#bear-dog

A fossilized partial jaw of a Daphoenus sp. from the Brule Formation in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. Known as bear-dogs, amphicyonids like Daphoenus were basal caniforms related to bears, dogs, and other animals in the clade.

These two are from a game being Kickstarted called Bits and Bops, a rhythm game just pouring with Rhythm Heaven inspiration. Check it out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tempolabgames/bits-and-bops

Amphicyon is an old favorite of mine, and it's always an interesting challenge to draw. The same applies when I stylize it; gotta make sure it reads as neither a bear nor a dog. For these designs, I played with shapes; often I try building characters with different shape language, to see how it will affect the feel of the design. Designing with pointy shapes lends a very different feel than designing with rounded shapes, and mixing the two adds another level of fun.

A fossilized metapodial of an Amphicyon longiramus from Dixie County, Florida, United States. This Miocene aged bear-dog was one of the last of its kind, with the whole clade going extinct at the end of the Miocene.

!!! Whaaaa??