Thanks for the feedback!
>>37172234True! Digitigrade legs are more efficient in terms of proper kicks and jumps so the elves would benefit from that. I think their leg movement range’s a bit more limited than its plantigrade counterpart but I can’t find a lot of details on it, although kicks in martial arts (taekwondo comes to mind fittingly enough) should still work very well. The fat pads also help with insulation from frozen ground (and is something commonly seen in arctic adaptation IIRC) although the main benefit would be to alleviate stress to the foot since digitigrade locomotion’s basically like walking and running on high heels but even more extreme since no weight will be distributed on the heel at all
As for claws, I don’t think they would likely have them naturally due to them still being closely related to hairless apes that lost their subunguis very early on, and nails are not very good at withstanding force and pressure like that. If they need surer footing I think they would have more keratinized balls of the foot (making them more like paws) instead. That said them being sapient means they aren’t limited to what they’re born with, so you definitely won’t want to get kicked by an elf wearing track spikes
>>37173037Having an interest in spec bio keeps my motivation high, but what also helps a lot is unironically the existence of furries. Their own reps help a lot in letting me know how bipedal digitigrade legs would work and look! Other sources of inspiration include running blades (although they’re less limited by human physiology and so can have a more efficient design – it’s fascinating to read about the troubles they have with regulations when it comes to competing with athletes with organic legs) and sprinting techniques where touching the ground with heels is avoided
but yes autism helps>>37174120I’m glad to hear you like it!
