#fantasy anatomy

[arinnovo]

*rattle sounds*

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

You had a post a while back about plus-size merfolk being based on cetaceans and pinnipeds, and I couldn't help but wonder if they'd be able to "sit" like mermaids are typically portrayed doing. Especially pinnipeds, since technically their "fins" would literally be feet and their pelvis would be at the "ankles"? What "on land" poses will they be able to assume?

if they're pinnipeds, and specifically a sea lion or walrus, the classic mermaid sitting on a rock pose should work fine! they're the only way to give a mermaid actual functioning knees.

without that structure, they won't be able to do it with a clear knee bend, but they might still be able to lounge sort of upright on a rock anyway, maybe a bit more sideways and with a much softer tail bend. or they can lounge belly down, that's cozy.

but here's a look at why the sea lion and walrus are the only ones that can do the classic sitting pose:

(image description: simplified sketches of pinniped skeletons. the sea lion and walrus both have a note on them saying "hind legs still kinda function as legs" while the seal has a note saying "hind legs are basically a tail now." end description.)

and if you look up videos of seals vs sea lions moving across a beach or the deck around a zoo exhibit or something, you'll see that seals bounce their whole bodies over the ground while sea lions have a weird way of running with their hind feet. so they still use their feet as feet! their "tail" is feet. weird long flat feet, and very short legs, with no external separation between them. but legs and feet all the same.

(image description: sketches of sea lion-like mermaids. one is awkwardly standing upright on their feet-fins, while the other is sitting down. their basic skeletal structures are outlined faintly to show how their legs work beneath the blubbery flesh. the upright one has a note saying "technically possible." end description)

moving around with those hind legs would not be easy or all that comfortable, for the most part. They should be able to run the same way an actual sea lion does, and maybe they could learn to stand upright for brief periods of time, but that would be the extent of their on land mobility. and this still only works if they have the same leg structure as a sea lion or walrus, as a seal's more tail-like hind legs are far less capable of this type of support, and whales have lost their hind limbs entirely. the larger they are, also, the less they'll be able to do on land (walruses aren't quite as mobile as sea lions)

[mayapapaya33]

Something to consider is tusk anatomy when drawing The Orcs. Anatomy should be considered in general of course, but you need to keep in mind the fact that you're drawing a fantasy character and adjust muscle, tendon, and bone accordingly. In some of the art it looks like the tusks just appear on top of the lip out of nowhere. It looks so fake and can tarnish an otherwise gorgeous piece of artwork.

Anatomy is SO hard, I'm not trying to be mean! I just want people to keep in mind while drawing that the tusks need to come from somewhere, not merely hover in front of the face. They need to be incorporated into the anatomy of the face. They will affect the position of the lips.

[rillunax]

My headcannons about water ghouls and the biology to back them up. I started something like this a few years ago but wanted to overhaul it with my new art style and more scientific detail. Hopefully I can complete it and do all the ghoul types this time!

One of water ghouls’ biggest strengths is their ability to thrive both on land and in water. In order to survive this way, their respiratory system is a complex hybrid of both lungs and gills. On land, they rely on their diaphragm to intake air and their alveoli to absorb oxygen, like the rest of the ghouls (this is also how they breathe while glamoured, since their gills disappear and cannot properly exhale carbon dioxide). They can attempt to breath through their gills while on land, but it goes against their body’s natural movements and can prove to be a challenge if air is not directly flowing through them. In water, water enters through their mouth before filling their lungs (now acting as buccal cavities and two separate pharynxes) and being exhaled through the opercular valves. The lungs’ alveoli are essentially useless while underwater, so oxygen is instead received through the capillaries in the gill filaments. Before diving, they instinctually inhale—not to hold their breath, but to lower their diaphragm and turn their lungs into a larger pharynx. Upon resurfacing, water ghouls can expel any excess water in their lungs with a firm exhale.

[yehoria-offical]

We need a medical drama anime, except it's full on set in like high fantasy, so it's like

they aren't "doctors" and "patients", they're "healers" and "the ill", they give "potions" and "draughts", and

fantasy anatomy, the soul, and the race — the biological differences between elves, orcs and dwarves, etc.., the complications of being a halfblood, would come up a lot. Witchcraft gets involved, all the illnesses and parasites are fictional...

I think it would be fun.

[biblichor]

This is called: me embracing the fact that I realized I really don’t like doing full color.

My OC Nora from my Demonic Anatomy series on Ao3 (link below) working on a new discovery with Dante, who is approximately three feet taller than her in trigger. She is standing on a step-stool. She is currently pinpointing the unique heart valves that are only active in trigger related to his wings.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65988799/chapters/170024443

[ziv-art]

Me: Sitting on the couch, staring vacantly into space.

My stepdad: Are you thinking about dwarves again?

Me: "Yes..."

Me: "Yunno, anatomy wise, did you know that Neanderthal bones-"

[editedsunflower]

some demon anatomy, I wanted them to look somewhat monstrous while still being able to be identified with and maybe look a little cutesy too? I think I succeeded but I am a freak nerd bug lover so, make your own judgements (you're wrong if you don't agree tho, sorry not sorry *shrug*)

Anyways, their snouts are quite squishy actually, they're cartilaginous kinda like a human hear. They have mandible-like mouth parts hidden under their lips that they use to hold onto food, while their jaws extend forward to take bites out of said food, I find it quite cute. I might make further diagrams of their eyes and stuff in the future too, as well as a few other things beyond the scope of this explanation

Also they have wings on their lower backs that they can pump liquid into to um, erect, them to their full size and be able to fly with them, they are somewhat small compared to their body size but the atmosphere in the demon realm is quite thick so that helps them, they certainly wouldn't be able to fly on earth.