Something I've noticed about fursonas (especially fursuit performances)

[Calemeyr]

I've noticed for many fursonas (especially those in fursuit performances) that people don't really have a character. It's usually design that takes the place of character. If there is a character, it usually completely clashes with the design.

Fursuit performances are especially guilty of this. Many suiters seem take their inspiration from animals instead of cartoons. You'll see people bark or beg like a dog. Or they'll act "cute" like some animal sidekick even though they're a 6 foot man wearing a carpet with no padding.

If they do go for "anthro characteristics" they act like obnoxious brats, "lolrandom" I guess. I don't remember Bugs Bunny acting like a lobotomized chimpanzee.

The rest act like emotionless zombies. Some may have a neon mohawk, but there is no performance. No character, just design. Their fursona might be interesting, but they might not know how to bring it out because they're boring people. On the other hand, their sona is probably just as boring as their performance.

"Oh I'm a fox tax broker. I just live my life." Uh huh...that might be the height of excitement for you, but that just sounds really boring to me. Why not be a medieval apothecarist? Maybe you hunt witches! How about a gruff auto mechanic? If you want to be a tax broker, go ahead, but wouldn't it be more fun to step out of your day job?

Other times furries will inject too much into their fursonas and end up with the usual deviantart mary sue powers, but again, nothing to describe their actual character. Just lots of belts and neon stripes. And sonic OCs. Design and powers do not make character, but it seems many furries believe that. Must have played the new Final Fantasies too much. I mean, what's the character's favorite food? Movie? How do they react in x situation?

There are exceptions, of course, but it seems that they get overlooked a lot, and are pretty much non-existant in fursuit performances. The fandom pays too much attention to design and not enough on performance. Must be the porn culture.

You would expect a majority of fursonas to be inspired off cartoons or comics as this is the anthro animal fandom, but it seems the only inspiration furries take is the appearance. There really isn't a character. I mean, I get avatars, not much thought is put into them, but we don't care. We just pretend to be a fox and that's it. But you see so many characters that are intended to be full-blown sonas...and there's nothing there. It's almost as if they've made the character design soley to impress other people and get popular.

Are furries really this uncreative and boring? Have they even watched stuff like Looney Tunes? How about movies? Read books? Anything? It's like as a fandom we have no idea what an anthro animal actually is, even though that's the whole damn point of our fandom.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Calemeyr

[Nova]

I noticed that too, THEY DONT ACT NEARLY LIKE THEIR FURSONA  in their suits.

Why do they even have a suit when failing to use it right.

 

[willow]

some people are more invested in this fandom than others.

that's..really it.

Edit: I compare fursuiting a lot to cosplaying. some people go all out and actually act like the character they're dressed as while other just want to wear the costume but they'll still act like themselves. it's not like we're professionals or anything lol

Edited December 12, 2015 by willow

[Calemeyr]

6 minutes ago, willow said:

some people are more invested in this fandom than others.

that's..really it.

 

Maybe, but I've seen people who seem to be pretty deep into the fandom still fall into these trappings. 

As for the cosplay bit, yeah, I see that. It's just that watching fursuit parades...it's realy boring. Hardly anyone is trying.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Calemeyr

[Vallium]

If I had a fursuit I kind of wanted a partial so I could be all done up in some medieval outfit with a cape and sword and leather.

Though really, most people just go as themselves. You miss the point of fursonas...its just self expression and most go to have fun as themselves in suit, and most people want to take it as a chance to act like a dog, because there's hardly that chance to do so when they always are a human.

[Hewge]

I feel like half the people that want a fursuit don't even know why they want one in the first place :u

[Calemeyr]

4 minutes ago, Hewge said:

I feel like half the people that want a fursuit don't even know why they want one in the first place :u

They want to be popufurs like telephone. That's why they act cute in suit while not having the right proportions, scaring @PastryOfApathy to death.

@WolfNightV4X1 that makes sense, but the acting like a dog bit...when your suit is a plantigrade anthro suit, it just looks weird. I get costs and all, but the taller the suiter is, the less it works. I mean, could you imagine Pluto being cosplayed by a 6 foot two man? It wouldn't work. It's kinda creepy, honestly.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Calemeyr

[willow]

4 minutes ago, Calemeyr said:

Maybe, but I've seen people who seem to be pretty deep into the fandom still fall into these trappings. 

As for the cosplay bit, yeah, I see that. It's just that watching fursuit parades...it's realy boring. Hardly anyone is trying.

I think you're looking too deeply into this lol

granted I've yet to make it to a con but I'm pretty sure the point of parades is to just show off your suit. aside from that, cons aren't solely about performing or being interesting or whatever. some people just wanna dress up as their characters and have fun.

[Calemeyr]

Just now, willow said:

I think you're looking too deeply into this lol

granted I've yet to make it to a con but I'm pretty sure the point of parades is to just show off your suit. aside from that, cons aren't solely about performing or being interesting or whatever. some people just wanna dress up as their characters and have fun.

You're probably right, yeah. I think I've watched too many suit parades, so the "magic" isn't really there anymore and it takes more to excite me. Must be all the dog suits, lol.

[PastryOfApathy]

That's because 99% of the time, 'fursonas' personalities are literally just them since they're just a run-of-the-mill self-insert. Then the problem comes with the fact that it's hard to properly express being an angry spiteful neckbeard without talking inside a giant carpet so you just come off as not having any kind of personality.

Now stop being a bully @Calemeyr.

[MissFleece]

If people pay thousands of dollars for something, its their right to make their character act however the fuck they want. It doesn't really matter if it's "interesting" to you, its their character. If you want something interesting, make one yourself. 

[Vae]

I was under the impression that the majority of fursonas were the creator, or some expression of the creator, with colorful animal packaging slapped on.
Not some bullshit attempt at breaking into the world of theatrics.

What you're doing is akin to going "WHY AREN'T YOU PLAYING A SPORT? YOU'RE BORING." at someone for wearing tennisshoes.
 

[Calemeyr]

3 hours ago, Vae said:

I was under the impression that the majority of fursonas were the creator, or some expression of the creator, with colorful animal packaging slapped on.
Not some bullshit attempt at breaking into the world of theatrics.

What you're doing is akin to going "WHY AREN'T YOU PLAYING A SPORT? YOU'RE BORING." at someone for wearing tennisshoes.
 

Well actually, it would be like someone buying really expensive tennis shoes designed specifically for sports and not doing anything with them. It seems like a waste of money to buy a fursuit and not do much with it besides hang around. But hey, it's their money, whatever makes them happy. Still doesn't make much sense though.

I get that fursonas reflect the creator. And that's great...but for some reason it doesn't translate well into fursuit form.  

And don't act all high and mighty here when I bet all of you go bashing Sonic recolors and sparkledogs. I mean, there's another thread that's criticizing fursonas on this same page. And a lot of those are what I'm talking about.

 

[Azu]

If I ever managed to get a suit of my lizard, I wouldn't act much differently than I do in real life. That's just how I picture him - an alternate reflection of myself in which he's literally just a lizard. I imagine a lot of other people feel similarly towards their characters.

[Kaizan]

I making a suit right now because I like making things. I dont think ill wear it a bunch or be super excited/crazy or have a super in depth character when I'm wearing it. So maybe some of the less excited characters come from people who were more interested in building a costume than wearing it.

[Calemeyr]

10 minutes ago, Azurex said:

If I ever managed to get a suit of my lizard, I wouldn't act much differently than I do in real life. That's just how I picture him - an alternate reflection of myself in which he's literally just a lizard. I imagine a lot of other people feel similarly towards their characters.

It might just me being grumpy from seeing too many similar looking suits and sonas...but I'd love to see a lizard suit!

What I should clarify (I didnnt say it very well), is that I've seen a lot of sonas and suits that use design as a stand in for character. They aren't being themselves, rather they want to be some very flashy colorful radioactive animal to get attention, and I see this so much that I just want to see a standard fox once in a while. Furries are so scared of being unoriginal that they end up being unoriginal with their designs.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Calemeyr

[grassfed]

12 hours ago, Kaizan said:

I making a suit right now because I like making things. I dont think ill wear it a bunch or be super excited/crazy or have a super in depth character when I'm wearing it. So maybe some of the less excited characters come from people who were more interested in building a costume than wearing it.

How's that coming along, by the way??

[Valery91Thunder]

Like others have said, most of the times one's fursona reflects their personalities and habits, regardless on what their appeareance may be, so yeah, for example, a wolf covered in biohazard symbols still manages to be a regular guy; he's just born with it for some reason.

I also think that in most cases, fursuiters prefer to show off the costume itself rather than the character that is representing, especially when they've purchased it from a famous manifacturer. With this point of view, it comes natural to think that they act as neutral as possible, like, you know, mannequins.

 

And lastly, I've seen people in fursuit "act": I managed to sit through the whole Bitter Lake thing because I reviewed it for an old forum. They didn't look natural at all.

[Caledonian]

i met someone in a cat fursuit actually asking for catfood at a chipshop. 0_õ

furthermore, I don't have a fursuit but when dressing up as my steamsona I try to keep my supposed personality in mind...and some things I do without noticing. i walk more straight up, greet people in traditional ways, tap my hat in salutations... just little things that make you more believable as a character.

[Kaizan]

12 hours ago, grassfed said:

How's that coming along, by the way??

Not great  schools taking up most of my time. I always post if I make any progress though so keep your eyes open

[Calemeyr]

@Valery91Thunderwhen I say fursuit acting, I mean like theme park mascots. Pluto and Mickey Mouse and Tigger all have different acts, so why do furries just stand there like statues and occasionally wave? It's as if they become shier in suit! The other popular act is to be bouncy and cute, because that's what the popular suiters do and of course, being a furry is all about trying to become popular instead of being yourself.

I have heard a good argument that sometimes suiters are showing off their costume rather than a performance. If it's a good looking costume, yeah, I can see that. Still, I would take a suiter like Yippee Coyote over some sparkly popufur suit any day.

Bitter Lake is just some sperglord's attempt at combining GoT with furry.

To be honest, fursuit performances should stay in the realm of cartoons. When you have stuff (any stuff really) made by EZ wolf, or that crap like "all the single furries", it really makes the fandom look bad. Well, it probably can't make the image worse than it already is, but still...so much cringe.

[Troj]

EZ's a good cinematographer, but doesn't have a knack for things like pacing, characterization, and plot, and tends to overestimate how sexy or cool a video will be just by virtue of having good-looking fursuiters or interesting locations.

His Stay As You Are video was absolutely wonderful.

Bitter Lake had pretty locales, awesome fursuits, good voice-acting, and good cinematography, but was weighted down by a cliched plot, a rushed ending, and turgid, exposition-y dialogue.

All the Single Furries is a violation of the Geneva Protocol.

Many of his other videos are beautifully shot and have an interesting concept behind them, but the plots and characters tend to be rather cliched, and I notice that the camera tends to either linger on or repeat images to point where it gets boring, or the fursuiter starts to look fake or creepy.

For instance, the Radioactive music video had a nice concept and was set in an interesting location, but I think that fursuiter was the wrong one for the job, so to speak. He didn't fit in the post-apocalyptic landscape with his cutesy-toony look and jaunty, cheery walk.

 

[Zeke]

35 minutes ago, Troj said:

EZ's a good cinematographer, but doesn't have a knack for things like pacing, characterization, and plot, and tends to overestimate how sexy or cool a video will be just by virtue of having good-looking fursuiters or interesting locations.

His Stay As You Are video was absolutely wonderful.

Bitter Lake had pretty locales, awesome fursuits, good voice-acting, and good cinematography, but was weighted down by a cliched plot, a rushed ending, and turgid, exposition-y dialogue.

All the Single Furries is a violation of the Geneva Protocol.

Many of his other videos are beautifully shot and have an interesting concept behind them, but the plots and characters tend to be rather cliched, and I notice that the camera tends to either linger on or repeat images to point where it gets boring, or the fursuiter starts to look fake or creepy.

For instance, the Radioactive music video had a nice concept and was set in an interesting location, but I think that fursuiter was the wrong one for the job, so to speak. He didn't fit in the post-apocalyptic landscape with his cutesy-toony look and jaunty, cheery walk.

 

What about Room 366?

3 hours ago, Calemeyr said:

@Valery91Thunderwhen I say fursuit acting, I mean like theme park mascots. Pluto and Mickey Mouse and Tigger all have different acts, so why do furries just stand there like statues and occasionally wave? It's as if they become shier in suit! The other popular act is to be bouncy and cute, because that's what the popular suiters do and of course, being a furry is all about trying to become popular instead of being yourself.

 

The easiest thing to say is that they do not know how to interact in it.  They either treat it as a badge of "respect" and wealth (depending on the maker), or they haven't figured out the first thing about doing something in it. 

However, there are characters that are established as so saccharine that they act all bouncy and cutest until you want to punch hem in the mouth, or edge lord assholes....or drinking until they passed out until a paramedic ha to cut them out of it.

[Troj]

Oh yeah, thank you---the OTHER problem with EZ is that either Europeans are just more liberal than Americans, or EZ in particular just doesn't have good judgment from *my* POV when it comes to including sexuality in his stuff, or both.

So, that includes Room 366, All the Single Furries, and a few of his other videos. Even the I Wanna Make You Sweat dance video feels uncomfortably quasi-sexual to me.

Baby, It's Cold Outside just skirts that line, and manages to fall enough on the side of just being cute. I like that video.

The first time I saw Room 366, it made me incredibly uncomfortable. I've since made my peace with it, BUT I still wouldn't run around showing it to people by any means.

When I want to refer people to furry videos, I recommend a veritable laundry list of furry filmographers before I even consider suggesting EZ, due to these issues.

Oh, and when it comes to fursuiters--back to the topic at hand--I'm disappointed by the folks who just stand around like regular people and do nothing, and annoyed by the people who think having  squeaker counts as characterization. I also notice when someone appears to be trying too hard to be a character that just isn't "them," and whose head- and body-space they just can't enter.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Troj

[Valery91Thunder]

42 minutes ago, Zeke said:

The easiest thing to say is that they do not know how to interact in it.  They either treat it as a badge of "respect" and wealth (depending on the maker), or they haven't figured out the first thing about doing something in it.

My point exactly: for them, you're supposed to admire at how the suit itself is made, not at how the character would behave. They're fashion models.

At this point, it's funny to think how the "ruining the magic" situation may shift in its significance, because hey, you don't go to a fashion show to see the models taking off their clothes: you're there to see the dress!

1 hour ago, Troj said:

EZ's a good cinematographer, but doesn't have a knack for things like pacing, characterization, and plot, and tends to overestimate how sexy or cool a video will be just by virtue of having good-looking fursuiters or interesting locations.

Bitter Lake had pretty locales, awesome fursuits, good voice-acting, and good cinematography, but was weighted down by a cliched plot, a rushed ending, and turgid, exposition-y dialogue.

I always thought that Bitter Lake should have used at least some minimum of animatronic technology for the characters' heads, even if only for the eye blinks and eyelid/eyebrow movements to show different arrays of expressions: it wouldn't have saved the whole movie, but it would have been a lot less awkward.
To be honest, considering the photography and everything, Bitter Lake could have been released just as a slideshow or a comic made with real-life pictures, leaving the viewer to imagine the character's emotions. What I'm trying to convey is that the suits and everything were indeed pretty nice, but looked lifeless even with a person moving inside it.

This may also look like nitpicking to others, but I distinctly remember a battle scene towards the end, taking place in a room with chains hanging from the ceiling: in one particular shot, a character (I think it was the wolf?) accidentally bumps with its muzzle against a chain and, well... it obviously looked way too plastic-y, lifeless and fake, spoiling the whole thing. It's a detail, but it's the part where it mostly showed how unexpressive the costumes were.
When a director decides to use special effects, and especially the analogic ones (and costumes fall in that category), they must make sure they look believable, at least.

[Zeke]

33 minutes ago, Troj said:

 

Oh, and when it comes to fursuiters--back to the topic at hand--I'm disappointed by the folks who just stand around like regular people and do nothing, and annoyed by the people who think having  squeaker counts as characterization. I also notice when someone appears to be trying too hard to be a character that just isn't "them," and whose head- and body-space they just can't enter.

As a cosplayer, it's aggravating trying to interact with suiters who have no idea how to establish themselves as a "Character". A librarian werewolf is pretty to do since I do it at work as well with my own personal suit; tell stories, hand out book marks and other library things, educate and inform, and tell people to "Support your local library". A punk werewolf is pretty simple to do as well. I also think it's a lack of social interaction knowledge...like people may make fun of them for it.

When people create a character, there's no sense of roleplaying...or at least an effort to in a general sense. If you create a ursine that's a musician, play the part of a musician; same goes for being a furry Assassin's creed character. 

 

[Lopori]

My fursona is basically me, as is the way with many fursonas but there are some characteristics that are distinctly hers. She's feral for one, also had a background in ape language studies so talks via a lexigram and also really likes ravey things like glowsticks and trance music. If I were to finally afford a suit I would try to incorporate some of that character into it while still keeping my base personality, depending on how brave I was feeling. I'd probably carry a big laminated print-out of the lexigram or talk with the app or something, wear a few glowsticks and whistles and that.

I quite like the idea of fursuiters getting into character and being sorta theatrical about it, it shouldn't be too hard considering your true identity is hidden. But what always puts me off is the whole cutesy act, no matter what the suit is they still act like slobbering retards being all LOL RANDUM and throwing plush cookies at eachother. 

Edited December 15, 2015 by Lopori

[Calemeyr]

On December 23, 2015 at 11:31 AM, Rhíulchabán said:

Coming from a heavy Tabletop Roleplaying background, I have to agree with many of the folks in this thread. Although I see nothing wrong with just "being yourself in a fursuit," I would have much more fun playing a full character or watching someone playing a full character.

Actually, most of the time, they aren't even playing themselves--you'll see suiting vids and there is absolutely no character whatsoever. They act like store mascots, just standing there and waving, and occasionally acting cute. I don't think people act like that in real life, unless they're really boring people.

[Muugu]

Noticed this too. Most of the time it strikes me as if fursonas were a race that whomever had the most original one won. For example wolves are popular. Wolves are cool don't get me wrong, but so many in all the colors of the rainbow trying to bring something new to the table is just plain boring. Then with their new rainbow colored foxwolves with biohazard tattoos and scars out the ass make a suit out of it and prance about showing how unique they are, but they utterly fail to bring the character out and come across as stale run of the mill sonas. 

I don't have anything against colorful and vivid fursonas, I quite like them. But when you're so out of touch standing still and waving awkwardly in your super raver character suit it comes off as real cringeworthy imo.

[Derin Darkpaw]

So I am hearing a lot of examples of negative fursuit performance what are some tips you can give to help improve one's performance.  I am pretty new to it myself and would love to get some advice.

[Troj]

1) Film yourself making different gestures and movements while in suit, so that you can watch the footage and see yourself from different angles, and begin to think how you might make different kinds of facial expressions, or convey different emotions.

2) To create the illusion of blinking, turn or cock your head about every 10 seconds, so that onlookers don't feel "stared at."

3) Remember to move, move, move! Even subtle movements are fine. Standing still for too long strikes most people as creepy.

4) Mind your gait, and consider how you might create a unique walking style that fits your character. For me, seeing fursuiters just walk like regular people usually damages the magic for me. Pay attention to how Telephone walks, for example.