In one of my reactions on the introduction section of the forums, I specifically reacted on what a fursona is and what in my opinion a well defined fursona is.
The quote:
About terminology have a brief look at this:
http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Fursona
In short if you talk about fursona we talk about an 'avatar' that is your (animal) character.
This character can have a drawing or multiple drawings and when you use it on the boards we call it a profile picture.
Having a fursona is not a must (in my opinion) persee.
More importantly, is when you have one is that you identify yourself with. Don't just pick one because it's cool; explorer and see what sticks with you.
If you feel 'this cat character' you have been drawing, writing about or have build up from all kinds of sources is someone you feel closely related by.
Then in my book you have a well defined fursona and furries will like to talk to you about them just because they see things that spark their interest.
Here bellow I'm going to elaborate on this further in depth.
If you see something you so much disagree with you skip to the bottom to comment, then please at least have the courtesy to stay polite and let me know you stumbled over it and didn't want to read further.
What makes a well defined fursonaA personal connection And NOT just a it is a cool/popular thing at the moment. It should represent you and/or represent where you stand for. If you are a rough party guy/girl maybe you are a wolf or a hyena. If you are a caring shy person that like sweet things you could consider a mouse, red panda or honey badger. These are generalizations and not nearly puts the point I'm trying to make in perspective. But bottom line is, your choice should make sense for what you want to be.
Then it's easy to sway the other way from here and say: "let me choose the least popular race". This however isn't the right way to go either. Because it could alienate you (a bit) as no one else can (immediately) identify with you until they have heard your story. It could make for an interesting mysterious character however, which is perfectly fine if that is what you are going for.
DepthThey should be more then a face/mask. Have some background, stories, definition to it. Make that character live. Where did they come from? What friends did they have? Why do they do what they do? What are their goals? Why does this character represent you so well?
The other option is to just explain why you feel you are this species and this fursona. Like I explained in the personal connection part. It's perfectly fine if you say "this character IS me" they do not have any background story of their own, because they ARE me. But then try to convey (if you want people to understand why you choose them) feel and understand why it does fit. Which is not a requirement, but a recommendation from me for if you feel uncertain people are accepting you and your fursona.
They should (more or less) apply to you / be a reflection of your soul.It's fine to play a character and portrait them and even call those a fursonas, but personally I feel YOUR fursona should reflect what it defines what/who YOU are and what you stand for or really aspire to be. This goes further then simply the race or the looks. The character self should act the way you want it to be and do not let yourself be swayed by personal opinion or just let the choice be determined with what you think should make it a likable character. In my opinion you should even aspire to do just the opposite. O... this is a trait I do not like about myself, but I feel that is what really defines me. Then I repeat what Tyrion Lannister (GOT) said: "Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."
If you want to forget them and rather not be associated with them, that is fine leave them out. However, if you really feel, deep inside that this trait makes you who YOU are, then leave it in and heed that advice. That makes for a unique, interesting and likable character.
UniqueWith a quickly growing community in it's easy to pick a popular species or look, but in my opinion a fursona should be you, you are an unique invidiual. Not a 1000 words or a full A4 page of text could define a single person. Not any of us is that bland. So a fursona should not be just another face in the crowd. He, she or it (or other variation) should have some outstanding features that make hem identifiable.
What I dislike in (some) fursonasThis is an opinion piece and does not throw up a barrier. Everyone is free to find about it what they want and (keep) do(ing) it themselves if they recognized it. I'm just putting it out their to have some ground on this discussion.
The I picked that character only because it looked cool.I dislike it even more if the character is from an existing story/universe/series. YES, you can play it that's fine, but it in 99% of the cases says nearly nothing about you and doesn't make me identify you with the character. And makes for a bad fursona.
What we see is that character and identify with that. But then we get unsure, because... are you going to roleplay everything we know about that character? Even if we do... where does the character start and you begin?
When you do it like that it's almost as if you are talking to a friend you have known for a while, but someone just like him suddenly shows up, acts like him, but is clearly not the same person. It makes for awkward conversation as the in-character roleplay will break down very quickly in real life conversation.
Nonsensical or over complicated hybrids.This is a large gray area so bare with me here. With non nonsensical I mean that just combining two races does not necessarily make for an interesting character, especially when the mechanics or anatomy of one race does not at all add up.
A good example is the thing going on with Pokemon hybrids (give this a look:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/incredible-pokemon-mash-ups#.jmdDQvZAy). To be fair, they do not all look that bad, but a lot of them just are... non aesthetically presentable or for lack of better wording look really ugly.
In my opinion: (almost) all (real world) animals are beautiful because they have evolved to be best at a specific function and be a better fit for their environment. Everything within their being makes senses, breaths purpose and just belongs.
The easiest but still non-trivial way to figure out if a character belongs to this category is ask the questions which you would normally ask about an animal or pet. What does it eat? How does it's life cycle work (from child to adulthood)? How does it's life start (life birth or from an egg)? How do they reproduce?
If you can give easy or at least, give some explanation about them, that makes them more 'real' and it is easier to say, yes that's a cool character.
If you can not, at every single question, in my opinion you created a character with the depth of a banana with googly eyes.
http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/8511807319_6eb5b3b737_b.jpgNear this category are hybrids that are unnecessarily long and complicated. The purpose of a hybrid is to make for an interesting character and combine different traits. That the character IS a hybrid doesn't necessarily make it interesting. Especially when you brake the above 'rule of thumb' or choose to combine things that are to close together.
See this video for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZsB7LxgCekI personally think it is funny and touches on a some of the clichés and misconceptions of the furry fandom (even if you disagree, again it's an opinion thing).
The goomba says he is an: "Arctic-Fox-Wolf"
Which is thus a combination of a fox and a wolf. Where the race is of a cold climate variety. Sounds sensible enough, however: foxes and wolfs are both of the K9 or canine family. It doesn't make a lot of sense to combine them, unless you actually use specific traits of both races. Foxes are loners that hunt for easy meals, wolfs pack up and work together to secure a full and tasty meal for a longer period and their whole pack. And lots of other unique traits.
If you do not figure out a way for that to work within this specific hybrid, it really just sounds to me that the combination only exists to sound cool and interesting. But is nothing more then that.
In this specific video he even says "Goomba? That name has no meaning to me. I am..." which makes him specifically deny his real person (he is never out of character). Sounds like a person in 'denial'. JUST having a fursona doesn't make you a whole person, which is an indication on why this is not a well thought out character, but just a place holder to represent that which one is missing in life. Not always, but it happens.
Back on over complicated hybrids. If they belong to the same family: canine, cat, lizard, fish, ursa (bear), horse etc. Then it might not be a hybrid at all and is a new sub species entirely which entitles you to do something that is much cooler then a hybrid in my personal opinion. Which is give it a unique name that represents that sub-species specific traits instead of just it's ancestors species named combines. (Cooler in my opinion because it requires more thought and creativity to come up with a sub species then just 'slap 2 or 3 names together and make it fit')
An arctic wox doesn't sound that presentable, but in my opinion is better then calling it a hybrid so you can use the minus separated notation used for hybrids. If you want to call your sub species an Arctic-Fox-Wolf, fine, be my guest. But not as a hybrid.
Copy cats, duplicates, copies...I already named it, but I want to emphasize on the fact that I think a character should be unique in some way. Only twins or triplets where the hole gag is on how much they are like each other in my opinion counts as a good character(s). If you straight up rip an existing character from a show, another person or anything else that already exists. Only change the hair color (or something else minor) then you just stoles someones identity. If you are the 'first one' to copy a fictional character from a show or series then that is excusable. Even if you didn't know their are others doing the same.
You just really risk becoming a 1 in a dozen. Watch any anime convention video and you will see multple: Jack Sparrow, Etzio, Iron Man etc.
Which on itself is fine, but we are talking about a fursona. And in my opinion a fursona should tell something about you. If a character is just 1 of X many you have that's fine... But if you identify with 1, then that one shouldn't be a 12 in a dozen unless you have a very specific reason (like with the twins or triplets trope).
It's so easy to make a character stand apart:
- Make him/her the evil/dark version
- The happy version
- The pink one
- The angel after perishing one.
Life changing experience or alternate time lines can easily make up for the lack of unique personality you get when you just copy a character. It is then easy to deduce how the character works, although it might turn in to a cliché quickly. It is still better then just being a copy cat.
Status symbolNot one species or choice for a character makes YOU a better person (or furry, for that matter). The cats or the wolfs (or insert any species) are NOT better because they choose that race. Yes they could team up, yes they might like each other more just because they choose the same species. However, it's not a status symbol. It doesn't make you more of a person then the guy next to you even if they do not (yet) even have a fursona.
And I would like your all opinion on this view.
Remember, be constructive and polite please.
You might be able to sway my opinion or I might not always agree with you, but I will aspire to stay polite through out.
