Planetfurry BBS

[Skazwolf]

(did I spell that right?)

How do all of you anthropomorphize your character's paws? Digitigrade or plantigrade? I haven't really decided on my own character's footpaws yet, and I can't figure which to give him. And for you equines out there, how do you work hooves into hands?

[Trekkie]

Digitigade, defiantly

[Sigurd Volsung]

I've never gotten along with the idea of hoofed animals becoming bipedal anthros with proper hands, the evolutionary process wouldn't make sense with them. I have no problem with them being sentient but not bipeds.

[Asalis]

Well I always thought of it as depending on the species of animal chosen. Animals like dogs and cats are commonly digitigrade. However animals like the rabbit and skunk are Plantigrade. Not entirely sure if i'm correct about the skunk but I know for a fact that rabbits are plantigrade like humans. (Should be no surprise there that I know that. )

[Kellan Meig'h]

As far as hooves to hands (having fingers) goes, I write my characters as having the generic term 'paws' for hands. It's understood that they have fingers and opposing thumbs.

My equine/bovine/cervine characters still have hooves instead of feet. My feline/canid/mustilidae etc. characters have feet and are plantigrade in stance. They do wear shoes even though they have claws on their feet and paws (hands). The hooved characters may or may not wear some type of hoof protection, depending on the character. The hooved characters have fingernails on their paws (hands).

Hope you can understand this confusing mess.

Kellan

[anthony]

I go for digitigrade feet in my stories, but...

You are aware that some species are plantigrade even as fourlegged versions?
I believe Skunks and Badgers are among those who have plantigrade feet, and it wouldn't be right to give them digitigrade feet as anthros.

[Skazwolf]

Yes, I am aware some species are naturally plantigrade such as bears and raccoons. But I'm wondering about species that are digitigrade in nature (like Ethiopian wolves).

So more animal-like or human-like paws for your furs?

[Nicolai Borovskaya]

Well, my view is that if the RL animal is digitigrade, then the furry should be. Many others believe that all furries are plantigrade. It's a personal choice. But I do cringe when I see furries drawn digitigrade that are plantigrade in RL.

Hand paws, otoh, should always have an opposable thumb. Three fingers vs four fingers (paw vs hand) is the debate here. Again, it's a personal choice. Although, if you're writing, you should be consistent.

Plantigrade animals include bears, all of the mustilidae (skunks, wolverines, badger, mink, weasel, etc.), raccoons, pandas, rodents, platypus, hedgehog, anteaters, armadillo, porcupine. . .

If I think of any others I'll edit them in.

Digitigrade would include canine, feline, all hoofed critters, etc. Any animal that has a hock on its hind leg.

My apologies, Asalis, but rabbits and the rest of lapines, imho, are digitigrade in RL. Take a good look at the hind leg. There is a paw there, and a hock (and no pad at the 'heel'). It's just that most of the time they're down resting on the full 'foot'. But take a look at the tracks when they're running, and you'll see that only the rear paw hits the ground. When they're walking, if you watch (I used to raise them), you'll see that the hind leg rises up until only the paw touching and then they hop forward.

Nicolai

[lionO]

I'm sorry if i tread on anyones feet here (excuse the pun)
but curiosity got the better of me as i didn't fully understand
the digitigrade and plantigrade concepts so i looked on wikipedia (well wikifur) not quite sure what to make of it in terms of rabbits
i'll let you furs decide it just thought it was interesting

Wikifur-Digitigrade

[Asalis]

[Concolor]

Okay, here's an excerpt from my FAQ's page:

... having said that, here’s the deal: all anthropomorphic furs in this story are derived from mammals (or occasionally marsupials), specifically those with paws. There are no anthro-ungulates, anthro-reptiles, anthro-amphibians, anthro-avians. Just fur-bearing critters with paws, and not all of those. I don’t include any higher primates, or bats, or anteaters, or sloths, or echidnas, or other weirdness. Sorry.

Eutheric Orders:
Carnivora (land-bound types only, ie: cats, dogs, mongooses, skunks, otters, bears, etc.)
Hyracoidea (hyraxes)
Insectivora (hedgehogs, moles, shrews, etc.)
Lagomorpha (rabbits & hares)
Rodentia (rats, mice, capybaras, etc.)

Primate Families:
Lemuridae (lemurs)
Loridae (lorises)
Tarsii (tarsiers)

Metatheric Orders:
Diprotodontia (wallabies, koalas, wombats, kangaroos, etc.)

Also, small, feral versions of any of the anthropomorphs may be found roaming free. I could see no logical (to use a laughable term, given the context) reason for there not to be. If one accepts the (admittedly very shaky) premise that humans developed from apes, even though there are still apes around, it seemed ‘rational’ (again, ha-ha) to me that anthropomorphs could be descended from their less-advanced counterparts which still cavort in the wild.

Also also, the furs in this world do not use footwear except in certain specific (read: extreme) circumstances, such as clean-room environments, arctic exploration (and even then the locals would not normally use any), and so on.

Also also also, most furs walk digitigrade (on the toes the way cats and dogs do here) as opposed to plantigrade (the way humans walk). This fact is not immediately obvious to the casual observer, however. Due to anthropomorphism, the length of the foot is greatly shortened as compared with their feral counterparts, to allow the knee and hip to work the way they do in humans. There are a few plantigrade exceptions (bears and wolverines to name two) because not all normal animals are digitigrade.

[Skazwolf]

I'm thinking of going with digitigrade legs with 4 toes, and more human-like handpaws with 5 fingers, but with pawpads, claws, and everything.

Another thought: Some of the fursuits I've seen only have 4 fingers, where would you put your extra finger? It'd seem uncomfortable if you were in suit for a while.

[Trekkie]

[Sigurd Volsung]

I have written characters walking both ways depending on the story I'm writing. In Taricana the Kitsune are digigrade, in the Mystic Wolf series the characters are plantigrade and do wear shoes since the streets can have any sorts of material on them (remember in certain areas police dogs wear booties to protect their paws from broken glass and other sharp objects). In yet another series I'm working on the main anthro race is digigrade and only wear shoes in glaze ice areas where the sharp glass can cut up the pads, same as sled dogs, as well as at times wearing snow shoes for walking on deep soft snow.

[GriffinX]

personally the question of the equines 'hand' i think it evolution wise is possible you just have to take in to account little things to make it work for example most species of horse have all the bones required for it it's just that they have fused in to one nail aka the hoof and there are prehistoric records of horses with more than one toe.

when it comes to my characters where the 'hands' are concerned they have a semi ordinary hand except for the fur and the fingernails in this case the finger nail covers the entire area up to the first knuckle.