a treat or ready to roll in mud.
The book is very comprehensive in the breeds included. Did you fall in love with any new dog breeds while working on the book?
I don't have a dog right now, I miss living with a dog and honestly, I couldn't pick a favorite. I would love to meet all these dogs.
What's the main thing you hope people will take away from the book?
I wanted to create a dog breed book that offers more of a zoomed-out perspective of where breeds come from and how we think about and categorize dogs the way we do.
I hope readers will find it interesting to learn (as I did) that dogs weren't always breeds, or branded the way they are now. Kennel club breeds are only a small part of the amazing and diverse spectrum of dogs in our world, and breed names, traits, standards, roles, groupings, even countries of origin... all these things were decided by people and can change over time, and by place or by culture. I hope that this book brings joy, curiosity, and awareness of the depth of our responsibility for our dogs' health and happiness, no matter what type of dog they are.
I am interested to hear what people take away from this book!
Who will appreciate this book?
Anyone who loves dogs or is curious about dog breeds and history will appreciate this book!
Many thanks to Lili for answering my questions! If you love Doggie Language and Kitty Language, you will definitely love Dogs of the World! And if you don't already have those two books, be sure to check them out too.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.
Read More...
