Hello gamers, local disabled cane user is gonna teach you how to design a cane.
Tl:dr: design a cane based on comfortability and the disability of the character
First things first, you need to know why you’re character needs a cane. Do they have chronic pain? Unhealed injury? Muscle or joint issues? Do they have poor blood circulation which makes them dizzy? Do they need the cane all the time or does their disability fluctuate? Do they use a wheelchair or a walker sometimes?
There’s a lot you should know about a characters ability/disability in order to find what type of mobility aid they should be using.
There are a bunch of different kinds of canes/crutches. The 4 on the left are crutches. The difference between canes and crutches are, crutches are meant to keep weight off your legs as much as possible, and generally you use a crutch on each arm. Canes are used for stability and you usually only use one. Folding canes are great for people who only use their cane sometimes
Great! You’ve picked either a cane or crutches for your character. I’m done right? WRONG. Cane handles.
This is probably the most important part of canes because if you have the wrong handle your wrist will die.
I gently kiss all the canes on the left, they are all very good for grip and wrist, although the middle left is designed for left or right hand so you cannot switch hands with it.
The ones on the right are also pretty good, they wouldn’t be my first choice but they are still great. The top one is also very good as it has a wristband so you can’t drop it as easily. (Trust me when I say I DROP MY CANE SO MUCH)
Sigh. The middle cane handles… the bottom one I have never actually seen but it looks like it would kill my wrist. The top one is uncomfortable for long period uses, but it is good for if you’re a shepherd. And the pimp cane… the knob cane… it’s awful. Just no. It’s hard to grip, it is unstable it’s bad it’s awful I throw it into a fire. Please don’t give your character, they don’t deserve that pain
Now you know the basic ergonomic things, there are different shafts for canes and crutches
You can really get creative with this type of thing, just as long as it looks stable enough.
Here are some good examples of pretty canes that are ergonomic and good to use! (featuring victor arcane who i adore)
Add some cute details to the cane if you want! You can add stickers, colours, grip support. And while I love the concept of cane swords those are very unstable, if you want a cane weapon you can make it lead weighted, put knives in it. A poison vile in the shaft. Be creative.
Just some of these components are important to consider with a disabled character. There’s a lot more to consider with wheelchairs and walkers which I don’t have the experience with.
If you do have any questions my asks are always open to questions about this stuff! I’d love to help if you’re making a disabled character.
