Today, I'd like to address one of the most common mistakes that new or young artists make when they start drawing animals: "Backward knee" syndrome. This is one simple tip, but if you haven't discovered it yet, it's going to make a world of difference.

"Digitigrade" is an animal that walks on its digits, or toes. digitigrade animals include canines, felines, elephants, birds, dinosaurs and more.

Humans, on the other hand, are "plantigrade" animals, meaning that we walk on the soles of our feet rather than the toes. And therein lies the confusion. Digitigrade animals don't have backward knees. Rather, their feet are elongated: they are balancing on their toes, and what looks like a knee is actually the ankle. Check it out:

Now compare that to a human foot: