Forums » Art & Creativity » Help with Anthros.

I got commissioned by a friend to draw her character in Anthro, Wolf and human form. HOWEVER, I can't really draw Anthro very easily ; Hoping one of you wonderful others could give me a few pointers or reference

You may know this already so don't smack me if it seems obvious to you, but I had a huge "AHA" moment several years back when I started studying underlying anatomy. Somehow looking at reference photos alone hadn't been enough for me to figure it out, but anthros don't have a second "backwards" knee but rather the part of the leg many people mistake for a backward bend is actually what would be the heel bone/ankle in a human. Dogs and cats walk on their toes (which are their paws), and the main part of their "foot" extends up to an ankle joint high enough off the ground that it's sometimes mistaken for a knee, especially in shaggy animals. But in fact they have a separate knee that bends in the correct direction.

I'm sure this is the first thing anthro artists figure out and absolutely everyone knew it but me, but somehow I still find the information really exciting and fascinating. I am forever grabbing my dog and telling her "YOUR ANKLE IS WAY UP HERE." (My dog does not care and wishes I would stop grabbing her legs.)

I did know that lol I draw a lot of somewhat anthro demons with hooves and that same extended limb. Its more of the body itself I have trouble drawing.

Also I looked over at my puppy when I read about you grabbing legs... She gave me a look that said she would bite me if I tried it.

I did know that lol I draw a lot of somewhat anthro demons with hooves and that same extended limb. Its more of the body itself I have trouble drawing.

Also I looked over at my puppy when I read about you grabbing legs... She gave me a look that said she would bite me if I tried it.

http://www.posemaniacs.com/ has always been an important resource to me since I discovered it a few years ago. It's only humans but the fact that it shows the muscles and you can rotate the figures helps me understand things MUCH better. Humans and mammals are built very similarly, so almost all our parts are alike. It's just the proportions of our parts (in relation to one another, like Kim's epiphany about dog ankles) that differ. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jGIQz-BoUs for an example.

Since you brought it up! I love pose maniacs, but I find that some of the anatomy is inaccurate. I was getting frustrated with their gesture drawing tool, so awhile back I built my own to practice with that uses photographs of art models so I can be certain the anatomy is right. It doesn't do the rotation, but I thought I'd throw it out there as a resource.

http://www.pixelovely.com/tools/gesture.html
BE WARNED it uses nude models.

Also for people who want to practice with animals... http://www.pixelovely.com/tools/animalgesture.html