Introduction
If you’re an avid reader of our blog, then this may look like a repeat of our article “How To Make A Fursona” but you can think of this instead as an extension of that blog. While we have previously described how to actually start coming up with a fursona we never clarified how you can actually draw a fursona yourself. So here we are.
If you are new to the world of furries, you may be wondering what exactly a “fursona” is, and how to draw your own. A fursona is essentially an anthropomorphic animal version of yourself that you create as a sort of alternate persona or avatar. It is something that represents you when you participate in the furry community. Creating one can be a lot of fun, and it’s something that many people find useful in their everyday life. If you want to know how to create your very own unique and personal fursona, keep reading! Although it can be quite daunting, drawing your own character isn’t as hard as it may seem at first glance. After all, there are plenty of other people who have created their own already! To get started with this tutorial on How To Draw Your Fursona, follow along with these helpful tips and tricks.
Step 1: Understand What Makes Your Fursona Unique
The first step in drawing your fursona is to understand what makes it different from other fursonas out there. Although your furry persona doesn’t have to be particularly unique, it is helpful to know what sets it apart from the rest. Creating a fursona is all about creating something that speaks to you, so even if your fursona is nothing like anyone else’s fursona and it sounds borderline crazy, who cares? You should embrace that difference if it’s what you want, it is your fursona after all.
It is however a good idea to avoid fursonas that are too similar to those of other people as it can create some confusion. By all means take inspiration from wherever you want, but try not to copy another person’s fursona down to the last detail.
On the flip side, don’t go out of your way to make your fursona as unique as possible just for the sake of it to the point where you no longer even identify with it. Making fursonas shouldn’t be an originality contest, it should be fun and its originality should come second.
Furry Reference Sheet
Image via Twitter
Step 2: Doodle Your Ideas
Now that you know what type of fursona you want to have, it’s time to start doodling some ideas! When you are first brainstorming your fursona, doodling can be a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Nobody is going to get anything right on their first go, so use this period of doodling as an opportunity to get an idea of what you’re looking for in your fursona. There are no rules when it comes to doodling your fursona, so use whatever medium you feel most comfortable with. If you feel like writing is your preferred method of brainstorming, go for it! If you feel like drawing is more your thing, that works too! No matter what method you choose, remember that there are no wrong ideas. You are free to brainstorm as creatively as you like. You don’t have to decide on your fursona’s entire design at once, either. You can come back to your doodles any time you want and add to them or change them up a bit if you aren’t happy with what you’ve come up with so far. Drawing or writing your ideas is a great way to help them come to life, and it can also be a helpful way to organize your thoughts. You should note that this step may not be necessary for everyone. A lot of people are pretty good at just nailing things once they’ve got an idea of it in their head, especially amongst more creative artists, so take this step with a pinch of salt, but we do recommend it nonetheless.
Fursona Sketch
Image via Pinterest
Step 3: Choose a Basic Proportional Structure
Once you’ve got your basic idea for your fursona out of your head and onto paper, it’s time to choose a basic proportional structure for it. Your furry avatar doesn’t have to be a certain type of animal, but it is helpful to know what type of animal you would like to be based on your basic design. This allows you to look at reference images of the actual animal you are modeling it after so you can get the proportions right. From there, you can also decide what type of fur you would like to have. The type of fur an animal has varies from animal to animal, for example, a ferret, or a lot of small rodents for that matter have a lot more matted fur whereas some cats are a lot more fluffy. This stage of the designing process is when you decide things like: if your fursona is a rabbit, whether or not it has long ears. If it does, you can choose whether or not they’d be black, brown, or white. Working with these types of decisions can help you decide how to structure your fursona’s body. It can also be helpful to look at drawings of animals that are similar to the one you’ve chosen for your fursona. For example, if you have chosen to be a rabbit, it can be helpful to look at pictures of other rabbit fursonas to get an idea of how other people are structuring their bodies.
Half-Body Fursona Portrait
Image via Twitter
Commissioning a fursuit has never been so easy!
Step 4: Draw in Shading and Color
Now that you have a basic proportional structure for your fursona, it’s time to add some color and shading to your drawing. Adding these extra details to your drawing is a great way to bring it to life and make your fursona feel more real. You have to remember that everyone has their own style of coloring and shading so don’t get too caught up in how it should be shaded, but if you are completely clueless watching a coloring and shading tutorial wouldn’t do any harm. It can also be helpful to add some color to your fursona as a way of deciding what color its fur will be. For example, if you’ve chosen to be a grey wolf with black ears, you can choose how grey you would like your fur to be by adding grey to your fursona’s body. Adding shading and color to your drawing can also be a helpful way of deciding what your fursona’s face would look like. You’d be surprised by how much color can affect how much a sketch looks. For example, if your drawing has light fur, it can be helpful to add darker shading to your fursona’s face just to really bring out those lighter tones more. Then once you have those decided, this doubles a helpful way of deciding what colors your fursona’s eyes, nose, and mouth would be.
Fur Shading Tutorial
Image via DeviantArt
Step 5: Add The Final Details And Enjoy!
Once you’ve added the last of the colors to your drawing and you’re happy with the way it looks, it’s time to add your final touches! At this point, you can add whatever details you’d like to your fursona. You can decide what your fursona’s clothing looks like if you’d like to. You can also add any other accessories or elements to your drawing that you’d like. Granted, this is no easy task either, this requires more coloring and more brainstorming but it’s worth it. No matter what you decide to add to your drawing, make sure that it represents you as an individual. Add things to your fursona that just really screams “me”. Once you’ve finished your drawing, you can display it anywhere you’d like. You can frame it and hang it on your wall if you’d like, if it’s digital you can ideally make that your profile picture. You can put it in a notebook or scrapbook. No matter what you choose to do with your finished drawing, make sure that you enjoy it!
Finished Fursona
Image via NicePNG
What Do I Do With My Fursona Now?
The question that a lot of people face once they have created their fursona is: “well, what do I do with it now?” Good question. Here’s a list of just a few of the things you can do with your fursona once it’s made.
If you’re looking for a way to monetize your fursona or if some time has passed, you could always put your fursona up for adoption and make a little change from it.
Alternatively, as mentioned before, what most furries do is make their fursona their profile pictures on platforms like Discord, Twitter etc.
Additionally, if you’re looking to get a fursuit made somewhere down the line, that fursona can now be used as a reference for your fursuit maker.
Maybe fursuits aren’t your thing and you’d rather get a cute plushie made. Well, the same rule applies, you can now use that fursona as a reference for anyone who makes custom plushies.
Furry Headshot
Image via Twitter
What If I Can’t Draw My Own Fursona?
Creating a furry fursona can be and generally should be a lot of fun, but unfortunately for some, art isn’t their strong suit. This can be pretty frustrating, but there are workarounds. So, below we’ve listed some of the easiest ways of getting your very own fursona without having to draw it yourself.
Furry Art Commission:
One of the most common solutions to this is getting a furry art commission.
You can find a furry art commission pretty easily on most freelancing services like Fiverr, Upwork, etc. It’s always important to browse through multiple sellers as it can be really easy to just settle on the cheapest option or someone with one good piece in their portfolio. What is probably a better way of approaching this is checking the portfolios of several artists and making a shortlist of your favorites. Then from your shortlist, you can pick the one that balances both quality and affordability the best.
However, if you aren’t too sure about getting art from a freelance seller, you can always refer to sites like our own which provide art services done by professional furry artists, so you can completely eliminate that whole browsing process.
Adopt A Fursona:
Maybe you aren’t willing to part with a big chunk of cash, believe us, we completely get it. In which case, you can try adopting a fursona which is usually a lot cheaper and you can see what you’re going to get for your money before you part with it this way.
The best way to go about adopting a fursona is usually by contacting people under hashtags like #adoptafursona or #fursonadopt, on sites like Instagram or Twitter where people are advertising the fursonas they are putting up for adoption. Even if it doesn’t cost any money it is still important that you contact the artist to make sure that you have their permission to use their fursona wherever you please.
This isn’t to suggest that these are the only sites that you can use to adopt a fursona. In fact there are many great alternatives such as Etsy, Deviant Art, Furaffinity, Reddit, The Dealer’s Den and more are also great alternatives to Twitter and Instagram as there are hundreds of furry artists looking to put their fursonas up for adoption on them.
