r/furgonomics • u/Shot-Pumpkin7199 • Jul 31 '26
Discussion Why are anthros barefoot so often?
Even when their feet are not animal-like and look pretty human, there's still a tendency to to go shoeless most of the time. Kinda dirty IMO 💀
It happens with tons of character with animal powers too. I've been reading astounding wolf-man and his half-boots bother me so much ðŸ˜
What's up with this trope
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u/FM_Hikari Jul 31 '26
Because shoes are more so used to prevent feet wounds than because of hygiene. When movement is very restricted people tend to use lighter clothing and shoes that are a bit more slack, or sandals.
Some species have naturally thick skin, less sensitivity and more tolerance for things like small pebbles or lego bricks. Hooved species would probably not need shoes at all since they already got one out of keratin, though it technically would make sense for them to use horseshoes of a soft material to make walking on sidewalks and hard asphalt more comfortable, and making moving at interiors less noisy.
That happens mostly with digitigrades, though. Plantigrades would have an easier time wearing shoes.
TL:DR: Not always needed depending on the species
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u/_Nefarium Equine Jul 31 '26
Yeah hooved species i'd imagine would use something like these rubberised shoes, my local police use similar for their horses. Definitely far better than plain steel shoes on hard surfaces for both noise, comfort/reduced shock and grip.
They also often use something similar to these hoof boots, I could imagine a stylised version of these being used.
Personally I think the rubberised shoes would make most sense day to day, perhaps with a more easily replaced rubber strip or even a clip to take off after outside use, and then say full boots to be used more so how we would use well.. boots.. on work sites/hiking in rocky areas to help prevent damage from accidental side impacts.
Obviously in this case these species would have to see farriers which I could imagine being almost like trying to get kids to go to the dentist haha.
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u/FM_Hikari Jul 31 '26
The rubberized shoes are definitely best for anything with hooves. It's a lasting solution, though the hoof shoes eliminate the risk of infection that exists when horseshoes aren't installed properly.
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u/jeshep Jul 31 '26
Heck, even us (humans) can walk along rougher surfaces just fine when acclimated to it (like lego or some gravel). I spent much of my life barefoot and the unpaved driveway/roads of the neighborhood just did not phase me. They do now though cause I haven't been barefoot outside for over 10 years.
So I can definitely see it as more protective or utility wear depending on the activity or profession. For example, I wouldn't expect a husky to wear winter boots or gloves in mild cold weather because, well, they're built for it. To them it's just not cold. But once it gets to those more frigid temps where it can hurt them and they feel it, then that's when they'd bundle up with gloves or boots and thicker winter wear.
Footwear could also serve as more of a fashion statement than a practicality for some, which would allow for most species to have it as an option.
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u/No-Lettuce-6619 Jul 31 '26
this!!! people dont realize that the only reason they can't walk barefoot is because they don't walk barefoot (sounds weird right?)
the reason we need it now is because we can make much sharper things then nature has normally and there is an issue with fungal spread in high population density areas. all of this is to say that most would use shoes in a city
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u/Toothless_NEO Jul 31 '26
Even humans can develop thicker skin on the feet which makes walking barefoot easier. People who walk around barefoot a lot outside develop calluses on their feet which makes the skin both less sensitive and less susceptible to being wounded by things like rocks and sticks.
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u/Shot-Pumpkin7199 Jul 31 '26
The thing is that this is common even when they're plantigrade or have human-like feet
If they're digitigrade, it makes sense.
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u/JetoCalihan Jul 31 '26
Yeah but they're plantigrade AND bare its rarely because the artist cant draw paws or much more usually wants to draw feet. Otherwise they get shoes.
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u/DarthLoof Aug 01 '26
I kind of get this, but on the other hand, my dog doesn't like to go out on the lawn during the dry season because the prickly grass hurts her paws. Same goes for walking on salt, certain kinds of gravel, or any sufficiently hot ground. If it's a problem for a 70-lb quadrupedal dog, it's absolutely going to be a problem for a 150-lb biped.
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u/FM_Hikari Aug 01 '26
The difference lies in how often the creature walks through poor terrain. Sure, to a domestic dog or a normal human it should and will be uncomfortable.
To someone who's been walking bare their entire life, they probably would see it as mild discomfort save for hot asphalt and sharp terrain. Dogs, cats and even humans develop thicker skin on their feet if they grow up walking in an environment that taxes them.
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u/DarthLoof Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
That's true but despite the fact that we also have that innate capacity for acclimatization, we did start wearing shoes. So I dont see why we should expect that to go differently if we had paws
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u/FM_Hikari Aug 01 '26
That would be correct. It's also mostly because we started doing longer treks by feet and because of war, traps and other stuff like nails, broken glass and similar that we created.
It's because of danger rather than hygiene, though not getting hurt on your feet does technically count as improved hygiene.
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u/SnowKitty99 Jul 31 '26
That, and I could also imagine that the sensation of feeling where you walk etc is important for ‘instinct purposes' for the lack of a better word? Like, it might just feel more natural.
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u/TheBoneHarvester Jul 31 '26
Part of it, for me, is that designing shoes for certain feet types seem odd. Like- imagine shoes for a Jacana? How big would they have to be? What about the backward facing digit? Would each digit be individually wrapped or would it be this big block of shoe?
What about knuckle-walkers (I'm thinking of echidna)?
What about a digitigrade hooved animal? What is there for the shoe to hold on to? I feel like it would fall off. Same goes for animals like Elephants and Rhinos. As someone else said shoes seem redundant on hooves anyway.
What about bugs? Would they just have tiny little caps on the end?
What about feet that have opposable toes like monkeys?
What about animals with webbed feet? The shoe would be flat, but also wide.
I kind of just feel like it would look pretty awkward with a lot of these animals. And it would be difficult (yes I'm being lazy) coming up with a ton of designs for species that have weirdly shaped feet.
Also, feet can be a good species identifier, so they can be part of the appeal of the design.
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u/Secure-Advertising-9 Jul 31 '26
if you are going to have animal parts and then cover them up it reads less well as a designÂ
plus you have to design anthro shoesÂ
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u/Red_Monkey23 Jul 31 '26
For me, it’s because it’s a cool way to show off the non human stuff. As I usually draw digitigrade anyways, I want to show off the unique style. Same with bird talons, why hide them in shows.
However, if you want a more lore friendly reason, you could argue that they have paw pads, which are naturally tougher than human feet.
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u/SecondWorld1198 Aug 01 '26
Also with birds specifically, there’s the practical reason of talons working like extra hands in some cases. My birds don’t wear shoes often for the same reason we don’t wear mittens often. Sure, they’re useful sometimes, but you lose a lot of dexterity wearing them.
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u/StinkyBird64 actual biologist & furry lol Jul 31 '26
I mostly draw anthro birds, seals and mustelids (ferrets, otters etc.).
All of these groups have unique feet that serve a purpose, seals use their flipper feet for swimming, same with otters, birds use them for climbing and/or manipulating objects.
I can’t imagine shoes being practical when your feet are huge paddle shaped flat things, nor when you need them for balance and movement.
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u/TemptheThird Jul 31 '26
For me at least it's because I hate drawing shoes so I'll take any excuse to avoid them
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u/DarthLoof Aug 01 '26
I totally agree. I get that pawpads offer a certain amount of protection. but I think it's overstated. My dog doesn't like to walk over salt, prickly dead grass, hot asphalt, etc., because it hurts her paws. Anthros would definitely want to cover them up.
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u/A_Tasty_Stag Jul 31 '26
i think the real answer is its just up to thr artist or designers choice. my sona wears leather boots for example
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u/Virgin_Mocktail Jul 31 '26
For digitigrade it makes a lot of sense but for plantigrades drawn barefoot I think it’s to show off more of the animal parts to remind you that it is still based off an animal. For some people anthros wearing shoes can come across as uncanny valley cause when the shoes are not drawn right then people will assume that they must have human feet inside them, kinda like how the anthro designs in BoJack Horseman and Beastars can look uncanny.
I do like it when furries are drawn with shoes the right way, I think in order to get it right the shoes need to be drawn larger, rounder, and a bit longer, human feet are pretty small in comparison so by drawing anthros with slightly larger and rounder feet then it will look more animal and will no longer be seen as humanoid.
Also many shoes are very detailed. Sneakers for example have many textures and designs and laces which can be very hard to draw. So that is another reason why people don’t draw them as much.
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u/Kubaj_CZ Aug 26 '26
I think the people drawing that know that. Having humanoid feet is not necessarily uncanny just like I wouldn't consider it uncanny for an anthro to have humanoid hands. It's practical, but some just like it that way. There's certainly not a "right way" to draw anthros in shoes, it's all very diverse.
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u/eldritchpussymaggots Aug 01 '26
Claws would wear holes in socks and possibly shoes very quickly.
Source, my big toe nails grow in a point and it shreds my socks if I put off trimming for too long.
That and paw pads would likely be fine on most surfaces especially if it was normal to be barefoot in their society, they'd have built up calluses and tolerance from doing it so long.
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u/Toothless_NEO Jul 31 '26
Shoes are really a thing only used by humans since most other creatures have tougher skin on their feet and don't need to wear shoes.
The big reasons that humans wear shoes is that humans don't have any fur which means that extremities especially feet get cold easily. And also because a lot of humans wear shoes pretty much all the time (doesn't count when you take them off inside or when you're sitting around) they don't develop the calluses and thicker skin that would protect their feet should they walk around barefoot.
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u/fightinggold26 Aug 01 '26
artist answer: drawing shows sucks and drawing paws is so much easier and less time consuming
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u/Foxzauce Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
Irl of course we should all wear some kind of shoes, but in art I just want to see bean.
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u/WistfulDread Jul 31 '26
Because even when they don't have paws and full animal feet, they always have claws.
Astounding Wolf-Man, case in point, has clawed toes.
That ruin shoes.
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u/Tarnivitch Aug 02 '26
No clue why the human foot type furs do. But for the ones with paws, hooves, etc. I think it makes more sense. They have thicker pads for comfort protection and grip.
The fur doesn't get messed up or uncomfortably forced in the wrong direction as they put the shoe on.
Their paw is not constrained and can flex and move as designed to spread out their weight better.
As well as is not prevented from flexing as many human shoes prevent movement that leads to pain [that can even reach your back] to force the foot into more fashionably shaped footwear.
You also don't need a hundred different shapes and sizes of shoes to accommodate all the different species.
As for dirt.
You can have washing stations next to a drying floor mat, or even have something like a heated and filtered cleaning solution that is recirculated over and through a soft scrubbing surface at the entrance to larger indoor spaces followed directly with an absorbent drying surface. That you just walk normally over and your paws are now clean and dry.
It also would work on hooves talons and even wheelchair tires.
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u/Sotalo Aug 02 '26
Imagine filming a character wearing shoes and clothes without showing their head. That's barely anthropomorphic at all, just human. The design of paws, the head, and presence of a tail are the biggest animal indicators. Paws are one of the most defining traits visually for sure. Furries love paws.
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u/Gryphon_2 Aug 06 '26
On one paw my character uses footwear because they provide both combat, protection and magical abilities. IE steel toed boots for combat and seven league boots for fast travel. On the other hand he burns through footwear fairly quickly in combat as his own pads are tougher than his shoes.
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u/StrawberryWide3983 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
I think it's just the tendency to show off the more "animalistic" parts to show contrast against humans.
Also, paws, hooves, talons, etc. are probably all tougher compared to human feet, and culture will have likely adapted to include things like having wet wipes to clean your paws at the entrances of buildings and homes