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Carry On: Real Hyenas Of The Serengeti (Intermission)
I'm going to be running this short arc for the next couple of weeks to allow myself the time to rebuild my buffer. December brought a blizzard of lambs and holiday preps and I just ran out of time. I hope you'll enjoy this little digression.
Category Story / Comics
Species Hyena
Size 798 x 1019px
File Size 235.6 kB
"And despite the nickname 'Laughing Hyena' they don't tell any jokes."Kind of like the Clown fish.
And they call these things "Entertaining Crackers." I stood in the store watching them for almost twenty minutes and didn't even crack a smile.
And they call these things "Entertaining Crackers." I stood in the store watching them for almost twenty minutes and didn't even crack a smile.
I have read in a book on hyenas by Jane Goodall that "hyenas are frequently sick, and they roll in the vomit."
Before she switched to chimps, she and her then-husband were studying hyenas, jackals, and wild dogs in Africa. The book's title is "Innocent Killers."
Before she switched to chimps, she and her then-husband were studying hyenas, jackals, and wild dogs in Africa. The book's title is "Innocent Killers."
One needs to pick and choose which "real" traits to include. I might have Songween cough up a bone and hairball and say "Save that for later," but I will never do a "hyena butter" joke.
I've often seen people jump to proclaim "Theobromine is toxic to dogs!" if a dog character has a cup of coffee...but walking upright, talking, wearing clothing, working in an office, having head-hair, and playing the guitar is OK, huh?
Incorporating "real" traits can be fun and helps to flesh out what is essentially an alien being, but just like we humans are no longer chimpanzees (well, most of us aren't...) so too would anthro animals be evolutionarily removed from their feral ancestors.
On the other hand, I also include more "natural"-looking animals, like the antelopes, who go on all fours and don't wear clothes. In human society we have cultures who still live as hunter-gatherers, while other cultures have space programs. So I think that animal groups who don't have a pressing need to "advance" (or whose body shapes make technology use difficult) would develop language and philosophy, but still live close to Nature.
I've often seen people jump to proclaim "Theobromine is toxic to dogs!" if a dog character has a cup of coffee...but walking upright, talking, wearing clothing, working in an office, having head-hair, and playing the guitar is OK, huh?
Incorporating "real" traits can be fun and helps to flesh out what is essentially an alien being, but just like we humans are no longer chimpanzees (well, most of us aren't...) so too would anthro animals be evolutionarily removed from their feral ancestors.
On the other hand, I also include more "natural"-looking animals, like the antelopes, who go on all fours and don't wear clothes. In human society we have cultures who still live as hunter-gatherers, while other cultures have space programs. So I think that animal groups who don't have a pressing need to "advance" (or whose body shapes make technology use difficult) would develop language and philosophy, but still live close to Nature.
Oh, exactly! And, frankly, trying to do a "comic" strip about completely natural animals would be...Mark Trail.
A level of anthropomorphism is necessary in order to connect with the audience.
My husband likes to draw his foxes sitting like foxes or curled up to sleep. I applaud him for that. I really want to do that, too, but for some reason my brain always defaults to using human poses for those things. It's actually kind of lazy of me. I mean, something with digitigrade legs and a tail would not kick back in a recliner with its legs crossed at the "ankle."
Drawing an anthro wearing clothes, and walking on all fours, gets kind of tricky, too. I'd think pants would be very uncomfortable to wear. And then there's the fur, rubbing, binding, and getting ruffled under the movement of the fabric. BUT if you draw an anthro without clothes on, it's "naked." Especially if you give the females human breasts. Yet the Looney Tunes have gotten by without wearing clothes for decades...except when Bugs needs to fool some guy into thinking he's a pretty girl. Then he puts on a costume.
So really, there are all sorts of choices as artist has to make when designing a character and building a world. One of those things is where you draw the line for "suspension of disbelief."
A level of anthropomorphism is necessary in order to connect with the audience.
My husband likes to draw his foxes sitting like foxes or curled up to sleep. I applaud him for that. I really want to do that, too, but for some reason my brain always defaults to using human poses for those things. It's actually kind of lazy of me. I mean, something with digitigrade legs and a tail would not kick back in a recliner with its legs crossed at the "ankle."
Drawing an anthro wearing clothes, and walking on all fours, gets kind of tricky, too. I'd think pants would be very uncomfortable to wear. And then there's the fur, rubbing, binding, and getting ruffled under the movement of the fabric. BUT if you draw an anthro without clothes on, it's "naked." Especially if you give the females human breasts. Yet the Looney Tunes have gotten by without wearing clothes for decades...except when Bugs needs to fool some guy into thinking he's a pretty girl. Then he puts on a costume.
So really, there are all sorts of choices as artist has to make when designing a character and building a world. One of those things is where you draw the line for "suspension of disbelief."
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