![large[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/e74VkpW.jpg "large[1].jpg")
I was doodling in class today and i thought about something.
I was trying to draw a werewolf or something like it and when i got to the arms i noticed i was making basically human hands with long nail for clawing.
But that doesnt make any sense, long humanoid fingers arent strong enough. They'd need stubby feline fingers to support the claws while tearing through things.
At least thats what im assuming, i cant say i know too much about limb mechanics in different creatures. Is it just a stylistic choice that everyone's accepted to make them look anthropomorphic?
Can anyone shed some light onto this?
>>46333296
The majority of artists, like everyone else, are lazy and stick with what they know. If you've spent a decade practicing human hands, it's hard to forget that.
Good on you for noticing, though. I'm pretty tired of werewolves and bears and tigers which are mostly just fuzzy people
>>46333374
I guess that makes sense. Proper humanoid arms with feline hands look goofy as fuck too, so there's probably esthetic choices there. You either make the hand appropriately sized and it looks too short on a humanoid figure or long enough to fit the length of a humanoid hand and it looks massive compared to the rest of the limb.
This fucking sucks i really liked beastmen and such and now i can't ignore how absurd it is.
I had an idea for character - a big strong wood elf guy who hunts big animals as some sort of spiritual quest to become the supreme hunter because a the wolf god or something told him to. So he'd have a wolf form he used to chase big animals and fight them. Now that i ruined werewolves for myself im thinking of him being a forest hobo with a big knife that chases down increasingly bigger predators and kills them because a hallucination told him he's the apex predator of the world. Is there any system that allows for that fight style? Dagger and a free hand for grappling?
Here is your problem, OP,
a feline's pro-tractable claws are essentially it's fingertips.
You probably want something more bear-like.
>>46333888
Fuck I uploaded the wrong picture. My point stands though.
Here's a bear.
>>46333296
Personally I draw werewolves' claws as extensions of the bones rather than claws.
Skin and muscle end a little before and the exposed bones get hardened. I also end up designing another layer of bone extending over the fingers and the knuckles, becoming some sort of gauntlet thing.
It's overdesigned, but I like my werewolves with some bodyhorror too.
>>46333296
that sounds reasonable, though the trad-off is that short, stumpy fingers to better claw at shit limits its ability to manipulate its enviorment, so it becomes a trade off, do you want them to tear shit apart with their claws, or be able to work small or odd-shaped objects like door handles, latches, flashlights, or firearms just to name a few?
>>46333978
Bears really fit the look,a little less fur and it looks almost like a human arm. And they seem to fight standing on their back legs most of the time.
>>46334049
See that makes a lot more sense because you'd have the entire forearm supporting the claw and not a series of finger joints. Do you still give them fingers under those claws?
>>46334136
Well i always though the entire point is to be a normal person when you need to do normal human stuff and then when you're out of options you turn into a werewolf with the singular purpose of tearing things apart. You'd never need to work with finicky little things but they still give them human fingers.
>>46333296
>>46333296
They don't have to be short and stubby for this to work. If they were a natural creature maybe, but they have super human strength and regeneration typically. Presumably this implies unnaturally tough bones too.
Another explanation might be that werewolf nails are actually bone spurs that extend from their fingerbones.
>>46334607
>Do you still give them fingers under those claws?
Yes, but their sensitivity is highly reduced so they can't use pens or do anything delicate with them, plus their claws get in the way and most tools are useless for them
>>46334607
>You'd never need to work with finicky little things but they still give them human fingers.
It might be because classic movie werewolves actually strangled their victims. Seriously, go watch the old wolfman movies.
>>46334771
I never liked a wolverine-esque healing in monsters, even vampires.
When you shift the horror from internal conflict and all the associated themes, and more towards a generic indestructible monster - it's less intense.
A werewolf should be the manifestation of the host's inner demons, his/her raw animal ferocity. Jekyll & Hyde. The only reason there's a monster on the outside is because there was a monster hidden deep down on the inside the whole time and who knows what it will do when it's in control.
Vampires, while traditionally seductive, are only after stealing the life force of others, not getting their rocks off. Greed, power, eternal 'life' at the cost of your humanity are the terrifying things about vampires. Not that they're super fast or strong or some shit.
>>46333296
For my part when it comes to werewolves that don't become an actual wolf but rather a man/wolf hybrid (basically a furry but that's not the point here) I prefer human hands with unproportionally long fingers with said claws as the primary weapon of a werewolf is biting.
I mean what good would it do if you substitute clawed hands with paws?
Sure you can scratch easier but what abilities do you lose? Like grabbing and holding a guy to rip his throat out with your teeth, prying a metal cage open or punching through a door.
A werewolf is meant to be scary and the scariest body part of the human body are his hands because they can do so much. Enhance them with claws and they get even scarier.
Though in the end it's magic and when it comes to magic you should stop trying to apply exact physics and biology.
>>46335257
I really like this, werewolves abusing their fine digit control and claws to hold things down/hold onto things. Turns them into more technical fighters like in those grappling sports. Like judo except instead of joint locks they use bites to disable limbs or outright kill.
Then ill have werebears as larger beastmen who use their more beastly limbs and massive strength to fight.
Anyway im off to bed, feel free to post more ideas so i can steal them.
>>46333296
Historical accounts of werewolves were people who turned into wolves under different circumstances. Not into wolf-people, but into large actual wolves. The whole idea of a wolf-person is a recent concept, probably introduced by movies and Hollywood as a way to show it in a visual medium.
Nobody has really thought about it and they've probably not done anything different because that is what everyone expects at this point. They've seen werewolves as humanish with a wolf head and legs, they think that a werewolf should be humanish with a wolf head and legs, and so they draw/accept just art that looks like that. The hand strength issue is probably resolved just with the same magic that makes it strong enough to rip through brick and wood.
>>46334951
I think the horror generally comes from a large part from the sheer 'should-not-be' of all the terrifying things of a monster combined with the evil and cruelty the human mind is capable of.
A fully grown wild boar is a fucking beast you don't want to mess with but people hunted them on foot anyway because you can simply provoke it to charge into your spear and impale itself.
Now imagine a boar that has human intelligence and is as malicious as a serial killer. would you set foot in a forest you know something like that is in it?
Basically I have no idea what you think is scary about the dark side in people. Everyone has these somewhere deep inside. I am only afraid of someone who is willing to indulge in those dark desires if he also has the means to do so.
Also in turn people are more likely to give in to greed and such if they don't have to fear the consequences, like if they are powerful.
What I mean to say is that internal conflict is as common as grass, it isn't the scary part of horror. The feeling of powerlessness against a monster that is after you is where real horror comes.
>>46333888
Well the good news is that you can make human feet look like the one of the left.
So wearwolves would tippy toe up to you on their dainty little paws and then do flying leaps at you with the claws that spring out of their feet.
>>46333296
>werewolf
>feline fingers
Canine claws are for traction. Their primary mode of attack is biting. The claws aren't even sharp.
Feline claws are for gripping prey, but not really a primary weapon. They are somewhat fragile and are retractable for that reason.
Bear claws are for digging, and coincidentally will turn you to mince meat if they decide to attack with them. Bears will actually use their claws as primary weapons.
I personally prefer werewolves that are very wolf-like, but really, it's a fantastical thing and whether the claws are realistic is a minor concern compared to "Is it scary"
>>46333738
You might want to look into song of swords. It goes into great depth for weapons and realistic combat, but I was spooked by the crunchiness
>>46336053
I that image pretty well explains why most artist give werewolves more human-like hands. Because paw hands look derpy.
>>46333888
Funny fact, most mammal bone structure is so relatable to one another that a lot of similar bones are just named across the board
This is showing both the human and dog's Radius, Ulna, Carpals, Metacarpals, and Phallanges - though in the case of the dog those could be Tarsals and Metatarsals, I'm too lazy to look it up right now.
With that said, werewolves would probably shift to having more of a bear's claw in terms of whatever. It could just be written off as 'lycanthropy is magic so hurr' but it'd be interesting as fluff.
Bump
>>46342265
why do i want to pet him
>>46342316
I seriously hope you guys don't do this.
>>46336053
>'werewolf'
>it's just a wolf
