You know, looking at this page again, it kinda looks like she’s running on all fours instead of being thrown somewhere. Is that what she’s supposed to be doing, because I didn’t think they were able to move like a quadruped.
They can! 😀 My view on it has always been that all boetheri CAN run on all fours, but it is a rare thing among adults. It’s generally seen in kits as children have more energy, more flexibility, and shorter limbs. 😀 I also imagine it’s something that’s seen less around humans, because it would only further highlight that they aren’t human. This youngster, dressed like she came right from the elf city, is probably a bit more comfortable doing it…and that might be what caused the boys to start picking on her.
At one point I even thought about doing a little animation to show what it’d look like (not smooth like a cheetah’s run, more like a series of pronounced jumps) but I got too lazy to ever do it.
…all that said, it was never fully explained in the comic (there haven’t been a lot of children shown in general and there was no need to just point it out) so you can take all of my explanations with a grain of salt. Whether or not it’s a satisfying answer, thank you for asking! It’s one of those things that’s been sitting in my head so long, I just did it without thinking. It was nice to get to explain it all out.
I always assumed they could and sometimes did…I can easily see Jack running along the rooftops on all fours! In fact, when I saw the movie “The Wolfman” with Benecio Del Toro, whenever he was running around while wolfy, that is exactly how I picture Jack being built and moving! oh, btw, did I ever mention to you that my “actor-model” for Jack is David Boreanaz? 😀 wow, did this comment stray off subject, or what?! lol
I don’t mind, that was very informative, the both of you. This is the first time I’ve seen a discussion about sentient non-humans being both bipedal and quadrupedal by choice. Usually when we get sentient non-humans in fiction they’re either always on 2 legs, always on 4 legs, or can be both but without the sentience.
Interesting use of culture and believable politics to limit something Boetheri naturally could do, and would probably benefit from in certain situations, but choose not to because they already have enough of a negative stigma of being “animals”. I buy it. =)
Now I’m trying to figure out a reason that they choose to run around barefoot most of the time even though Boetheri are advanced enough to at least make wrappings covering most of their feet. That may sound odd but it’s just another one of those standard “beast-people” tropes that just carried through traditional storytelling but never came up with an actual reason to exist.
I’ve always been of the opinion that there wasn’t much point in using animal-people in fiction if there wasn’t a plan to actually make use of the fact that they have animal characteristics. Whether it’s a snarl when they’re angry, hair standing on end when surprised, a prehensile tail they use to hold things, a more athletic/acrobatic way of moving, whatever it is, SOME thought should be put into how they go together. When they’re basically just humans in animal masks, I don’t really see the point.
…so I tend to overthink these things. 😀 And it seems you’re after my own heart.
As for the barefoot thing, with the boetheri in the first comic I justified it in that boetheri feet have pads – and boy, you should’ve seen the internal debate over whether or not I would do that and if so, would their hands have pads also, haha! But between the padded bottoms and the fur on top, their feet seemed far more protected when bare than human feet are. It’s why the boetheri scouts had tougher coverings on their hands than their feet, because their hands would need more padding if they did run on all fours.
…although to answer your question in general, I think it’s just because people aren’t sure how to design shoes for feet like that. 😀
That being said, in preparation for this sequel story, I decided to try to do just that. You can see it in the sketches here (all the way at the bottom) and once we get into the city, most of the boetheri characters we’ll meet there were designed with footwear, and those that weren’t simply can’t afford it.
Like I said, you’re after my own heart. I love it! This is the kind of stuff that’s really fun to think about, and always worth exploring because different people will approach it differently!
Haha! That’s no problem! I can totally see what you’re talking about with the wolf-man too. Some of the effects works can really get into your head and just become the perfect representation of how you view things. It’s kind of awesome because it gives you a way to “realize” it. 😀
Jumping around rooftops in particular. I can see it. 😀
Don’t worry little girl, I’ll save you from those big bad humans.
Surely my social skills are up to this task! 😀
Gods I love this comic.
😀
Great first impression to make
Right? If only he had some kind of musical sting for that last panel it’d be perfect!
You know, looking at this page again, it kinda looks like she’s running on all fours instead of being thrown somewhere. Is that what she’s supposed to be doing, because I didn’t think they were able to move like a quadruped.
They can! 😀 My view on it has always been that all boetheri CAN run on all fours, but it is a rare thing among adults. It’s generally seen in kits as children have more energy, more flexibility, and shorter limbs. 😀 I also imagine it’s something that’s seen less around humans, because it would only further highlight that they aren’t human. This youngster, dressed like she came right from the elf city, is probably a bit more comfortable doing it…and that might be what caused the boys to start picking on her.
At one point I even thought about doing a little animation to show what it’d look like (not smooth like a cheetah’s run, more like a series of pronounced jumps) but I got too lazy to ever do it.
…all that said, it was never fully explained in the comic (there haven’t been a lot of children shown in general and there was no need to just point it out) so you can take all of my explanations with a grain of salt. Whether or not it’s a satisfying answer, thank you for asking! It’s one of those things that’s been sitting in my head so long, I just did it without thinking. It was nice to get to explain it all out.
I always assumed they could and sometimes did…I can easily see Jack running along the rooftops on all fours! In fact, when I saw the movie “The Wolfman” with Benecio Del Toro, whenever he was running around while wolfy, that is exactly how I picture Jack being built and moving! oh, btw, did I ever mention to you that my “actor-model” for Jack is David Boreanaz? 😀 wow, did this comment stray off subject, or what?! lol
I don’t mind, that was very informative, the both of you. This is the first time I’ve seen a discussion about sentient non-humans being both bipedal and quadrupedal by choice. Usually when we get sentient non-humans in fiction they’re either always on 2 legs, always on 4 legs, or can be both but without the sentience.
Interesting use of culture and believable politics to limit something Boetheri naturally could do, and would probably benefit from in certain situations, but choose not to because they already have enough of a negative stigma of being “animals”. I buy it. =)
Now I’m trying to figure out a reason that they choose to run around barefoot most of the time even though Boetheri are advanced enough to at least make wrappings covering most of their feet. That may sound odd but it’s just another one of those standard “beast-people” tropes that just carried through traditional storytelling but never came up with an actual reason to exist.
I’ve always been of the opinion that there wasn’t much point in using animal-people in fiction if there wasn’t a plan to actually make use of the fact that they have animal characteristics. Whether it’s a snarl when they’re angry, hair standing on end when surprised, a prehensile tail they use to hold things, a more athletic/acrobatic way of moving, whatever it is, SOME thought should be put into how they go together. When they’re basically just humans in animal masks, I don’t really see the point.
…so I tend to overthink these things. 😀 And it seems you’re after my own heart.
As for the barefoot thing, with the boetheri in the first comic I justified it in that boetheri feet have pads – and boy, you should’ve seen the internal debate over whether or not I would do that and if so, would their hands have pads also, haha! But between the padded bottoms and the fur on top, their feet seemed far more protected when bare than human feet are. It’s why the boetheri scouts had tougher coverings on their hands than their feet, because their hands would need more padding if they did run on all fours.
…although to answer your question in general, I think it’s just because people aren’t sure how to design shoes for feet like that. 😀
That being said, in preparation for this sequel story, I decided to try to do just that. You can see it in the sketches here (all the way at the bottom) and once we get into the city, most of the boetheri characters we’ll meet there were designed with footwear, and those that weren’t simply can’t afford it.
Like I said, you’re after my own heart. I love it! This is the kind of stuff that’s really fun to think about, and always worth exploring because different people will approach it differently!
Haha! That’s no problem! I can totally see what you’re talking about with the wolf-man too. Some of the effects works can really get into your head and just become the perfect representation of how you view things. It’s kind of awesome because it gives you a way to “realize” it. 😀
Jumping around rooftops in particular. I can see it. 😀