(..preferably not with an answer that boils down to "i took things i liked and put them together" if you have any because anon just. wants to make a character but struggles with figuring out what is liked or not exactly.)
so!! i definitely have a lot to say, not all of which boils down to "i took things i liked and put them together".
however, this is all pretty specific to villain (my sona), so it might not be the best method for you... many of my friends take completely different approaches.
still, i hope you learn or find something useful to take from this BEHEMOTH of a post!
and thank you SO much for asking!! i really love talking about my ocs, my art, my process, anything! i love answering asks like these smiles
TL;DR:
1: try to think of a purpose. you might not have much luck getting attached to your oc as a beginner oc designer if they don't have a role to play or a purpose to serve.
2: try things rather than thinking, especially if your attempts are dissatisfactory. get something down on that canvas! if you like it - great! if you don't - even better! maybe that can help you figure out what you like. process of elimination is a valid way of reaching conclusions
3: study others' works, specifically how you feel about them. figuring out what you like is hard, but useful! even if it's a struggle, i suggest trying to work through that in tandem with experimenting.
4: tba...? it's 3 am i can't think of more off the top of my head but i might come back later
details below the cut! includes images, examples, anything i could think of!! open at your own risk o_o
tip number 1: decide which void to fill.
a bit of a weird start to this i'll admit. but this is the most concise way i could think of putting it!
basically, when making any character, including a sona, i ask myself what use i'll get out of them. what's the point?
examples: do i want to touch on a specific trope i enjoy? do i want to explore a certain design trait or aesthetic i've been thinking about lately? do i want to use this as a way to figure out my ideal life/fashion/behaviors, or do i want to use this as a way to unpack traumatic things? do i want all of the above?
and to be sona specific: why do i need a sona? do i want to draw them with characters i like, with my friends' ocs? if so, can i draw inspiration from whatever purpose the sona will be used for? do i want it to be representative of me, an ideal me, or a past me? is there anything i feel is intrinsically important to any of those points (appearance, objects, clothes, colors, animal...)?
tip number 2: get something down and edit it rather than trying to come up with the final character.
even if you don't know what you like, draw something you aren't sure you like.
if i tried starting villain as the ultimate fursona, i'm pretty sure i would've gotten nowhere - and i wouldn't have been nearly as attached! i mean, after spending years refining and writing and scrapping and redoing him, he's a staple in my oc crew and my life in general!
to add onto this, it could be easier to determine what you dislike than what you like. so make something you're not happy with - maybe figuring out why it failed could be a step in the right direction!
tip number 3: introspection and study is your friend!
this isn't to go back on the previous point though.
don't take this as a sign to keep ruminating on that idea or concept forever - rather, when you get something down, or when you see something in the wild, try to think about what it makes you feel and why. only you can determine what you like, and i think you should! it's cool to know what things you like, helps in figuring out how to keep yourself happy!
i like design things based on how fun they are to draw/look at (like, say, pleasing color palettes and shapes), how fun they are to think about in regards to interaction with other characters or the environment (like, say, being 10 meters tall) and how useful/unique they are as tools in my stories (like, say, designing a god for a religion). maybe some of these can resonate with you!
it's 3 am and i can't think of anything else but i might come back and edit this!
for now, the rest of the ask: how did i make my sona? let me take you through that process!
villain's concept:
villain was originally created in 2019. the only things i really had in mind were the following:
- i need a new sona cuz the old ones aren't doing it for me anymore
- i want it to be a furry cuz i havent had a proper fursona in a bit
- i really like drawing skunk/squirrel tails as of late so it has to have one of those
- it has to be slightly chara adjacent (undertale special interest + fictkinning seeping through here, though i didn't know either of those yet)
these are all pretty vague, and this counts as "things i like being put together". villain's original design was NOT well thought out and i was NOT expecting for him to stick around at all.
as you can see, these are all also purely design related. i didn't have any direction lore-wise at the time.
this changes later on though, and his design becomes much more intentional, so stick around! but first:
villain's history:
original:
this is villain's very first design, the very first drawing of him! all three chibis were in the original piece.
as you can see it's uh. well it's a design i guess, but it doesn't have much beyond that. but i was fine with that, he was just a way for me to get to draw skunk tails in the end, i had no expectations.
during 2019, he went through a few changes and was eventually scrapped entirely, as the RP timeline he was in was bled dry.
his design stayed the same throughout, save for some color changes, so i won't go into detail about these specifically.
despite how far he's come, he has retained some of his core characteristics throughout the years.
some of said core characteristics:
- chara cheeks
- squirrel tail and ears
- vague lynx/cat hybrid traits
- hairstyle inspired by mine
"red" version:
this is villain's next design, one i made because i suddenly had the urge to bring him back as i was lacking a fursona once again!
i really just wanted him to come back for the nostalgia value, but for me to also improve him and bring him up to the standard i had for my character designs at the time. again, no other plan. yet another random whim with this guy bruh
things i kept:
- chara cheeks
- squirrel tail and ears
- vague lynx hybrid traits (ears, fangs, nose?)
- fur patterns
things i changed:
- outfit
- color palette again
- hairstyle. this looked nothing like my hair.
things i added:
- necklace
- hat
"blue" version:
this is villain's most prominent old design, one which amassed over two hundred pieces of art!
this is the point in time during which i decided i really wanted him to be a good character. a fursona which would last me a good while, and one which i would have things to write about! consequently, his design became a lot more thought out and intentional!
that's why he ended up quite sans adjacent in this version... his focus has ALWAYS been undertale, and i really doubled down on that. ofc he lives in snowdin because funny sans x sona moment.
things i kept:
- chara cheeks
- squirrel tail and ears
- lynx hybrid traits (ears, fangs)
- most fur patterns
- hat (although in a different format)
- long side hair strands
things i changed:
- nose! squirrel nose now
- outfit again
- color palette again
- rest of the hairstyle (now looks like mine kind of)
things i added:
- fur patterns! small start but it's a start!
- shoes...lmfao
- boobs...lmfao2
- snake ring
- edgy different eye set because lore
he had two pieces of jewelry i owned now, both gifts! this was part of an attempt to make him more like me, since he was becoming a lot more of a personal character as time went on. i wanted to be intrinsically connected to him somehow, but i didn't go the full mile
unfortunately he stood the test of time longer than my interactions with the necklace individual. that was the first major push for me to redesign him one last time. but even without that, overtime i just grew... dissatisfied.
my other major problems were as follows:
- for a sona he sure doesn't look like me
- he just looks too much like sans
- why is he wearing shorts. it's cold in snowdin
- his fur patterns aren't interesting enough, sure no one ever sees them but i like funky fur patterns now. my oc tastes changed!
"green" version (current):
and this is where his evolution is currently at!
i was very determined to deal with every single problem i had not only with the blue version, but with every previous iteration as well. this is truly the Lock In era - despite not being all too hyperfixated on him at the time (not the case before), i wanted to iron out every wrinkle i saw in his design to make sure he'd be worth keeping indefinitely.
i think i did a pretty good job myself! every problem i had was addressed and that's all i wanted. i think he's a nice enough design, but what's more important is that i think he looks like me. he's me core. and that's what i personally value in a sona!
he's also more versatile now, due to not being explicitly tied to undertale. i still wanted to make him fit in at least a little with the undertale cast but i'm not too sure i did a good job with that lol. decided to cut my losses there and adapt him into more media instead
things i kept:
- chara cheeks
- squirrel tail and ears
- lynx hybrid traits (ears, fangs)
- hat (although in a different format)
- hairstyle (now looks exactly like mine for the most part)
- edgy different eye set because lore
things i changed:
- outfit again
- color palette again - first time his eyes match mine
- fur patterns
- removed real pieces of jewelry
things i added:
- squirrel buck teeth!
- pants... cool...
- moles, scarring, white hairs, overall just traits i have
- pins ! i love pins
"grey" version (current):
all in the pic, there are basically zero changes i'm just adding this as an aside because this is the design i'm most fixated on currently and is also probably the design he's most known for
the power of hyperfixation
anyway, that's all from me for now!!
thank you for coming and reading so much about my fursona, i'm really happy you were interested in him, it makes me feel like all those years of work were that much more worth it!
please ask away if you want to know more about him, his lore, his relationships, anything!
his theme is finally completed!!
his isat version is on the cover but the EP will cover all AU variants of him, including the main one (which is undertale.)
gosh i'm SO happy with it. flames really knocked it out of the park and i can't WAIT for the rest of the villain EP to be concepted and completed later on :-3
art wise i'm pretty happy with most of these. i learned a lot last year, and i hope i'll continue to improve this year as well!
happy with my overuse of harsh lighting this year too. it's my favorite way to draw overall i'd say, so i'll probably pivot to drawing what i like more often.
vaporwave
amandla
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
blakekathryn
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
