# Heterochromia: why?



## Holtzmann (Jan 30, 2013)

Alright, this should be short and sweet:

One of the first things I've noticed about furries, even before I joined the fandom, is that we _really _love making characters with heterochromia (eyes of mismatched colors). I used to think it was just something imported from Anime, but it seems to be _way _older than the relatively recent mismatched eyes fad in Japan.

Personally, I think it has something to do with heavily-bred domestic animals influencing someone's fursona. Some breeds of cats and dogs have quite drastically different eyes and those are attractive enough to be incorporated into character designs, even though the wild animals most characters are based on very rarely have heterochromia (just like humans, really).

Uh. Basically, Rule of Cool.

So... if you have a character with eyes of different colors, why did you  pick that trait? If you don't have any characters with heterochromia,  why do you think other people like them?


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## Dokid (Jan 30, 2013)

I had a character like that to better represent me. I used one brown eye to be my actual color and one grey eye to represent the eye that I'm almost blind in. 

Well at least that's why I did it. I can see some people doing it for dog species and cat species that it's common in though.


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## Percy (Jan 30, 2013)

I chose for my character to have it because I'm fascinated by the concept. Mine represent my two favorite colors.

I suppose that it's more of a thing that one would find appealing that you wouldn't see in reality often at all.


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## Tigercougar (Jan 30, 2013)

Actually, it's not really my style. I find it odd when I see this, even on animals (huskies, cats) where they have the condition in real life.


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## Hinalle K. (Jan 30, 2013)

It looks exotic. I've always had a bit of a fascination for it.


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## Dreaming (Jan 31, 2013)

Heheheheheh, cuz it's ultra cute and quirky, and I figured... "I guess it beats two black dots"


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## Razorscab (Jan 31, 2013)

I don't have any characters with it but personally I'm surprised I haven't made one. Heterochromia is one of things that I find interesting and beautiful both in animals and in humans.


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## CynicalCirno (Jan 31, 2013)

> 2 different eye colors
> 2 cool 4 you



I honestly think that's the reason. That, after seeing many "OH SO CUTE EYES!!!!!!" comments.


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## Hakar Kerarmor (Jan 31, 2013)

My previous fursona had eyes like that, for no other reason that I thought it was neat.


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## Schwimmwagen (Jan 31, 2013)

Hetereochromia is so common in the fandom.

There is only one person I have met in all of FA who has heterochromia IRL.


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## Holtzmann (Jan 31, 2013)

Gibby said:


> Hetereochromia is so common in the fandom.
> 
> There is only one person I have met in all of FA who has heterochromia IRL.


That's why I made this thread. The disparity between the amount of people with heterochromia and the amount of furry characters. I personally only know two people with it IRL (my mother and I), and it's not even complete heterochromia (eyes of different colors). It's central heterochromia, the center of the iris has a different color from the rim, which I have _very_ rarely seen in fursonas (even if it has a pretty cool effect).

So I got curious about why people liked this little trope so much.


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## Fox_720B (Jan 31, 2013)

Maybe they're all just david bowie fans. 


But really, I think it just comes down the "that's cool" factor. People probably do it for the exact same reason they give their character unnatural fur markings such as stars or planets on their fur, (or in my case, *widgets*. It's just something they feel gives their character, well, character! I don't think everyone realizes how common it is in the fandom as a whole, but I'm not sure that'd matter if they felt it added to their character's design in a positive way.


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## Lhune (Jan 31, 2013)

I find it kind of disturbing if I'm honest (no offense to those who have this condition, I just don't find it particularly appealing). Every time I come across a character with two different eye colors I can't help but feel it was only done to make it "more unique" which is something many people in this fandom make such a big deal out of, even though pretty much everything has been done a thousand times before.

If the colors are subtle in difference I do find it interesting (for example green-blue and pure blue), but if they're completely different I can't help but think of each eye as something that belongs to a separate face. That's not to say all characters who have this are ugly, I just find it odd to look at.


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## BRN (Jan 31, 2013)

Hiya! 
Pokefur chiming in.

Like <most> furries are based off existing designs of real animals, <most> pokefurs are based off existing designs of Pokemon. 

Pokemon have their own stereotypes attached and your choice of Pokemon tends to symbolise something, so messing with the design is considered irregular, but one way of saying "this is me, this is mine" is changing the eye colour. It's considered a signature and it's less taboo than a full recolour, which tends to divide opinion.

For example, the characters 'Fyre' and 'Gen' are both generic Flareons, but Fyre has one golden eye and Gen has one blue eye. It's a distinctive marking that tends to identify the character without taking away from appealing aesthetics in the image.


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## Fallowfox (Jan 31, 2013)

Holtzmann said:


> That's why I made this thread. The disparity between the amount of people with heterochromia and the amount of furry characters. I personally only know two people with it IRL (my mother and I), and it's not even complete heterochromia (eyes of different colors). It's central heterochromia, the center of the iris has a different color from the rim, which I have _very_ rarely seen in fursonas (even if it has a pretty cool effect).
> 
> So I got curious about why people liked this little trope so much.



Having two colours in one eye counts as heterochromia?

Like most people with grey eyes I have a ring of yellow pigment around the pupil. I'm not sure this counts as heterochromia because it's very common for grey eyed people to have this along with flecks of various other pigment.



Anyway I think that many people choose heterochromic characters because they've seen it on other people's characters and think it looks cool, which I guess it does in some cases. It's distinctive and colourful, which is what many people want their fursona to be.


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## Fox_720B (Jan 31, 2013)

Fallowfox said:


> Anyway I think that many people choose heterochromic characters because they've seen it on other people's characters and think it looks cool, which I guess it does in some cases. It's distinctive and colourful, which is what many people want their fursona to be.



That's probably true. The first time I ever saw this feature on a fursuit was when I saw this video:

[video=youtube;Ip08JT6iUR0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip08JT6iUR0[/video]

After that i began noticing it more commonly. I do like it though, I have to say. It's pretty neat.


As for my own eyes, I have two different shades of blue in each eye, separated by a ring of white halfway out from the pupil. Kinda reminds me of a coral reef if I'm honest. But I don't know if I'd consider that heterochromia. Not sure what that'd be called.


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## Schwimmwagen (Jan 31, 2013)

Cool Gibbu fact: My eye colour isn't consistent. My eyes are hazel eyes, but I usually see them as green, light brown, or with a hint of grey. Sometimes any of these with strange flecks of orangey-brown colour towards the middle.

I've heard about these slight eye colour changes occuring in some people, but I have no idea what causes it or what the colours depend on. Hazel eyes are often called "mood eyes" but it sounds like a load of ballbags. I think it's to do with the light.


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## Fallowfox (Jan 31, 2013)

The heterochromia really works on that head, in fact it's very impressive overall. 

Having different shades and hues as the radius changes is quite normal in fair eyes. I'm not sure whether that's refered to as heterochromia or whether ti is ignored in favour of more notable differences.




Gibby said:


> Cool Gibbu fact: My eye colour isn't consistent. My  eyes are hazel eyes, but I usually see them as green, light brown, or  with a hint of grey. Sometimes any of these with strange flecks of  orangey-brown colour towards the middle.
> 
> I've heard about these slight eye colour changes occuring in some  people, but I have no idea what causes it or what the colours depend on.  Hazel eyes are often called "mood eyes" but it sounds like a load of  ballbags. *I think it's to do with the light*.




I think that's right, many eyes achieve their colouration by scattering light, so the ambient lighting conditions change the appearance of the iris. 

You probably have all those pigments present in your eyes all the time, but they only show up given the right frequencies of light.


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## Trybal Wolf (Jan 31, 2013)

Not that my avatar has heterochromia, but I often use in my are because I possess a degree of it. I used to have one blue and one green eye. But as I got older, they both turned grey. They still have a ring of color in the center though. That is my reason, it is a reflection of myself.


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## Bloodshot_Eyes (Jan 31, 2013)

DD has heterochromatic eyes, so does my dog.
I'm not contributing, I have homo eyes.


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## dinosaurdammit (Jan 31, 2013)

Fox_720B said:


> Maybe they're all just david bowie fans.



his eyes are the same color, he doesnt have hetrochromia, his pupil sizes are fucked cause some girl punched him in the eye. GOOGLE IT



Gibby said:


> Hetereochromia is so common in the fandom.
> 
> There is only one person I have met in all of FA who has heterochromia IRL.



hallo ewe :3C



Bloodshot_Eyes said:


> DD has heterochromatic eyes, so does my dog.
> I'm not contributing, I have homo eyes.



I hate my eyes, people always ask me if its painful. I want to respond- is your face painful because its ugly? Oddest request was that i took a picture with some womans dog because "you have matching eyes". God, kill me now


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## Sarcastic Coffeecup (Jan 31, 2013)

My eyes are homo. I know having heterochromatic eyes makes you all cool and edgy, but it's becoming a pretty boring sight now that majority of furries have them.
I wouldn't mind a pair irl, I'd take them even with the cost of colour blindness


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## Schwimmwagen (Jan 31, 2013)

dinosaurdammit said:


> I hate my eyes



But..but.... ;n;


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## Kangamutt (Jan 31, 2013)

Fallowfox said:


> Having two colours in one eye counts as heterochromia?



It's a different kind of heterochromia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterochromia_iridum#Central_heterochromia


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## Symlus (Jan 31, 2013)

Holtzmann said:


> I personally only know two people with it IRL (my mother and I), and it's not even complete heterochromia (eyes of different colors). It's central heterochromia, the center of the iris has a different color from the rim, which I have _very_ rarely seen in fursonas (even if it has a pretty cool effect).



You too? Admittedly, my eyes change colors naturally, but when I look at them most often, they are blue at the rim, and a light grey-ish color towards the center.


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## Azure (Jan 31, 2013)

the aesthetics of the unrealistic expectations many people hold toward attractiveness and beauty.


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## Holtzmann (Jan 31, 2013)

Lev1athan said:


> You too? Admittedly, my eyes change colors naturally, but when I look at them most often, they are blue at the rim, and a light grey-ish color towards the center.


Yep. My mother's eyes have a green center, a hazel spread towards the rim and a dark brown edge. Mine are grey/blue in the center, green towards the rim and dark green edge. I originally thought about incorporating that into my fursona, but the bright yellow eyes fit his fur color much better. 

It's kind of ironic that so many people make characters with complete heterochromia it's not a special or rare thing to see in the fandom anymore (even though it draws quite a bit of attention IRL). It became a discredited trope. Meanwhile, partial or central heterochromia, which can have some pretty striking effects (red and purple irises? Woo!), are very rarely seen. I guess that's because it's harder to depict those eye colors unless you're doing a bust or a portrait picture.


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## Symlus (Jan 31, 2013)

Holtzmann said:


> It's kind of ironic that so many people make characters with complete heterochromia it's not a special or rare thing to see in the fandom anymore (even though it draws quite a bit of attention IRL).



My first thought: well, a grown man in a fursuit would draw quite a bit of attention irl anyways. Lol.


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## Saybin~Iacere (Jan 31, 2013)

I honestly don't like this. I have always been a little OCD so seeing a character with 2 different Eye colours drives me nuts...


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## Fox_720B (Jan 31, 2013)

This is the kind that I have, if anyone wants to see: http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/8828/eyechromia.png

I guess there's some green in there too.


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## benignBiotic (Jan 31, 2013)

I always took it as a special snowflake trait. Never liked the heterochromia trend too much because of that. Guess I just like things simple.


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## Butters Shikkon (Jan 31, 2013)

I think its better for people to use simple characters with Heterochromia. Percy's, for instance, is a regular feline. The heterochromia is a tasteful choice because its the only "unusual" thing about him. 

I've seen a lot of special snowflakes that add bizarre detail upon bizarre detail hoping that it'll make their character stand out. All it really does is make a mess. So no half-lizard, half sheep characters with 90 piercings, one horn and heterochromia. Just use one trait and it won't be tacky. Nuff said.


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## Midsummer (Jan 31, 2013)

Mine have relatively normal(ish) eyes usually. The only time I remember doing anything similar was for an image of Alexander the Great, and that was heterochromia iridum, one light and one dark. What character's I've drawn that have unusual eyes, usually have some sort of reason such as mythological or magical heritage, magical corruption and so on. My fursona's are orange, but, that's due to species. Then again with something that's 50% mythical, the leeway for creativity increases so far as colouration goes.


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## Zaraphayx (Jan 31, 2013)

It must really suck being someone who actually has heterochromia in the furry fandom.

"You just want to look special"

But... I... :[


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## badlands (Jan 31, 2013)

on the right character it is cute. i guess that's the main reason.


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## dinosaurdammit (Jan 31, 2013)

Zaraphayx said:


> It must really suck being someone who actually has heterochromia in the furry fandom.
> 
> "You just want to look special"
> 
> But... I... :[



no, everyone just assumes you have a husky fursona


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## Artslave (Jan 31, 2013)

Every person or animal I've ever met w/ heterochromia was a total craaaaaaazy bitch(or a deaf cat) so all of my characters have had matching eyes(All 1.5 pairs of them). I presume it's 'special snowflake' syndrome.


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## Ozriel (Jan 31, 2013)

Either adding special characteristics for the eyes or just for shits and giggles.
Personally, one of my characters has it just because I like the color combos with yellow and green. :V


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## dinosaurdammit (Jan 31, 2013)

Artslave said:


> Every person or animal I've ever met w/ heterochromia was a total craaaaaaazy bitch(or a deaf cat) so all of my characters have had matching eyes(All 1.5 pairs of them). I presume it's 'special snowflake' syndrome.




i promise im not crazy ;~;


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## Artslave (Jan 31, 2013)

For cats it makes a lot of sense, IMO. Because cats can be fairly plain looking IRL with no stand out details and still be the COOLEST FUCKER ON THE BLOCK(My cat herded cattle in spring, whatabadass). So it makes sense for a plain looking cat they have diff. coloured eyes. It seems to be a fairly common genetic abnorm. in domestic felines anyways.

I agree about HEAPING CRAP APOUN CRAP TO BE SPECIAL LOOK NOBODY WILL RECOGNIZE MY CHARACTER UNLESS IT HAS TWENTY DIFFERENTLY SHAPED BREASTS OF EVERY SHADE OF GREEN IN THE RAINBOW. ajldksfjlasjdlfajsdf.


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## Ranguvar (Jan 31, 2013)

White guilt.


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## Ozriel (Jan 31, 2013)

dinosaurdammit said:


> i promise im not crazy ;~;



Such lies. :V



Green_Knight said:


> White guilt.




What does that have to do with it. I don't see any Indigenous/minority sympathy in this thread.


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## Kosdu (Jan 31, 2013)

Turns out, after reading this thread, I have central heterochromia. Green eyes with brown rims.
I always thought that was normal.




I'm sure a good chunk of people add them for the flaire.


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## Milotarcs (Feb 1, 2013)

F*CKING PORTAL. NOTHING ELSE TO IT. BECAUSE THAT GAME IS F*CKING AWESOME.


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## Littlerock (Feb 1, 2013)

Man, I just have boring goddam grey eyes, so my stupid birdsona does too.

_BORING_.

But I did include dark-grey scalera in my birdsona's design, sticking with the average avian standard. It's debatable whether or not archeopteryx had dark or light scalera, but I'm lead to believe that my assumption can't be all too far off.


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## Sarcastic Coffeecup (Feb 1, 2013)

Fox_720B said:


> This is the kind that I have, if anyone wants to see: http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/8828/eyechromia.png
> 
> I guess there's some green in there too.


This is not heterochromia as far as I know. Heterochromia is having different coloured eyes. There is always variation in the colouring of an eye.
This is heterochromia http://wordpress.mrreid.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/heterochromia-girl.jpg (random pic off the 'net)


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## Demensa (Feb 1, 2013)

I have to admit, I think it looks pretty cool on _some _characters, although I've never thought of making a character that has Heterochromia.
I've met some people in real life who have very distinct Heterochromia (1 eye brown and 1 blue), but as for myself, I just have plain brown eyes. Boring really...


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## ausren (Feb 1, 2013)

Heterochromia, why not? The vast majority of characters I see on FA are dogs/wolves of some sort, an animal where heterochromia is pretty common, so I don't find it unusual in the least. Some cats have it too. In a world of animals, where we all fancy the visual, I don't see why we can't play up our eye candy. Needless to say, too much of it can get old, but I find it pretty cute personally, especially if subtle. Not to mention all the wings, crazy colors, multiple tails and whatnot.


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## Umbra.Exe (Feb 1, 2013)

dinosaurdammit said:


> his eyes are the same color, he doesnt have hetrochromia, his pupil sizes are fucked cause some girl punched him in the eye. GOOGLE IT
> 
> ....


I read that he got punched in the face by a guy, when fighting over a girl. But yeah, he just has one dilated pupil, which I guess makes that eye look darker.



Butterflygoddess said:


> I think its better for people to use simple characters with Heterochromia. Percy's, for instance, is a regular feline. The heterochromia is a tasteful choice because its the only "unusual" thing about him.
> ....


I was going to say this as well. His character is simple, but with one special trait that kind of "pops." 



Littlerock said:


> Man, I just have boring goddam grey eyes, so my stupid birdsona does too.
> 
> _BORING_.


Grey eyes are cool, in my opinion. I don't see people with grey eyes that often IRL. (OR green, I rarely see green eyes.)
I just have brown eyes.  I guess that would match my fursona though, if she were naturally colored (Ocelots have brown eyes as well).


Personally, I kind of like heterochromia. But yes, even when something is special and cool, it kind of seems less unique when everybody has it. 
I don't think I've never met a person with heterochromia before. My cousin has a long-haired German Shepherd with one darker brown eye and one lighter brown eye though.


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## Sevinne (Feb 2, 2013)

I chose two differently colored eyes to represent my bad eye (the one with the + shaped pupil) and my good eye. My good eye is my real eye color, brown.


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## Streetcircus (Feb 2, 2013)

I've always considered it sparkle dog territory. Like, a lazy way to try and make your character interesting.


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## Avlenna (Feb 2, 2013)

I know some may do it if they actually have eyes like that.  I drew someone's fursona once and that was why they did it.  Others I feel do it because it's a striking feature, more so than a scar or oddly shaped marking.  Personally, I think it looks cool, even though my character doesn't have this feature.


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## skyelar (Feb 2, 2013)

Because David Bowie.

Nah, I think it might be a special snowflake thing... but it's also really interesting to look at. And furries tend to design their 'sonas to be interesting to look at.


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## Hyrax_Wolfe (Feb 3, 2013)

I think a lot of people mismatch eye colors because it's a cool design feature. Other times they may have a story behind it, such as, history behind their fursonas lives. As far as I've gathered though it's mainly just because "It's awesome.".


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## Fallowfox (Feb 3, 2013)

Sevinne said:


> I chose two differently colored eyes to represent my bad eye (the one with the + shaped pupil) and my good eye. My good eye is my real eye color, brown.



The character in your avatar looks great.


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## Nataku (Feb 5, 2013)

I have a friend who has sectoral heterochromia. His eyes are blue, but his left eye has an orange patch in it that takes up 1/4 of that eye or so. And his right eyes, while also being mainly blue, has several brown spots in it. The really fun part? When I first met him, his dog, a catahoula leopard hound, had the same markings in it's eyes, just in reverse. The dog's eyes were yellow-y orange with a blue patch in the left eye, and brown spots in the right. Dog has since passed on, but it was always strange when they'd both turn and look at you. 

I have central heterochromia - blue eyes with yellow streaks intermingled. My 'sona has the same colors in her eyes, just in reverse. But being as its such a minor detail, unless there's a headshot or bust pic being done, its not really noticeable and I just call her eyes yellow.


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## DragonTalon (Feb 6, 2013)

Silvaris said:


> I know some may do it if they actually have eyes like that.  I drew someone's fursona once and that was why they did it.  Others I feel do it because it's a striking feature, more so than a scar or oddly shaped marking.  Personally, I think it looks cool, even though my character doesn't have this feature.



Exactly.  I have a friend here on FA who has two very different colored eyes for real.  It's not commonplace, but it's less rare than one would think.

It's a good example of how one should be careful when using stereotypes.  While you can generalize across a group of people, you shouldn't do it when you come across a SPECIFIC person.


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## Riho (Feb 6, 2013)

I think that Heterochromia is really cute (Percy.), but I usually prefer the color of fur/scales.

If you have different-colored eyes, that's pretty cool, but if you have bright blue fur or something like that, I will stalk you for the rest of your internet life. :V


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## Fox_720B (Feb 6, 2013)

Riho said:


> if you have bright blue fur or something like that, I will stalk you for the rest of your internet life. :V



o bby 8] I'm sigging this.


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## 905 (Feb 6, 2013)

I always assumed it was just special snowflake syndrome (not that I have room to talk) and figured, to each their own and its quite alright, its the _sparklefurs_ I find some what irritating, but again, to each their own.


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## Holtzmann (Feb 6, 2013)

Sparklefurs? That's a new one to me. What's that? Sunbathing vampire furries?


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## 905 (Feb 6, 2013)

Holtzmann said:


> Sparklefurs? That's a new one to me. What's that? Sunbathing vampire furries?



Bang: http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Sparkledog


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## Holtzmann (Feb 6, 2013)

I am now enlightened.

Holy hell.


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## Riho (Feb 6, 2013)

Fox_720B said:


> o bby 8] I'm sigging this.


Made me proud.


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