I have multiple fursonas, but their design follows a natural progression as I learn more about myself, and the fandom over the years.
I started as a wolf, and moved to kitsune, then regular fox, which I've stayed loyal to since, despite several experiments with other species. Their creation was a combination of pre-existing interest in the species, comparison with my own personality, and simple fun - "What would it be like to have fur, a muzzle, and tail?"
1) Why/how did you decide your fursona's species?For wolf, I've always admired wolves; they're cool. Also I was an avid fan of Princess Mononoke at the time (still love it, along with all other Miyazaki films).
For kitsune, there were an increasing number of them in the RP Forums I frequented with the wolf character. I was curious, so looked them up. This led to reading about fox as a totem animal, which pretty much cemented me as fox, but I had several kitsune characters before I settled on one for a few years.
I also had regular fox characters alongside the kitsune, and eventually stopped playing kitsune altogether. Still have the character, just don't play him much anymore.
All my characters have some things in common: they start with no family/friends/connections; they've got *one* central ability that everything else revolves around; they all have green eyes. Different shades, but green. Dunno why, but I like green eyes.
2) Is there a reason or meaning behind their name?Yes, with each. The first time I pretty much translated the name meanings of each part of my real name into Japanese.
I played with Japanese a few times, usually picking a word having something to do with the character. For the kitsune I kept around, I just liked the sound of the name - I knew what it meant, but that had nothing to do with the character. Well, except that it was femenine.
Then I started using babynames.com and other name sites, searching by meaning or just looking through lists of different names by region. I liked the sound of Nevan, and it means 'little saint' which I figured was fitting for him. And it's a flashback to my first character, so a plus.
Currently I'm working on a character named Odyssey, and he's nobody's fool ("My name is Nohbdy!" - The Odyssey) (The Fool's Journey - Tarot Explanations). Which is to say, he's a complete fool and loves it.
3) Did you just stick with natural animal colors, or did you have a reason for picking other colors?I like sticking to natural colors. I've messed with neons and other strange things, but can't really make them work for me.
I do like to play with the patterns/order though. Nevan is more of a desert theme even though he's based off a Red Fox.
On top of this, his colors are reversed from a red fox: Light on the outside, dark down the front. Aki was all one color, and Saiai was an ordinary grey wolf in design. Odyssey's a grey fox with some slightly unique markings, but otherwise the right colors.
4) Do you have any distinguishing markings on your fursona? If so, what are they, and why?Each is different. Saiai had scars on his face and red hair in a ponytail (I haven't put normal hair on a fursona since). Aki was all a cream color, maybe with some ever so slight darker markings. But barely there, subtle.
Nevan has these brown 'comets' under his eyes, see my icon. Also the reverse coloring I mentioned, cream outside and brown in front, with the smaller markings all done in the darkest brown.
Odyssey has the typical grey fox coloring, with the specific marking of a cross/diamond between his shoulder blades, from the black stripe that fades in at the top of the head and goes down the back to the tail. Other than that, light underbelly, silvery-grey basetone, and brown-red sides and a little on the face - then black paws and a *little* of the tailtip, and that stripe down the back on top of the grey. Complex but not too uncommon.
5) Does your fursona's personality match your own, or is it different?Each of my characters focuses on one or several aspects of my personality, then expands from there into something unique.
Saiai was all about the internal battle between good and evil, the angel and devil at the shoulders thing. Alternately very silly and very serious, and a young warrior.
Aki: Intelligence, cleverness, creativity, control. Lots about control. Magic. Pride. A sharp sense of humor, a barely contained fire.
Nevan: Innocence, discovery, dreams, persistance, adventurousness fighting shyness. Brain over braun, but anti-conflict. Invention.
Odyssey: Fun, exploration, personal growth. An introvert being extroverted. An explosion of life and creativity. A work in progress.
6) Does your fursona have a back story different from your own past?All of them do, yes. Each is fantastical in some way or another, none of them are everyday. Either Sci-fi or Fantasy or both.
7) 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?Hm...they're more like explorations of concepts. In some ways idealised, yeah. I can put them in ordinary situations, but I can't stand to make them ordinary themselves.
As for how they compare to me...each *is* me, at least a part of me. Several of them tinker or invent - and I program, occasionally build things, and am "inventing" all the time in response to life. I don't like just trusting the tried-and-true, I value it, but I like to try new things. I also like to figure out how stuff works.
How and
why are big, common questions for me, and that comes out a lot in my characters. Sometimes this gets me into trouble, which is what Akisame and Odyssey are all about: The mischievous plotting kitsune; the ridiculous, creatively chaotic try-anything-once fool.
And personal flaws, yes. In some ways they help me explore these flaws to improve myself. Sometimes I'm trying to isolate functional ability-flaw pairs, but that only works when I'm *not* trying.
..."And that's why the universe exists!"
Topic: How your fursona came to be (Read 13949 times)