# How much of "you" in in your 'sona?



## ShiroXIX (Aug 5, 2012)

*How much of "you" is in your 'sona?*

*TL; DR - Is your persona just YOU with animal qualities, a character you wish to be, only the best parts of your personality, or a completely unrelated OC?

*One of the things I've been noticing as I'm trying to make my first fursona is that he/she always ends up having a personality different from mine. Personally I have four personas I tote around:

Andrew - A slightly more confident version of myself. Basically this is who I am most of the time, or rather, who I became post-gender-identity choice.
Shiro - Who I am online most of the time. Shiro has a slight bite to him and gets pretty emotional. He's got a wider range of emotions than I do and isn't afraid to look like a weaboo and be a bit of a spaz. He's who I am at conventions.
Sardonis - A personality usually reserved for MMOs or games simply because he's unrealistic. Sardonis is every suave quality I have rolled into one. He flirts with everyone, woos the ladies and is really fun to be.
Amelia - for when I put on my lady face and act like a proper young woman for work/relatives. My "birth self" if you will.

Basically, I have this character and I'm not sure if he should be ALL of me with all of my personalities in tact or if I should assign one to him and create three more. I'd like to see Sardonis as an avian and Amelia as a feline. I think this fennec/satyr idea I have may just fall to Shiro or Andrew, but I was wondering what most people do.

Is your fursona you or does he encompass only the parts of you that you love most? Is he a completely separate OC that is nothing more than a character you play? Or is he just a personality-vacant avatar?

Thanks for reading, I look forward to the responses.


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## Schwimmwagen (Aug 5, 2012)

I used to have a single fursona, but I started not being certain about what I wanted to do with it. Then I created multiple characters.

Each character I have has a part of me, be they big or small, but they are emphasised hugely, and some, twisted. Put them all together, and you have me. c:


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## Zenia (Aug 5, 2012)

My fursona is just me in anthro form. Although, I am bigger IRL. I am not "playing a character."


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## Furryjones (Aug 5, 2012)

My fursona is just my traits in an anthro body, goes by the name of Jonesy and he encompasses all of what I am.


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## Batty Krueger (Aug 5, 2012)

Yup my fursona is 100% me in anthro batty awesomeness.


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## badlands (Aug 5, 2012)

mines a twisted and exaggerated version of myself.


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## Unsilenced (Aug 5, 2012)

I made my fursona with some of my "worst" traits, I guess because they're more interesting. He's more-or-less my "id," though he is capable of processing information and what could hesitantly be referred to as "decisions." He has some redeeming traits and a nigh-unbreakable will, but I don't envy him. 

Making a character that "is" you is kind of difficult because, generally speaking, people are more complex than fictional characters. Characters act on the author's interpretation of their tendencies and traits, while people have to actively make choices. Basing a character on "what would I do?" then often becomes more of a question of "what would I want me to do?" rather than an accurate prediction of one's own actions.


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## Kit H. Ruppell (Aug 5, 2012)

Kit shares my height (at the top of the skull), weight, rough age, eye color, and most of my personality/views.


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## Lucky-WanderBear (Aug 5, 2012)

I have two.Daniel Grizzly: He's more me than I'd like to admit.Blizzard: He's a bit more responsible than I am.Clokwerx: He's just every bad quality I have and a few I don't in one big, bad wolf.Howl: He's a goofball pervert. I'm a goofball nerd who laughs at perverts, but could never be a real one.Only Daniel Grizzly shares my height, age, weight, and favorite foods and such. Blizzard is taller than I am at 6'11''. Clokwerx is 9'3'' and has power over time. Howl is 5'2''.


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## ShiroXIX (Aug 5, 2012)

Unsilenced said:


> *Making a character that "is" you is kind of difficult* because, generally speaking, people are more complex than fictional characters. Characters act on the author's interpretation of their tendencies and traits, while people have to actively make choices. Basing a character on "what would I do?" then often becomes more of a question of "what would I want me to do?" rather than an accurate prediction of one's own actions.



Well yeah, but creating an avatar isn't hard. You don't need to prescribe a personality to a drawn image. You can just choose to have an image represent you and I guess that has me rephrase the question to: Is your fursona a character or an avatar? -- but that's almost a whole other thread/poll. On the matter of complexity, however, it depends on the writer. I have a few characters that I know function better than I do, a few characters that genuinely have opinions I disagree with and often act outside of my hand and "write themselves". Honestly, I know that even if I SAY the fursona I have drawn is just an avatar, he'll eventually grow a personality of his own and act regardless of what was intended.


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## Judge Spear (Aug 5, 2012)

A lot actually. Just me as an angry hornet with fat eyebrows. I included my favorite attire to represent me. My Jake the Dog hat, what would be my black DoDonPachi "WARNING" tee (which fits very well because it has a hexagonal pattern like inner hornet hives) if I could draw better, my Gurren Lagann drill necklace, and these black pants I love to wear. I tried to give him my personality, just tweaked to be a little more fitting for a hornet...mad all the damn time.


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## Unsilenced (Aug 5, 2012)

Once you make an image, it's hard to stop from ascribing it some personality. I'm not really sure why people even try. Why would you need something else to be you? Might as well make it interesting. My character started as an avatar too, but any time I drew him I had to make choices. What was he doing? How was he posed? Why? I guess I could have just dressed him up like I normally dress and had him act like I would have, but that seemed... boring. 

Characters usually act in the way we expect others to act, having relatively direct motivations for their actions. They do x because they are y. This is much more direct than one's own motivations, which one might not even be aware of. People do a lot of things "just because," which comes off poorly in fictional characters. Truly realistic characters would often seem random and poorly-written. Truth is stranger than fiction and all that.


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## Lunar (Aug 5, 2012)

My fursona is kind of who I wish I was.  Cuter and more adorably clumsy.


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## Dreaming (Aug 5, 2012)

*Re: How much of "you" is in your 'sona?*



ShiroXIX said:


> *TL; DR - Is your persona just YOU with animal qualities, a character you wish to be, only the best parts of your personality, or a completely unrelated OC?
> *


My first fursona essentially was, and it was a mess of things. Then I sort of went crazy with the Adopt Multiple Fursonas thing, and gave them all a trait of mine. So essentially, they all share something with me, but non of them actually resemble me.


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## xcliber (Aug 5, 2012)

I've asked myself this a few times in wondering how I came up with all my OCs and how they connect to me. I have about 5 main OCs that generally represent either different parts of myself, things I wish I could be, or people I wish I had around me.

Cobalt, my main sona, reflects my own inner thoughts. He finds himself seeking answers and fulfillment in his life much the way I do. His traits include most of my negative ones, often finding himself depressed, dwelling heavily on his past, and having a tendency to let little things get to him. He's shy and timid. Unlike me, however despite his self-worth issues, he has a heart of gold. He's strong and courageous and won't hesitate to protect those close to him (but perhaps that's also because he values other peoples lives more than his own).
Ember, on the other hand, is a mix of what I wish I could be along with over-exaggerations of my good personal qualities, plus a few polar opposites of myself. She's extremely gifted intellectually, active, outspoken, the person that everyone seems to love and go to for help and advice, and always standing up for what she believes in.


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## Percy (Aug 5, 2012)

Some of my traits are included in my fursona, but he's otherwise not TOO similar to myself. He's certainly more social than my real self, and his appearance differs from the way I actually look (minus the fur, of course).


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## ShiroXIX (Aug 5, 2012)

Unsilenced said:


> Why would you need something else to be you?
> Truly realistic characters would often seem random and poorly-written. Truth is stranger than fiction and all that.



This fandom has a lot of emphasis on being someone else or hiding behind a mask. There are a lot of people who want others to know the character rather than themselves. Me, I'd like you to know both. Love my 'sona, he likes the attention, but I'm just your average Joe.

I have, last I counted, 70ish OCs. Most of them are from role plays, novels, short stories, etc. and very few are just "art fodder" as I like to call it. I have characters that range from "main character in an anime" material to "couldn't even get cast as an extra". Again, it depends on the writer. Justin is very realistic. He has opinions, is quiet, has a few interests, but all in all he's very background. He is a believable person but nobody would ever be interested in a book about him. --though I'm not sure how this fits in with the conversation. I guess we're talking about the differences between a character and a human being because I asked "is your character you", so I'll repeat:

Some characters (read: fursonas) are simply avatars the person uses to look unique while some are characters the wearer chooses to step into. I'm simply wondering what is more popular. So far it seems people are like me: choosing parts of them that they like and using the character to live vicariously though.


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## Heliophobic (Aug 5, 2012)

I've yet to see one person look anything like their fursona. It's fucking pathetic.


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## Anubite (Aug 5, 2012)

Mines just me as a jackal, nothing crazy or anything, just a way to identify myself with the fandom. Nothing i wish to be or anything like that as i am perfectly happy with who i am. I play D and D if i want to be someone else.


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## Onnes (Aug 5, 2012)

Sollux said:


> I've yet to see one person look anything like their fursona. It's fucking pathetic.



Well it would be pretty hard to make yourself actually look like a demented man-fox hybrid.


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## Heliophobic (Aug 5, 2012)

Onnes said:


> Well it would be pretty hard to make yourself actually look like a demented man-fox hybrid.



Not really.

The problem is that, besides ridiculous fur colors and super powers, most artists in the fandom seem to limit their characters to a total of ten facial expressions.


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## ShiroXIX (Aug 5, 2012)

Sollux said:


> Not really.
> 
> The problem is that, besides ridiculous fur colors and super powers, most artists in the fandom seem to limit their characters to a total of ten facial expressions.



10? I'm counting 3.


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## yubhom (Aug 5, 2012)

My fursona pretty much is me with animal traits, but has a little bit more, collectedness? to him. I tend to be a lot more scatterbrained than I make my fursona. He is the me I want to be.


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## Heliophobic (Aug 5, 2012)

ShiroXIX said:


> 10? I'm counting 3.



Please don't make me contradict you. It makes me look like an ass, and that's terrible.


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## TreacleFox (Aug 6, 2012)

My 'sona contains my own aspirations, as well as characteristics I like for in roleplaying.


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## KigRatel (Aug 6, 2012)

Most of my characters so far have aspects of my own personality and interests, but none of them represent me as a whole. Kig, for instance, is basically the posh, preppy, conservative side of me magnified several times.


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## SnowyPenguin (Aug 6, 2012)

Mine is, physically, zoomorphized me. Build, hairstyle, exactly the same. Personality-wise, he's an exaggerated version of me when I'm not trying to weight the costs; I'm more restrained normally but, he's "heck with the consequences, I do what I like." Which seems to be the norm; we have these fantasy characters/selves so we can do the crazy things we never would IRL.


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## burakki (Aug 6, 2012)

Alot of what is in my fursona reflects alot of my personality traits. Coincidentally, I share alot of traits with a wolf as well, so in a way it makes me feel much closer to both the animal and the fursona.


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## Antidaeophobia (Aug 12, 2012)

The My Little Pony-sona I have is most like myself. My pony looks most like me; my hair really is pink and white and my eyes are green. I had originally made it as a temporary one, but I've come to like it so much I've kept it. My pony is most like me- except she's also an inventor and has steam punk style wings since she's not a pegasus but wanted to fly (I don't know shit about inventing or machines so we're different in that respect). She has most of the same interests as me, but she's far more competitive. My new fursona I'm creating is male, and included the best parts of my personality and even a few traits I wish I had. 
I've never really liked really hyper, extremely random fursonas. A friend of mine in high school's fursona was hyper and random. She had intended for the personality to make people laugh, but all I felt when she was in her fursona character was super annoyed. She was great when she was just her, but once she dressed up in her dog costume. My best friend and I stayed away from her because she like to pounce on us and she'd talk ALOT and she would say random stuff in the middle of a conversation really loudly like 'cupcake' or 'purple ninja' like she had tourettes and couldn't control herself.


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## Kicoon (Aug 12, 2012)

physically wise its the same, but mentally i see my fursona more calm, or chill as best put. i try to see my fursona as close to the real me as possible, since i like the way i am, but i wanted him to take on more of less excited feel, and thats the only thing i would change about myself so why not my fursona


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## Alastair Snowpaw (Aug 12, 2012)

my sona has a similar figure to me, same type of hair and eyes. though my sona has more access to feminne clothes than i do but my sona is pretty much me in a snow leopard form which i feel is cuter, though i have been called cute irl.


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## Neithie (Sep 2, 2012)

My fursona is a mixture of the things you mentioned. The bits about me I like mixed with the qualities I wish I had or hope to achieve. I guess, the perfect me in my eyes. Well, the perfect me in animal form n.n;


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## BarlettaX (Sep 2, 2012)

Mine IS a (sergalized) me. Aesthetically, he is very similar. His personality is mine.


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## Volt-048 (Sep 2, 2012)

My Voltorb Sona is much a mix of myself and what I'd like myself to be, referring to personality, ideals, and actions, not physical traits... well... maybe I'd like some of her mechanical parts, but only some.


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## Ryuu (Sep 3, 2012)

Mine is about 60-70% me, but there are things different. This way if i ever do things with him, like a animated ordeal... He will be interesting to me.


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## Earth Rio (Sep 3, 2012)

Earth is very similar to me, except far saner. We have the same traits- complaining a lot, easily overheated, adoration for steak...


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## Xeras'na Bladewing (Sep 3, 2012)

My Xenogon is a reflection of my darker side, but it is also a halfway representation of my desire to keep the balance between the forces of Order and those of Chaos. The other half of that equation is my Draconian sona, which is a representation of my lighter side.

I have a penchant for Neutrality, and it is evident in a lot of things I do.


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## Bipolar Bear (Sep 3, 2012)

Except for the fur, pretty much everything about me.


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## Jasriella (Sep 3, 2012)

I believe that I'm otherkin, so I've been trying to commission artists to basically make a replica of what I believe my soul to be. It's a rather fun process seeing myself in a way. I doubt I'll ever get something exactly as I believe my soul to be but I try.


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## SonicRingBoom (Sep 4, 2012)

My fursona Corey was designed to be kind of like a personal role-model for myself. Our personalities aren't radically different, but he's more comfortable in his own skin.


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## Charlie Thundercloud (Sep 9, 2012)

*My 'sona', as it were, originally came from a tabletop game, and Skyrim (wait, then make it two tabletop games), so seeing as I've had time to flesh her out before realizing "Oh hey, she's literally attached herself to me, and I see more and more of her away from the table and games". Sometimes I see myself in her personality, but only in little things. There's a lot that I have yet to flesh out, seeing as she's almost a year old (coming from tabletop gaming time). She and I are both independent and prefer the quiet places over the loud, but where I like music and an energetic atmosphere (as far as any noise goes), she likes noise in relation to the battlefield and the hunt. She can be a bit crass and downright mean, and even violent, but there is one thing we both stand firm on: drama is stupid and pointless. Plus she looks nothing like me. But she is my much more independent, very rational and intelligent side.*


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## Arashi the tiger (Sep 9, 2012)

My sona? hmmm well i have to say its my real side. I am really shy even though i try to act other wise im not short irl but i should be im very emotional even though i hide it. and i love cute things. (My only weakness!)  i love looking cute but not slutty. he is kinda like my inner me and i dont want to show him cuz i think i could get hurt


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## kaskae (Sep 9, 2012)

My first 'sona came about when I started up in the fandom and didn't know what to do with him, so he was in many ways a lot like myself. As time went on, I found myself creating a new personality for him, and eventually he turned out to be a lot different. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

As for my latest character (Keziah), I have no clue what his personality is at the moment. Should be fun to go through the motions to figure out what his story is.


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## Kenoscope (Sep 9, 2012)

*Re: How much of "you" is in your 'sona?*

As I have no Anthro Persona, there is then nothing of myself within it.


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## Andy Dingo Wolf (Sep 9, 2012)

My primary 'sona, Is pretty much a younger version of myself. bar a few minor occupational differences.

My others are merely aspects of my personality.


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## Fallowfox (Sep 9, 2012)

I don't have a fursona or believe I possess any _persona_ that is interesting enough to represent visually. For that reason why would I want any of myself in a fursona? I wouldn't, but then what's the point at all?


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## CharlieX (Sep 9, 2012)

My fursona is very much like myself, just a bit more exaggerated! Charlie is super loving and bubbly, and I am too, just not so much as he is.


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## ObeyTheSnarf (Sep 10, 2012)

Physically (in terms of body type, not the animal part of course), my fursona is meant to look like me.  I haven't done much with her yet so not sure about how close in personality.  I suppose Yaya is more energetic than I am, and she's more physically fit in terms of flexibility and endurance and such.


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## Bountyhunter (Sep 10, 2012)

personality is in my fursona and height so i'd say 25% to 50% if yu count dubstep interest


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## NerdyMunk (Sep 11, 2012)

Interestingly easy answer. 
*you*r 'sona.
Looks like I found you in all of it. :V
I leaned on designing each sona on a different aspect of me. But them all together and it's me.


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## Catilda Lily (Sep 11, 2012)

Mine is just me only, you know, as an animal.


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## Harbinger (Sep 11, 2012)

If or when i ever get good enough to draw decently, it'll just be me but as something else physically, my personality is awesome enough. I wouldnt ever do any of that 3rd person stuff or different character with one, it would just be how i would draw myself through drawings or to use as avatars.


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## Quilmeleon (Sep 11, 2012)

Designed mine after me. Each character I make has atleast one of my qualities. Only 2 I have designed is me nearly 99% just as that animal.


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## Nega Wolfie (Sep 11, 2012)

My sona is practically me which contains things that symbolizes my life in some ways. She is a reaper wolf demon who has 3 forms.
Wings- Symbolizes the longing for independence, I grew up with a family who controlled my life for so long.
Wolf form- My favorite animal I enjoy learning about them and hope to one day study them.
Collar- It is what keeps me sane and strong.
Claws and Fangs- I believe in fair fights and the weapons that you are born with.
Demon- It's a side of me where all of my dark past is so contained, it feels like this dark shadow that lingers over me.

My sona is like another me in what I wish to be. She has all of my emotions, personality, shapes, size, etc. Except she is also very different for I am not some angelic winged demon in real life lol.


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## Nekosatan (Sep 11, 2012)

My Fursona, Neko, started out as just myself. I've grown up with her, created her when I was in fifth grade, and she's changed with me, went through everything I have, and has learned all I have. About a year ago though, I changed up her hair and markings. Outside of her coat and colors, my fursona.. is myself. She was something I could hold onto when everything was shit and who could express my emotions without me having to do go to jail for doing anything, I did it through her.


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## interstellar-rob (Sep 11, 2012)

Being relatively new to the fandom I didn't have a fursona until recently, and it took me a while to decide what I really wanted it to be. I wanted my fursona to reflect the actual me, not just something I liked or aspired to be.

If you've seen The Never Ending Story, you remember a scene where he looks in the mirror of truth that shows men who they really are. Most of them go insane because they believe they are who they want to be, not what they actually are. At first I was very attracted to wolves, winged wolves in particular, and I had a wonderfully outlined list of reasons why that was a perfect fursona. But I suspected, if this is my first inclination, perhaps it's merely what I want to be and not what is a true respresentation of my personality.

I was set on canines, so I made a list of all sorts of dogs that interested me and began looking up their personalities and temperments. At first I didn't even have Border Collie on my list, and almost settled on Akita, but I randomly stumbled across Border Collie and somethign about their personality resonated so close to mine that I knew I'd finally found what I was looking for.

I named my fursona Rob, after my own name, as he is essentially me and my personality in anthro form.


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## Nekosatan (Sep 12, 2012)

interstellar-rob said:


> Being relatively new to the fandom I didn't have a fursona until recently, and it took me a while to decide what I really wanted it to be. I wanted my fursona to reflect the actual me, not just something I liked or aspired to be.
> 
> If you've seen The Never Ending Story, you remember a scene where he looks in the mirror of truth that shows men who they really are. Most of them go insane because they believe they are who they want to be, not what they actually are. At first I was very attracted to wolves, winged wolves in particular, and I had a wonderfully outlined list of reasons why that was a perfect fursona. But I suspected, if this is my first inclination, perhaps it's merely what I want to be and not what is a true respresentation of my personality.
> 
> ...



I think this is a great way to find your own fursona, after all they are supposed to represent yourself not just what you want. I choose a simple house cat, mixed slightly with fox and dragon qualities. The cat because, any one who has met me and hung out with me more than 3 minutes associate me with one. It's my personality and aura that I give off. Then again I am also the fox, they have a lot of the same qualities to me, but then again not. I have a lot of weird qualities in myself, so I thought it good to show my character with the same individualism that I have. I am a Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, hence the serpent qualities in Neko. 
As I said above in my last post, Neko has grown with me as a being. I honestly do consider her myself, in ever way possible.


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## Symlus (Sep 12, 2012)

My fursona changes as I do, but it's based on my experiences, my personality, and my dreams. So, it is myself, but it also has it's own life.


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## Shoki (Sep 15, 2012)

My fursona is just the character I use to represent myself in the furry community. I don't role play with her or anything like that, so her personality is just me. 
Physically, she has some of my traits as well. As much as a dog person can, anyway.


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## Dragonfurry (Sep 16, 2012)

Personally i have put alot of things of me into my sona because I feel like it would be eaiser for people to get who i am. Though my sona has more confidence than me and ways with people so i guess that is what isnt in myself irl the whole confidence thing and social knowledge.


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## Kaiser (Sep 16, 2012)

My fursona does quite resembles me, especially his face XD

I want to be a doctor, hence the medical robes. I like using jeans and I usually put my hands in my pockets all the time I'm standing up. Also my hair color is the same. The only difference is his eye colors. I have them brown and he has them blue and yellow.


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## Moss (Sep 16, 2012)

My fursona has the same personality as mine. She has a few physical differences though (well, you know, besides having fur and such..) she has piercings I don't have, and her thighs/ass are bigger.


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## NightWolf20 (Sep 28, 2012)

My fursona is more or less me, but with a couple of differences.
1. different occupation than anything I would dare try.
2. animal form (obviously).
3. more outdoorsy than me.
Personality, likes, dislikes, etc. are all mostly the same.

Also, my sona isn't blind, like I am.


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## Alicen (Oct 1, 2012)

Alice would be a part of me that's down to earth and quite shy. :I


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## Fuzzle (Oct 1, 2012)

There is no separation. My depiction of me as a furry character is just the look, it's not a role play device or a vacation personality. It's just me.


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## DarthLeopard (Oct 1, 2012)

the only real diff between me and my fursona is im a total jackass and my fursona can actually play guitar.


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## DarrylWolf (Oct 1, 2012)

My fursona is me if I played basketball and was actually born in Philadelphia.


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## Kahoku (Oct 1, 2012)

Basically just me as my hybrid.


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## Daxenobis (Oct 7, 2012)

My fursona is like me when he is on his meds. He is a schizophrenic mouse. I have an interest in psychopaths and what not so I figured instead of making my character have an interest in them too, I would make him have some sort of mental problem. Figured it would make him more interesting. I may change it later, still working it out. I don't mean to offend anyone.


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## Unsilenced (Oct 10, 2012)

Daxenobis said:


> My fursona is like me when he is on his meds. He is a schizophrenic mouse. I have an interest in psychopaths and what not so I figured instead of making my character have an interest in them too,* I would make him have some sort of mental problem. Figured it would make him more interesting.* I may change it later, still working it out. I don't mean to offend anyone.



Don't do that.

Don't make a character mentally ill unless they have some reason to be. 

Mine are nuts because they're based on the idea of id and superego respectively. Their personalities are therefore out of balance. The id one is submissive, spastic and impulsive while the superego one is obsessively controlling, self-absorbed and sociopathic. These defects are key to their conceptual design and play an integral part of their interactions with one-another. 

Schizophrenia especially is an oft-abused mental illness in fiction, used as a catch-all for "herp derp they're nuts" when a writer thinks it'd be funny to have a character start talking to inanimate objects. Characters who are insane for no particular narrative or personality-related reason aren't really any more interesting than an average Joe. It's just another tack-on trait, like "oh and they're immortal, but don't seem to have acquired any wisdom in their hundreds of years of existence" or "oh they were abused as a child but show no outward signs of it whatsoever." These things look superficially interesting on paper, but do nothing to make your character more memorable or exciting.


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## TeenageAngst (Oct 11, 2012)

My fursona is the part of me I keep at arm's length. He's basically what I'm afraid of turning into by age 30. I wouldn't say he entirely encompasses my personality but we share the same *kind* of personality, although his is more jaded. He's a hyena, which oddly enough is kind of apt for his personality. Relatively submissive and they have that dirty and ragged appearance.


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## Demensa (Oct 11, 2012)

Personality-wise it's all me. That's basically the appeal for me to have a fursona, that it is my mind essentially in a different body.


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## HipsterCoyote (Oct 11, 2012)

@Daxenobis: I know two paranoid-schizophrenics and both of them are time bombs who are self-damaging.  One of them is a compulsive liar on top of it and has very hollow friendships medication or not because nobody trusts her.  K if you read this you're a fierce bitch, but L is the fucking nutcase, here.  

So I mean, okay, there's potential for a schizophrenic character to be interesting but largely they're "I just read Johnny The Homicidal Maniac wouldn't a schizo be an awesome character omg ride the pig" characters and the people who make them don't seem to really get that while schizos can have redeeming qualities and be super cool people while they're level, they are generally ticking time bombs of awful and it just feels like maybe if you want to snowflake your character with a mental disorder then something else'd be a lot more ... Flattering.


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## Daxenobis (Oct 11, 2012)

Unsilenced said:


> Don't do that.
> 
> Don't make a character mentally ill unless they have some reason to be.
> 
> ...



I have a backstory for it, and the character does grow throughout the years. He learns to deal with it through other people, psychiatry. It's still a work in progress. I didn't want him to talk to things because it is funny. 



HipsterCoyote said:


> @Daxenobis: I know two paranoid-schizophrenics and both of them are time bombs who are self-damaging.  One of them is a compulsive liar on top of it and has very hollow friendships medication or not because nobody trusts her.  K if you read this you're a fierce bitch, but L is the fucking nutcase, here.
> 
> So I mean, okay, there's potential for a schizophrenic character to be interesting but largely they're "I just read Johnny The Homicidal Maniac wouldn't a schizo be an awesome character omg ride the pig" characters and the people who make them don't seem to really get that while schizos can have redeeming qualities and be super cool people while they're level, they are generally ticking time bombs of awful and it just feels like maybe if you want to snowflake your character with a mental disorder then something else'd be a lot more ... Flattering.


Maybe saying to make him more interesting was the wrong thing to say. I personally find that stuff interesting and I may change it later. I may remove it entirely. I just need to do more research on this stuff first. Like I said above I have a whole backstory for why my character is like this. I didn't want it to come off as like you said "I just read Johnny The Homicidal Maniac..."

I appreciate both your inputs. And am wondering what you guys think a good reason for it would be. I put it in place as to be sort of a struggle story. A story of dealing with this problem, how it effects his relationships, how it effects his actions towards people, his views on people. It may not just even work, and it may just sound stupid an cliche, I've had this character for several years in my head, and have been just developing him. Trying to figure out different situations for what he goes through.

Maybe you guys are right, and this isn't the way to go. Maybe it's a bit too much of an "extreme."


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## HipsterCoyote (Oct 11, 2012)

Well no, if you ACTUALLY thought it out and have a nod towards that schizophrenia brings social consequences then you make that little man as schizo as your heart desires.  It's Way Behind the Herd Johnen Vasquez Fan-itis that bothers people every time because "He's schizophrenic !" usually ends up being ... Have you ever heard of a Fish Malk?

If you haven't, Malkavian characters are all insane since that's what makes them malkavians.  Fish Malks are the like, LOLRANDOM! I LIVE IN AN ICE CREAM TRUCK AND YOU HAVE WALL WEASELS!! characters who everybody wants to stake and tie to a roof for a Miami sunrise.

Read up on Jeanette and Therese Voermann for a nice dissociative disorder character, and Aleister Grout,  The Malkavian Primogen.  Two really great insane characters who you don't entirely see coming.


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## Daxenobis (Oct 11, 2012)

I have not heard of that, and I actually haven't even heard of Johnen Vasquez before. Just looked him up and he did Invader Zim which is the only piece of work I have actually seen of his. Never read the Johnny the Homocidal Maniac. Only piece of work I have read/watched/played with people of mental illnesses is Dexter. Though I have always wanted to make a character with one since before I started watching that show. And I have taken influence from it, not going to deny it. Everything has been done before, it's impossible not to take inspiration from things.


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## HipsterCoyote (Oct 11, 2012)

JTHM is actually a really cool work and the mindfuck part more people should appreciate, if you ever do pick it up, is that Johnny is not the central character; Devi is.  

So long as you aren't doing Johnny C. schizophrenia, then we're cool, bro, although I hope that one day you will be happy enough with your character so that no stranger on the Internet will concern you in any way. 

I've got an insane character or two.  He's a lithuanian vampire who finally cracked after being a P.O.W. and thinks vampirism is the next step in human evolution so he's kind of nucking futs.


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## Daxenobis (Oct 11, 2012)

I will have to check out the comic. I do like his art style.


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## Ellie the Lioness (Oct 24, 2012)

My fursona is a large part me and a lot of who and what I wish I could be. I would give a lot to become a anthro Lioness IRL


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## NaxThewolf (mike) (Oct 24, 2012)

everything in my fursona is me: not the species part


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## DarrylWolf (Oct 24, 2012)

My fursona is like me in some ways in that we both like beer, beautiful women, having a good time, and enjoying sports. I'm a suburb dweller from Plano, TX he's an inner city guy from the City of Brotherly Love, or a reasonable Furry approximation thereof. My family is intact, he was fatherless at 9. I'm not athletic, he is- a pro basketball player and a FurWarrior (ask me if you're interested in what that means), I like all kinds of music, as long as it has an uplifting message and he likes the Philadelphia soul (which is also very uplifting, it's just his favorite genre). He's unlike me in so many ways, even down to one way I'm not really that comfortable talking about.


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## TeenageAngst (Oct 24, 2012)

You basically described an alternate version of Fresh Prince.


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## DarrylWolf (Oct 24, 2012)

Yes, but the controversy arises when you consider who I am personally and who my fursona would be if he actually existed as a human. I must be such a backwards and regressive person to have written him the way I did but I can't rewrite important parts of his backstory that easily.

I can take some comfort in knowing there are plenty of lily-white guys who go to anime conventions dressed as samurai or schoolgirls and the Japanese take no offense to that. So it can't be that insulting that my character would be a racial "inversion" of myself.


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## paroapockinroo (Oct 24, 2012)

I have two fursonas currently, the one on my avatar, Lilac I use more often mostly since I have a partial fursuit of her and not my other sona. Lilac is friendly and all around a generally nice to everyone person who tries not to judge people, much like I try to be myself, but she is a little better than me at just being herself around everyone, also her style of dress is much more down to earth, like mine. My other sona, Quarro, is a kangaroo parrot hybrid who is rather antisocial and untrusting actually, very closed off and shy, which I can be occasionally as well. She does things her own way though, is a little more eccentric that Lilac though, which I would like to do but am still afraid to which I probably why I stick to Lilac more right now. I usually just describe Lilac as the Mainsteam Girly-Girl and Quarro as the Punk Hipster hahaha.


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## Day Coydog (Oct 24, 2012)

My fursona has basically my personality, but he does not have club feet, so he is able to be much more walking than me, and because he is able to actually do things he is a tid bit more outgoing than me.


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## DarrylWolf (Oct 25, 2012)

But the question is- is it insulting and offensive that my fursona is a different race than I am?


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## Lifelessbody (Nov 2, 2012)

Hm... My fursona....are lizards considered fursonas? Kinda wondered about that. Judas is quick to anger...he can take things too seriously and might not realize when someone is just joking. He tends to feel isolated around people who don't think the way he thinks....alot of that is from me. We're alot alike.


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## jorinda (Nov 2, 2012)

My fursona is me... like, the same person just looking different.


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## jarv (Nov 5, 2012)

My Fursona is a big part of me. The way he reacts to each feeling is simillar to mine... I only have one, but he is has a big part of me.


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## Kaffee (Nov 10, 2012)

My fursona is me in awesome rat form. I'm bad at playing characters and I just now thought of a name for her that doesn't suck. My last... 3 (4?) 'sona names in the past 6 years have sucked and made me mad after a month. So for a long time, I just gave up on having my own furry character.


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## FluffMouse (Nov 10, 2012)

My sona is a character that I made, based off myself in a lot of ways, but it's one of the few characters I've made that actually fits into a world / story. She's got a similar body type to me, but the hips are slightly exaggerated, and I made the chest size slightly smaller. (Very slightly.) The hair WAS similar, but it's grown out since then. Her personality is a bit dark and random, but so is mine. *Shrug* I made her species up of all the things I personally like in a character or animal, based loosely off of dwarf hotot bunnies, mice, birds, and fantasy elements, with markings that have Egyptian undertones. The background of the species is that they're born as servants to the gods, who exist in a void just outside reality. Since my partners fursona is somewhat of a deity, it works out, since we live a sort of M/s lifestyle anyways.


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## Kavic (Nov 10, 2012)

My 'sona is a bit wonky, he's either 100% spot on "ME!" about things, or he's completely different. I'd say the differences are about 60/40 split, with him being just a tad bit more different from me.

He's got my intellect and certain social skills, like easily being able to make new friends, but he lacks the confidence I have IRL to ever really make use of those skills. He's also quite more hesitant to make choices right away, and he's quick to freeze up under pressure (again, not meeee~). He might be insecure and needing a bit more self-esteem, but he's a wonderful leader... That is, unless someone big and intimidating comes along and pushes him out of the way.  <-- That's another main difference between me and him, he's too timid to fight for what he wants at times even if he knows he has an upper hand. Despite that, my 'sona still has a lot of drive and determination in him that I have.

I like to think of him as a Starburst. Such a contradiction.


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## Kaffee (Nov 13, 2012)

Kavic said:


> I like to think of him as a Starburst. Such a contradiction.



But is he a JUICY contradiction?


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## bkatt500 (Nov 15, 2012)

My fursona Essemess is really more-or-less me.  I get really, deeply creeped out drawing myself as a human, no matter how stylized, so except for school, I really don't try to.  But when I do want to represent myself visually, I use my fursona who I've developed ove the past few years.  Her facial features and body are as close to mine as I can get within my style, and without freaking me out in the iddle of drawing it.  I don't really use her for role-play, she's basically just my avatar.
I use another fursona every now and again, Illiana a long-tailed weasel, who is quite a bit less like me.  I'm much more shy and easily discouraged and scared off from things and am way less socially skilled.
Recently I've adopted another fursona I roleplay with, Martephette a European Pine Marten.  She's much more similar to me than Illiana, and is really just slightly different.  She's more-or-less got my personality, Asperger's and all, except that she's again, a bit braver and more likely to stand her ground, and she's got a bit of a Napoleon complex.  She's also skilled with machines, whereas I can only look and admire them.  If I tried to fix anything, I'd probably ruin it.  lol


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## RotS-Targe (Nov 16, 2012)

hmm... tough question, especially as I don't really RP or do any other activity that would allow me to flesh him out much.
In furry chats, I basically think in his body, but it's still ME. I would think he's a bit more outgoing, more social, less of the introvert I am IRL.
In physical stats, he's basically me, same eye color, some hair color, same scars.
Not sure on height, as Dire Wolves are supposedly bigger than normal Wolves, and I don't consider myself to be very large.


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## Magick (Nov 19, 2012)

My fursona is me but with magick and a few other perks and physical alterations.


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## Rukani (Nov 21, 2012)

My sona Ruko's probably me on a really really good day, or just all the parts of me I like but exaggerated, a combination of both sentimental meaning and purely aesthetic traits I like. 
She's a Northern Lapwing, which was the bird on the cover of a bird book I grew up with loving from when I was very tiny, she's also got traces of dragon DNA; dragons I spent most of my life drawing and creating storys around, they were make fave creature for many many years. Finally she's also mutated from radiation, and since I love bright colours, odd strange things this trait effected her to make her a fanged, snarly, dribbly and slightly psychotic monster I love to this day.
She's also a herm, since my gender identity is normally all over the place she can't really fit into a single gender very easily. Though I address her with female pronouns she looks more masculine really.
Personality is just me really, though she normally fits me more when I'm happy than when I'm sad.


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## Vincentius (Nov 24, 2012)

I made mine based on what i want to be like or based on how i really am so id say mine contains 50% to 80% of what i think myself to be


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