Representation in Characters

[Wyldercat]

In my years roaming the forums, as well as tumblr and the digital art community; I’ve noticed that people tend to make their ocs resemble themselves in more ways than one. For instance, members of the gothic subculture may incorporate gothic elements such as dark colors, or stoic composure into their roleplay characters.

So I guess I’m gonna open a few inquiries for discussion.

1.Do you model your characters after yourself or your demographic in any way?

2. Do you believe that this form of representation in characters is important, even if unrealistic or impractical? (ex: gay/trans animals, cultural aspects in roleplay, etc.)

3. Are there any patterns in making your OCs? Are there certain traits that you may or may not see in yourself that you often include in your character design?


As for my personal responses…
1. I’ll admit I mostly make OCs with traits I can relate to in some way. Also the colors pink, red, or yellow; which I often dye my hair with. Looking down my character roster, I don’t really have any evil characters either. Even if it’s in a roleplay, I don’t like feeling mean. Even chaotic neutral type characters end up good in the end cause I roleplay like a wimp. :*)

2. I think it’s very important. Most, maybe with one or two exceptions, of my characters are gay in some way shape or form. Couple of gender neutral characters in there too. I guess it’s what I know, and how I know how to behave according to these community norms, and it reflects in my roleplaying. And most dominantly, in my main characters, it reflects myself, and who I am. Even if it’s not… fully realistic (even though there are several examples of Big Gay in nature but thats a discussion for another day), it’s fun, and it’s for a silly online animal game. Does it really matter?

3. Definitely… as I mentioned a bit before, I roleplay and make my characters based on what I know a lot. It might be more of a way to fill paragraphs, but it’s been brought to my attention that I roleplay a lot of secondary motions whenever my character does something. Like an ear twitch or tail flick, or stuff like that. I guess I can relate to that… a lot. And again, colors. I like warm colors and make my characters with that in mind a lot of the time.

[Valar.Morghulis]

I don't really look at anything when creating my characters. I just do whatever I imagine.
As for the "gothic" part, I don't agree with you on this one.
I have a few black characters but that doesn't mean that they're gothic or grunge or whatever.
Also, I like to have a different variety of colored characters in my game. I have a few lionesses and a few wolves.
I do sometimes like to create realistic characters but I don't usually stuck with them for too long because I enjoy the more creative side of the game and character creation.
As for roleplays, I don't make characters that will "fit" in a specific group. I'm more of a "take it or leave it" kinda person.
I don't model my characters after myself, but I have actually tought about doing so.
I am currently in a process of creating a Game of Thrones character and I am waiting for a preset that I ordered for her to be made.
So she is in fact gonna be a human shaped in a wolf form.
As for the representation of the characters, I don't really mind. Most of these things are mentioned in characters Bio's.
As for my characters traits,I always make sure not to make them oversized. I don't want too big or too small characters.
I try to make females a bit smaller than males and just general things like that.
Also I almost always put eyes to the max size.
 

[Lucius]

1.Do you model your characters after yourself or your demographic in any way?

When an idea for a character manifests itself to me, I usually just go along with it. They could be similar to myself in some aspects, just as they could be the complete opposite. I could have created a realistic lion one day, only to create a magical sparklewolf the next day. My creation process is much more spontaneous than it is planned. The only time I sit down and meticulously build a character from the ground up is for my D&D campaigns.

I think that the only demographic traits that me and my characters share is that they're mostly male and gay.

And most of my characters aren't even human. If they're not animals, then they're either elves, or a completely different humanoid/non-humanoid species.

2. Do you believe that this form of representation in characters is important, even if unrealistic or impractical? (ex: gay/trans animals, cultural aspects in roleplay, etc.)

Personally, what's important for me is being able to somehow relate to the characters on an emotional level. This goes for both my own OCs and characters from games/books/movies, etc. A solid character with a well-thought out personality and a fleshed out backstory, as well as relatable flaws is definitely going to make me invested in their story. On the contrary, a flat character with little to no story and unrelatable behavior is the quickest way to bore me, regardless of whether or not they share all of my demographic traits.

If someone likes to incorporate culture and other aspects of themselves into their characters, then I say let them do it. If it makes them happy, I don't see a problem with it. I'm just saying that it's not the first thing I think about when making my own characters.

3. Are there any patterns in making your OCs? Are there certain traits that you may or may not see in yourself that you often include in your character design?

The only thing that comes to mind is that all my characters are male and usually gay, bisexual, or lack any kind of attraction to anyone. Besides that, I can't think of anything else. My OCs come in a whole slew of different personalities and appearances, from lawful good to chaotic evil. But I see small fragments of myself in them–and I can relate to them, despite the fact that they might be a fantasy wolf, or a realistic lion, or even a colorful demon.

[Valar.Morghulis]

1.Do you model your characters after yourself or your demographic in any way?

When an idea for a character manifests itself to me, I usually just go along with it. They could be similar to myself in some aspects, just as they could be the complete opposite. I could have created a realistic lion one day, only to create a magical sparklewolf the next day. My creation process is much more spontaneous than it is planned. The only time I sit down and meticulously build a character from the ground up is for my D&D campaigns.

I think that the only demographic traits that me and my characters share is that they're mostly male and gay.

And most of my characters aren't even human. If they're not animals, then they're either elves, or a completely different humanoid/non-humanoid species.

2. Do you believe that this form of representation in characters is important, even if unrealistic or impractical? (ex: gay/trans animals, cultural aspects in roleplay, etc.)

Personally, what's important for me is being able to somehow relate to the characters on an emotional level. This goes for both my own OCs and characters from games/books/movies, etc. A solid character with a well-thought out personality and a fleshed out backstory, as well as relatable flaws is definitely going to make me invested in their story. On the contrary, a flat character with little to no story and unrelatable behavior is the quickest way to bore me, regardless of whether or not they share all of my demographic traits.

If someone likes to incorporate culture and other aspects of themselves into their characters, then I say let them do it. If it makes them happy, I don't see a problem with it. I'm just saying that it's not the first thing I think about when making my own characters.

3. Are there any patterns in making your OCs? Are there certain traits that you may or may not see in yourself that you often include in your character design?

The only thing that comes to mind is that all my characters are male and usually gay, bisexual, or lack any kind of attraction to anyone. Besides that, I can't think of anything else. My OCs come in a whole slew of different personalities and appearances, from lawful good to chaotic evil. But I see small fragments of myself in them–and I can relate to them, despite the fact that they might be a fantasy wolf, or a realistic lion, or even a colorful demon.

Oh my God I cannot tell you enough how much I agree with the 2nd answer!
I always get bored when having characters without backstories and without any meaning to me.

[Jango_Fett]

apart from a few moral choices, most characters i've made don't reflect who i am as a person or the values i hold.



i kinda prefer to act out the story of someone else than just... an extension of myself.

[FlyingGrass]

I have created tons of dark characters and even evil characters, but I'm not gothic at all and never have been.

Answering question 1: I don't.

I don't try to make the gender of my characters match mine, I select gender based on what I feel suits the character's shape and colors, basically what gender the appearance of my character makes me think of.

As for personality, my characters don't always stick to a personality trait I have, though they might get a trait similar to a trait of mine, depends of if I feel like roleplaying as character with those personality traits. The finished appearance of my character also plays a role in how I decide how it should act.

I love acting whenever I roleplay, I enjoy creating something wildly weird to test my skills of being the opposite gender and/or opposite personality.

Answering question 2: I don't believe it's important at all, in fact I see it as a bit limiting to my creativity when my characters have to represent a part of me in some way. I grow more attached to any of my characters that aren't just animal versions of me. You'll see my personality in OOC talk, but you won't see much of my personality at all in my character's IC talk... Unless I forget the brackets around a OOC post.

I don't list the orientation of my characters, I never saw orientation as important to know. All my characters are straight, that could be the only way my characters resemble me.

Answering question 3: I don't believe I've carried a trait or slider setting to most characters I've created, I think the thing that a pattern is most evident in is giving the character something mysterious about it, such as a disguise it always wears, or it having a hidden talent in something, or an object it won't give up, or maybe it seldom shows up in certain places unless danger is creeping closer. My characters always have at least one strange feature or habit.I might have another look at this post later.

[Kastilla]

1.Do you model your characters after yourself or your demographic in any way?

I have only thoroughly modeled my fursona(s)/persona(s) after myself, and all other characters have a minimum number of traits they share with me; other traits are comprised of people I know personally/of, fictional characters, or basing them in psychology, biology, and different cultures. Usually, the colors can come from the seasons and what it looks like outside. I like neutral colors, but I also favor a light pink. Cuteness.

2. Do you believe that this form of representation in characters is important, even if unrealistic or impractical? (ex: gay/trans animals, cultural aspects in roleplay, etc.)

Well, you can always take the MarySue test. Every opinion is different, and not everyone is going to like the fact your character is based on nomadic natives or whatever. If it's important to you, and not a MarySue or a pitch-black demon named Death Dog, that's all the matters. There are animals that illustrate homosexuality, so it isn't as abstract as some may say it to be. Cultural aspects isn't unrealistic either, mind you? Wolves have the famous pack mentality, which is what the Native Americans based their own families on. Ah, it's whatever really. You just need to be mindful on what is socially acceptable and start from there.

3. Are there any patterns in making your OCs? Are there certain traits that you may or may not see in yourself that you often include in your character design?

They all seem to start as a sketch or a random appearance in a dream. Most of my characters either start having a dark chestnut coloring to them, or grow to have some shade of brown in them. Maybe that is because I have brown hair in really life? Though, I also favor the blonde shades and mix the two. There is something awfully aesthetic to me when I see a nice earthy-colored character, whether that is a pale blonde wolf or a dark bay horse. Blue, pale, and odd-colored eyes are a common theme. Often I use white, gold, and even shades of red/magenta for the eyes. Eyes are a very important part of my characters as they, of course, draw the most attention. They hold all the emotion, even if they are closed. I often place eye markings around their eyes, whether that is a random tint or shade, or a subtle dot like German Shepherds have. Beauty marks, I suppose you could call them.

Good discussion, ayee~

[turtlies]

1.Do you model your characters after yourself or your demographic in any way?

I'd say so, yes. Though I like to keep my characters varied with all different personalities, backgrounds, and motivations, there's still certain types of characters I like to roleplay most that usually relate to my own personality in some way, albeit exaggerated. A lot of my characters tend to have the same reoccurring traits, abilities, etc. that I feel most comfortable or interested in roleplaying.

2. Do you believe that this form of representation in characters is important, even if unrealistic or impractical? (ex: gay/trans animals, cultural aspects in roleplay, etc.)

Totally. I used to be way more 'uppity' about realistic roleplaying (in terms of character behaviors, backstories, group ranks, etc.), but I've pretty much realized that "hey, im roleplaying a talking dog on a furry animal game, maybe realism isn't that important". Nothing against anyone who does enjoy roleplaying more realistically, of course, but I personally quite enjoy unrealistic characters and stories---I care more about if I'm having fun rather than being a model wolf expert, though obviously for others the fun DOES come from realism, but that's just not my style, I suppose.

And also, as a transguy who's spent a lot of time trying to figure out my exact identity, LGBTQ+ representation tends to be pretty important to me, and it shows in my characters. The majority of my main characters are either non-binary, bi/pan, ace, etc. It helps me relate more to these characters on a personal level as someone who's apart of that community. It's a bit hurtful for me when people might try to prevent me from having LGBTQ+ characters on the basis of 'realism', since it's a pretty important part of my own identity, and that sort of extends to my own characters.  Though I guess I might be getting off on a tangent here lol

3. Are there any patterns in making your OCs? Are there certain traits that you may or may not see in yourself that you often include in your character design?

Design-wise, most of my characters are usually smaller and nimble, and my color palettes usually consist of "white/tan - brown - darker brown". Though I also love bright colored markings against naturalistic colors---like bright yellow markings on a brown body, or green markings on a grey body. I've noticed I tend to have a lot of green-eyed characters, as well, though I also really enjoy completely pupiless eyes for my more 'mystical' characters. As mentioned before, most of my characters are LGBTQ+, and I've noticed I tend to roleplay females or non-binary characters more than males. I like angry, edgy characters a little more than happy bubbly characters---I find more cynical and pessimistic characters to be a bit easier to roleplay (hopefully im not coming off as suprz edgiz here lmao).

Interesting topic! Might edit my response up a bit later when I'm less tired

[LaughingWolf]

1.Do you model your characters after yourself or your demographic in any way?

Sometimes; depends on what the character is being used for, or where they stand in the hierarchy. Making an alpha-personality loner, or a shy low-ranking female, etc. It depends on the context for some. For others, like my more long-standing characters, they're who they developed into through the roleplay(s), and the events within, give or take an appropriate backstory (which I enjoy creating, lol)

2. Do you believe that this form of representation in characters is important, even if unrealistic or impractical? (ex: gay/trans animals, cultural aspects in roleplay, etc.)

It can be for some people, but for me, a character is not me. I have a clear difference between the two in my head when I'm roleplaying, so though I have some similarities to how I approach things as my character might sometimes; and others it'll be entirely 180-degrees different from how I would do something, for example.

I think a lot of people can't always separate their characters from themselves when rp'ing, and it leaves a bit of a problem when there is conflict in or out of the rp when someone feels like they're being 'attacked' by another person/character, when it's about what the character did, not what the person did, or sadly, vice versa, and that's where a lot of OOC "drama" comes from, that blurring of lines.

3. Are there any patterns in making your OCs? Are there certain traits that you may or may not see in yourself that you often include in your character design?

Character-wise, I tend to use male characters, though I am female, myself. No, I'm not gay or bi, or anything like that, it's just a preference I fell into once I started rping on a regular basis. Usually my characters are on the large side, whether female or male unless sizing is required by the roleplay, and even then I like to be on the large side of that scale. I am not large, nor am I male, so that'd be counted as antithesis of myself. lol

I generally rp in realistic/semi-realistic groups, so my presets/designs tend to lean that way. I have been in a couple fantasy-type groups where I'm able to have a bit of fun with design though. (if you're curious, I have them on my dA page - linked in signature). I favor darker colors for the most part when it comes to canines, and for felines it depends on what species or setting they live in or are from back-story wise.

Personality-wise, I tend to have confident (sometimes overly-so) loner-type males that have an odd sense of humor to make them interesting. Either that or they're quiet, closed off, observant (which is much more my own personality), and have issues becoming friends with others easily. Again, a lot depends on the backstory that I write for them. No, not all of them have the standard-issue sob-story. lol; one or two of them have [bleep]near novellas though. lol

[Michen_S]

This is interesting, so here's my contribution!

1.Do you model your characters after yourself or your demographic in any way?

Well, yes! Though it didn't start out as that, I slowly started to make Michen more and more my best attempt to answer the following question:
"If I transformed into a feral snow leopard that could talk, and kept my human intelligence, what would my personality be?"
...Turns out, it's pretty darn difficult. But I have a few good leads I can use, and I've tried to see how everything works together. Still in progress (though I think it'll never stop the way it's going now)!

As for Zila and a few other character ideas I had... Zila and the upcoming character are a small part of me. Whereas Zila represents a bit how I was in the past, the upcoming character in a way represents my wish for the future. However, those things are much harder to pluck out than Michen. As for the other characters I had in mind to develop... There is little to no corelation with me. Except a possible Pokémon character...

2. Do you believe that this form of representation in characters is important, even if unrealistic or impractical? (ex: gay/trans animals, cultural aspects in roleplay, etc.)

Mmh... I daresay in a sense that animals do have cultures, they're just different from human ones. I also think animals do, to a certain degree, already deviate from the human 'standard' of straightness. But back on track...

Though it is not really necessary, using a group of people or yourself to make a character can give more inspiration to make a character. On top of that, it can help with representation towards others and make the character feel more like 'you' to yourself. Of couse there can be a variety of reasons behind representing yourself in a character and how you incorporate that. Like, a part of the reason I made Michen sexless (neither male nor female) is because I don't like the binary gender system and the stereotypes attached to it. If you keep that in mind, representing a group of people or yourself in your OC is as important as the creator of said OC wants it to be.

3. Are there any patterns in making your OCs? Are there certain traits that you may or may not see in yourself that you often include in your character design?

- I want the characters I make to stick close to the palette of coloursand their pattern of their natural/canon counterpart. Of course I can change it a little bit to make the characters more unique (eye colour, special markings, slight fur colour change), but generally I stick to what I know and love. This rule has one planned exception.
- All characters are based on animals or anthros, with the exeption of one possible Pokémon character. I'm a furry and I can get along with animals fairly well, so this was to be expected. Oh, and I just like Pokémon so I couldn't resist planning to make one. Sue me.
- Since 2016 all characters I wanted to make from then on had sexuality set to not given or not applicable. Even Michen's asexuality fell in that progress. It never was of much importance and nowadays I rather stay away from that in my RPs. As result this point will not have any exceptions for my characters.