Quadrapeds

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Quadruped Study Sheet

Quadrupeds we suggest you mainly focus on Canines/Felines but can include any four-legged walkers (horses, bears, raccoons, etc)

Study Sheet wil focus on understanding the anatomy, gesture: 5 10 minute drawings.
You can use the Line of Action Animal Reference and set your timing on the animals you want to draw.
Remember beans and line of action are still appropriate here.

Character Sheet Quadruped Designs for Animation and Game Industry

1 Animation Character should focus on simplicity to draw/animate, and be expressive and with a strong silhouette
1 Game Design Character can be for 2D or 3D Game, consider top-down for sandbox games or side view for side scolling
for both include emotion, facial expression, and action where appropriate

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Quadruped Study Sheet

Animal Photo/Video References Recommendations:

Learn:

Quapdruped Leg Structure - Plantigrade, Digitigrade, Unguligrade

Animation Character Designs based on quadrapeds

Game Design Character Sheets

Animal Photo/Video References Recommendations:

Learn:

Quapdruped Leg Structure - Plantigrade, Digitigrade, Unguligrade

Make your own study of Plantigrade, Digitigrade, and Unguligrade leg structure, with basic bones represented as shapes to gain understanding of how the anatomy shifts as different quadrupeds walk.

A comment from James Suhr:

When dealing with quadrupeds and their legs try to find the shoulder blade. This will help you figure out how the leg works more accurately. Also, study how quadrupeds walk on their toes and how this makes their heels point up the sky. Study the hind leg around where the knee is.

Lastly, please, please, please don’t draw large cats with short rib cages. Most fourlegged animals have a rib cage 1 and a half times longer than ours (1/3 the length of the animal on the whole).

A comment from Susan Bonner:

Big Cats do not have collar bones, their rib cages hang down. Try to think of how it would affect your anatomy to walk on all fours. It would change our spine drastically. Note the curve on the spine is quite different too.

Quadreped Study Sheets

Kane Butkovich - Quadruped Studies

Emma Ward - Quadruped Studies

Animation Character Designs based on quadrapeds

Tiger Character Model Sheet by Chloe Stewart - Draw over by James Suhr

Jillian Oberts - Bison Character

Game Design Character Sheets

Gab Schwall did her studies on the right and pushed the character further to be anthropomorphized and ready for game.

Your character designs can be clothed, have props and special effects like Gab Scwall's for Overpower Druid - color is not required.

Character design for the Big Cat Games App we did in Professional Studio - this one more realistic but simplified and ready to be rigged.

Joe Mead - benchmarks from Rango next to sketches and final work for his game design.

Joe Mead

Work done for Violent Sol by KCAD students in Professional Studio course. We concepted and rigged characters for animation - This is for sandbox style top down games.