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Something I've noticed in a lot of contemporary werewolf pics is that artists like to draw a recessed great toe (hallux) on the hind feet for a total of five toes. Real wolves only have four toes. Is there a reason for this? Are people afraid the other toe won't come back after shifting? Some weird trend I'm not aware of? Ignorance? Does it just look cool?

I'd chalk it up to personal preference, but a lot of people seem to be doing it for no reason.

I'm not an artist, but my image of a werewolf has always had that fifth toe in Gestalt form. Don't really know why. I guess it just seems odd to me without one.

However in full wolf form, theres no fifth toe.

Well sure, a fifth digit on the feet would make perfect sense. That would also be a clever way of determining a normal wolf from a werewolf (if the werewolf was full-wolf in appearance) Humans just don't lose limbs when they transform. That's silly. Almost as silly as growing one from no-where!

In my storyline, its presence or absence depends on how quickly one shifts. Shift quickly enough and the toe doesn't recede completely.

Wolves do have a dew claw on their forpaws, but not on the hind ones. I can see a werewolf having a more thumb-like dew claw, but I think four on the hindpaws seems better.

Remember the source! Humans have a big toe as a balance device; it might recede, or it might stay.
I'd give them a full complement of toes on a digitigrade foot just for the suspense factor: you find a Wolf paw print with five toes; and there is evidence of a slight twisting motion (blurring of the print)...that's a bi-pedal stance there, with a wolf paw print.
Further, the more toes, the more claws, or foot mounted weapons.

Only if the Were' went to dedicated quadrupedal walking would you get away from the need for that big toe. The only bipeds that lack a big toe usually have a heel spur for balance (birds). Even dinosaurs that went biped had a modified "big" toe if they didn't have a heel spur and were digitigrade.

And then there's polydactily: extra toes that show up as mutations.

My two bits worth

ShadowFang wrote:Well sure, a fifth digit on the feet would make perfect sense. That would also be a clever way of determining a normal wolf from a werewolf (if the werewolf was full-wolf in appearance) Humans just don't lose limbs when they transform. That's silly. Almost as silly as growing one from no-where!

You mean like a tail?

RedEye wrote:Remember the source! Humans have a big toe as a balance device; it might recede, or it might stay.
I'd give them a full complement of toes on a digitigrade foot just for the suspense factor: you find a Wolf paw print with five toes; and there is evidence of a slight twisting motion (blurring of the print)...that's a bi-pedal stance there, with a wolf paw print.
Further, the more toes, the more claws, or foot mounted weapons.

Only if the Were' went to dedicated quadrupedal walking would you get away from the need for that big toe. The only bipeds that lack a big toe usually have a heel spur for balance (birds). Even dinosaurs that went biped had a modified "big" toe if they didn't have a heel spur and were digitigrade.

And then there's polydactily: extra toes that show up as mutations.

My two bits worth

I don't think the big toe is really required for balance. I can run around on the balls of my feet pretty well with my toes flexed back off the ground (raise your paw if you just tried it to see! ) and that's with tendons flexed that would normally be relaxed for movement trying to throw me off.

Ansuru wrote:
You mean like a tail?

that doesn't come from no-where, humans have what is called a cocyx (if I am spelling that right).

its a short fused im-mobile tail tucked inside our flesh at the base of the spine. growing a tail would mean really just making this longer and mobile. Basically elongating the spine.

As for the hinde foot dew claw.
Oddly enough logically following the development of the human foot the dew claw should be on the outer side not the inner side of the limb, ie Pinkys and pinky toes. Which are our receeding digits as opposed to canines whose thumb digits receded after their ancestors came down from the trees.

Just for the sake of my own design my werewolves tend to only have three toes on their hinde feet which form by fusing together the five toes in the form of the big toe and two paired bundles to conserve on mass when shifting. Big toe grows largem both middle toes together, and the second to last with the pinky toe. making three larger toes.

I'm not a big fan of dew claws on the hind legs myself. On gestalt or wolf form. Though I'm not going to flip out or anything if I do see artwork with em. If you do make a ww with a dewclaw on the hind legs, do it so its facing towards the other leg. No dew claws on the wrong side on the leg.
In the new Godzilla movie they made that mistake, drives me nuts Then again, Godzilla is a mutent.

Anyways, I prefer no dew claw on hind legs, but if it has to be there, do it on the right side

RedEye wrote:Remember the source! Humans have a big toe as a balance device; it might recede, or it might stay.
I'd give them a full complement of toes on a digitigrade foot just for the suspense factor: you find a Wolf paw print with five toes; and there is evidence of a slight twisting motion (blurring of the print)...that's a bi-pedal stance there, with a wolf paw print.
Further, the more toes, the more claws, or foot mounted weapons.

Only if the Were' went to dedicated quadrupedal walking would you get away from the need for that big toe. The only bipeds that lack a big toe usually have a heel spur for balance (birds). Even dinosaurs that went biped had a modified "big" toe if they didn't have a heel spur and were digitigrade.

And then there's polydactily: extra toes that show up as mutations.

My two bits worth

True, but even with a regular wolf foot in gestalt form the stride would be too wide to be considered a wolf, not to mention the absence of front paw prints. (What sort of wolf walks or runs bipedally?) Although I do respect your choice, since it's all a matter of preference.

Birds don't lack a big toe. That backwards-pointing digit is their big toe. It's called a hallux, and is used for grasping. Theropods had it too, though theirs was not fully reversed. What both creatures did lose was a pinky toe, though in early theropods and even in some tyrannosaurs it had regressed into a thin strip of bone (not visible from the outside) that was essentially vestigial. I theorize that the hallux was vestigial for boreal creatures. Like theropods, some dogs do have hind dewclaws, but it's not clear if they're vestigial or not. Wolves do not have hind dewclaws, hence my hypothesis on werewolves. (Again, it's fine if you want to put it there; your choice.)

ShadowFang wrote:Well sure, a fifth digit on the feet would make perfect sense. That would also be a clever way of determining a normal wolf from a werewolf (if the werewolf was full-wolf in appearance) Humans just don't lose limbs when they transform. That's silly. Almost as silly as growing one from no-where!

Considering we're talking about mythical shapeshifters here, a tail is just as plausible as an extra digit.

Well, the tail actually has something to grow from. Where does the fifth digit go?

Perhaps it blends into the "Index toe" for a Really big toe...

RedEye wrote:Perhaps it blends into the "Index toe" for a Really big toe...

Or it could recess into the foot.

It might be there, but as the rest of the foot enlarges, elongates, or whatever it does, the extra toe undergoes little to no change, lifts off the ground during the shift from planitgrade to digitgrade, and becomes just a bump.

In werewolf form, the extra toe could be like the human tailbone in that it's still there but serves no purpose. That's all I can think of to potentially explain it.

ShadowFang wrote:Well sure, a fifth digit on the feet would make perfect sense. That would also be a clever way of determining a normal wolf from a werewolf (if the werewolf was full-wolf in appearance) Humans just don't lose limbs when they transform. That's silly. Almost as silly as growing one from no-where!

My thoughts excactly.

Thinking...perhaps a dewclaw on the Wulf's hind foot?

My problem is that all mine have Digitigrade feet with five toes (in the book). Of course, this doesn't change when they Reverse and go Smooth. Then they have lower ankles, but still put their weight on their toes. They wear shoes with "lifts" in them to blend in and appear as Smooths; hence the term: "Passing in Smooth".