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submitted by SirisTheDragon
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submitted by Sareii
[link] [13 comments]

Heyyyyyy remember when I put that weird request looking for people to give me species to make characters from? I would up going with two of you, and split them into two separate helpful tip posts.

The first, this one, will help with designing a one-species fursona/character. The second, which will be up sometime this week, will focus more on hybridizing two or more species instead of just slapping wings onto a wolf.

I noticed that everyone is going for some kind of hybrid, and there are some interesting choices, but I'll keep it simple and just ask for a hawk character. I really love their sharp, angular features. Lets say this character likes to dance, and is into tribal themes, collector of fossiles and weird taxadermy art, usually chipper, but also fiercesome. Dirty, dull, and dark colors are cool.

/u/Chaos_Kitten was the one who suggested it, and I could not help but do it. I have a soft spot for hawks, and the added interests made it wonderful.

This isn't my any means a tutorial, or a "this is how you do it, no ifs, ands, or buts", but when you're trying to make a character that isn't just a cookie cutter golden retriever, or yet another red fox, I'm hoping to help people think of a process to help them find their unique features.

Note: I link one image of sketches I did during this process, but each step had possibly 2-3 pages. I'm not about to flood you with a bunch of stuff, so I cut it down to one page of the best for each step.

Step 1: Reference your species

Okay so I chose a hawk. Wonderful! What do I know about them? Well...they're birds of prey, so they have talons and sharp, curved beaks. Hawks have fairly broad wings for gliding, and large tails (usually). So I start with what I know, and draw it (that top left headshot was without reference, I did a few more of these but lets face it, they're terrible).

THEN I REFERENCED. I went and pulled image references of different types of hawks. I made a list of some species I knew off the top of my head, you can see there, and went looking for images of those. Hell, I might wind up using those specific types of hawks for their colors/patterns later. Who knows?

Note: The two profile images on the right are a comparison between a hawk and an eagle. THEY MAY BE SIMILAR, BUT FIND WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT! Eagles have huge beaks, heavy and extend quite a way from their brow. Hawks have very short, hooked beaks which gives them a unique look. Not as short as some falcons, but pretty short.

Step 2: Playing around with what you now know

After referencing, and having the type of animal fresh in my mind and fresh on my hand, I go and start playing with it in new ways, start trying to make a character. This is where I'd look for what kind of anatomy I'd like to have for an anthro. You can see I played with the different types of raptor feet, the "2 and 2" with fishing raptors, and the "3 and 1" with more average birds. While I love 2 and 2, I found using 3 and 1, with a digitigrade leg, looked best.

I DID like the 2 and 2, though, and looked into making the character's hands use those.

NEVER ERASE! This page is ugly as all hell, this stage usually is for me, but sometimes you need those mistakes. Maybe you'll get an idea from it, or maybe you'll know NEVER AGAIN.

Step 3: Developing the Character

So here's where I go back and start thinking what I can do to make this hawk...more than just a hawk. This is where I would think "what are some of my interests"? Or..."I really like frog throats, maybe I can work with that?" (fun fact, if you know my sona, that's exactly what happened with my glowy throat pouch!). THINK. PLAY. HAVE FUN. This is the stage where you experiment most.

I made a list of all the things I could think of, all the things I thought were cool, after looking at /u/chaos_kitten's list of stuff in the comment. And then I started trying it.

I came up with mostly bone-related accessories, at some point I started playing with deer horns, and I was looking into putting fur on this character's legs but it never got very far.

When coming up with ideas, DON'T GO WITH THE FIRST ONE YOU HAVE. When character designing, the first ideas you have are usually the worse, the most obvious, etc. You need to draw those to get them out of the way, but keep expanding on them. Think beyond them. Never settle for the first because it's there.

Step 4: Color Palettes

So this one I sometimes don't even do until the final image, but in this case I wanted to play with them, see if maybe I could get a bit more out of this character by looking at colors.

I was given muddy colors in the comment, which I absolutely love. This character, who loves taxidermy and archaeology, who's got a tribal theme going on (at this point I realized dance just wasn't happening...you'll see what I did with that later), it makes sense to have browns and reds.

Now, I'm a sucker for burgundy/wine colors. It's entirely okay to add in your favorite color of choice. This is ultimately your character you're working with, you generally would want to put things you like. So along with those browns and reds, I touched a bit into purples. I also am a huge fan of using lots of browns, and then throwing in something random like blue or green.

It's a good idea to not expand into TOO many colors. If you don't know color theory....well, learn it, yeah, but be careful just throwing every color ever. Browns and reds are along the same part of the color wheel, so I was careful not to take too many colors from the other end.

Step 5: The Final Design

/u/chaos_kitten this character is now yours, as is this reference sheet. Do with him/her what you will, though I may drop by and draw it once in a while ;)

Here is where I make my absolute final tweaks. By this point, I had a damn good idea what I was going to do with him, but I had a couple things that I changed:

*His hands no longer had two thumbs, I went with normal hands but with three fingers.

*I couldn't make him very dance-y, but during the design, my mind went from dance, to gymnastics, to the wrappings they wear for support. So he has wrappings on his limbs.

*He had wings on his back for so long, but after an accidental sketch, I made his wings look like they were attached to his arms and only went halfway. It was AWESOME! Mistakes sometimes are fantastic!

Since I work digitally and use layers, this is where I finalize any markings. I try to keep them realistic, it makes for more interesting characters imo. But I generally go through so many markings before settling on any that I like.

I hope it helps, I know there's been a lot of people asking recently about character design help, fursona design help, and I've been super into designing characters for a long time.

Remember, ultimately your sona is YOURS. No one can tell you what to do with it, but the more time you put into thinking about it, the more you may feel attached to your character.

submitted by Sareii
[link] [10 comments]

Imgur Art by http://www.furaffinity.net/user/crimsyn

submitted by Samfiller
[link] [5 comments]

Demisexuality, labels, and deaths. Use our coupon code “knot” at AdamEve.com for some bonus gifts! Music is “AA Battery Controlled Telescopic Knife” by Pepperpcoyote Website: www.lookleft.us Twitter: @peppercoyote FA: username/peppercoyote I'm playing shows at BLFC, MCFC, Furthemore, and FAU so far this year. Check your local listings! Episode 275 - Day 2567

Hey. I need some help on what do to or how to feel.

So today, I was at a museum browsing the Animal Body Works Exhibit. I decide to show a few photos to my furry friends on LINE, and my brother comes over. I hide my phone and he tells my mom to come and check my phone. She goes through my texts (regular texts) and my contacts, and my safari (at that time I just had PADx up, no Facebook or reddit, phew) and then asked me a question that still sticks with me.

"Is there anything on your phone that would make me angry?"

I realized that all 3 of the websites I use are kept secret from everyone. I feel horrible for mostly keeping these things secret, and also the fact that I talk to strangers more than people I know... I don't want to tell her because I will be banned and probably grounded for a year, but I can't hide it forever. Im not doing anything really horrible, like personal information, meeting you guys, etc, but it's against family rules.

It's not about me being a furry that's going to get me hated. It's the fact that I'm talking with people online (like right now) I trust you guys, what can I do?

Thanks for everything, guys. I can always trust you :)

~Nex

submitted by Nexplosion
[link] [9 comments]

Hi everyone, it's seem that ''Eternal-glow'' on deviantart need some help, her dog got hurt by a car, and now his jaw his broken (She has some proof of how much he's hurt) please help her, you can find either her journal here. http://fav.me/d8lmc1g

Or mine, offering commission at the price of 5$, every amount must be sent to her directly, but ask me for the commission, OR her if she offer it.

http://fav.me/d8lqgfl

Let all hope she can keep her dog, shall we?

submitted by Toxitythepony
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So I just made a yarn tail and I'm wondering how people in some of the images I've looked at get their yarn so dang straight I run mine through a hair straightener but it's till pretty curly any tips?

submitted by Samfiller
[link] [12 comments]

submitted by stonerhippiemutt
[link] [5 comments]

submitted by DoktorRF
[link] [8 comments]

So I was in bed last night and my mind wondered down the rabbit hole (hehheh) into a world where furries and humans existed on the same planet, they have the same inteligence, there just anthro. Would the furries get civilian rights? Would they be classed as humans or an animal species? Would they be descriminated against? Would the whole cycle of reality be changed by there meet existence? Do you think humans would eat furries? Would we live in harmony or in compleat separation? It really makes you think. Do you think it would be legal for a human to marry a furry? What do you think this world would be like? It's interesting to think of how many problems this would cause... So, what do you guys think?

submitted by ConcernedPikachu
[link] [12 comments]

submitted by Sareii
[link] [33 comments]

submitted by EnsoElysium
[link] [8 comments]

submitted by Chake1
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submitted by dusk_runner
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School stuff, mo' classes, mo' essays, blah blah.

Update: Still trying to work on the "Songs for 'sonas" thing but school and trying to get my synthesizer is kicking my ass.

But: My first ever song is going better than ever planned

Anyways, enough about me, tell me what you've been up to as of late!

submitted by Stratathefox
[link] [12 comments]

submitted by tangocat777
[link] [8 comments]

submitted by Rikku-Panthera
[link] [11 comments]

Don't have much to say here but 3/14/15....this is a pi day I've been waiting for for over 20 years.....I dunno about you guys but I'm eating a slice of pie at 9:26 today.

submitted by HyjinxRavepaws
[link] [27 comments]

submitted by ItsTotallyObvious
[link] [7 comments]