So every once in a while, I get questions about why some of my characters have certain physical traits even if it's not typical of their breed, or how to convey differences in breeds, or how to draw two characters of the same breed or species and make them look different without just changing markings or eye color or some shit like that.

Bearing that in mind, I drew some quick flat colored headshots of some of the main players in my feral work/storyline as examples. So let's go over this.

-There are only TWO WOLVES on this piece of paper. Two wolves. The male at the bottom lefthand corner is not a wolf but a GSD mix. It seems to be an epidemic in this fandom to draw wolves, huskies, coyotes, GSDs, and other similar "wolfy" breeds the same way. Pull up some pictures of wolves and GSDs. They are not as similar as you'd think. That would be step one. Not everything looks like a wolf.

-When you want to make a character that is more than just a background/extra/walk on role type character, you're going to want to find a happy medium between adhering to breed or species traits and giving the character some personality and unique physical traits. I suggest going between real life pictures of the animal you want the character to be and maybe looking at pictures of people who remind you of the kind of "person" you want the character to be. Expressions and even some physical traits will show through that you can assimilate into your design. HAVING A MAKE UP MIRROR ON HAND FOR OBSERVING YOUR OWN EXPRESSIONS IS ALSO HELPFUL. Especially if you're designing a personal or main character.

So, let's go through these guys, row one on the left from top to bottom and then row two, and we'll see why certain things were picked up from their breeds, why certain things were ignored, and why some other traits were simply added.

1. Wielder- My flagship/main/FURSONA character. Half Eastern Timber Wolf/Half American Gray Wolf. Normally I just describe her as an Eastern Timber because writing all that shit out is problematic sometimes. Anyway, first off, she's a fucking wolf with bangs. Y, WIELDER, Y? Well, she's my main character, and she's primarily based off of me. My hair is very similar, it's kind of a trademark, and it's something that instantly links her to me in my art. She also has my eye color and most of her expressions are pulled directly from my own. I have had many people ask me why her ears are usually larger than a normal gray wolf's, and that's because she is part Eastern Timber, and if you research their lines, coyote runs through their bloodlines. I come from the Southeastern US, and coyotes are part and parcel of living here, so, in a way, including that in her design speaks to my own heritage and makes her unique. Look at the differences between her and the wolf, Kole, whose headshot is beside her. Though they are both wolves, Kole is much more indicative of a normal wolf. More on him later.

2. Ben/feral ObiWanz- Maremma/Rough Collie mix. Again with the hair on dogz, Wielder. Well, that is simply carried over from his anthro design, and everyone likes the Jedi Mullet, so, why not? Out of all of the dogs on this page, his design is actually probably the most exaggerated considering his breeds. When you're working with a mutt, you obviously have a bigger pool of traits to pull from. When originally designing Obi-Wan Dogobi, I picked a collie because I figured it fit with Ewan McGregor's heritage and some of his facial features would translate well to that breed. However, collies are very sharp featured, so I needed to add something else in there that would soften up those features so that it would fit. Maremma was added to do that and because they are flock guardians which just fit the character. Most of Ben/Obi's features are more reminiscent of his collie father than his maremma mother, but they are softer and less angular. As for facial features, this is a prime example of how you can combine an animal's features and look at a human's as well to make the kind of character you want. Plus it gives me an excuse to look up cute pictures of Ewan McGregor...

3. Khan- German Shepherd Dog/Shiloh Shepherd Mix. NOT A FUCKING WOLF. Like I said in the beginning. You can draw a wolfy breed without drawing a wolf with funky markings. Number one, his ears are shaped differently. Contrary to popular belief, wolves do not have sharp ears. While triangular, they are actually quite rounded and set lower on the head than those of wolfy breeds such as shepherds. Also, shepherds have very distinctive muzzles that usually slope differently than those of wolves. Now, Khan's muzzle is slightly modified as is his jawline to give him a bit of personality. He is an alpha male, so I wanted him to have strong features, and, in American animation at least, giving a character a squarish jawline and and a strong profile immediately conveys a sense of power and respect. It's a tried and true rule of thumb, a stereotypical one to fall back on, but one that works well. On to row two...

4. Kole- American Gray Wolf. Kole is much more typical in design of a "normal" wolf than Wielder is, but he still has some unique design features. He is based off of a dear friend, so he has his eye color, hints of his hair color, and the cuddly soft features of the person he's based off of. While I wanted him to be a strong character, I wanted him to be more of a quietly strong character, so many of the lines that are used in his design are flowing and curved whereas the lines that define Khan are sharp and abrupt as he is a much more "A" type personality than Kole is. REMEMBER THAT LINES HAVE CHARACTER. The energy and weight of the lines you put down on your paper will say something to your viewer.

5. Dai- Bernese Mountain Dog. Everyone's favorite snarky asshole. Also based on a real life friend, Dai is another dog with My Little Pony hair. Why? He's a pretty boy, a womanizer, and a flirt, that's why. Again with physical stereotypes. Dai's breed is much different from the other ones here as his breed is more Mastiff like and less wolfy so we're working with a different muzzle shape and even nose shape altogether. Something that seems to plague the furry fandom is breed differentiation. Again, look at pictures. You shouldn't have to depend on markings alone to tell the difference between a Bernese Mtn Dog and a wolf. Anyway, he's pretty. Enjoy him.

6. Skye- Saluki. Alright, this girl has certainly gone through some changes in design, but there are some things that have remained the same. Sighthounds are a VERY specialized group of dogs and show some pretty major differences from their other canine cousins. It is a part of my style to usually draw large eyes, but Skye's are exceptionally large as it would be a part of her breed. Her eyes also speak to her Middle Eastern heritage in their color (think the famous photography of the Middle Eastern girl from the cover of the popular National Geographic magazine), and the heavy "eyeliner". Middle Eastern women typically just have the most gorgeous eyes, in my opinion, and I wanted to share that in her design. Skye's nose is completely shaped different from the others to highlight the length of her muzzle. Tried as I might to make her muzzle as long and curved as it should be to be a saluki's, I just couldn't do that and wind up with a CHARACTER design I liked. Sure, she looked like a saluki, but I didn't like how she looked as a character, so I used the shape of the nose to highlight the length of her muzzle which makes the muzzle appear a little longer without giving her a fucking needlenose.

I hope this helps a bit. If any of you have any further questions, you can leave them in the comments below, and I'll try to address them either with further doodles, a comment back, or maybe we can all have drawing time with Auntie Wieldurrrr and I'll give you all a feeble attempt and explaining something because...well even though I was an art education major at one time, I suck at teaching. Thank you all for all the kind comments, questions, and such you bestow upon me. I assure you they mean a lot.