# Markings



## Foxridley (Nov 24, 2010)

I mostly have my fursona established, but am not certain on a bit of tweaking I have tried. I am a feral red fox/kitsune hybrid with mostly standard red fox markings. i.e. orange fur, white belly and tail tip, black tipped ears and black "socks."

But I don't want to look too generic and want to add something to distinguish me a bit and perhaps give a hint of my kitsune side, something simple.

Any suggestions?


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## RayO_ElGatubelo (Nov 24, 2010)

Try a colored spot on your chest. I have a white spot on mine.


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## Oovie (Nov 25, 2010)

You really have to think outside the box here, a lot of things like multicolored eyes or "unique" markings can in the end just lead to a generic look regardless. Because everyone does that! I'd suggest looking at your own personality and what accessories your character might carry around instead, like a cap or scarf that could aid to being unique (sorry I'm short on ideas right now). Though I'm not quite sure you're looking for material type looks being feral, so I could understand if that's not what you want.


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## Fay V (Nov 25, 2010)

Well you could do something with how the markings are there. instead of having the socks blur into the orange fur have a little design. Nothing too huge, but a little goes a long way. Like the lacey marking here 
Personally I the diamonds suit as a theme and made my girl off that. The markings are still bland but together are a bit more unique, in my opinion.


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## Foxridley (Nov 25, 2010)

I have considered putting an ouroboros type thing somewhere. 
The result of watching too much Fullmetal Alchemist.
Unfortunately my lack of ability to draw anything beyond stick figures and potatoes with legs leaves me somewhat unable to test out designs.


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## Gavrill (Nov 25, 2010)

Red foxes have way more patterns than standard "red".


In America (as these are Russian reds) they also come in jet black and more silver-y patterns. 

Here's even more!

Good luck :3


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## sunandshadow (Nov 25, 2010)

How about anklets made out of flames?


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## Gavrill (Nov 25, 2010)

sunandshadow said:


> How about anklets made out of flames?


 
That seems to be a bit overdoing it, but I try to be realistic with my character's markings. 

Also, OP, "kitsune", in Japanese, just means fox. Not nine-tailed or demonic. Just a fox.


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## Bir (Nov 25, 2010)

Maybe OP is so much of a fox that you have to say it twice, in two languages, to get the point across?

Anyway. In all seriousness.

I love red foxes. And I love to be natural, or at least somewhat natural with my designs. However, perhaps you could turn your average red fox into something highly stylized? That's what I did, anyway. Bir is a silver fox. Nothing special about her markings. Her tail is just so gigantic that it would serve no balancing purpose.. She can't even lift it... and her head is pretty much a highly stylized shape of a football. Perhaps you could have your fox have down-ears? Perhaps feathers coming out of his/her neck fur? Perhaps chocolate ears? Perhaps blinds, or mute with no mouth? I don't know. I could help you come up with something if you wanted it to match a certain personality or give off a certain kind of artistic aura.


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## Foxridley (Nov 26, 2010)

I've only known of one thing that was shortened to OP (Omega Pirate), and it would not make sense in this context. I'm a bit behind on some terminology.
But yeah. I'm thinking an ouroboros might look interesting, But where to put it?


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## Fenrari (Nov 26, 2010)

Look around your room at something that defines you, a sweater, jacket, clothing style etc. 

Give it to your fursona. 

For instance my Maple Wolf is almost always in Hawaiian attire. 

The maple leaf tattoo behind his left year is pretty unique as well.

Go by what you like. You're unique, no one can say otherwise.


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## Gavrill (Nov 26, 2010)

Foxridley said:


> I've only known of one thing that was shortened to OP (Omega Pirate), and it would not make sense in this context. I'm a bit behind on some terminology.
> But yeah. I'm thinking an ouroboros might look interesting, But where to put it?


 Thanks for ignoring me n Bir.

OP means "original poster" or "original post".


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## Kreevox (Nov 26, 2010)

go with stripes on the socks, like tony the tiger, or regular tiger stripes


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## Willow (Nov 26, 2010)

Skift said:


> That seems to be a bit overdoing it, but I try to be realistic with my character's markings.
> 
> Also, OP, "kitsune", in Japanese, just means fox. Not nine-tailed or demonic. Just a fox.


 Well, kitsunes come up a lot in Japanese folktales and are said to have magical powers and stuff. Same with tanukis.


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## Fenrari (Nov 26, 2010)

Willow said:


> Well, kitsunes come up a lot in Japanese folktales and are said to have magical powers and stuff. Same with tanukis.


 
Usually along the lines of shapeshifting. Remember "raccoon Mario" from Mario 3? That was a tanuki leaf.


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## Gavrill (Nov 26, 2010)

Willow said:


> Well, kitsunes come up a lot in Japanese folktales and are said to have magical powers and stuff. Same with tanukis.


 Those are fox demons. Kitsune, in English, is usually thought of to be nine-tailed fox demons, which is incorrect. In Japan, it just means fox (which is how I ended up confusing a native Japanese speaker when talking about foxes one time. He told me that no one ever calls them that in reference to the old legends.)

Same for tanuki. They are pictured as having large balls because it's an exaggeration of their actual anatomy. They're also seen as "forest guardians" in mythology, but when you say tanuki in Japan, you're talking about the animal.

Edit: This isn't me being an elitist, my dad teaches English in Osaka and is fluent in Japanese.


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## PATROL (Nov 26, 2010)

I don't get what is so special about "special markings", since 4/5 of fursonas are "special" in this way. In any case I like it natural. You don't need stars and spots and who knows what to make your character special! You'll be lost in the sea of sparkledogs. Simply, as some people have mentioned here, give it a piece of clothing - something simple, or a little bit darker colour on the back or something what doesen't stab people's eyes.


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## Gavrill (Nov 26, 2010)

PATROL said:


> I don't get what is so special about "special markings", since 4/5 of fursonas are "special" in this way. In any case I like it natural. You don't need stars and spots and who knows what to make your character special! You'll be lost in the sea of sparkledogs. Simply, as some people have mentioned here, give it a piece of clothing - something simple, or a little bit darker colour on the back or something what doesen't stab people's eyes.


 
To be fair, "generic red fox" is bland and uninteresting because there's so many.


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## Foxridley (Nov 26, 2010)

Skift said:


> Also, OP, "kitsune", in Japanese, just means fox. Not nine-tailed or demonic. Just a fox.



In most English speaking circles the term "kitsune" does refer to the magical and typically multiple-tailed foxes that appear in Japanese legend. 
Unless you have a better term?

I mean, the exact same word can mean different things depending on context. Example:  a front in weather terms is different from the meaning of front in everyday usage.

I'd already gotten that mostly defined as I've mostly gotten down the universe and personal history.


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## Bir (Nov 26, 2010)

Foxridley said:


> In most English speaking circles the term "kitsune" does refer to the magical and typically multiple-tailed foxes that appear in Japanese legend.
> Unless you have a better term?
> 
> I mean, the exact same word can mean different things depending on context. Example:  a front in weather terms is different from the meaning of front in everyday usage.
> ...



Yes, but "kitsune" and "Fox" are the same thing. Just a different language. "Front" and "Front" are the same words from the same languages, still with different meanings. Saying fox/kitsune is repetitive, even if I agreed that kitsune means "Nine tailed fox demon." To me, I'm reading it as 

"I'm a *fox/weaboo demon fox*." 

Just say Kitsune if you aren't going to use the right terminology anyway, that way it isn't repetitive. Or you can just say "Kyuubi," you know. That means "Nine tailed." 

Not to mention.. 

All foxes in that belief are illusionists, and are portrayed as demons anyway. Demons of illusion. So just saying "Fox" wouldn't make us think of Japan. Use the Japanese word, fine, but not both. That sounds silly.


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## Bir (Nov 26, 2010)

In all honesty about the markings, though. You don't have to just pick your favorite item in your room and slap it on. Why don't you use something that symbolizes your beliefs? Your ideal way of life, perhaps? For example.. Bir, when not feral... is very primitive in nature. She is not social. She is very much a feral fox in anthro form anyhow. Her eyes are tiny, and don't have whites. This is to make them more wild looking.. untamed, perhaps. 

Bir's mind and imagination have not been destroyed with the evils of the modern world. Though she is very much into love, she's not interested in going out for pizza or playing Beer pong. I keep Bir simple, a survivalist so to speak. Just enough to live, and enjoy love. 

Her hands are not in the shapes of average anthro hand-paws. They are hands. Bir, like myself, plays the piano, and needs long, thin, flexible fingers to play it properly. Her hair is in braids and wild curls because that's how I'd like my hair to look in real life someday when it's longer. I'm getting there, though. I've got the wild curls and braids goin' on, but not the length ;__; 

Insert edit: LOL, a primitive, piano-playing, no-whites-on-her-eyes silver fox. Yeah, I guess. xD

Hmm.

Perhaps do something with your ears? My friend Cloudy... she is a coyote, and her ears are almost always laid back, and never standing straight up on her head. She's a very mellow person, and that's how she portrays it. She also has black warrior markings under her eyes, though I'm sure that's a symbol of her love for Nikki Sixx. xD 

Another example.. If you play guitar, your tail could be made to look as if it were made with thousands of guitar strings. Or you could have a stripe down your back made of scales, which are actually guitar picks. 

If you enjoy colors, be a crazy colored fox. There's nothing wrong with "Sparkledogs," I think they're cute. Just don't make it look average. If you wanted average anyway, you probably wouldn't have made this board.

If you have a certain brand you like, why not incorporate that brand into your design? Kind of a crazy thought, but... if I were to design a fox based on my boyfriend's little sister, I'd probably turn that fox into a jean-fox... navy blue, tattered frays for a tail and mane, as well as a huge polka dotted bow. 

If you're into electronics, why not turn your eyes into screens or projectors? That would be an awesome fursuit if you ever wanted to make it. 

I don't know. I'm just brainstorming.


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## Foxridley (Nov 26, 2010)

It wouldn't be the first time a word from another language has been changes to mean something different. 
In Spanish "arroyo" simply means stream. In English an arroyo is a desert stream bed that contains water for a short time after it rains.
But enough arguing semantics

As to what I like.
I like tornadoes, but I'm not sure how that would look.

I'm a Stargate fan. 
How do you think a Goa'uld symbiote design might look?


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## Gavrill (Nov 27, 2010)

For tornadoes, how about stripes that kind of dissolve up the leg? Like, the leg/arm/hand/foot is black, and instead of ending suddenly, it turns into stripes up the leg? I have no idea how to word this and MSpaint can't do it right.

The Stargate design might work.

The key is, play around with the designs until you're happy with the outcome.


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## Bir (Nov 27, 2010)

Skift said:


> For tornadoes, how about stripes that kind of dissolve up the leg? Like, the leg/arm/hand/foot is black, and instead of ending suddenly, it turns into stripes up the leg? I have no idea how to word this and MSpaint can't do it right.
> 
> The Stargate design might work.
> 
> The key is, play around with the designs until you're happy with the outcome.


 
Oh man. Tornado design? That would be cool. I'm imagining... whatever species... with tufts of ragged fur, spiraled all the way from its neck down to its tail, making it look incredibly wild and vicious, almost mangy.. Yea.


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## Roose Hurro (Nov 27, 2010)

Foxridley said:


> I've only known of one thing that was shortened to OP (Omega Pirate), and it would not make sense in this context. I'm a bit behind on some terminology.
> But yeah. I'm thinking an ouroboros might look interesting, *But where to put it?*


 
On the hip, like a My Little Pony?  If not that, then perhaps on an ear...


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## Foxridley (Nov 27, 2010)

I just had an idea.
Anyone remember that scene from sleeping beauty (the Disney version) where that fairies were fighting over the color of the dress and sort of ended of with splotched pink and blue?

What If I did something like that, except with a normal red fox color scheme and an Okami-ish pattern? And yes, I know Okami is a wolf, but close enough, right?


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## Gavrill (Nov 28, 2010)

Foxridley said:


> And yes, I know Okami is a wolf, but close enough, right?


 
Before you make the users of this forum have ulcers, how about not asking people for advice if you're just going to do something completely different every 5 minutes?


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## Foxridley (Nov 28, 2010)

Skift said:


> Before you make the users of this forum have ulcers, how about not asking people for advice if you're just going to do something completely different every 5 minutes?


 
Sorry, random thought.


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## Gavrill (Nov 28, 2010)

Foxridley said:


> Sorry, random thought.


 
Eh, my bad for acting like a dick.

Thanks to this thread, I've made a cross fox character.
Dang it, FAF.


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