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capri0mniOkay, so for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
naarmamo this year (at least, the first week of it), I've decided to actually work on envisioning this winged comic book character that's taken up residence in the storyside of my brain.
This character has wings and human arms, but is not an angel.*
One of the things that's always bothered me about typical portrayals of winged humanoids (angels, gargoyles, devils, et al.) is that the wings are shown as if they're growing out of the spine -- and that just can't work, physiologically -- the wing is like an arm; it needs a ball-and-socket to move properly, if at all. So there needs to be a second pair of shoulders, behind the human ones .... And if the wings are growing closer to the center of the back, wouldn't the human shoulders get in the way, preventing the full range of motion on the downstroke?
So -- in my chimera character, I want him to have a second pair of shoulders, set more widely than angels' wings are typically shown (such as directly behind, or almost behind, or maybe even wider than his human shoulders). I've been looking for pictures of bird skeletons, and the bones of the bird shoulder, for days now, via google images, and coming up remarkably dry. Mostly, I'm finding sketches of whole pigeon skeletons, with the wings folded against the side of the body, or sketches of just the wing outstretched; neither of these of these show me how the ball at the base of the wing is supported by or moves in relation to thecollar wishbone.
And forget about looking up "Microraptor gui skeleton." All the controversary about that wee beastie** (and therefore all of the Web-published information), has been about the pelvis and how the hind legs fit into the hip joints -- entirely the opposite end from what I'm wondering about.
The clearest image of an M. Gui skeleton that even shows the bones of the forewings is the one in the inset of this picture, that I did for day 2 ofnaarmamo (click to see full size):
And, as I was drawing it, this afternoon, started to look to me like both its shoulders had been dislocated by the force of the pyroclastic flow that preserved it. But I did get a better sense of claws that still grew from the front edge of the raptor's wing (which I totally want my character to have, too; a) it would distinguish him from the "Angel" image, and b) they would be helpful for him to grab onto the sides of buildings such, when he lands -- that's how m. gui used them...
Maybe I should search for dromatosaur shoulder, or reptile shoulder
*(Though the sadistic side of my author self wants the kid's parents to name him "Angel," because they're super-sentimental about their poor, crippled baby -- sort of like putting "Special" down on the birth certificate)
**Only 20 inches long from the tip of its nose to the end of its tailfeathers... without the tail, it's little bigger than a gray squirrel. Did I ever tell you that in the fantasy novel I wrote in college, I made up feathered squirrels to scamper and fly through the forest? :-)
naarmamo this year (at least, the first week of it), I've decided to actually work on envisioning this winged comic book character that's taken up residence in the storyside of my brain.This character has wings and human arms, but is not an angel.*
One of the things that's always bothered me about typical portrayals of winged humanoids (angels, gargoyles, devils, et al.) is that the wings are shown as if they're growing out of the spine -- and that just can't work, physiologically -- the wing is like an arm; it needs a ball-and-socket to move properly, if at all. So there needs to be a second pair of shoulders, behind the human ones .... And if the wings are growing closer to the center of the back, wouldn't the human shoulders get in the way, preventing the full range of motion on the downstroke?
So -- in my chimera character, I want him to have a second pair of shoulders, set more widely than angels' wings are typically shown (such as directly behind, or almost behind, or maybe even wider than his human shoulders). I've been looking for pictures of bird skeletons, and the bones of the bird shoulder, for days now, via google images, and coming up remarkably dry. Mostly, I'm finding sketches of whole pigeon skeletons, with the wings folded against the side of the body, or sketches of just the wing outstretched; neither of these of these show me how the ball at the base of the wing is supported by or moves in relation to the
And forget about looking up "Microraptor gui skeleton." All the controversary about that wee beastie** (and therefore all of the Web-published information), has been about the pelvis and how the hind legs fit into the hip joints -- entirely the opposite end from what I'm wondering about.
The clearest image of an M. Gui skeleton that even shows the bones of the forewings is the one in the inset of this picture, that I did for day 2 of
naarmamo (click to see full size): And, as I was drawing it, this afternoon, started to look to me like both its shoulders had been dislocated by the force of the pyroclastic flow that preserved it. But I did get a better sense of claws that still grew from the front edge of the raptor's wing (which I totally want my character to have, too; a) it would distinguish him from the "Angel" image, and b) they would be helpful for him to grab onto the sides of buildings such, when he lands -- that's how m. gui used them...
Maybe I should search for dromatosaur shoulder, or reptile shoulder
*(Though the sadistic side of my author self wants the kid's parents to name him "Angel," because they're super-sentimental about their poor, crippled baby -- sort of like putting "Special" down on the birth certificate)
**Only 20 inches long from the tip of its nose to the end of its tailfeathers... without the tail, it's little bigger than a gray squirrel. Did I ever tell you that in the fantasy novel I wrote in college, I made up feathered squirrels to scamper and fly through the forest? :-)
