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Droemar — So You Want To Design A Wolf Character ...
Published: 2012-03-06 05:44:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 38291; Favourites: 708; Downloads: 267
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This is what I get for working in my sketchbook and following Youtube suggestions. I cannot stop watching terribly done wolf animation cartoons. God save me, I can't. I don't know what it is about the voice actors doing monotonous reads into crackling, static-filled microphones, the awful intros, the same story premise done over and over and over again, blatant disregard for copyright, clumsy animation, and emotion that is always emo and always overwrought.It's like crack. Knock-off Ginga Weed Okami Balto crack, but still crack.
I watched one in particular that must have been a total bitch to animate simply because the artist had put so much stuff on the wolves's faces. Jewelry, markings, scars: it was all crammed in there. And it couldn't hide the fact that all of the characters looked exactly the same.
Which, really, is the problem with wolf art in the first place. I dare you to find a bigger walking cliche' than a wolf character. It's bad enough they're inherent Mary Sues for some reason, but 99% of the art with wolves looks exactly the same. It's somehow become inescapable, because all of the resource pools for it are the same. And the flame wars that result are tragically hilarious, mostly because they're born out of sheer ignorance.
The experienced artist, however, knows that wolves are so overdone that you've really gotta go pretty far out there to find something new. It's not impossible; it's just more of an effort than most of the Canis Bardus lovers on DA are willing to do.
So I thought I'd put something together that would help them discover their ignorance.
All art belongs to their respective owners and all that.
... Crap, I forgot Wolf's Rain.
Sitting wolf Lineart belongs to:
First original wolf design belongs to
More examples of awesome silhouette work for wolves: wolfpearl.deviantart.com/art/C…
lundiva.deviantart.com/art/Mod…
starhorse.deviantart.com/art/W…
noukah.deviantart.com/art/Char…
daisy-the-cat.deviantart.com/a…
And for realism/other animals: stormwing93.deviantart.com/art…
EDIT: I have to admit, in the few years since I posted this thing, the large majority of angry comments are from young artists with no grasp of good design, poor rendering skills period, and not nearly enough exposure to the strong principles of art. I'm sorry if you suck at drawing, but if you followed the tutorial and maybe looked at design principles and started incorporating them into your work, you wouldn't suck at drawing so much and I could actually tell the difference between your characters!
Also draw real wolves. That might help.
And for those of you who have been helped by this tutorial: you're awesome. And growing as artists instead of whining about how mean I am.
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Comments: 366
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I love this! It really helps me, especially when I draw ANY animal Oc. I just need help with designing memorable stick figure characters..
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A very late fav, just found your mind-stretching article today. Many thanks!
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I totally agree with you. When I practise, really badly, mind you, I mess with anatony and posture and stuff. It's hard. Every wolf has a different bone structure. Some bones are slightly misshapen. Every wolf has different fur lengths and muzzle/leg/paw size and ahhh just mess with the freaking anatomy people. Although it is hard to get the fine line between too different and too similar, lots of people will respect you and may even proclaim that you saved wolf OCs.
Although one thing bothers me. When you show the silhouette of the characters, the thing is,all the characters are in different poses and are different species, whereas the wolves are on the same poses and are the same species, so it doesn't get an as great effect.
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I feel you there, especially on the "eye bleedingly bad colour choices"
It is hard and even as an 11 year old I was aware of the sheer similarity and cliche gist of a lot of comics and designs :I
I am so sick of seeing the "emo" hairstyle or the "I only have hair on one side of my face" thing, more and more Mary Sues are coming about with "horrifyingly tragic" backstories and rainbow hair/markings/wings/unusual powers etc.
Anyway that's my blathering over.
Have a nice day
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Reading through this, I don't feel bad at all because I don't really think any of my ocs would really fit this, plus most aren't full wolves or wolves at all.. though a few years ago alot would of most likely hit these keys. My ocs have come far n im pretty proud of that, also most of my characters look like the way they do because of the story I have for them. It's sorta required haha.
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This makes me feel guilty and kinda shitty for creating wolf characters, especially since I try so hard to avoid generically anatomical designs and "sparkle wolves"
I started off roleplaying wolves and refuse to walk away from that... But I still feel shitty after reading this.
Good info tho, just seems a little harsh..
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Most things worth learning are harsh, sweetheart. Just because you made a mistake hundreds of people have doesn't mean you need to feel bad. Just try to improve!
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Its not a mistake though. I love roleplaying wolves. I don't create sparkle dogs because I have sensitive eyes. I'm just saying the whole demeanor of the post makes it feel like no one should create wolf characters ever unless they are professional artists that can manipulate a canine anatomy to make it recognizable.
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The alternative is nothing anyone hasn't seen before all over DA, so ... yeah. Try harder.
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Wow. Ouch. Try softening your tone.
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They are not trying to demean you. They're trying to make a point. Every one starts somewhere. Things like this help with that. It's things like this that pushed me and friends to try harder and get further with our designs. The art on my page is still pretty damn generic, but I'm getting there. As an artist, you should appreciate harsh tones and critiques - they're what drive the art world to expand and get better. (; Maybe don't take things so literally - by "mistakes", they don't mean your role-playing. They mean a failure to see that most character art, especially with animals, is just about all the same. And it's boring. Most lion players base their characters on lion king models. Most wolf players, on BBA or Balto or stuff already made, already generic - there isn't much out there that's unique or interesting to look at. So work at your own style.
Sorry for the years late reply cx
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i know this is old but i'm crying because the sparkledog hair wolf is literally my fursona from 2011/12
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Hey, we all grow up and mature! 
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I doubt I'll ever be able to design a wolf exactly...the only wolves I ever drawn are demons and dragon types. >.> When I drew my demon spirit wolf, I used a real wolf photo as a reference and changed its anatomy a little bit from scrawny to more bulk, and used silver gray and a lighter gray as a color palate. Made her beautiful, but intimidating because of her size and muscle mass ((not overdone though )). So you can say my designs are on a more fantasy side. I've always been a fantasy artist, but I still always found sparkle wolves stupid...even as a child I thought they were stupid.
So yea I would be better at designing demon and fantasy wolves lol
fav.me/d61rryh An example of a wolf demon. I admit its definitely a favorite design of mine <3
As for your tutorial, it definitely gave me something to think about if I ever decide to give wolf designing (or any animal really) a try
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I agree with this tho my character does have one accessory wich I think is reasonable considering that she is just plain dark grey. But yes, wolf ocs these days can be very annoying.
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Very helpful. I'm a new artist (New to drawing animals and anatomy) so I'll try making wolves different shapes and sizes... My art style is a bit cartoony, but I think it would look much nicer if I were to follow this tutorial. Awesome
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Oh, there is one more way that I recommend regarding silhouettes: Look at wolf subspecies around the world and how they are built, etc.
(For example, an Arabian wolf is small, short-haired and lanky, while an Eurasian wolf is larger in build and have a thicker fur coat, etc)
These traits can also be used for silhouettes and traits for characters.
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And the maned wolf (not actually a wolf as such because it has its own separate genus)
Long legs and snout with short tail
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Hi! I'm not sure if you'll even see this because this deviation is so popular.. but it's worth a shot! Looking back on my art I realize how cliche and boring my wolves are. And I love the advice you gave about silhouettes! I'm having trouble with the color scheme, though. Is there anything that you'd recommend to make the color schemes of wolf characters from being so typical? I prefer realistic character (Not sparkle wolves) but I feel as if, once you color a wolf realistically.. it looks the same as 50 other wolves on the site. Thank you for posting this!
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So i uh, have a question
(My characters designs are on Instagram, don't bother looking at my page here)
So i have those 3 characters that are triplets, and i really don't know how to design them >.<
I know that twins and stuff aren't always the same (i have a twin sister, we're totally different) but how do i do it with wolves, like even if they have different markings, should i make one of them look more like the dad, another one like the mother.. WHAT DO I DO?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hmmm, that's a really interesting and challenging idea you've got for yourself.
It is true that not all twins or triplets look the same. If they are something like fraternal twins or what have you, I think you might get away with having all three vary in body type and silhouette, but be united by a single unique and distinctive factor: for example, all three have the same eye color, but are black, brown, and white respectively
If you are dealing with identical triplets, I would recommend examining them as both story elements and visual cues: look at Si and Am from Lady and the Tramp, or Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. Many video games have bosses or bad guys with three parts. I am also thinking of a trio of cat assassins in Kung Fu Panda that never made the final cut to the film, but have some very nice designs. In most animated movies, twins are used because a third is usually a redundant visual cue that would just been more work for the production.
However, trios and triumvirates have deep roots in storytelling, especially fairy tales. If your characters are major protagonists, and its a story of three identical tiplets each trying to find a distinct path and indentity for themselves, examine that through color theory and design (for example, in Kung Fu Panda, they use the color gold to denote heroism.) But if these characters are minor background characters, their designs can be much simpler to denote that they are triplets.
👍: 1 ⏩: 0
While I wouldn't really call myself a wolf artist (I'm not a big fan of them for the reasons shown in
your tutorial and description here.) I decided to atleast try to see if I can make some interesting headshots of some
wolves. femaledragonknight.deviantart.…
I know that they probably look a lot like every other wolf and eachother and that it may be hard to tell with
just the heads, but I thought it was fun to try and maybe you'd be happy to see that it atleast made me try
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Very thought provoking.
However, I think one of the thinks the furry community can work on is the diversity of species. Sure, wolves and foxes and the like are fine, but they're everywhere. As well as being sick of seeing Cliche creature features such as neon colors, clashing design colors, rave styles, dread locks, emo stuff, and stuff thats jus painful to look at.
So, next time you make a persona, consider making a different animal. I heard ferrets are pretty cool too.
My persona is a bear if you want to see her: Mato ref 2015
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Hi Droemar, do you think you could take a gander at my characters to see if they're well designed enough? pinkykyra.deviantart.com/galle…
I still have a few edits to do on some of them but I just wanted your opinion.
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Those are really great designs! Bravo for working those silhouettes! I really like the old guy the most, but you really show the age of the the whole pack, youngsters to mature to old.
Very well done, you. I look forward to seeing what you do with them.
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Yay! That's good to hear from such an expert like you! 
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I think what your trying to say, is have your own unique style rather than copying everyone else until it's impossible to make anything new.
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I draw wolves, but I have only recently grasped the concept of changing their characteristics, designs, etc. I have been working with my TDH novel since I first joined da on my old account Blackash24dude. (Deactivated and moved to Anachylonewolf29 and than moved again to here.) I honestly find this tutorial helpful in certain points. Thank you for creating it, but I am slightly wondering, you don't really think people should really draw their wolves like those you gave as examples do you?
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To increase their grasp and understanding of better design? Abso-fucking-lutely. I would love to see more unique wolf designs. There just aren't enough of them. Too many people copy and imitate and get stuck, and stop growing as artists. If I hadn't seen it happen so much, I wouldn't have made the tutorial.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I see than. Thank you for answering my question.^^
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Making unique silhouettes is much more difficult if the artist doesn't use a highly stylized/cartoonish style. I would rather not have characters that look like their spine would snap in half because they're so long and skinny or fall on their face because their head is too big. It just doesn't work very well for more more anatomically correct styles like mine.
But it is possible to do it. I've started redesigning a lot of my characters, and trying to incorporate the the silhouette rule. It's good for showing a characters personality without having to read a word about them. Up until I was about fifteen I was very unoriginal and all my characters looked the same. :,D
The only example I have now it my character Al, who is a villainous, crazy character.
he has messy fur, sharp angles, a long body and face, and not too much muscle. and he still looks like he could actually exist.
crystal-gryphon.deviantart.com… (this is a rather old reference though, so it isn't too accurate)
And a more friendly, shy character like another of my characters, Sheila, would have more rounded, soft edges, and would probably be a bit small.
Your examples don't support your point very well at all. Link is the only example that sort of works for the kind of styles I and many others use, but it's pushing it.
wolfpearl's would have been perfect, but it doesn't work because the characters are various breeds of dogs and hell hounds, not wolves, which have significantly different anatomy.
it would be a good idea to find some examples other than the highly exaggerated, stylized, anatomically incorrect ones! It would help cut down the number of people disagreeing with you and posting angry comments.
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The fact that the point doesn't split hairs to an individual's own specifications doesn't mean the point isn't valid. I don't care that people get angry and disagree with me, since it's largely a reaction of ignorant young artists who don't want to learn design principles, or to see differently than they already do.
Professional artists design characters by these principles, wolves or not. But a discussion with one of the artists on BBA, who has done design work in other professional areas, makes an excellent point at the end of this thread, both about what necessitates good, streamlined design and what variations in real wolves can look like.
comments.deviantart.com/1/2888…
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Never draw a wolf on DA. Everyone's got an opinion. The opinion generally being "you're wrong!!"
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Heh, maybe. After all, even Kay Fedewa followed the silhouette rule!
"All wolves are wrong, but some are more wrong than others."
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We tried towards the end of the first version to push design (some of those later wolves are unique, and the mains themselves got more distinct as time went on). This time around, we can apply our design knowledge from the get-go. We are going for something that reflected the principles of animated film after all.
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See? See everyone? The professionals themselves endorse the tutorial as "Yes, you should do this!"
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Next time someone says "I'm drawing realistic wolves, there's no difference between them" just link them to this image . That's a fat zoo wolf family in winter coats (because apparently the only wolves you're allowed to draw are fat zoo canadian grey wolves in winter coats). And yet, they look distinct from one another.
And if not realistic? As in stylized in the least? Are you drawing them the same for budget reasons? Because that's why anime characters and MLP are interchangeable with different haircuts. Not lack of skill, but lack of funds. Faust herself said she wanted more variation in body types with ponies.
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This tutorial deserves a dd.
it speaks truth.
DANG PSSSHHH this is my favourite thing ever, but Infind that making each silhouette unique when you have too many characters is quite difficult :'D
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Jesus people! I can't believe that you refuse to acknowledge the fact Droemar is pointing out a fact that can HELP you all! I won't lie, in my eyes, I'm a terrible artist and I haven't updated anything or, hell, I haven't even touched my computer for months!!
Huff...
I appreciate the help Droemar, I don't usually think about those sorts of concepts, but when I went back to look at some of my older drawing and I realize how alike they all looked. I'll focus more on the build and shape of the body of the wolf rather than the markings and color/shading of them. I think it's what has been bugging me for so long about my art.
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Hey, if I reach one person, it's worth it. For every 10 screamy comments I get, I get one genuine one. I'm glad it helps you think about seeing differently. That's what the journey of art is all about.
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I feel offended greatly,so do many other people. I may be young but my art isn't horrible, I have drawn many wolves all of them are proportionate, have good designs, I don't have poor rendering skills,and my father is an artist so have been exposed to art my entire life, but your art is good too,but I am a sensitive person and I'm easily hurt emotionally.
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If your art is great, then this deviation doesn't apply to you
And that's cool your dad is an artist--I don't have relatives who creative visual art.
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I'm not responsible for your emotional reaction to my art.
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