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Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Housecat
Size 1280 x 854
File Size 154.5 kB
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As mentioned in the other parts of this series, this Paw Study is part of the Balaa’s “Artist Conspiracy” series, who’s whole purpose is to provide both good reference pictures for artists as well as inspiration to try them out in new artwork! There are nine pictures in this series, with the “number zero” having been posted a long, long time ago now: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/432365/
As this /is/ a Paw Study, I thought the very best candidate for modeling would best be a kitty with very large and imposing paws, who doesn’t mind showing them off. So, logically, that led me to The DrifterMan, who was more than happy to volunteer.
This is the second half of the two-parter, where Drifter is grooming his face. In this one as well, many of the same features of the underside of the paw can be seen here, as with the first two of the series. With this image, one can see the actual licking onto the foreleg and writst, which is them subsequently used to rub over the ears and head to clean the fur. Saliva is very antibacterial, so “cleaning” is not just a relative term. Even pesky insect like fleas and such have a hard time with the properties of saliva, so they will generally stay away from the head-fur areas, entirely /because/ of the grooming. This image is also good as it displayed how far forward the digits of the paw extended in front of the pads. The darker lines of fur that are visible here show clearly where the claw-sheaths are.
Another worthy note, specifically regarding dewclaws: felines only have dewclaws on the forepaws, not on the rear paws. So, if you do the math, that’s 5 claws per paw in the front, and 4 claws per paw for the rears, 18 daggers total per cat.
This picture is a rather grand display of exactly how /big/ Drifter’s forepaws really are. If you compare them to the size of his head, then is gives you a fairly clear, relative perspective. No small paws for that kitty!
So this is the third image of the Drifter paw Study. Enjoy!
This picture was taken 20-Jul-03. The image was taken with a Canon EOS 10D and the EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens. The original was taken at full frame of 3072x2048x24b, ISO eqv 400, 1/250 shutter, f/4.5. This image was shrunken down for space conservation.
As this /is/ a Paw Study, I thought the very best candidate for modeling would best be a kitty with very large and imposing paws, who doesn’t mind showing them off. So, logically, that led me to The DrifterMan, who was more than happy to volunteer.
This is the second half of the two-parter, where Drifter is grooming his face. In this one as well, many of the same features of the underside of the paw can be seen here, as with the first two of the series. With this image, one can see the actual licking onto the foreleg and writst, which is them subsequently used to rub over the ears and head to clean the fur. Saliva is very antibacterial, so “cleaning” is not just a relative term. Even pesky insect like fleas and such have a hard time with the properties of saliva, so they will generally stay away from the head-fur areas, entirely /because/ of the grooming. This image is also good as it displayed how far forward the digits of the paw extended in front of the pads. The darker lines of fur that are visible here show clearly where the claw-sheaths are.
Another worthy note, specifically regarding dewclaws: felines only have dewclaws on the forepaws, not on the rear paws. So, if you do the math, that’s 5 claws per paw in the front, and 4 claws per paw for the rears, 18 daggers total per cat.
This picture is a rather grand display of exactly how /big/ Drifter’s forepaws really are. If you compare them to the size of his head, then is gives you a fairly clear, relative perspective. No small paws for that kitty!
So this is the third image of the Drifter paw Study. Enjoy!
This picture was taken 20-Jul-03. The image was taken with a Canon EOS 10D and the EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens. The original was taken at full frame of 3072x2048x24b, ISO eqv 400, 1/250 shutter, f/4.5. This image was shrunken down for space conservation.
Category Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Housecat
Size 1280 x 854px
File Size 154.5 kB
(Shasta smiles) Could be. There is a lot of discussion among biologists that the "yawn" that many cats do is not really a yawn in the same sense that /we/ yawn (to get some extra oxygen into the system), but rather, a display of those nice teefies, kindof as a "This is what /I/ have; what do /you/ have that compares?" The the paw display might be of similar venue. But of course, until I can speak cougar, I'll never know for sure. :)
I never realized how dark the fur around the pawpads was on an otherwise mostly tawny furred cat...
Is this a characteristic of cougars in general? and what about other big cats like tigers, leopards, etc? I'm glad you are posting pics like these - because its so hard to find good photos of paws of big cats ... or any creatures, really.
Is this a characteristic of cougars in general? and what about other big cats like tigers, leopards, etc? I'm glad you are posting pics like these - because its so hard to find good photos of paws of big cats ... or any creatures, really.
It really varies from species to species. Cougars are all about the same, in that they all have the dark fur on the undersides of the paws. Some, like Dagger, were almost dark grey, so it seems to vary with how dark their fur is naturally. Cougars are odd as they can vary in fur color from almost red, to grey, to so tan, they might as well be "blonde". It's all about habitat. Cougars have an amazing ability to just adapt and "blend" perfectly.
I've got another 6 photos to post of /this/ series, and I'll see what else I can find. Someone's already requested a hind paw, so I have to find one of those, if I have any. :)
As far as other felines, there's two pix in my gallery that might be of help. This one - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/689183/ - if of Zeus, a jaguar, that shows just a bit of his right forepaw's underside, but this one - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/432324/ - is considerably better, and is of Nemesis' forepaw underside (Nemesis is a leopard, and Macumba’s dad). I hope these help a little to answer the question. :)
I've got another 6 photos to post of /this/ series, and I'll see what else I can find. Someone's already requested a hind paw, so I have to find one of those, if I have any. :)
As far as other felines, there's two pix in my gallery that might be of help. This one - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/689183/ - if of Zeus, a jaguar, that shows just a bit of his right forepaw's underside, but this one - http://www.furaffinity.net/view/432324/ - is considerably better, and is of Nemesis' forepaw underside (Nemesis is a leopard, and Macumba’s dad). I hope these help a little to answer the question. :)
Please forgive my two-year+ absence. Life, for a while, has been a bit overwhelming and depressing, but I'm trying to recover and get back into things here (hopefully updating my page here eventually).
He's truly a wonderful kitty. He turns 14-y-o next month, and while markedly less social towards most folks as he's gotten older, he still has his wonderful purry moments, and still give me tongue-burn. :)
As far as your wish, I'd encourage you to look around your local area. You never know; you might have a facility with animals just around the corner. :)
He's truly a wonderful kitty. He turns 14-y-o next month, and while markedly less social towards most folks as he's gotten older, he still has his wonderful purry moments, and still give me tongue-burn. :)
As far as your wish, I'd encourage you to look around your local area. You never know; you might have a facility with animals just around the corner. :)
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