Author Topic: How to describe my furry in stories  (Read 2565 times)

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Offline Madam Glitch

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How to describe my furry in stories
« on: November 26, 2012, 10:15:19 am »
Hello everyone. I've been interested in writing stories featuring my fursona. The only problem is that I'm not entirely sure how I would describe what she looks like without doing a big block of text, which I don't want to do. I'll provide a link to the reference picture that I have of her, and will provide the description of her markings that I used for her profile. If anyone could please help me, I'll be thankful.


Reference Picture: http://sickleknight7737.deviantart.com/gallery/40410401#/d5jxhxp


Markings: An orange spot around her right eye, and a dark purple spot around her left eye. Has a red arrow shaped stripe on her face that stretches from her nose to the red colored area between her ears. She has dark purple, spiky egg shaped areas on her thighs and shoulders/upper arms. A dark purple, spiky egg shaped area on the first third of her tail. The last fourth of her tail is dark purple, and a red stripe stretches on the underside of her tail; said stripe stretches from the base of her tail to the dark purple area on the end of her tail.


Scars: A claw mark on her back that stretches from her left shoulder blade to her right hip


Other Noticeable things about Skye: The outside part of her left ear is dark purple, while the inside part is orange. The outside of her right ear is orange, while the inside part is dark purple. She has rose/dark pink colored paw pads and dark blue claws. The dark purple area on her left shoulder/upper arm is bigger than the dark purple area on her right shoulder/upper arm. The dark purple areas on her thighs and shoulders/upper arms merge into the dark purple area on her back and sides. Her nose is dark blue, and she has a very long tail.
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are"
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Offline kuroneko jusan

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Re: How to describe my furry in stories
« Reply #1 on: November 26, 2012, 01:34:08 pm »
I think the best bet is to intersperse the description throughout the story, let her looks become a puzzle that the reader can assemble as they read.  Open up with a very basic one or two sentence description of her (height, build, species, what colors) when you first introduce her, but give some detail to what you consider her most striking feature, and if it has a backstory (like her scar might) only hint at it at first, most readers will be desperate to learn more, and follow that thread as you slowly sprinkle in more details about it.  You should also drop in more detailed descriptions of her other features as they come into context.  if the story gives focus to her facial expression take a moment to slip some detail about her markings into the description of it, the same for her tail, arms, legs, etc...  There are usually quite a number of opportunities to flesh out the looks of your character, and before your reader even realizes it, you will have built up a clear picture of her in their minds.

I hope this helps.

Offline Madam Glitch

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Re: How to describe my furry in stories
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2012, 02:59:32 pm »
Thank you for the help. I'm mostly going to post the short stories to DeviantART.
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are"
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Offline Old Rabbit

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Re: How to describe my furry in stories
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2012, 12:05:14 pm »
I think the best bet is to intersperse the description throughout the story, let her looks become a puzzle that the reader can assemble as they read.  Open up with a very basic one or two sentence description of her (height, build, species, what colors) when you first introduce her, but give some detail to what you consider her most striking feature, and if it has a backstory (like her scar might) only hint at it at first, most readers will be desperate to learn more, and follow that thread as you slowly sprinkle in more details about it.  You should also drop in more detailed descriptions of her other features as they come into context.  if the story gives focus to her facial expression take a moment to slip some detail about her markings into the description of it, the same for her tail, arms, legs, etc...  There are usually quite a number of opportunities to flesh out the looks of your character, and before your reader even realizes it, you will have built up a clear picture of her in their minds.

I hope this helps.

I agree. working the discription of your fursona into the
story is a fine way of doing it. Works well for the world and
other characters too.

Oldl Rabbit :orbunny:
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oldrabbit.com

Offline Varg the wanderer

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Re: How to describe my furry in stories
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2012, 10:57:00 pm »
     The door shrieked on it's hinges, and he heared a set of footsteps enter the front door below and pause.
Varg leaned a bit further over the edge of his girder. Below, a timber wolf practically glowed with colors, giving her the appearance of falling victim to a tie-die accident, or being composed of different burning salts.
     He gazed in awe as she sauntered over to the work bench, and began picking through its contains. Her back now to him, he noticed that her solid purple and orange ears that seemed to sprout from her long mane of brilliantly pink were the opposite color on the outside that the were in the inside.

Her long hair, even through it tapered to an end in the middle of her back, broke a sharp contrast the the rich purple that ran from where it capped her fiery orange arms at the shoulders, down from one flank to the other to where it ended at her hips and the base of her tail.
     Her tail had the appearance of having been dipped in a bucket of the same purple that coated her back; leaving a band of orange between the base and where the royal color dripped off the tip of her tail.

She held one of his bucking bars up to the light, studying its odd shape as if she were trying to decipher exactly why someone would need a block of steel in such a funny shape, or more likely, why someone would consider it a tool. Varg watched as pink paw pads and vibrant blue claws turned the piece over before placing it back on the bench.

     "Excuse me," came River's voice from the back of the shop. The wolf below jumped, abruptly spinning around and holding her hands behind her back, as if she could hide now that she'd been caught snooping. Her front, which he had only caught a glimpse of before, was even more brilliant than her back.
     Her face and torso were covered almost completely in a blazing red that ran from the tip of her blue nose, down her feminine chest to where it terminated just before her thighs.

     "I... ah... er..." the wolf stammered. She stared at the floor, only glancing up at where he guessed his assistant stood. Her tail crept between her legs, and he could see the red repeated on it's underside.

     "Can I help you?" It was River's voice again. She was getting irritated. Varg shifted his position so he could get up more quickly in case he needed to climb down and diffuse his hot-headed assistant. Though he couldn't see River from where he was, he knew the malinois was probably staring the poor creature down with daggers, her expression just shy of showing teeth.

     "Well, ah... yes. You see, I was told that someone here could help, and I needed to show them this." She held our her hand. Her movement was too swift for Varg to see what it was before it disappeared from view under the girder. She seemed to have found her confidence in whatever it was, however, because she stopped staring at the floor and held her nose level. He gazed at her face, musing at how the alternating pattern of purple and yellow was repeated in her purple left and yellow right eye patches.

     "Oh." Replied River. Any hint of previous hostility had evaporated from her voice. "Varg," she called, "Come down here, you need to see this."




I obviously have no idea how you character would act, what world she lives in, or what her voice sounds like, or if there's even a story of why she has the coloring she does. I merely had some fun and wanted to share an example in case you needed to get  some ideas.
My writings and other stuff: https://varg-stigandr.sofurry.com/

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Offline Madam Glitch

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Re: How to describe my furry in stories
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2012, 10:39:31 am »
To: Varg the wanderer
Thank you for writing that short story thing, I absolutely love it. While Skye does act childish at times, I can totally see this happening to her. The only thing that I found wrong is when you said this:

"He gazed at her face, musing at how the alternating pattern of purple and yellow was repeated in her purple left and yellow right eye patches."

The yellow is supposed to be orange. It's a minor little thing, but I just wanted to point it out. There is one sentence that I loved more than anything:

"Below, a timber wolf practically glowed with colors, giving her the appearance of falling victim to a tie-die accident, or being composed of different burning salts."

Thank you again, and everyone who responded so far :D
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are"
--Mewtwo

Offline Madam Glitch

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Re: How to describe my furry in stories
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2012, 11:11:25 am »
Oh, Varg. I hope you don't mind me printing out what you wrote so I can put in my writing binder. I like it and I want to use it as inspiration :D
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are"
--Mewtwo

Offline Varg the wanderer

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Re: How to describe my furry in stories
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2012, 04:43:52 pm »
I don't mind at all! Print away! I'm glad you find it inspiring.  :)

And sorry about the color thing -I thought it was a golden color, but since my hues are probably off I'll blame it on my screen.
My writings and other stuff: https://varg-stigandr.sofurry.com/

"I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by." - Douglas Adams

"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." -Thomas Jefferson

Offline Madam Glitch

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Re: How to describe my furry in stories
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2012, 06:42:37 pm »
It's O.K., I understand. I figured it was only just a mix up. And I can't believe that you got her personality in a situation like that good without knowing what her personality is :D
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are"
--Mewtwo