Finding fursonas

One of my favourite topics to discuss amongst other furries is that of fursonas. I find that for most furries, the choice is immediate when they enter the fandom - an instinctual choice that is put in place at the beginning and rarely undergoes change. It seems to me that it's my fellow furry artists that have the harder time. With pressures to stand out, be original and make a name for ones self often results in constant redesigns, multiple fursonas, frustration and accusations of copy-cat 'sonas.

My personal fursona has had many an incarnation; certain elements remaining static, while others pull complete 180's. One may ask why I am a good candidate to discuss fursonas then, and my answer is simple. Although my fursona's changed a lot since it's beginning, right now I believe I've come to achieve a something that so many strive for - a fursona that's one of a kind, visually interesting and an accurate depiction of my personality.

It was about 8 long years ago, when I first became a furry. At the tender age of 12 I managed to stumble upon an old admin-abandoned RP forum. Through this forum, I unintentionally created my first fursona. Being a child, I created my first character, my favourite breed of cat, The Turkish Van, paired with my hair and my middle name, Lynn, as her first. I gave her my dreams of stardom and the singing voice I wished I had. I'd always wished I had a twin sister so she got one; an identical character with one distinguishing mark, a flower tucked behind her ear and the clever name of Daisy. With all this figured I cheerily went on my way, unaware of the fact I had just created what I would now call my first fursona.

As time went on my character Lynn grew into her own. As I changed she failed to change with me and thus became her own personality. It was around this time that I began to read more on the furry fandom and began to actually call myself a furry artist. I found fursonas to be a very interesting concept and while I recognized that Lynn essentially started as me, she no longer was. I wanted a real fursona. I picked up one of my favourite books to lend a helping hand, an encyclopaedia of cat breeds. I flipped through and tagged pages with post-its along the way; eventually coming to a decision. I was a Scottish Fold. Currently I can't remember how I came to this decision, the Scottish blood in my lineage is minimal after all, but at the time I suppose it made sense - my fursona was undoubtedly me at the time. A stripped, folded ear, orange cat with my black framed junior high glasses and my awkward, trying-to-grow-it-out junior high hair. Most commonly pictured with a big smile and my three best friends (depicted as a mouse, cocker spaniel and hedgehog) positioned around her.

Come high school I was thinking about it again, my fursona wasn't working yet again. The stripes and folded ears suddenly looked awkward to me. Like looking back at a pair of my old glasses and wondering whatever possessed me to wear such things. After much consideration, I decided I wasn't a house cat anymore, I'd developed so much confidence in the later years of junior high, I decided I was a lioness now. But even that wasn't right, I was a flashy sort of girl and the neutral colours of a lioness wouldn't cut it. A hybrid seemed to be the answer, A lioness-peacock cross became my face. Mostly lioness, just with bird-like feet and a fan of peacock tail feathers surrounding my long whip of cat tail.

It wasn't long before I gave up on that design and found myself here. The fan of tail feathers I quickly found too frustrating to draw as with the bird-clawed feet. I reverted back to a standard house cat, colouring my fur a rich royal blue and giving my tail the design of a single peacock feather. That delicate circled heart pattern that occurs so naturally in life, becoming the perfect signature for my cheery, loving side. And so I found my niche. The perfect face for me in the furry world. But maybe one day it will all change again.

In closing, my advice to those seeking their perfect fursona. Look inside yourself, but mostly look to your flaws. Flaws and shortcomings tell so much about a person and they can be linked easily to animal personalities. I chose a house cat because I see myself as loyal, friendly and loving but mostly because I am lazy, spoiled and sassy. I'm a peacock because I take pride in my appearance but also because I've got ego, I'm flashy and vain. To me, these flaws display who I am better than the good things. 'Loving' can be said about anyone but you'd be careful to call a passer-by 'vain and spoiled' to their face. By learning to laugh at our flaws we can discover a lot about our inner animals.

KelseyLynn (or KittenLynn to some) is a 20-year-old cat/peacock hybrid from Alberta, Canada who regularly writes and illustrates for her university newsletter.