Anthro Aesthetics

[Gene Inari]

An interesting train of thought I had the other night: What is it about anthros that I like about them so much? From a purely aesthetic standpoint, what draws me to the furry fandom and anthros?

Really for me, it's how emotive anthros can be when it comes to non-verbal cues. For a lot of furs, it's all about the ears and tails, and I'm no different, but I particularly like them because they're powerful tools for subtly conveying emotion.

I love writing out and describing (because I don't draw :U) the ways the ears move and turn and point in different ways to convey everything from astute attention to abject terror. The way the tail serves as an emotional barometer and displays how secure one feels.

A lot of it comes from me watching my cat around the house and outside with a notebook in hand.

What do you like (or not) about the anthro 'look?'

[CrypticQuery]

I have to admit that I share this dilemma; I find myself drawn to anthros and just the concept of humanoid-animals for a reason that I simply cannot describe. Perhaps it arises from an admiration of simpler, more primitive and effective traits expressed in brand new ways; say the anthro body and form for example. Maybe it is just an inherent desire of mankind to wish to be something else, and what better than to find inspiration in our own backyards? In the end, I leave you with Insanity Wolf; possibly the key to this entire mystery.

NSFW WARNING

Or not, :lol:

[Salem]

I'm kinda like you Gene except I draw and can't write, weird...and like CF as well, I don't know why but I just like it.

[Deploy]

It's just another cool way to design and present a character.

[Ellanie]

For me, it adds an extra layer of character to being simply human. You get the entire package of the human condition, which in itself has great capacity to characterize or design, but then you get to layer on details of any kind of animal. Make them part fox, and you get something more sly, a rabbit, cute and innocent, a lion, grand and imposing, and owl, wise, I could go on.

My only wish is for more artists to tab into animals beyond felines, canines, and hedgehogs. I'm personally obsessed with bird anthros, but far fewer artists tap into that. Lizards and fish have it even worse!

[chaos_Leader]

It came with the territory. You get get used to working with them when you write for Star Fox, and you'd better learn to like'em if you want to write'em.

Snarks aside, In using anthros, I've found them to be a ridiculously convenient characterization tool. For most known animals, we have come up with some kind of character tropes/idioms that I as a writer can scoop right up and use. Even if there aren't established tropes, there is almost always enough biological and ecological data gathered that it is possible to build new tropes/idioms from those pieces. An example I really like is Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, in which the characterizations of the animal characters he uses are based first and foremost on biologists'/naturalists' observations, then fitted to the corresponding literary structure already in the toolbox. With ordinary human beings, it takes a little more work to both infer certain character traits and provide an insightful visual description, since one human being is only so different from another. Anthros can combine the two comparatively seamlessly.

[Star Fox Runner]

I've just always liked the concept of anthro characters more than human characters to be honest. I've always found them to be more visually charming, and the fact that I'm an animal lover plays into that I must admit. And there's so much artistic liberty that can be used to convey what you want about the character, you can either make them cute as all get out, or intense.

Long story short, I just really like anthro characters. Always have!

[Wes]

>Ctrl+F

>Krystal

>0 of 0

This is an all time low for SFO.