How your fursona came to be

[WingedZephyr]

Because I'd like to work on a guide for people trying to create a fursona (as it's been requested), I'd like to know some things about your fursona(s) and how they came to be. I may or may not end up quoting some of the answers in the guide, too, so put some thought into your answers.

Here are the questions I'd like answered if possible. You don't have to answer them all if you don't want to.

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?

Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?

Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?

Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?

Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?

Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?

How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?

[Boone Zofox]

Hmmm . . . well in the most general sense, my fursona is me. He has the same likes/dislikes, same type of personality, but I did alternate him a little bit to be less of an aggressor and more of a laid back sort of guy. As for back story, well, it sort of comes from a story I've been trying to write. I came up with an awesome setting and plot and everything, although I never got around to writing it. I liked the story so much that I decided it would be Boone's background. the name itself was pretty outta the blue. I just like the name Boone.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
I came up with my fursona's species by first going along with my favorite kind of animals, canines. So she started out as a wolf, but then I love vampires and werewolves so I decided to make my fursona a hybrid of those since it would still include wolf in it. Plus I love the powers that vampires and werewolves have. They're really amazing so I made up my werepyre.

Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
Her name is my name. She is built off of my personality but tweaked a bit so she's a much better version of me.

Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
At first, I had the normal animal colors, but then I decided that it was too bland. So I added in the blue coloring to go along with her being an Arctic wolf (the coloring was added before she was made into a werepyre) and it stuck.

Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?
No. Unless her coloring is a distinguishing marking.

Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
It mostly matched my own but I "edited" it so that she was "better" than me since I have issues with how I am, of course.

Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
Yes, she does. She's a bounty hunter of sorts, but I haven't worked it out completely yet.

How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
We share a lot of the same interests, but she really is the idealized version of me. She's a skilled fighter and she's beautiful and she has powers that I'll never have.

[maggintons]

ill say about my fursona when i have time to do so ill post about my fursona soon 

[Puncia]

All these are about Puncia the snow leopard/owl/magpie mix unless specified.

I can safely say I am a furry and a happy member of the fur fandom, however I do not feel like a part of me is more animal than human. You may call me a "light furry" if you will, where I am more into the fantasy and art rather than personal exploration and expression. So my fursona is not something serious that is part of me, it's an avatar I use in forums and such. But that does not mean that Puncia isn't very thoroughly thought through.

- Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
Two mayor things decided me on feline; my personal preference for cats and the fact that I've been told I resemble one, all my life. And this completely without provocation also. It could be a thing I said or did and someone that I don't even know well could tell me I remind them of a cat. I honestly never thought about it myself, and it would be a surprise whenever someone pointed it out.
Upon building a fursona I knew it had to be a cat that lives in cold areas, narrowing it down further until I reached the choice between lynx and snow leopard. Without going into detail, I share many mental and believe it or not, a lot of physical traits with the leopard, and it is a little more pretty too I think. So I decided that it would be a perfect base.

The two birds, magpie and owl, are both symbolic and 100% personal, like how the magpie is mocking and teasing but a clever bird nevertheless, etc.


- Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
I'm very bad with names and for a character as Puncia I wanted something quick and easy, simple yet unique, so I used uncia uncia (=snow leopard) and pica pica (=European magpie) as a guide. I'm pretty sure nobody else have used this name.


- Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
As a base, yes but I edited them. I'm not an extremely colourful person so I made Puncia monochrome first, gray with white and black instead of brown/beige with white and black like they are in nature. And then I added some of my favourite colour purple to make things a bit more interesting. The eyes and wings are still naturally coloured because I prefer it that way.


- Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?
Yes, you could say that all the spots and especially the stripes have a connection to my real physical appearance. Also, I like them. ;P


- Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
They are very similar. If anything, Puncia is a little more posh but this has a lot to do with the way I write English and how I feel about it as it isn't my native tongue and I don't speak it other than online. I guess it can also be how I identify myself compared to others online with the way I speak and behave.
However when able to let my guard down and speak freely I usually step out of the role and become more personal and fun.


- Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
Puncia has never been a roleplay character and has no past. However I doubt it would have anything to do with my own simply because I treat it like an online avatar and not a spiritual character.
Now Faricho the freaky demon on the other hand does have a loose history/back story, but he is a made up character used more for story purposes. The reason I am using him now on the forum is simply that he's new, fun, I love the bust drawing of him and I was tired of staring at the same snow leopard!


- How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
I think it's already apparent that Puncia is an avatar to me and nothing deeply serious. It is the mask through which I act online in fur communities. That's why Puncia is pretty much me, and we have the exact same interests, pros and cons.
Of course we're all always an "idealized" version of ourselves online. We choose what to show and what to hide, we have the freedom to appear how we want and it's only natural that we do.


Hope I can help out with these answers!
Also, I hate hate hate that you can't use CSS in posts. This would have been SOOO much more fancy if I could.

[Nrein]

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
I've always loved German Shepherd. Did ever since I was a kid, and I have no real explanaition for it. When I was trying to decide on my official fursona, I was originally being pushed to be a Husky, but that didn't entirely feel right to me. Eventually, after a long day of thinking about it, I decided Shepherd would be the best. I always wanted one, but doubted I'd ever get to have one, and so I felt it was the best obvious choice ^^;

Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
I want my fursona to be as close to myself as possible, since he literally is just a furry me. The last name I've chosen for him though, Rein, comes from a comical series I used to write, whose main character was Michael Rein, based partially on me, and also on my Late Uncle Mike.

Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
Purple was never always a favorite color of mine, until I spent more time in the fandom, then it just kinda came to me. I figured I'd do some justice and make the colors purple. Not only that, but I just think it looks good with the eyes ^^;

Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?
There's a blotch of whitish-gray fur on his right thigh, and a jagged strip that looks like a thunderbolt from his right shoulder to his left thigh (No, *not* a HP reference). The blotch, randomly smack-dab in the middle of some purple fur, is a reminder that no one is perfect, and that everyone has that blotch that's out of place on them. The jagged strip is actually subliminal advertising for my entertainment group, Hit the Deck! that I decided to put on

Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
It matches as close as possible, though he's a bit more reserved then I am. My fursona lives off of the experiences through the fandom, not just my whole life, so he's still like that new kid in school.

Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
My fursonas *official* back story follows somewhat close to my own past, however with some twists. He actually met his Grandfather, Poppy, and had a close relationship to him. Also, his parents were a little less reserved then my own.

How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
The big things different between my fursona and myself is that he can play guitar and organize music, while I have more "understanding" of music (if that's the right word) and can express it better. I'm also more adept with technology, while he has more talent with business and finances.

[Ares the Ram]

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
I always liked to see the Lynx when we went to the zoo. My favorite animal by far.
Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
Macid was the first alias I made with a friend of mine for gaming.
Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
stuck with natural colors (mostly) because seeing bright blue fursonas just isnt my thing.
Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?
My tail has a purple tip instead of a black one, I have a diamond on my forehead.
Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
as of now, its different but Im trying to become more like him. Im cynical and sad, while Macid is happy and carefree
Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
nope. no backstory
How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
Macid is my dream persona. The being that I want to become. If I can become as happy and carefree as he is, then  have succeeded

[x]

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
Well, I've done some switching...but in the end I found that a skunk was the best. Skunks are elegant and mysterious. They have big tails in anthro form that can wrap around others, and are fluffy. They have a nice build, black and white color combinations (not always b and w though), and you get to choose what your special "scent" smells like. A skunk isn't nessicarily the closest thing to my personality, but when I'm a skunk I feel really in form, like it's meant to be.

Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
My name is my name, or my generally accepted name. My birth certificate name is different. I like to use the name Katie. When people call me by my real name, it just doesn't make sense, doesn't feel right. I also want to be called by my name even in fursona form. For awhile I was called Sasha but I grew out of it. I said no, I want to be called by my name, not a fake name.

Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
I thought that having a skunk with opposite, or negative colors, and much more white than black was a better fit to my personality and style and was less boring than typical colors. I spent a lot of time deciding just where her markings fell, and just where she had black on her since most of her is black. While odd colors like pink would be fun, I simply prefer black and white.

Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?
Katie has unusual fur in general. No typical skunk black and white, her black comes in the form of stocking markings and a single glove marking. Also, she has scars: X-shaped scars on each hand from being hung on a meat hook by her mate when they were younger. She also has the initials NG on her thigh, he carved them into her to mark her as his work of art.

Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
It is certainly rooted in my personality. A lot of it is the same. However, she is more bold and social. She is also more willing to show her evil, cruel nature than I am and more willing to hurt others. But the rest is very similar to me.

Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
Her past features elements like a really mean, abusive stepmother that are really similar to me. But these elements have also been exaggerated to make her story more interesting, dark, twisted, and involving. Also, I never discovered that I had the powers of a mortal Djinn! If I did, that would be pretty cool.

How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
Katie has my flaws as well as my pluses. She shares a lot of the same interests like being quiet and serious, and she loves junk food like me. She's also pretty cynical like me. However, she is fairly idealized and is what I wish I could be--- more willing to say what she feels. She also has more adventures that I wish I could have.

[Puncia]

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2701527/
I took the liberty of starting this journal. Dunno if it's valid info or not for this but I figured outside sources are nice too for a wider perspective.

[Pandy]

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
-I actually planned to make a pokesona for a really long time. Before that I was pretty well known for not sticking to characters. I doodled a mix of two of my favorites, Nidoran and Growlithe, and after a few hit-or-miss doodles, I found a design I liked.


Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
-It's something of an in-joke between a friend and myself. She said, "Name your character Pandy. Do it. It's on my bucket list for you to do that" so I was like OKAY JEEZ and ended up liking the name a lot.

Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
-...Kinda. I actually plan on making a "real animal" secondary 'sona, but for now Pandy has the mixed colors of a shiny male nidoran and a growlithe.

Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?
-Not really. She has a lot of markings, but nothing I'd say that's a single distinguishing feature.

Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
-It is very, very different.

Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
-Yup. Pandy lives in the Pokemon universe, so her backstory reflects that.

How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
-I gave her the same height and fierce personality as my best friend. She (my friend) has a terminal illness so I guess you could say it's in homage to her.

[WingedZephyr]

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2701527/
I took the liberty of starting this journal. Dunno if it's valid info or not for this but I figured outside sources are nice too for a wider perspective.

Sure. Thanks.

How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
-I gave her the same height and fierce personality as my best friend. She (my friend) has a terminal illness so I guess you could say it's in homage to her.

Aw, that's really sweet.

[[Sov]]

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
I've loved horses ever since I was little and always felt a special connection with them. I've always been really into wolves, dragons, and the pegasus as well, which lead to the creation of my characters, but my fursona is a horse because I love them.

Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
Her name means Storm Warrior that's very very loosely translated into English from Greek. I just love anything Greek, and I was in my basement weathering out a hurricane when I came up with it.

Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
I stick with natural for Kay, she's a dapple grey, but is very dark, this is because my first horse was a dapple grey.
Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?
She's got a stripe down the center of her right hoof, because in her bio she came from a tribe like setting and her mother was a pinto, it's her only trace of being a pinto. She's also got a scar on the back of her left fetlock joint (equivalent to our ankles) from battle training where a spear head hit her and went into her fetlock so deeply the tribe elders wondered if it would heal, but it did, and it healed white and hairless which shines brightly through her black fur. I decided to put this on there because I have a scar on my left ankle that will not go away that's from a very hard time in my life.
Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
Kay is pretty much me, but she doesn't carry my ailments. I didn't grow up in a tribe, that's where Nash is more like me. Nash is from the suburbs of New York, and thinks he's hot shit. My other two characters, the dragon, and the pegasus are still developing. But I relate closest to Kay and Nash. Nash could almost be considered my secondary fursona, even though he is male and I'm female.
Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
Yes. I kinda explained that above. >_>

How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
Kay is the strength I wish that I had, and we share the same interests for sure. She's developed a lot, and I'm sure her story will change, but I really like her tribal background, and then moving to the city. That can really happen so it's totally plausible. Like I said, Kay doesn't carry any of my ailments, but Nash is more likely to carry my ailments than Kay is.

[Inja]

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
I guess it's been that way before i could even understand it. When i was a young child, i was really into cats. like Lions especially. I used to (what looking back on, could be considered) roleplay as a lion around the house. i even drank milk from a bowl and wore my cat ears!  as i was a little older, probably 8, the wolf really stood out to me. it connected me with my native american ancestry. for a while i was convinced that i was a wolf in the life before my own. preteen years kind of pushed back all this stuff.  it wasnt until this past year that i started feeling it spiritually again. i know i had a good intuition when it came to animals, especially canines (i worked at a shelter for a while) and watching an anime called Spice and Wolf really brought back how i used to feel. I am not a wolf, i am more of a coyote mix, due to my love of the West.

Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
Inja is my name for the time being. I am fairly new to all of this. It means "dog" in some obscure african language.

Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
Definitely the basics for me, black and brown. my day-to-day human form has brown hair, so i figure, keep the two sides of myself as similar as possible. I'm still working on it. Markings interest me so...we'll see.

Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
Inja's personality is my personality, magnified. She is stronger emotionally, more outgoing. A bit more in tune with her sexual side too (as in, i shy away from intimate relationships).
Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
Not....yet. Not that i've come to realize yet. I'd like to think there's a lot of repressed memories waiting to jump out.

How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
explained above, she and i are very closely related. Our hangups are similar but she handles them better. Sometimes we have a clash in interests or motivations, but it represents the 2 parts of myself (such as, helping someone for their own good, or to somehow gain my own benefit. same act, different mentality).

[Drakos]

Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?
Fennec foxes are ADORABLE (At least I think so ) and wolves are also ADORABLE AND AWESOME . Therefore, instead of choosing either one or the other, I decided, why not be original and combine the two? .

Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?
Honestly? There really isn't a meaning behind the name Silverton Fennecwolf other than the name "Silverton" has the word "Silver" in it, describing my fursona's fur coloring, and the last name "Fennecwolf" which is basically the species of my fursona, which is a Fennec/Wolf hybrid .
Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
I stuck with silver/white fur because it's the coloring of a wolf in real life usually, so that's why I stuck with it.
Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?
Although I'm not sure if I'll fully answer this question correctly, I'll try. As for tattoos and such that are important, my fursona has one tattoo that is quite relevant because it is a heart with a stitch in it. This tattoo symbolizes my fursona and the pain he had to endure in losing his home to humans in the past, and how, despite this, he has the will to carry on. As for fur markings that are relevant, the only relevant marking that I can think of that it has is a white patch of fur on his forehead between his eyes. This is there just because it looks cute really .

Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
Believe it or not, I believe my fursona to be a direct representation of me . Although I have RP characters that represent other personalities, my fursona's represents mine.

Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
As a matter of fact, it does. In the past, my fursona lived undomesticated deep in the cold climate of the Canadian Rockies. He lived alone, in a forest, completely unaware of the outside world. However, that all changed one day when a group of nasty and cruel human beings set his home ablaze. The fire burned everything in his path, his home lay in ashes, in ruins. This event changed his life, as he was forced to move to the big city of Vancouver, BC, where he now currently resides. He was forced to learn the ways of human beings, and since then has turned into what he is today; a fenolf with a quiet, reserved personality.

[CormacCoyotecraft]

Coyotes are very secretive creatures (or so they appear to me), always staying in the dark and only making their presence known when they howl to their pack members. I strongly identified with that because I was always one of those people who stayed away from the spotlight and on the edges of that light, only making myself known by an indirect fashion (howling is to coyotes what writing is to me). This, combined with hearing them howl at night in the thick woods around my home, always filled me with awe. Thus, when I was deciding on species, the answer was simple


[/size][/size]The full name of my fursona (Cormac Bradbury Coyotecraft) is comprised of the names of my three favorite authors, the men who've had the most influence on my writing : Cormac McCarthy (The Road, No Country for Old Men), Ray Bradbury (Farenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes) and H.P. Lovecraft (Call of Cthulu, The Dream Cycle Mythos).
[/size][/size]Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?
[/size][/size]I just stuck with the natural coloring.
[/size][/size]Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?
[/size][/size]Cormac's personality matches mine, i.e., introverted, analytical, thoughtful and meditative
[/size][/size]Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?
[/size][/size]Cormac doesn't really have a backstory in the traditional sense. He is just in his current state of existence. To put it shortly, he is a metaphor for my mental/emotional state. For example: He resides in a small house on top of a wooded hill, rarely seeking the company of others, except for a few trusted souls. Ghosts, demons, imps and other entities of a supernatural sort come to knock on his door, to tell him their stories. These stories are sometimes wonderful, hopeful things, things which bring fresh hope and make the ultimate enlightenment of this world's mortals almost at hand. Sometimes they are all too vivid accounts of dark deeds, of the bad, the sinister and the Evil which are out there in the world.
[/size][/size]How much is your fursona like you? Do you share the same interests? Did you include any of your personal flaws in your fursona, or are they an "idealized" version of you?
[/size]He is like me in that he shares my love of writing and literature, and the results of my follies and the guilt that comes with them. Other than that, there are no similarities. He dresses in a three piece suit while I prefer jeans and a t-shirt. That, and he's an anthro coyote while I'm a human