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I'm obsessed with birds, aerodynamics, and fantasy creatures that can fly. If you want to know more about how to create a realistic flying creature for your world, I'd love to help! I'm also pretty interested in evolution and natural ecosystems so expect to hear a lot about that as well ^^
My main character is a Half-Dragon, basically enough of both so that he has pretty much all draconic features and is bipedal. His build is that of a strongman (think Hodor, but just a bit thinner and shorter), but I want him to be able to fly around and have hollow bones. How big would his wings have to be to lift a 6'0", over 200 lbs person? If he had hollow bones, how much weight would that take off?
Okay, so a very rough rule of thumb for determining wingspan is: one wing equals twice the character's height, head to toe. So a 6' character would have a 24' wingspan (6'x4). And the wings should extend down at least to his ankles. If they're batlike wings, the membrane will likely attach to his legs or tail.
(tails are important for steering btw, as long as they're not too heavy)
This will vary depending on the shape and function of the wing. Due to his size he will be a mostly gliding creature to preserve energy, and longer, slimmer wings are better for gliding. But as long as they're at least that big, they should work okay.
As for weight, let's see…..bones in a male are roughly 15% of the total body weight, so when excluding most of them, your character is roughly 175 lbs. (That's not counting the bones' water weight since I'm guessing it would stay the same.)
One more thing to consider is the intestines, since they'll be somewhat modified as well. due to the amount of energy it takes to fly, your oc will need a TON of food, but food is heavy so his digestive system will be real short and fast. His heart and lungs will be terrifically compact and powerful, and he'll have no excess fat whatsoever. Honestly the heaviest part of him will probably be those sweet flight muscles–but don't make them too big or he'll be clumsy and unbalanced.
Hope that was helpful! Let me know if I was unclear or missed anything! ^^
Oh and P.S.: since it's your story it doesn't have to be totally realistic. All that info is just a suggestion on my part, and it's up to you how much you add to your character. I'm sure whatever you come up with will be awesome XD
Thank you so much! Now I just have to rework a few things and we'll have a decently-believable Half-Dragon!
Yay! Glad to be of service! :D
Hello! I’m developing an alien world where a lot of the fauna is inspired by prehistoric life. One of the apex predators is meant to be loosely reminiscent of a Pegasus, without looking overly fantastical (It’s story is sci-fi) I’m going around in circles trying to design this dang hexapod. Any suggestions on combing these two concepts?
I'll do my best! So, to clarify: what kind of "prehistoric" are you going for, exactly? Dinosaurs? Ice-age mammals like mammoths/saber-tooths etc.? Or something else? And what kind of habitat do you want to put the Pegasus-ish creature in?
For the prehistoric part of the inspiration I had pterodactyls in mind. The creature would generally reside around the base of mountains, it’s hunting territory usually being nearby forests similar to tropical evergreen forests, and seaside cliffs depending on the region.
I have a harpy character does she have any aerial limitations? My thing about her is that her family eats a ton of meat but she doesn't like that so she doesn't have much muscle on her. What kind of limitations does she have?
For the prehistoric part of the inspiration I had pterodactyls in mind. The creature would generally reside around the base of mountains, it’s hunting territory usually being nearby forests similar to tropical evergreen forests, and seaside cliffs depending on the region.
Okay, first you need to decide if your creature is a mammal or a reptile. Then you need to pick your favorite aspects from the animals your combining and make sure they are present in the end result. Then, take into consideration what they hunt, the climate they live in, and whether they live in groups…stuff like that. The environment dictates the things that live in it, first and foremost.
For example, if your creature hunts in the forest, they need to be agile enough to fit through narrow spaces at high speeds, and their eyesight needs to accommodate for low-light + confusing undergrowth (ref: Cooper's hawks). By the cliffs, they may dive for fish and other flying creatures, or be able to climb the cliffs to catch cave-dwellers. Just a couple ideas. ^^
Pterotactyls are strictly gliding creatures and, like bats, are almost helpless if they crash on flat ground. A hexapodal animal would probably be fine, but it still might need to climb or walk to a high place before going airborne again.
I hope some of that is helpful! Your creatures sound very cool, let me know if you have any more questions!
I have a harpy character does she have any aerial limitations? My thing about her is that her family eats a ton of meat but she doesn't like that so she doesn't have much muscle on her. What kind of limitations does she have?
If your character is human sized, she will need upwards of 3000 calories a day to make up for the energy spent flying/metabolizing/etc. Meat is an excellent source of protein and calories, but there are substitutes such as nuts and beans which would at least keep her health from deteriorating too far. As for limitations, she would probably have low stamina and perhaps weak lungs/low body heat as well. It depends on how much exercise she gets.
In flight, she may only be capable of gliding flight or bursts of speed only over short distances. Fancy acrobatics are probs a no-go, and she may be extra sensitive to the cold and very thin air. But the details are up to you ^^ Hope that helps!
Wow that helps a ton thank you!
Yay! XD
Thank you! I’ll definitely let you know if I have further questions.
Great! Glad to help! ^^
I’ve got Pegasi. Hence, problems ensue. What would be different about a flying horse compared to a normally horse?
Just out of curiosity, I also have large, flying wolves. (Don't ask it just happened.)
Cracks knuckles I'mma reply to both of you at once if that's okay!
Okay, so for both of those, the main issue is…weight distribution, I guess. They not only need to have very light bodies, but I suspect their hindquarters would be smaller than those of normal wolves/horses (which might look a little weird at first but if you look at birds they have, like, zero butt lol) Obviously they would have more powerful hearts and lungs, powerful eyes, well-insulated fur/feathers etc. Their front (walking) legs might be kinda spindly too. Honestly, this all depends on which animal you want your creature to look more like. I will say that the more avian elements you add to the anatomy, the more scientifically believable it becomes.
On that note, consider modifying some/all of the feet to be better for perching, grabbing, and hard landings–especially the horse hooves since they're not really build for rough terrain.
About horses again, think about diet. Birds eat high-calorie diets that are fast and easy to digest, either meat, bugs, or like seeds and nuts and stuff. Oh, and sometimes flower nectar. Horses have much slower metabolisms, so you'd probably want to change that since flying takes a lot of energy. I don't think wolves wouldn't have to change their diet much, although they might need to eat more than normal wolves. Which brings me to the issue of size, since anything that needs to eat a ton will survive much more easily if it's smaller. Also flying isn't so hard if you're little (but not impossible if you're big–see extinct gliding animals such as pterodactyls and the pelagornis sandersi).
Oh! And the tails. Feathery tails are great for balance and steering, so bring that into consideration as well. I've seen art of creatures with combos of both avian and mammalian tails that look pretty cool.
Uhhh I think that's it. Hope that helps! If there's something I missed, just let me know! ^^
Thanks for the help! I’ve already been trying to imagine smaller horses with weaker legs, but this has really helped! So basically, for any flying animal make it as bird or bat like as conceivably possible. Got it.
Sounds about right. I did a little research Pinterest anatomy posts on flight and wing build… so yeah.
@Darkblossom Glad to help! Yeah that's pretty much it!
@Starlight-Unicorn Haha yeah, Pinterest is the way to go XDD
Yes it is. Always.
Heyo…
Here's the thing: I've done a bunch of independent research, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around wing types. I know there are the soaring, high speed, eliptical, etc., but I'm also trying to fit a bird and wing type to model the characters I'm creating.
Basically one of the characters will be around eleven, male, and overall have pretty low stamina for flying purposes. He'll have the short bursts of speed and maneuverability common among smaller, more common birds, but height and distance are his weaknesses. (Obviously large lungs, strong heart, hollow bones and potentially air sacs, depending on how bird-like I end up making him) I was wondering if a sparrow would accurately emcompass this, since info on wing types for specific birds has so for eluded me.
And for the other, around twelve, female, and overall very fast flying and decent distance, as well as very good stamina. She'd have a lack of maneuverability, for sure, and difficulty weaving between obstacles. For her, I already had the very well known peregrine falcon in mind, but I'm not sure if the description really fits or not.
Anyways, if you have a hot sec to answer I'd really appreciate it. If not, I can understand, since I've been incredibly busy with school starting back on and I've hardly been online. Thanks in advance!
Yo! I'm always glad to help, and I hope I can clear some up things for you (although it looks like you've done a lot of research already, kudos for that).
Okay, so first let's just get this on the table: I'm not a huge fan of the "wing type" theory for winged humanoids, because 1: human bodies vary only slightly and don't really require such a diverse set of wing shapes to choose from, and 2: I've seen many people out there claim that their winged characters have a certain "type", when in reality they just chose tiny, flimsy wings for aesthetic reasons and then expected their character to be able to fly. Also, there are some wing types that are so specialized (I'm thinking hummingbirds here) that they would never work on a person, both for size and aerodynamic reasons. The ability to hover doesn't come cheap.
Having said all that, I think you should do whatever you want. The wing types can of course be used to make a realistic character with proper research, and honestly the demands of contrasting lifestyles (desert nomad versus woodland forager for example) could easily create diverse wing types where inherent body types could not. Just so long as it's clear that the wings evolved slowly into that shape, and it's not a matter of random genetics on an individual scale.
Now with that out of the way, let's look at your characters. So your male character, you're thinking sparrow wings, eh? That could work, but obviously we have to be sure that his wings are still big enough to carry him at all. I don't know if you read any of the previous posts on this thread, but I'll bring back the general rule of thumb for wings just in case: Your character's wingspan = character's height x four. That's a formula for broad soaring types, so the numbers will slightly vary, but hopefully that gives you a starting point. Anyway, I think sparrow wings pretty much fit the bill for what you want in this character. I looked them up and found pretty much what you did, with the same potential upsides and downsides. I think as long as you take into account the fact that his flying capacity is limited, you really can't go wrong here :)
Let's move on to your female character. So, a common misconception when it comes to fast birds is in the falcon family. Let's be clear: they are not particularly fast going in a straight line. Peregrines rack up those crazy record speeds only when diving for prey. The rest of the time, they're just extra acrobatic soaring birds and not particularly fast. You want a bird with self-powered horizontal speeds of up to 110 mph, with enough stamina to go over 700 miles in a single day? You want a Homing Racing Pigeon. Gorgeous little birds with the strength and stamina of a flippin freight train. I recommend looking them up, they come in many colors and their wing shape is actually quite similar to a falcon's. Although there's one important downside to this wing type, by the way: it's hard to stay airborne at low speeds and requires much more energy. But hey, no system is perfect.
I hope that helps! If you have any more questions, please let me know, and good luck designing your characters! ^^
Ooh I just saw this on what, the seventh page on the unread tab? anyways i'm just bored so i thought i'd pop in and ask you to tell me more about these things! that really fascinates me, one question i have is if a human were to have wings, and the bone structure aside, how big would those wings have to be for them to support the weight of a human?