Thank you Johan! And thanks for sharing the photos!
I am always looking at references from actual ship photos, and of course real photos of lions! I would prefer the lions mane to be fuller from the front view on my figurehead, but it looks nice from the side and a 3/4 view (iso).
The picture at top has a nice head and mane, however the wrinkles on the legs are not anatomically correct. The lower has a better muscular look to the body, but needs the head from the pic above...lol. So each has it's pros and cons.
On my figurehead, I think the nose is too round, and I am going to flatten it out some. I will probably do a little more work on the claws as well. I tend to over analyze things sometimes, but it's all in the details. In any form of art, the more correct the details are, the more lifelike the subject becomes. So to me carving is like drawing in 3d. But I can't use a pencil, or paint brush. Now I have to learn to create with tools, through material removal.