# How do you personally connect with your fursonas?



## clickityghosts (Oct 11, 2021)

Hi! I'm Barry, or Ghost, I'm not picky! 
I've been a member of the furry fandom for a while now, but I recently took a hiatus for personal reasons. Now I'm back, with a few new characters, but I've always struggled to connect to OCs and fursonas like others do, and I was wondering how others chose to connect! Stories? Artwork? Songs? I'd love to hear how others have overcome this problem or how you connected with characters you've grown to love!


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## The_biscuits_532 (Oct 11, 2021)

The creation process is what binds me to my characters. Design, species, personality, patterns, etc etc

Putting all these little details into my characters that make them stand out from others. Out of all my characters, the one that I feel the least connected to is probably my Red Ruffed Lemur, since they're based almost entirely on one of David Bowie's personas. I want to redesign them in the near future, to stand more on their own.


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## Khafra (Oct 11, 2021)

I just think its a cool avatar and something to put on art commissions. 
I also use my character for a DnD campaign, so he was forced to gain a lot of personality there, but I tend to keep that in the game, and the stuff related to it.


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## Nexus Cabler (Oct 11, 2021)

I feel mine is a form of expressing what I like, my creativity, attributes I wish to have, and a way of showing myself without a real life photograph.


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## Eremurus (Oct 11, 2021)

Well, Eremurus was my WoW main. I've always felt a connection to her, even from the first day I launched her into Azeroth. She is perfect for me. It is not something that I can explain to someone else. It is a personal experience.


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## Foxridley (Oct 11, 2021)

I think part of how you connect with fursonas and OCs depends on what attracts you to furry stuff to begin with, and what drives you to create those characters. Characters may express different aspects of their creators, or ideas they like. 
For a long time, a part of me has had a desire to be something other than human. Exactly what that "other" is has changed over time and I've had several 'sonas over the years as a result, though only Ridley, my current fursona, has had any significant depiction in art. Him being a shapeshifter is ideal for that sometimes-shifting desire, because he isn't tied down to one form.
What I have now came from some introspection and brainstorming. I'd have an idea, roll with it for a bit to see how I liked it, and changed to discarded it depending on how well it suited my tastes. A couple other characters came from fursona ideas I toyed with, but which ultimately didn't feel very "me." But a bit of artwork and little snippets of stories (some still just in my head) do help me connect with them, though.
When I made my first ref sheet for Ridley, (though now I feel some shame for using a base), I really felt a renewed connection with him. I got a similar feeling when I drew my first original art of him.


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## clickityghosts (Oct 11, 2021)

The_biscuits_532 said:


> The creation process is what binds me to my characters. Design, species, personality, patterns, etc etc
> 
> Putting all these little details into my characters that make them stand out from others. Out of all my characters, the one that I feel the least connected to is probably my Red Ruffed Lemur, since they're based almost entirely on one of David Bowie's personas. I want to redesign them in the near future, to stand more on their own.


That's understandable! That design sounds cool, honestly, what changes would you wish to make if you don't mind my asking?


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## clickityghosts (Oct 11, 2021)

Foxridley said:


> I think part of how you connect with fursonas and OCs depends on what attracts you to furry stuff to begin with, and what drives you to create those characters. Characters may express different aspects of their creators, or ideas they like.
> For a long time, a part of me has had a desire to be something other than human. Exactly what that "other" is has changed over time and I've had several 'sonas over the years as a result, though only Ridley, my current fursona, has had any significant depiction in art. Him being a shapeshifter is ideal for that sometimes-shifting desire, because he isn't tied down to one form.
> What I have now came from some introspection and brainstorming. I'd have an idea, roll with it for a bit to see how I liked it, and changed to discarded it depending on how well it suited my tastes. A couple other characters came from fursona ideas I toyed with, but which ultimately didn't feel very "me." But a bit of artwork and little snippets of stories (some still just in my head) do help me connect with them, though.
> When I made my first ref sheet for Ridley, (though now I feel some shame for using a base), I really felt a renewed connection with him. I got a similar feeling when I drew my first original art of him.


That's a good idea honestly, the details seem to matter a whole lot! I love the shapeshifter idea as well, it's very cool! I suppose it takes time as well. Thanks for your answer


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## clickityghosts (Oct 11, 2021)

Eremurus said:


> Well, Eremurus was my WoW main. I've always felt a connection to her, even from the first day I launched her into Azeroth. She is perfect for me. It is not something that I can explain to someone else. It is a personal experience.


It's cool to connect with a character right away like that  That's understandable not to be able to explain it when it seemed to be true from the start honestly!


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## PLEASE DELETE ACCOUNT (Oct 11, 2021)

clickityghosts said:


> Hi! I'm Barry, or Ghost, I'm not picky!
> I've been a member of the furry fandom for a while now, but I recently took a hiatus for personal reasons. Now I'm back, with a few new characters, but I've always struggled to connect to OCs and fursonas like others do, and I was wondering how others chose to connect! Stories? Artwork? Songs? I'd love to hear how others have overcome this problem or how you connected with characters you've grown to love!


Mines not really a new persona. We like all the same things, we have the same hobbies and activities, the same job, the same partner and everything.

It's just me, but furry.


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## The_biscuits_532 (Oct 11, 2021)

clickityghosts said:


> That's understandable! That design sounds cool, honestly, what changes would you wish to make if you don't mind my asking?


I wanna look at similar outfits worn by other musicians of the time - the more garish and over the top the end design, the better.


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## The_biscuits_532 (Oct 11, 2021)

clickityghosts said:


> That's understandable! That design sounds cool, honestly, what changes would you wish to make if you don't mind my asking?


Also: I've actually redesigned three of my characters before:



With Stephanie, my main sona, I made her characters warmer, and tweaked her patterns - particularly the eye markings now being incorporated into her lashes. The outfit is less of a redesign, since I still use the old one occasionally. I also later added ear fluff



With Iza, my avatar (not meant to represent me like a sona, but the face of most of my "branding"), I dulled her colours and gave her a more traditional punk outfit to align with her personality and livelihood. I also gave her full-body plans, as the old design only had what was visible when she was also clothed. The new one has patterns under her clothes too. 



With Constantine, my horror-core character, I leaned a little more into his background in the navy, and made him a little more ragged in accordance with his lifestyle and species (brown hyena). I removed his green patterns to make Iza more unique, and extended the damage to him to make him more ghoulish and zombie like. One of my friends actually did his arm prosthetic better justice:



By @demiebow_skiema on the main site.


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## The_biscuits_532 (Oct 11, 2021)

Christine Vulpes said:


> Mines not really a new persona. We like all the same things, we have the same hobbies and activities, the same job, the same partner and everything.
> 
> It's just me, but furry.


This is what Stephanie (above) is to me. 

All my others are entirely new


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## the sleepiest kitty (Oct 11, 2021)

Beanie and I are both sort of "innocent yanderes".


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## Stray Cat Terry (Oct 11, 2021)

What an intriguing thread! Thankies OP for the opportunity! >w<

When I make any OC, I tend to mirror a portion of myself--be it personality, characteristics, hardships or desires--and then fill up else setups from what I don't have/never fully experienced. *
By doing that, I'm not only able to act them confidently while on RPs, but also end up making every OCs unique!

* In case of certain OC's certain relationships that would likely stage them on one stage more frequently that else, giving all of them the similar amount of my reflections could likely make the storytelling dull. So, in that case, I distribute different parts and/or amount of my reflections to make it obviously different!

The essense is to make myself the characters who are likely immers-ible thus resulting in myself being able to care much more than when not!

Those being said, in the other way around, if you combine all my OCs as one, that'll effectively unveil what kind of person I am! ...well, if you can gather enough infos of my OCs beforehand, that is! XP

And my sona has more ratio of my reflection than my average OCs, and more care is given, resulting in a more solid overall setup on them! These are my two cents, if you find it sound UwU

After all, never forget to have fun when setting up and refining your OCs and sonas! Ow<☆


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## Bababooey (Oct 11, 2021)

clickityghosts said:


> Hi! I'm Barry, or Ghost, I'm not picky!
> I've been a member of the furry fandom for a while now, but I recently took a hiatus for personal reasons. Now I'm back, with a few new characters, but I've always struggled to connect to OCs and fursonas like others do, and I was wondering how others chose to connect! Stories? Artwork? Songs? I'd love to hear how others have overcome this problem or how you connected with characters you've grown to love!


I actually struggled connecting to a character myself years back. I think it was due to me worrying about what was more popular and basically throwing designs at a wall to see what stuck. There was no passion. I was pretty directionless, and my frustration with it was what made me leave the fandom on many occasions.

It wasn't until I finally designed a character I felt attached to, though at first he was scrapped. I changed his name from "Greg" to "Jack" and that seemed to make a difference.

While not in the fandom, I discovered my fondness for many different monsters, so when I poked my head back in again, I decided to make a monstrous character.

That was 3 years ago, and even though his design has been altered a bit, he's still Jack. To me, Jack is sort've like a witch's "familiar." I feel very connected to him but he's not supposed to be me and he doesn't have any backstory. He just exists and has a personality, and that's enough.

Two months shy of a year ago I made another character named Ash who is the offspring of another character of mine. While I really Dusty (his dad), I don't feel like he represents me. Ash has become sort've an alternate universe version of myself. We have different backstories and he's the opposite sex, but our personalities are pretty much the same. I call him my "main" fursona now but Jack is just as loved.

Anyway, I may have gone off on a bit of a tangent, but long story short, don't feel like you have to fit into a mold. Just have fun, follow your heart, and don't listen to anyone that tells you otherwise!

All of my characters are monsters, and I love it.


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## TyraWadman (Oct 11, 2021)

@Shyy just uses a USB cable.


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## Guifrog (Oct 11, 2021)

It's me, but furry, with extra attributes
Sometimes I wanna interact with others in ways I can't in human form, and my sona allows for it through text. Sometimes with artwork. Possibly with VR in the future


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## clickityghosts (Oct 12, 2021)

Stray Cat Terry said:


> What an intriguing thread! Thankies OP for the opportunity! >w<
> 
> When I make any OC, I tend to mirror a portion of myself--be it personality, characteristics, hardships or desires--and then fill up else setups from what I don't have/never fully experienced. *
> By doing that, I'm not only able to act them confidently while on RPs, but also end up making every OCs unique!
> ...


I really like this approach! It helps a lot, thank you! That's really cool :O


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## Shyy (Oct 12, 2021)

TyraWadman said:


> @Shyy just uses a USB cable.


Snarky, with just a hint of jelly. I like it. * looks at cable, plugs into your TV* HSN, here we come...


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## FlooferWoofer (Oct 12, 2021)

For me it's easy because my character was designed after me. It didn't leave much choice in pastel fur palettes but I literally gave the artist a picture of myself and said "Dis, but wolf!" And here we are. It helps me because now I will always see a lot of myself in my character even if I feel like I've personally outgrown her in the future.


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## Kinguyakki (Oct 15, 2021)

clickityghosts said:


> Hi! I'm Barry, or Ghost, I'm not picky!
> I've been a member of the furry fandom for a while now, but I recently took a hiatus for personal reasons. Now I'm back, with a few new characters, but I've always struggled to connect to OCs and fursonas like others do, and I was wondering how others chose to connect! Stories? Artwork? Songs? I'd love to hear how others have overcome this problem or how you connected with characters you've grown to love!


I have been RPing as my character/sona for 12 years now, he's evolved some over time, but essentially he is the same.  Developing him over the years, and having him in situations that were not always in his favor made me connect with him.  He's a bit more of a gruff asshole than I am in RL, also kind of feral/wild and unpredictable and I've had a lot of fun RPing as him with other people who are also interested in character development.


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## Punk_M0nitor (Oct 16, 2021)

A plethora of ways! Usually songs and storytelling, but one of my favorite ways is drawing him in everyday scenarios that I'd find myself in, or in outfits I would wear (or _could_, if I had the money to afford my ideal wardrobe). Drawing him also got me used to drawing reptiles so that's a double bonus.

Granted RP'ing with him is a lot more therapeutic. I'm in control of the world and what happens to him, for better or for worse---I can both reflect my experiences and give the character closure that I personally feel is out of reach for myself. His backstory is, after all, a reflection of my life, only more hyperbolic. I think the only two parts of him that don't draw straight from me are his gender (he's cisgender, I'm not) and the fact that I'm autistic but he isn't. Breathing life into this character and tailoring the world he lives in is almost like a therapy session with myself.

Inserting him into fictional worlds I have an emotional connection to also has a pretty similar effect. It's like an escape. So far I've managed to cram him into Beast Wars, Beastars, and Warriors, lol


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## Paws the Opinicus (Oct 23, 2021)

With an RS-232 cable.

Seriously though... When Paws was 'created' I had a much stronger connection to her as I had been working with birds for a few months as well as socializing with them (I lived in a place that was amazingly wonderful at the time, wildlife up the wazoo all the time)

About 11 years ago, moved to my current address, where there's almost nothing in comparison, and condominium rules prevent anything like birdhouses or the like, so... nature's an afterthought here. I feel less and less connected to Paws for that reason (not sure how that works really) and have occasionally thought about abandoning her. :/

At this point I keep getting artwork done of her for pretty much the sole purpose of keeping me motivated in keeping her alive.


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## Shyy (Oct 23, 2021)

It is sad to hear about a part of you trying to fade from existing, especially when it is due to something that you can't readily control. *hugs* please don't fade out! All of the stars need to shine.


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## Willow the Wolf (Oct 23, 2021)

For me, specifically, I designed my 'sona (or did I design myself?), and in doing so I used my favorite color(s), some traits I really like (for example, my favorite shape is a heart, and I was born on Valentine's day, so I incorporated hearts into her/my design), and my favorite species. Not huge on creating complicated markings, so I didn't give her any B]

TL;DR I'd recommend using things you personally connect with/like for the design. It can be anything, even something so simple as a color, shapes, theme, species, etc.


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## Ennui Elemental (Oct 23, 2021)

It's just a furry reskin of me so

My other characters are not sonas proper, they're distinct and separate from me as a person and I want to keep them that way


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## Bluefangcat (Nov 5, 2021)

A lot of my ocs, and by extension both of my fursonas, have their personalities and backstories heavily inspired by music. That, along with interjecting life aspects into them that I've dealt with myself, or aspects that are similar. Things like hobbies and interests too! Depends on the character really, but music aaaaalways does it haha. Great for ideas and exploring different parts of a character, or things that you might want to do with their stories. Picking colors and designs that resonate with you, like your favorites or ones you really like to look at. Especially if youre going to be drawing/seeing them a lot.


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## Lumineer (Nov 28, 2021)

I've always had a love for creating characters and their pesonalities, backstories and what not! I especially love creating characters out of things like songs, aesthetics, or everyday things! I connect with my sonas through making them, it just ties me closer to them you know?


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