16.0 - Leg types
=================

Humorous takeoff on digitgrade and related using Mindy Muskrat - http://docphlogiston.tripod.com/mindy.html

Drywall stilts, could be used in digigrade? - http://www.fantastictools.com/pages/stilts.htm

16.1 - Digitigrade/Digitgrade/Digigrade
==============================
This is defined as relating to an animal, such as a horse, cat, or dog, whose weight is borne on the toes.

Sources for Digitgrade/stilts/related - See section 99.25.

Skeleton pics, great for references - http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/courses/bio204/lab7_photos.htm

Related art and paws - http://www.freepaws.org/art.html

Digitgrade legs and hooves - http://hawke.livequest.de/digi.html

From: Robert King
Super Jay asked

> I need digitigrade feet for my GARGOYLE costume.. I've tried two prototypes
> and it's not going well at all :/
>
> I've asked various FX artists and other people and everyone has bailed on me :(

That's because true digitigrade is a TOUGH order. I assume you want true digitigrade, not simulated like Lance Ikegawa's and other's stuff.

OK let's list them:

--Kerwin's Rabbitroo costume incorporates "Jump Soles" which give you a kangaroo like digitigrade effect - I'll call this a "90 degree" leg because that's about the leg/foot angle. The "extension" (length beyond human toe) is good on this costume because he isn't trying to stand on tip toe.

--Some people have done Satyr costumes with feet not unlike high heels. I'd call these "120 degree" costumes. Little if any extension is practical in this approach because you are standing on tip toe.

--I've also seen a Satyr done with 110 degrees angle and 10 inches of extension. The fellow did it by bending a steel strip around the back of his leg, under his heel, and under his sole out to the hoof. He looked pretty good in photos, but since the joint was frozen, he moved like a Satyr with arthritis.

--If you want a tiptoe digitigrade leg with extension, the next step is a flexible leg brace with dynamic assistance to compensate for the additional torque. But now you're getting into medical prosthetic and brace work. Making these things functional and bearable is a challenge. Plus the possibility of joint damage if you have a structural failure. Nobody wants to build such a thing for someone else partly because of the liability.

OK - a GARGOYLE foot has about 8 inches of unsupported extension, 100 degree angle and isn't TOTALLY tip toe, right?

I'd start with the steel band "arthritic satyr" approach if you must have this. Be sure you incorporate a walking staff into the costume personna.

Any way you can live with the "simulated" approach? The comfort gain is incredible and the illusion is pretty good if done right.

16.1.1 - Warnings
====================
From: "The Blanks!"
> I need digitigrade feet for my GARGOYLE costume.. I've tried two
>>prototypes and it's not going well at all :/
>>
>> I've asked various FX artists and other people and everyone has bailed on me :(

Gargoyles are probably the most open creatures to make! for furry's sake BILL CLINTON is an Oxford gargoyle!!!!

While digitigrade feet are impressive I'd take Mr. King's advice and try a neato simulation. No sense in snapping your hamstring for looks. . .

Just my simple opinion.

Bark Private Wolffe got some nice digitigrade effects when I borrowed Lance's structure elements. Give it a thought.

16.1.2 - Fake, using foam and other materials
============================================

Padding example on a fursuit - http://www.geocities.com/tiger_meep/Khan.htm

Another padding example - http://www.timberwolf.org/html/costumeconst1.html

Another great example, done differently (thanks, MarcWolf!) - http://marcwolf.webhop.org/ - or - http://www.marcwolf.org/

Marrok's method using foam as part of the suit - http://www.truewolf.com/

From: SkyLioness
In a message dated 98-12-12 22:03:58 EST, Spinfox writes:
> Im interested in construct digitigrade fursuit when you cut the
> pattern for the legs ,this is pattern is cuted from the sides?
> then sew the legs to the upper body or is all one piece?
> ((good ascii drawing removed for reply))
> Dont know if its ok but If some of you check it please get me some tips please.

Hi Spin,

One of the best ways to do a digitigrade leg is to get a old ready to be cut up pair of pants that fit you. Take in the area from the knee to the top of the ankle so it fits the form of your leg better. (not to tight) (get someone to help you)
Using a fat magic marker, and you standing straight (not bending over!)
Draw a centerline down the front of the pant's Legs from Hip to top of Foot.
Do this to the back too. Mark the knee area with a square or something so you know where the knee is top of it and bottom of it.
Take the pants off and now you can cut them.

Cut down the front center of a leg on your mark. (left or right side, really only need to do it to one side to make a pattern)

Cut down the back center of the same leg.

Leave the outside of the leg (original seam) uncut. This can be one piece or you can cut the outside seam free. It's up to you, It is less sewing to leave it one piece.

Cut the inside seam free.

Cut the crouch area free.

You now should have 3 pieces. Save the other side uncut for reference to look how it is put together.

Lay the parts on newspaper trace around the outside of the now pattern. Draw your animal knee from hip to just above you knee. (3 to 5 inches depends on how tall you are and what you like.)
The animal heels just below your knee around 3 to 5 inches were it should start and taper to your ankle.
Cut out your pattern.
Get some scrap cloth and cut out two each of each pattern. Sew these together and stuff poly fill in the areas that are the extra leg space. (Or you can carve foam to put in this area) Once you are happy after making a few adjustments (and you will have too) you can make "insert pillows" the shape of the extra areas so they will hold their shape better.

16.1.3 - Realistic
==================
From: Kerwin Rabbitroo
Subject: FL: Re: Digitigrade Legs

Super Jay asked:
> I need digitigrade feet for my GARGOYLE costume.. I've tried to prototypes
> and it's not going well at all :/
>
> I've asked various FX artists and other people and everyone has bailed on me :(

> From: Robert King
> - --Kerwin's Rabbitroo costume incorporates "Jump Soles" which give you a
> kangaroo like digitigrade effect - I'll call this a "90 degree" leg because
> that's about the leg/foot angle. The "extension" (length beyond human toe)
> is good on this costume because he isn't trying to stand on tip toe.

> From: Dondi Meerkat
> The only digitgrade feet I have made were for the Kerwin costume, and they
> turned out pretty well. What was done for that costume was to use special
> training shoes for athletes called JumpSoles, training in them actually
> reshapes your leg muscles so you can jump higher, longer and run faster
> (more cat like than human like), as the shoes force you to have a
> digitrade stance. These were then covered with foam and fur to give them
> the shape of the foot, the final effect worked out quite well and the
> person wearing it could actually more more animal like.

The jumpsole solution worked pretty well for a rabbit-y thing because rabbits and kangaroos tend rest flat on their feet when still. Even bouncing along on tip-toe for prolonged periods begins to wear on the human anatomy as we're better designed for plantigrade motion. Expect to do significant physical training with most digitigrade solutions and shorter performance times until you'll be needing a break. Jumpsoles don't overtax my sense of balance, but experiments with the "locked-ankle approach" would suggest that some time on stilts would not be a bad idea if more than a few inches of unsupported extension is going to be attempted.

To attempt a full Disney-style gargoyle,(such as Goliath or Demona) looks to require about 20 to 30 inches of total ankle to toe distance to get the proportions right. The anctual portion of the toes which rest on the ground when standing are probably going to need to be at least six inches to give an average person enough platform to support their upper body given the somewhat wobbilly center-of-gravitry that will result from attempting to simulate digitigrade legs on an upright creature. Given average size feet, this alone suggests that 12 to 18 inches of artificial foot would need to be simulated.

First, an artifical ankle support would be required to prevent the thigh-to-ankle angle from exceeding much more than 110 degrees and allowing enough freedom to close to about an 80 degree angle. Otherwise you'd get the "athritic" satyr that Robert observed when the brace locks the foot into a fixed 110 degree angle. This joint could be fabricated similar to an external knee-brace or artifical knee and would likely need to be constructed of steel to withstand the strain. (The angle could be restricted by using slotted disks meshing together with about 30 degrees of rotational freedom.) The joint at the end of the foot (were the toes meet the main part of the foot) would need to be equally constrained and made of a similar kind of bracing.

The joints would need to heavily restrict any side-to-side rotation to protect the performer's ankles and keees. A 15 inch lever on the foot versus even hundred pounds of body weight makes for quite amount of strain on the ankle which is usually quite restricted in digitigrade creatures. A bad step could easily snap an unbraced human ankle (and probably wouldn't do the knee much good either!) In the end I'd expect you'd end up with a mechanism something like this:

[Begin ASCII Art]

	       /      <-----   Brace attachement to thigh
	      /
	     O    <-----   Knee Brace (normal knee movement, no side-to-side)
	      \                            
	       \      <-----   Brace to leg
		\ 
		 \
		  O      <-----   Ankle brace (restricted to 80 -> 110)
		 /
		/     <------  Brace for human foot
	       /
	   ---O    <-----   Artificial Foot (restricted 10 - 90)

[End ASCII Art]

The joint braces at knee and ankle would need to keep those joints from much side to side motion, so the walk would be rather bird-like (probably acceptable for a gargoyle) since what little pidgeoning of the legs would come from the thigh and hip. The knee brace is can be flexed by the performer's knee and the ankle brace could be similarly be flexed by the perfromer's ankles. The joint were the toes meet the foot would need to be worked automatically by some spring-like mechanism to give a realistic appearance of the foot lifting from the ground.

I can sketch out the idea in a little more detail, but I would suggest examining prosthetic knees and ankles a bit for mechanical ideas. I suppose a mechanism could be fabricated in some way from wood, but more likely steel would be required because of its greater strength. (Some parts of the fabricated brace would need to be relatively thin to keep from bulking up around performer's own limbs.)

From: Jeff Jonas
Subject: Re: FL: Digitigrade feet

> > I need digitigrade feet for my GARGOYLE costume.. I've tried to prototypes
> > and it's not going well at all :/

I think it was at Philcon that I attended a room-party by an active Disney Gargoyles fan-club which renewed my affection for the Golaith character. Perhaps they have leads on gargoyle costuming? I had the impression that many Gargoyles fan clubs were still going strong. I have a medium sized PVC figurine of Golaith and yes, those claws are HUGE and powerful and very digitigrade. But I can't see balancing on them without his tail.

Well... Scudder Kidwell's wife Gene wore a "Beth the Dancing Unicorn" costume at ConFurence 5 that featured stilt-like hooves for a real digitigrade effect, but she required a staff for balance (which went well with the outfit so some folks may not have noticed her essentially hobbling along). I'm unsure construction details of that costume was ever published in any electronic form.

The abovementioned costume - http://www.whiteponyproductions.com/bethcostume.html

16.1.4 - Animatronic
================

16.2 - Plantigrade
================
This is defined as any animal that walks on the entire sole of its foot, like humans, bears, raccoons, and rabbits.

16.3 - Unguligrade
=================
This is defined as a hoofed animal, one that walks on hooves. They're known also as ungulates.

The Ultimate Ungulate Page - http://www.ultimateungulate.com/