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Tips for Designing a Fursona!

Whimsy

• 7 min read
Light and regular purple gradient background. Text reads "Tips for Designing a Fursona!". A doodle of Whimsy with bat ears
I don’t have a fursona myself…does turning into a bat count?

There’s all kinds of different sonas you could have…You could even have multiple sonas if you wanted! Today we’re talking about fursonas specifically! If you want to learn more about other kinds of sonas, check out this article by my co-writer! Before we get started, if you’re looking for tips on designing other kinds of characters, check out…

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get back to fursona designs! So what is a fursona? A fursona is basically a type of sona that’s an animal character! 

Sometimes a fursona may look like a normal animal, other times they’re more anthropomorphic! (Anthropomorphic means the animal has more human characteristics! Think of characters like Nick Wilde or Sonic!) So how do you go about designing a fursona? Let’s talk about it!

What do you want your Fursona to be?

First off! What kind of fursona do you want to have? A fursona could be used to represent yourself online, it could function as a character, or it could be both! Before you design your fursona, you want to keep in mind what you’ll use them for and how often you’ll draw them.

Here’s some questions to help you think of what you might use your OC for!

  • What will you be using your fursona for?
  • Will they be only a sona, or a character too?
  • If they’re a character too, what kind of character will they be?
  • Will you be drawing your fursona a lot?
  • Will they be anthropomorphic?

Knowing what you’ll use your fursona for will help you make design choices for them! If you plan on using them often, you might want a more simple design! If they won’t be drawn too much, you could give them a more complex design.

If the fursona functions as a character as well, you could give them design details that fit their character too! Keep in mind what your OC will be used for as you design them!

If you end up with a complex design and want to simplify it, try checking out this article on simplifying character designs here!

Design the appearance of your Fursona!

Since the main focus of a fursona is that they’re an animal, the appearance is pretty important! There’s lots of different options from the type of animal, to the design of their fur! 

Pick the type of animal your fursona will be!

You’ll want to decide what kind of animal your fursona is! Common animals for fursonas are ones like cats and wolves, but those aren't the only options! Despite the “fur” in fursona, the animal doesn’t even have to be a furry one! Some people may have a lizard or dragon as their fursona...There’s even some bug ones! A fursona could be any creature you choose!

It’s also an option to give a reptile fursona some fur! The character might have a fuzzy mane or something similar. If you need some ideas for the kind of animal to pick as your fursona, you could try…

  • A dog
  • A wolf
  • A moth
  • A cat
  • A fox
  • A dragon
  • A lizard
  • A lion
  • A rabbit
  • A bat
  • A leopard
  • A sheep

You could choose the animal based on one that you feel suits your personality, or you could choose your favorite animal! Some fursonas are a combination of animals as well. Fantasy animals are an option too!

You could even create your own species! If you want to learn more about creating an original species, check out this article on the topic here!

Give your fursona some cool patterns!

Next up, patterns! Whether your fursona has fur or not, patterns can be a fun addition to the design! Since the character isn’t human, there’s a lot of options for how you could design their fur or scales. 

The paws or ears could have a different color from the main body, they could have spots, or you could use a different kind of pattern! If you need some ideas for patterns you could add to your fursona, you could try…

  • A striped pattern
  • A spotted pattern
  • A cheetah print pattern
  • A tiger print pattern
  • A mottled pattern
  • A gradient pattern
  • A colorpoint pattern
  • A star pattern
  • A heart pattern
  • A swirl pattern

You could also use multiple patterns! Maybe the tail has a different pattern than the rest of the body, or the legs have a different pattern. It might be easier to have fewer patterns if you plan to draw the fursona more frequently, but it’s up to you!

If you need some tips for the colors of the character’s patterns, there’s an article on choosing a color palette right here!

Give your fursona some fun extra details!

No fursona is complete without some cool extra details! Well, it can be, but extra details can be a fun addition! 

The details might help your fursona stand out more, or they might just be fun to draw! It could also be a part of their powers if they happen to have some! They might have glowing details while using magic, or they might be able to shapeshift!

  • Wings
  • Glowing eyes
  • Glowing paws
  • Extra eyes
  • Glowing patterns
  • A tail different from the type of animal they are
  • A unique eye design
  • A fantasy fur color
  • Multiple tails

Some unique details could make a fursona design more interesting! You could add one or two small details to make the design pop, or you could add several!

If you want some more tips on picking extra details for your characters, try checking out this article on the topic here!

Fur patterns, cool clothes…there’s lots you could add!

Give your fursona a fun outfit!

Outfit time! You could give your fursona just about anything to wear. It could be something that reflects your personal style, or it could be a style you’d want to try!

Try adding a cool motif to your Fursona’s design!

Another thing you could add to your fursona is a motif! You could pick a motif based on your favorite things, or things you think represent you well. It could just be a design you like too! 

The motif you choose can really help bring a design together and make it feel more coherent! If you need some motif ideas, you could try…

  • A paw motif
  • A star motif
  • A moon motif
  • A sun motif
  • A cloud motif
  • A plant motif
  • A sweet motif
  • A heart motif
  • A skull motif
  • A mushroom motif
  • A fruit motif

Motifs can be a fun addition to a character design, and there’s lots you could choose from! It can also give you ideas for accessories and other details. The motif you choose could be used all throughout the design, or just a little bit!

If you want to learn a bit more about motifs, check out this article on picking an outfit for your characters here!

Could you give your Fursona some fitting clothes?

Clothes are more often used for anthropomorphic fursonas and can be a cool addition to the design! The clothes you pick for your fursona could be an outfit you wear often, or one that you would love to try wearing one day! If you need a few ideas to get your creativity flowing, you could try…

  • A cute hoodie
  • A fantasy-style dress
  • A plaid button-up shirt
  • A torn-up shirt
  • A flowing skirt
  • Cool armor
  • A T-shirt with a fun design
  • A uniform
  • A frilly long-sleeved shirt
  • A nice suit

You could also try an outfit based on your favorite aesthetic! Your fursona doesn’t have to dress like you and could instead have a completely different look. It could be fun to experiment with different aesthetics to see what you like!

If your fursona has a specific job or role, especially if they function as a character as well, you could use that as inspiration for their design! If you want to learn more about picking a role for your characters, check out this article here!

Try adding some fun accessories to your Fursona’s design!

Want to really make your fursona feel unique? Try adding some accessories! Accessories can be fun and make a design more interesting.

Since it's for your fursona, you could pick accessories you like or would love to wear! You could design accessories based on the motif you chose as well. If you need some accessory ideas, you could try adding…

  • A set of kandi bracelets
  • A colorful necklace
  • A chain belt
  • A flower crown
  • A bandana
  • A pair of dangly earrings
  • A cute bow
  • A pair of glasses
  • A long scarf
  • A necktie
  • Cool hair clips
  • A pocketwatch
  • A pair of hoop earrings

There’s lots of kinds of accessories you could add to your fursona’s design! You could add a lot of accessories, or just a few. Have fun picking out some accessories for your fursona to wear!

If you want more tips on picking out accessories for your OCs, check out this article about that here!

What kind of fursona will you design? The sky’s the limit!

Cool Fursonas from the awesome users on Unvale!

Want to check out some awesome fursonas here on Unvale? There’s lots of cool ones to see! Check out…

Be sure to show these awesome fursonas some love! There’s lots of ways you could design your own fursona…be sure to have fun with it!

Need some more ideas for some of your other OCs? There’s also articles on using music to design an OC, reviving old OCs, creating a reference sheet, and more!