kind of a fantasy biology question, if thats ok- how do you think clawed humans hand’s would look? especially if you wanted to give humans retractable claws- would they retain their ability to do fine tasks? would it look akin to say, rat or raccoon hands, or more like cat paws? i’ve tried to draw clawed humans but i cant stand the long nail look because imagining that pressure on such an unattached place is horrifying, but i dont know the exact mechanics otherwise. thanks! hope youre doin ok!

drferox:

It’s fantasy, you can make them look however you want to. However cat digits with their retractable claws are arranged very differently from human ones.

(Diagram source)

I mean, just try to contort your own fingers into that arrangement. They just don’t flex that far, and that’s how cats walk around with their claws sheathed. We humans are using the very tips of our last phalange on each digit for our fine motor movement. The pad of a cat’s toes are essentially a joint they’re walking on.

So the equivalent of our fingertips is the tip of their claws. Which is a difficult mental image to coordinate.

I will never claim to be an artist, but I understand a lot of artists work by knowing where the bones and joints are, and then building up from there. You could certainly consider lengthening the last bone of the finger to provide a longer base to attach the nail, but if you want retractable claws those fingers are going to be shorter with more flesh around them when retracted, in order to lengthen when out.

There’s no basis for this in nature, but what about an arrangement where the claw grows from the second joint rather than the fingertip/first joint? Like a bone spur of sorts. Curl the hands and tuck the fingertips under to use the claws, a bit like brass knuckles, and straighten the hands to use the fingertips with the claws out of the way. The claws wouldn’t be retractable, but the effect would be similar.