I like digitigrade, personally. =3

Daggett!

Spooty spooterson!

the crawling spleeeeeeeeeeen

Plantigrade is too human., too mich like a person in costume.
Digitgrade looks more like the animal that the anthro is.

+1

I prefer digitigrade.

I like both concepts, but I lean towards digitigrade, because for me, it stands out more. :)

digigrade is what I prefer

I prefer digitgrade. Mostly because I like my furries more animalistic. I hate when people make their furry characters so human, that it's basically a person with hair and some whiskers.

And I just like how digitgrade look better :}

I've preferred plantigrade feet for the furs I write about. I was brought up on Bugs Bunny cartoons, and it just seems more 'natural' to have an anthropomorph walking about flat-footed. Hoofed species don't count in this, but a bootblack can make money polishing up hooves.

It really all depends on the style of the artist, personally. I usually like digi a little more, but artists such as Nanook and Mary Mouse are too cute and toony with their big flat footed paws xD

depends on the animal the anthro is :3 some animals are digigrade, some are plantigrade, just makes sense to follow that rule into the anthros... also depends on how 'human' you want the anthro to be -shrugs-

This ^^^

Good examples of plantigrade anthros would be skunks and bears. Digitigrade anthros would be canines and felines.

^^^^^ ditto! hahahhaha

Digigrade, sets the center of gravity differently and (in my opinion) provides better output for pouncing.

I like both a lot! It depends on how the artist draws it.
Most importantly, people shouldnt draw things like kangaroos, bears, raccoons, rabbits, etc. with digitigrade legs, since they don't have them! Giving cats/dogs/whatever plantigrade legs in anthros makes sense, since we're humanizing them, and humans are plantigrade.
But making a rabbit digitigrade? Makes no sense at all.

Also, MEGA props to you. You're the first person I've seen (besides myself) who spells digitigrade right. I keep seeing people spelling it "digigrade" for some reason.

Most digitigrade animals that can stand on their hind feet will switch to plantigrade for that, I believe. So I usually go with that.

Plantigrade for civilized furries and digitigrade for furries who want to look more wild and such. :T

Plantigrades can wear shoes. :3

I much prefer digitgrade. To me, plantigrade seems a bit too stout and flat, whereas digitigrade is more aesthetically pleasing in that it's more slender and less of an accute angle.

I like both. If it a more grown up look I rather have my chars legs digigrade.
For something like chibi style plantigrade I think is better. For me anyway.

Tho it not a major thing for me.

Digitgrade for most drawings. :)

I overall enjoy digitgrade feet. They provide a stronger connection to the animal in my opinion.
Plus they just look baddass and make the tails have more of a purpose than just decoration almost.
The digitgrade feet with a tail provides a proper balance for the body rather than plantigrade. (at least I think so)

There are cons for shoes would have to be a no go with digitgrade.
(this doesn't bother me though since I hate shoes :3)

Plus pants would have to be adjusted in order to fit the added length of digitgrade feet.
Skinny jeans would be hard to make cause you got to get them legs through.
(Though with fur... clothing just seems... horrible if kept tight)

shoes can be modded/created to work with digi-feet, they're just very different. and technically the foot starts at the ankle joint, so skinny jeans wouldn't have to be longer than that. baggy pants wouldn't really matter. they'd could just be long.

Hmm It would seem odd, but yeah I guess it can be done. (for the shoes)
Yeah I'm not saying its impossible but it would require more materials to make certain things and less for others.

So there are pros and cons for both sides.
But I just love digitgrade <3

http://www.guidehorse.org/images/Cuddles2.JPG

There's not point in having shoes for a digitigraded animal.

to protect from hot/cold, and rough or sharp surfaces? they would want to protect their feet, just like people do. sure, they'd have the paw pads, but that only helps so much.

Digi. I prefer it because it seems more appropriate for animal physiology.

Digitigrade, don't know why but I like it.

You could wear shoes, but they'd be a completely different shape and design.

Personally, I think it depends on the character ;)

both. i like all furrys.

hmmm....prolly digigrade

I prefer plantigrade; since your average anthrop is based on human anatomy, they look better that way.

Now mind you, high heels are perfectly OK.

Digitigrade, definitely. I feel that it gives a sense of agility and balance to the creature; plantagrade legs make creatures with them look kinda (heh) flat footed.

For me I prefer plantigrade, it just makes more sense for them, makes anthros look more stable, it also does make shoes way less awkward, I mean one of my friends did draw some shoes for digitgrade feet and they looked like high heels in tennis shoe form.

Also in part it does make them seem more human.

i definitely prefer digitigrade. part of it is just that i really don't like feet >.>

I like them both, and I try to use both equally, since they're both good artistic styles and they both have their advantages.

It's true, if you want a more animalistic-looking anthro, you should go with digigrade... and if you want a more civilized-looking anthro, you should go with plantigrade. Not that you can't go with either, but it's true what you said, they bring different connotations with them.

I prefer digitigrade. I like to think that if animals evolved into humanoids that they would still keep many of their animal features like strong sense of smell, hearing, digitigrades would still be digitigrade and other little things. I usually don't put shoes on digitigrades unless it's armor or something.

Digitigrade.

Digitigrade!

*shrugs* I'm open to both, depending on the overall feel of the image and what I'm trying to portray. When I -do- draw plantigrade feet, I still draw very animalistic toes.

My thoughts expressed at length: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2025557/

I really like your thoughts!

my fursona is Digitigrade because the feet are so cute and im not sure why but I've always thought by looking at them that you could run faster and jump higher if you had legs like that. maybe walking is hard and akward tho. idk, its hard to prove.

For some reason I always draw male characters flat-footed and female characters digitigrade. I have no clue why... and I'm only just realizing it now, so it was subconscious. hmm...

Haha, that is odd. XD

...I think I might be the opposite. o_o Curious.

Either-or for certain characters, though generally I like the look of digitigrade more. It's easier to draw, too. :V

I like them both, just depends on the character design which looks better ^^

Going to go against the overwhelming majority here and say that I prefer plantigrade :3 digitigrade critters standing upright just looks so strangely balanced and uncomfortable. It seems to only really make sense for things like werewolves or critters that can switch from being bipedal to quadrupedal, rather than for more anthropomorphic characters. I think it really depends on how 'human' your character is supposed to be. Werewolves and other more 'wild' sort of critters look good with digitgrade legs because it makes them look more wild, but it would be strange to have a creature with more animal like characteristics doing human things, I suppose.


Also, I find plantigrade easier to draw, but that might be because it involves a lot less made up anatomy and real people can be used as reference, rather than trying to figure out how to turn legs meant to be part of a quadruped into working for bipedal creatures.

I completely agree with everything you said here, personally. XD

I'm actually a little surprised by the overwhelmingly pro-digitigrade response.

I prefer digitigrade; but not so it encompasses the entire leg. The way I draw my anthro feet is as if they are constantly standing on their tip-toes; still has the 'human' feel to the legs, while keeping the 'animal' feel on the ankle and foot.
I've seen a lot of artists do this and it doesn't make them seem too animalistic, if you're worrying about distancing the people from the characters.

Plantigrade. Digitigrade looks stupid to me. These skinny little legs holding up normal sized bodies? Ugh

This guy explains it very well, what would be needed in order to make digitigrade work
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2732911/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4893823/

Personally, it depends on if the animal is plantigrade or digitigrade. For bears, rodents, and the like, I much prefer to see plantigrade. Other animals, digitigrade.

I really feel the use of digitigrade vs plantigrade is highly circumstancial and looks better in certain settings.

In stories that are modern time based in regards to clothing styles, attitudes, and life it seems better to do plantigrade as it looks more natural with the clothing and tends to give a tiny bit more connection for the viewer. The style of the artist affects whether digitgrade or plantigrade looks better too. I find that cartoony style works best with plantigrade and more realistic to work with digitgrade however the characters would not have any use for shoes or their shoes would be very different from traditional foot wear. A lot of it comes down to the skill or feel the artist wants to portray

In art plantigrade looks fine to me as long as the proportions arent too abnormal or forced. I find plantigrade creatures look best in simpler clothing or none at all. I prefer plantigrade over digitgrade because it mixes human/animal a bit more and gives them a little more of a feral or natural look HOWEVER animals standing upright is completely unnatural and it makes a bit more sense for plantigrade due to the posture of upright animals and the support their back needs.

Im one of the people for digitgrade. I dont see why they cant be made more believable by being thickened up , made to be a bit bulkier with larger paws to help distribute the weight :3

I like plantigrade and the reason is for balance of the look.

I like using both however i do prefer using plantigrade.

I normally dont put shoes on digitigrade feet because i think it looks odd x_x

It's odd actually - some of my characters are plantigrate and some digigrade. Each adds a bit to the nature of the character (or it's heritage). Platigrade internally means to be 'evolved/domesiticated' where as Digigrade means 'mythical/truer to nature'.

Modern characters in our settings with our clothing need plantigrade legs.

But it's mostly situational and what people want (in commissions, I guess).

I like plantigrade critters from an aesthetic viewpoint more, but that's because I just love the human body.

I don't like digitigrade feet for animal species that don't have them.

I have a very strong plantigrade preference, for both pure and impure reasons.

Impure reason: because I have a fetish and plantigrade feet are more aesthetically appealing. Digitigrade paws, by contrast, don't really do it for me.

Pure reason: locomotion. Upright bipedal creatures are simply designed for plantigrade legs (or is it plantigrade legs are designed for upright bipedal creatures? Well, either way....) I'm not saying that something on two digitigrade legs would be completely immobile or anything--you can walk that way, it's just awkward compared to the plantigrade design, which is clearly the most efficient and optimal evolution. Compare walking on your tip-toes all the time to... not walking on your tip-toes all the time. You can do it but it's weird and not what you were really built for.

HEH. I can respect that. XD

Also...I actually never really thought too much about how inconvenient it would be to walk on two digitigrade feet. o.o; It does make sense that if the character is going to move and behave in an otherwise "human" fashion, it should be built like that.

(Also, yes, I totally just walked/trotted/sprinted across the room on my toes to test it. I am a dork.)

it is possible, and there are some of us who do. Our calf muscles are better defined that the rest of the population, and our sense of balance is probably tuned differently but I walk, run and stand that way constantly and there are others who do as well but don't admit it. The thing to remember is that the knee is constantly bent so that there is a spring like action to the gait and not a "tip toe" stance where the knee is locked.

I've heard of some people who do that as a matter of habit, and know that it shortens the achille's tendon, resulting in potentially permanent damage and acute pain later in life, somewhat comparable to the damage done to the leg mucles from wearing high heels too often. I do not envy that. XD

being a student of dance i think will prevent that though

Some should be plantigrade no matter what: bears, skunks, mustelids, squirrels, etc.

I generally prefer more animalistic anthros, and when applicable prefer digitigrade. Some artists draw feet that appear sort of half way in between, and I don't know why but those really look strange and bother me if I notice it.

I'm more partial to digitigrade but only on anthros whose animal side would have them, not ones such as bears, raccoons, etc.

I guess it depends on what you are trying project with your art. If you are trying to project the human aspect of it, then I would suggest Platigrate, however if your trying to project that they are more animalistic in nature, the Digigrade.

I prefer digigrade that are more elongated so that legs are almost a mix of the two.

my 2 cents...feel free to give change.

Some species look okay with one or the other.

I definitely prefer digitigrade, at least for horses. It makes sense with hooves.

Quite an interesting topic you have chosen, and quite popular already!

I myself prefer Digitigrade, for the over all look of balance and beauty. If something has a tail, to me it feels like they need the extra ability to pivot weight around, or rather, cause they have a digi-legs, they need a tail. Where anything that walks around on two, the more upright they are the smaller the tail seems to be in the animal world.

But it is true, if you are going to draw the lower portion of clothes past shorts, it does make things more awkward, and the whole idea of shoes just doesn't work in my mind (although I have drawn types of sandals in the past for digi.)

Plantigrade style is really more for those types of furs that are trying to portray themselves, as themselves, but with an animal face. No limitations on clothes, no extra things to really figure out like how would you get that over-sized heal through those skin tight jeans, and so on. So I find myself asking when I take commissions "What kind of legs are you?" And I also do come across plantigrade people wanting either paw feet or more humanistic toes. What I have come to find with people is it really depends on how they play, and that those that are an everyday, modern character, are planti, but anyone who does more wild, jungle types, tend to lean way more in the digi area.

For me, it's an interesting subject that I have thought about before, and wonder if there are any rivals between the two styles amongst people here on FA and other furry sites; what the perks are from one to the other, and how can both styles be in the same world per say, if they are at all. And that inspired a story I'm trying to work on now, where you do have both types of anthros in the world, and a "racial" tension between the two dividing factions (then you get all the sub species of cats, dogs, bear, etc.) Quite fun to play around with flip-flop things like this :D

I know; I didn't think so many people would have such impassioned opinions on the subject. XD

And I agree with your assessment on the different "types" of furs, and their use of the different statures. I actually found myself thinking about this to begin with because of two different comic projects I've done/am doing (one older project having more "feral" characters that I had used digitigrade legs with, and the other project having a more modern theme where I gave them plantigrade legs without even noticing the style discrepancy until just now).

It'd be interesting to read a story about the two different types interacting, and how each group developed. XD

The story I'm writing and hope to get past my first comic book of pages should hopefully be a fun read. It's going to touch racism, war, slavery in some parts, history (some based on forms of actual history,) action, adventure and steampunk bits tosses in for fun XD mainly cause I'm placing it in a kind of steam era for certain lazy reasons (I don't want to draw cars.) The way the story is going is the Plantigrade types are the dominate stature (think the white Europeans explorers,) who are out for exploration, wealth and stature, that put a lot of pressure and hate on the digi types, who are more about just living in nature and peace and are more of a tribal type of people in most cases. And the one thing that is hated even more then the digi's is cross breads.

So far when it comes to Planti and Digi types, there is no one side that has just cats or just dogs, or just exactly what ever. Planti sofar have Tigers, good number of dog types, bears and a few others, while Digi's have Wilddogs, Lions, Ocelots, some scalie things. The list will explode after a while XD

Quite complicated right now, and I'm mainly working on the main characters and world development before I continue to draw the story out, and it's going to be quite epic (I hope)

Digitigrade. Shoes are unneeded, due to tougher skin on the bottom of a paw. Humans have pansy tender feet. Thank you evolution Dx

Overall, if it makes sense for the species, I prefer digitigrade, especially if I feel that the hock is an important feature in the species/breed. For examples in camels, those joints right above their feet that are so key, especially with being a even toed ungulate and only having 2 toes. Then with the way their legs fold when kushed, you can see their hocks and the lines involved and it is just so fascinating and a lovely study to see and examine first hand. And when we talk breed standards in dogs, there's sometimes a fair focus on the legs in some breeds, and why, like to give the Chow their stilted, rolling gait, their legs are pretty straight and stiff and lovely. To think more on how to bring over as much of a breed and species as possible is something I'm working on more and more, even though I have always tried to.

And that's not to say I'm against plantigrade, there's some species out there that walk as such and it goes back to what I just said about bringing over as much of the species as possible into an anthro form. And I have no problem if ever a customer requests me to do it regardless of species basis or not. I do however find digitigrade easier.

There are countless ways to manipulate clothes and shoes to fit digitigrade, I prefer barefoot for the most part because...sometimes drawing shoes sucks. As for lack of emotional connection, it probably depends on the person, there's a lot of us(even with my anti-AR stance and what not), who, for one reason or another, feel more connection towards animals/nature regardless, so digitigrade isn't going to make us feel less connected. There may be some whom it deters on some levels, but I think more and more people will become used to it over time.

I generally preffer digitgrade where appropriate. Obviously there are some species that are naturally Plantigrade.

digitigrade, because look more....wildest, and plantigrade look more neko than furry, or like to see like false furry

Digitigrade to me are more asthetically pleasing and fit my characters' personalities and the setting they're in. Obviously there are several species of animl that just don't have digitigrade legs (read bears, raccoons, wolverines and their ilk, etc) and they look just fine plantigrade, i prefer to keep with the natural tendancies of the animal in question

Digitigrade, done well, is an attractive way to go. However, it is very hard to look "right"... people often draw the paws too far forward (center of gravity isn't somewhere in the feet, so the character should be falling backwards), or with the legs positioned so that standing upright all day would really abuse the quadriceps and knee-tendons (stand on your toes, squat a little so your knees are bent, see how long you can do that before the pain in the knees is too great). The proportions are difficult to get right, which includes the footpaws themselves. Most artists draw the paws too small. The "contact patch" on the ground should be about the same area as a human foot. So if the paw is shorter, it needs to be broader.

That being said, either really works. As for shoes.. the human foot is a real challenge to do shoes for correctly, why would paws be harder? We just have 50,000 years of experience and have made shoe-manufacture a well understood task. We've also tackled the same problem for animals; if you want examples, look in a dog-supplies catalog for booties for sled-dogs. Paw-shoes, no problem. Plus, you can always do sandals. I've always thought that sandals that lace up the shank of the foot look very nice on digitigrade anthros.

Things to think about when designing digitigrade footwear... the claws are larger. How are the shoes put on without snagging on the claws? There is more flex between paw and footshank than on a human... how does the shoe deform in response to that? What about the claws themselves, are they exposed (open-toed boots)? How far up the shank does the shoe go? How do you keep your kids from using them as chew-toys?

Digitigrade also seems to work a little better in fantasy settings than modern, though that can be used as a tool by the writer (i.e. digitigrade furries are seen as throwbacks, primitives, the equivalent of the unibrow).

There are other physical characteristics which can go multiple ways which to me correlate to the digitigrade/plantigrade axis, but that's another subject.

XD I was going to go into that little fact, that if such anatomy were real within our world, that we would have had millions of people worth of talent devoting time to that particular form. But I figured I might get poked at for explaining it that way. ~^..^~

For me, it varies with the animal, the range of digitigrade (more or less pronounced), how it's drawn.. any number of things. I like it to be 'most anatomically correct'. Not to say it exists, but I prefer that if it *were* real, that it would work properly.

A typical fully upright, normal, human top (hips up) would not work correctly with full on dog-type back legs. It just wouldn't. The legs would have to be much straighter, albeit not necessarily to the shape of human legs. (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4653127/, http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4899256/, http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3505344/)

Or the upper half would have to be more forward/hunched, in order to balance over the legs, and it wouldn't likely allow for particularly fast locomotion, but would potentially allow a four legged run. Assuming the forepaws/hands are soft, wimpy, overly human things. (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3158736/, http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4065732/, http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3998735/, http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3998735/, ** http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3478761/ <- last one is my most favourite depiction ever)

As for preference, or connecting with a character. I'm not more drawn to one or the other. If anything, just to what goes together well. If a character is well built/proportioned/etc, then I'm happy. ^..^

... Yes. I tend to go with 4-toe feet, whether plantigrade or digitgrade, but I don't really have a preference of one over the other. As for footwear, there's no reason you can't make shoes for digitigrade feet. It'll be different, sure, but you can still do it.

Depends on the situation. Like you described, then plantigrade. More animalistic, then digitigrade.

Digitigrade, but no shoes on them :P I do think it depends on the setting and type of characters.. Your art is more animalistic to me and I'd see your characters being digitigrade, it seems to fit. Some styles suit plantigrade better, but I think digitigrade anthers can wear modern pants and look fine.

well, I prefer digitigrade because 1. it looks cooler, 2. it's more like an animal instead of a human body with an animal head

yeah, doing digitigrade makes clothing very difficult x.x That's why I keep the pants as shorts and barefoot, if its clothed at all (everything covered by fur)

Plantigrade. Speaking practically, it is the most sane foot form to have on a two-legged creature. I do like big, powerful toes on them though, so they still have the " benefit" of digitigrade's "spring" in its step and being able to roll on the ball of the foot more gracefully.

Digitigrade all the way!

My preference varies by character and setting. I don't think there's a universal correct answer, as it all depends on exactly what kind of feeling you're going for in the piece.

And don't forget unguligrade for some of the hoofers! ;)

Depends on the character design.

I certainly prefer digitigrade legs in anthro art. Plantigrade legs just seem foreign and out of place in anthro, to me. Whilst I do think that it necessitates going barefoot, that isn't such a bad thing in my opinion.

It depends on the character and the situation. But ether or for me.

Digitigrade!

Because its less human. I know there's a couple plantigrade animal species out there but not as many as digitigrade. Besides I find Digitigrade legs very evolved, streamlined, and elegant compared to the solid lame plantigrade style.

I prefer digitgrade for two reasons: I think that it adds extra grace, and it does less to humanize a character.

Late to the party, but here's my input anyway.
I give anthros the type of leg/feet that their non-anthro counterparts have. If it's a bear, it's plantigrade. If it's a canine, it's digitigrade.
If left to my own devices, I don't give them shoes at all. Pawpads and claws are typically enough in my book.

Depends on the species of the character and how well the artist in question can render each, but as a whole I prefer digitigrade.

i usually go with fits best With the art style, but i prefer digitgrade when bare foot, plantigrade when wearing shoes

digitigrade

Creatures like otters who are plantigrade, should be plantigrade. Creatures like cats, which are digitigrade, should be digitigrade.

Digigrade looks better for most.. But a lot of Plantigrades looks really good as well.

digitrade

I prefer plantigrade myself. Digigrade legs make no sense to me personally. An animal walking upright wouldn't walk upright with those legs, as such they don't. Seems like it'd be painful if they did for any extended duration of time since that's not what they were designed for. For the humanized animal that stands and functions upright like a human, legs with functionality like that of a human would be necessary.

So, I find digigrade legs look silly on anthro art of most any kind. Plantigrade legs further gives the sense that they are being humanized, which to me is the entire point of what we're trying to accomplish with anthro art. :)

"An animal walking upright wouldn't walk upright with those legs"

Not an actual animal, no. But anthro's do, and can, and technically if one were to create an anthro, it's possible. And it's not about being humanized, it's about being...furry...ized...that's the whole point of this fandom, and its art.

I agree more with someone else's comment above in this journal...

"locomotion. Upright bipedal creatures are simply designed for plantigrade legs (or is it plantigrade legs are designed for upright bipedal creatures? Well, either way....) I'm not saying that something on two digitigrade legs would be completely immobile or anything--you can walk that way, it's just awkward compared to the plantigrade design, which is clearly the most efficient and optimal evolution. Compare walking on your tip-toes all the time to... not walking on your tip-toes all the time. You can do it but it's weird and not what you were really built for. "

That's more the point I was trying to make. Sure, in the fantasy of it anyone can do whatever they want. Realistically, that'd be a lot of weight and create for horrible balance walking on your toes all the time. Real animals with digitigrade legs do not have to support their whole weight on their 'toes' all the time, and they aren't going to fall backwards because their on all fours. That works. :)

I actually catch myself walking digitigrade on a regular basis, and it is actually more comfortable for me than walking plantigrade. Same with just standing, or running, or even jumping and dancing. But I suppose I could just be a freak, too. XD But it's because of this that I actually prefer to draw anthros of animals that walk digitigrade with digitigrade legs. If that animal is naturally plantigrade, though, then I'll draw it that way. It all depends on the animal and personal preference. To each their own, right?

Hah. That seems hard to do. But if you can do it then alrighty then lol.

Well, running I think we use our toes more than the heel. Running on your toes doesn't seem too difficult since you're generally leaning forward already in doing so.

Standing around though, that'd be weird. I salute you :)

yeah, for standing i'm not sure i see the logic, as it would likely be a waste of energy. but alot of females do seem to walk on their toes - i don't know if that's a carry over from high heels. but it does seem to show digitidrage is thought of as elegant in some way. and yes, i expect running on the toes is quite common.

Hm! I never understood why girls where high heels. I think they look bad and don't understand the reason to where something uncomfortable lol. Weird fasion trend :p but their heels still have support.

i don't understand such shoes either, but they seem to be very popular. they have heels, but the feet are held at such an angle, and i think they have to change their method of walking to be more on the balls of their feet. you'd have to ask someone that wears them to be certain though.

For me, it's just something I've always done. It's pretty much second nature. I never wear high heels because they hurt my back. For some girls I know it does carry over from wearing heels, but I know a few other girls who are like me and just do it because it's comfortable. I don't use me heels at all when I run; it's all on my toes. I seem to have better balance when standing on my toes than I do on my flat feet...But again, I'm weird. Just throwing in my 2 cents. :3

well yes, i wasn't aiming to suggest heels were the sole reason. pun not intended. if anything, you could look at the reverse of what i said - since i could see wearing of regular shoes teaching people to walk more plantigrade. makes it hard to say what the most natural way to walk really is. although i could see digititigrade being of a higher chance of inury. i walk and run on my toes reasonably frequently - and i expect running in such a way is fairly common. but standing wouldn't be something i'd do for long on my toes. it does seem to be more tiresome.

... that's only the point according to you. it's the point for werewolves (animalised human (usually)), but not peter rabbit (humanised animal). both would be accepted as furry art.

No, it's the point to the whole fandom. If it wasn't everything would look too human. Or do you not know what this fandom is all about or how it was started? Come on. This is knowledge we should all know for reasons more than obvious. Duh.

if you think i don't know what the fandom is about, then feel free to inform me. but there is no reason to be a dick about it. the definition for furry art is usually defined as animals with human characteristics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furry_fandom which is the opposite of what you are saying. however, i would not call your definition incorrect either. it's preference and depends on the specific character. peter rabbit was given as an example because the characters beatrix potter used were animals behaving as humans, and sometimes wearing human style clothes (animals given human traits). some of the earliest and most famous cartoon characters such as mickey mouse and bugs bunny do not possess digitigrade legs - some barely even resemble the animal - but they were likely what started the fandom as we know it today (i would also call these animals with human traits, but that may be down to interpretation [there are also some who prefer to look at anthros as being a hybrid or amalgam of man and animal, as you may notice in some of the posts of others - people have different definitions based on what appeals or feels right to them]). i can only assume you are mainly talking about 'fursonas'. although i don't think that is what formed the fandom as we know it, i agree that it is a huge part, as we can see from peoples accounts and avatars. but if people are choosing something to represent themselves, surely it is up to them to decide? (obviously i am aware we could choose to try and discuss the supposed true origins of such things by looking into fantasy/folklore/legend/etc, but i think it would be too hard to speak with much certainty. i also don't know enough to go into huge detail of even of the cultures we knew of having such mythology. but i don't think this is what you meant anyway, as i'm not sure it counts as being part of the fandom, even if many of those in the fandom enjoy such themes).

Oh, and this: "Creatures like otters who are plantigrade, should be plantigrade. Creatures like cats, which are digitigrade, should be digitigrade."
"

Digigrade for me plz. I like furry characters because they feel fantastical (as in the fantasy meaning)--the more further away from what's real, the better for me. Of course, I'm alright with natural-looking characters, as long as they're well done ;3

I personally think putting plantigrade feet on a character, who's animal they represent doesn't have plantigrade feet in the first place is -really- stupid and annoying. It's like...the artist draws EVERYTHING right, and it all looks good, except for when you glance down and see that they put plantigrade feet on. It's definitely a mood killer. And with that kind of artist, they usually make the hands look like human hands, the face look not as furry as it should be, etc. Definitely a mood killer. To this day I haven't seen more than a few artists who draws plantigrade feet that I don't mind seeing.

It's about furitizing things people. That's what this whole fandom is about. XD

i think calling it stupid is going a bit far. even though i reaslise it's your opinion, it just seems a bit much for what really is personal preference over fantasy characters. i suppose i can sort of understand if you think any physical human characteristics are un-natural. but if we're talking anthros, well i guess i just don't understand why someone would feel so strongly about what is someone elses preference. especially to go as far as being insulting.

The way some artists do it, digitigrade looks very good.
However, Overall I'd say I prefer plantigrade, because it feels more animal-human hybrid thing than animal-on-hind-legs.

Also for trying to imaging how one would do normal tasks, plantigrade just makes more sense. (shoes, pants, driving, etc)

To me, plantigrade looks like "human with an animal head stuck on," like the Egyptian gods (and almost nothing looks sillier than Khephera, except maybe Thoth). I've always tried to push more of the animal into body designs, though I won't go as far as hooves instead of hands (not really practical). Without the animal elements in other parts of the body besides the head, it just doesn't seem "real" to me.

I like to see both if they're drawn well. But I much prefer digitigrade, simply because I prefer a more animalistic look and feel. That, and I tend to walk digitigrade myself, at times. XD

An anthro/furry/whatever with digitigrade legs, I think, would simply wear baggier pants (male and female), or skirts (female)/sarongs (male and female). I feel they would definitely have to go barefoot, unless they wanted to wear something similar to those booties you can get for your pets, which I think look kinda tacky. lol I much prefer going barefoot anyway. Obviously, I tend to project myself a bit in my anthros... :3

i think it's more about what people prefer than what looks right. i used to prefer plantigrade, as it seemed a more likely set up for an animal walking on it's back legs as a human does. although something digitigrade can add a certain look of elegance, especially females. plus it's something to make the character a little more on the side of animal than human. i think many furries would opt for digitigrade for similar reasons. digitigrade may well appear awkward to non-furries however.

Personally, I like digitigrade feet.

One reason might be that it separates anthros from humans. Not to mention that I think that plantigrade feet on, say a reptile morph, is just plain ugly. Scaly human feet with long claws is not my idea of a good look.

it really depends on the character, i like digigrade for almost all of my characters but there are a few that look better with plantigrade.

so definantly digigrade lol

Personally, I would draw both a little more to see how it feels and flows with the comic. Recently, I've also begun to like the digitigrade legs. If the comic is darker, I would also go with the digitigrade legs to help bring out the "animal" in some characters.

I prefer digitigrade, although I think both can be successful in anthro art. The reason I'm attracted to the furry fandom is the focus on the animal side over the human, so I prefer anthro art where the anatomy is more realistic to what the animal would have in real life. When you're dealing with furries that are more "human", i.e wear clothes and drive motorbikes, I think plantigrade is kinda necessary.

personally, i prefer digitigrade. personally, my character doesn't wear shoes (or any other clothing for that matter) as, being a dragon, he has nice, tough scaled feet besides, think how uncomfortable shoes would be with claws anyways. or even just with fur!

I prefer digitigrade although I'm aware of the problems a person with such limps would have, such as walking backwards. I however have never seen a good implementation of shoes on digitigrade characters. I'd assume it'd look like a mechanical modification of a heeled shoe to allow such a character to have better stability and protecting the footpads from common surfaces(such as hot sidewalks and gravel).

However it is possible to de-humanize a plantigrade foot by designing it to be more paw-like such as in works by Zen for Example.
The issue however with a plantigrade paw is the lack of a foot arch for support would cause pain and possibly instability.

I personally enjoy dehumanized feet/paws or hooves mostly for aesthetic reasons, but I'm aware of the issues regarded to such anatomy.