How important is the popularity of your fursona's species?

[Symphony]

I have two questions/topics related to species for this thread.

First off, when you created your fursona, did you pay attention to how many others were using the same species for their fursona? If you did, or if you didn't until later on, is it something that matters to you?
There are many members here with canine or feline fursonas, and I sometimes wonder how they feel about it. I've seen many tigers lately, especially unusually colored ones like the white tigers. Wolves are always in great numbers it seems. So I'm just curious how you feel if you have a fursona of such species.

Secondly, how important is it to you to have picked a species that others like? Did it/could it affect your chocie how other people view characters of certain species? Like the ones typically associated with something positive/attractive, or those that may at times be associated with something negative, or otherwise not make people particularly interested?



I'll be around to answer these myself in a bit.
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Constance Mayflower's bio

Constance Mayflower's diary

The Mayflower Diaries

[BioRust]

That is a very good question. To be honest I didn't notice any arctic wolves when I posted mine, but shortly after I noticed UltimaWolf and a few other members with the same species. But all in all, I really don't care about that, even if all fursons were the same species, there would only be slight differences in the RPs (other than excessive pregnancies).
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My DA & FA
Alexander Frost

[Maxwell The Tiger]

Well, I chose a Tiger since I was going for a Rocky style thing, eye of the Tiger etc. Seemed like a good choice.

Another bit would be that seeing as my name is Tony Maxwell... I suppose you can all imagine the nickname my friends bestow on me. (Those asses... I'm Just kidding: They're Grrrreat!)
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[Hoshiginiro]

I like coming up with unique creatures for fursonas

when i picked a white Bengal tigress for star it was because i was told i couldn't do a dragon and the white Bengal tiger is one of my favorite animals i have tons of pictures of them


then i got creative and figured out how to design a 'dragon' with out it being mythical thats how i came up with medel

Ryan i picked as a dove because there are few avians in the PBB world so i figured one more wouldn't hurt that and Ryan was originally a human/angel mix rp character i made up
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Star Silver
Medel Gargen

CafePress
FurAffinity

[Symphony]

[Maxwell The Tiger]

Nah, just thought I'd go for what I liked most and what suited the character.
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[Hoshiginiro]

although the tigers are popular when i picked stars species it didnt really occur to me that there were others ...i just love the color purple and i love white bengal tigers i also actually asked the input of the other people in the forum before i choose i told them i wanted either a tiger or a dragon and i liked the color purple i was told that dragons weret partially allowed so i should go with a white tiger with purple stripes instead of black ones so i figured 'what the heck ill make a white bengal tiger that has purple strips'
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Star Silver
Medel Gargen

CafePress
FurAffinity

[Symphony]

[Hoshiginiro]

[The Adept]

[Wolf Stride]

I had chosen my first furson as a wolf because, to me, it represented seriosness, coldness, etc. I hadn't really noticed that the wolf is a famous species here and as for popularity...i really couldn't care less.

The second furson i made, bore in mind stealth, cunning, etc. The idea of a panther to me meant that he was not someone to be joked with, but the personality portrayed meant that you can toy with him, as long as it is within boundaries.

Popularity isn't something i would really care for, but now that it is a validated point, i would have to think more for any other characters i might make. I was always one to use preference over variety but this has changed that.
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http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=238903#238903- Wolf & Grimm!
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/wolfstride/ = My FA

[Corran]

I chose my fursona's species according to his job. I was planning on making my fursona a fireman and the idea of a dalmation fireman seemed appropriate.

As far as popularity goes I know that most people find dalmations aesthetically pleasing. In Saras case, much more so.
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Go on. Tell me how you really feel.

[Aaron_Thom]

The reason I chose a wolf is because I like wolves, no other reason then that.
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I am what I am and proud to be who I am.
Profile: http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=49632&highlight=#49632

[Shadow_Twisted]

For most of my life, creativity has been a large point of pride for me. I hadn't really noticed any tigers other than Avery Caldwell at first, but found that there were several people with tiger fursonas and a few more with the black fur silver stripe pattern. This prompted the color change for the red stripes I use now. Since Samuel's initial conception, there have been more tigers springing up and just as many fading away.

Since I tried to be unique, and one-of-a-kind, new tigers popping up irks me, but what other people choose to create is beyond my control. All I can do is sigh in relief that Samuel is still the only "Blood Tiger" of Bon Bon.

Though species is important to me in the extent of I feel like I'm less original in choice, I figure that there are few enough male avatars with unique fur patterns to feel I can still stand out.

[The Adept]

I choose a wolf becouse i watched the Animated movie Balto. and also for quite the opposite of wolf strides reason

[mackwell]

i chose a sand lizard as mine. just because they are really quick. so i figured that a sand lizard as the fastest thing alive would be perfect
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my fursona http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9199

i have a time machine in my apartment. it's essentially a cardboard box and on the side i wrote "time machine" in sharpie.

[Symphony]

Just to clarify, this isn't so much about why people choose the species that they do, but rather if/how they are influenced by some species being widely used or otherwise considered popular/unpopular.
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Constance Mayflower's bio

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The Mayflower Diaries

[Catherine_Puce]

I didn't checked how popular feline where before do my lynx fursona. However, I had read the comic and I had noticed that she would not look out of her place here.

Mes autres idées de fursonas n'étaient pas aussi adaptés.

S.P.P.

[Wolf Stride]

Well, guess that mine are pretty popular but i wasn't influenced wether or not they were widely used or not.
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http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=238903#238903- Wolf & Grimm!
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/wolfstride/ = My FA

[Hoshiginiro]

i does not bug me on the popularity of the species except when the coloring is common place ....symphony if another person showed up and choose to be a brown mare ....would you be flattered or annoyed that the person didn't at least pick another color?
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Star Silver
Medel Gargen

CafePress
FurAffinity

[dragonfly]

my furson is a cheetah witch correct me if im wrong will be the only one in bonbon why i picked this spices is simple i've all ways loved them.

also it wouldn't bother me if another member picked a cheetah unless they copyed mine.
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my FA http://www.furaffinity.net/user/linkcollins/

my fursona's details http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9362

ref pic of link the king cheetah http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7618854/

[mackwell]

well a sand lizard isnt used as much in anything. generally i see the basic species. nothing wrong with being basic or anything, but i like to be a little bit different. so i would say that the sand lizard is very unpopular.


which i like
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my fursona http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9199

i have a time machine in my apartment. it's essentially a cardboard box and on the side i wrote "time machine" in sharpie.

[Evan_Himmel]

I went with a dog becuase my chines zodiac sign is the dog. But more importantly I wanted to use the Doberman pincher, the reason i chose that breed of dog is do to multiple reasons. The first insperation is a story from the first volume of the manga Pet Shop of Horrors, called Dreizehn. Also after learning about the doberman on meny docmenterys have perked my interest in the bred. As for his personality I didnt want to use an all out A-hole as i have seen in meny fanfiction when it came to dobermans but i also wanted to incorperate the doberman's loyalty, intellect, tendency to notest details, also some of his personality tends to also come from my Gemini zodiac sign as well.

[Symphony]

[kommy]

Didn't care less in my decision making. I wanted to be a vixen, warm brown in color, and that was that. Despite being the single most wildly popular species/gender mix amongst furries, I feel like I have done pretty well.

The more hand-wringing and tweaking you do to look more 'unique' tends to make one look either more absurd or somehow blend in with the crowd of everyone else trying to come up with ever more radical color patterns and (to me) headache inducing hybrids and fantastical species. This isn't to say you shouldn't consider quirks of appearance for a character, but remember that less is quite often more.

Besides, there's more to appearance than species and fur color. Clothing, height, subtle fur patterns, the angle of the jaw, the color of the eye, the tilt of the ears, muscle mass, shoulder width, tail length, and even the subtleties of personality than can be conveyed through pose and facial expression.

Don't think, "I want to be a brown vixen, but Dr. Fuchs is a brown vixen so I can't be one." Think, "I want to be a brown vixen, but so is Dr. Fuchs. I should make clear the physical differences between them, such as black on both fore and aft paws, black ears, a lighter white fur color, three inches taller, and she wears light red silk dresses as she's a clerk at a fashionable boutique in town rather than a doctor."
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"Doktor! Are you sure this will work?!" "HAHA! I HAVE NO IDEA!"

[Wallstreet]

I'll be honest, it did affect me a little bit. As I was designing Ewan, he was originally drafted up as a red fox.

As I explored some communities more, I felt as though everything was starting to blur, and I wasn't comfortable enough in my writing to think that I could make Ewan's personality stand out among all the other red foxes out there.

I therefore decided to make something I saw less of but still remain in the vein of character I wanted. Otter quickly surfaced. I noticed you seem to see a whole lot less Mustilids in roleplay communities, where male characters are almost always portrayed as a form of predator.

So there ya go, I did allow the fact that otter's were the rarer species in communities to affect my choice. But I stand by it, ya hears?!
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Ewan's Golden Glass
Fine Alcohol and Good Times

Who the hell is Ewan Bushmill?
A reference: http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7319

[AlainDaishar]

When I created Alain, I didn't really pay much attention to the species that were already in use. I wanted an animal that was known for the traits that Alain's personality would hold. I didn't/still don't really care if people agree with the choice of species. As for the coloring, I wanted it to be as natural as possible, so I left it as the normal fur color.
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Alain Daishar Profile: http://forums.pleasurebonbon.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8174&highlight=

[Leaf]

The choice of my fursona was based on what species was most popular. I saw how canines and felines were popular and I wanted to choice a species that didn't follow the crowd and let me be unique. Ultimately, I chose a rabbit species.

It's not very important to me if I had chose something others didn't necessarily like. I do not wish to become another face in the crowd.

(By the way, I originally considered to be a giraffe, but I didn't want to be the butt of many a tall joke.)
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[Symphony]

It's interesting to see all these different opinions.

I'd agree with you, kommy, that it's possible to go too far in trying to be unique, but I also think that it's quite possible to set yourself simply by choosing a less commonly used species, if that's what one wants. I think that many here have done just that, without even having to pick some wildly exotic animal types that few have heard of.
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The Mayflower Diaries

[Rune174]

My choice in the vulpine variety was both easy and hard. Easy because I already had them in mind when I joined, and hard because I was unsure if they were very common as selected fursona.
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