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Ugh boy im working did this pic in just 2 days!
Anyone out there who wants pointers on how to draw otter furries? May I offer this visual guide? Now what do you really like? I spent the whole day trying to find attreactive and cute otter anthros on FA and it was a real struggle! Nothing seemed to capture the charm of otterdom. There has been a set of key style choices in drawing the faces of anthro otters and ive tried to categorize some of them here... and the thing is... i think these main styles are missing the pure essence that makes otters special over so many other furry animals. IDK why these looks became the 3 predominant ones but I want to really offer up a new change of pace to try and make something wonderful out of these mustelid furries! For real can i get an amen????
Aaaanyways, i aint trying to knock anyones style... welll..... :T ok maybe...
But i will acknowlege there is one or two artists out there who do it differently than the green checked otters here, but are awesome in their own way.... (Mao Otter i squeaks lots). And many of you other artists I'm whining about are fantastic visual artists in skill. But guy!! I want to see more cuties sooo bad! Im so bent on this I even canceled out the middle side profile because it was not good enough and redid it on to the right with as much perfection as I could!
So if u look these guys over and u love the green checked boys here, give em a try!!! It cant be just me who likes them... try and cut back on "is it a fox hybrid" faces and the cheese block jaws!
---
And ok sorry I klnow its a personal taste but fins look freaking bizzare on otter anthros! I mean an otter with a dophin tail fin couldnt even swim! CAuse the way a dolphin uses its tail is exclusively up and down and the otter tail is made for side to side and dynamic curves that a fin would totally make impossible! Its weird and aaaAAAGHH!!! *whines and falls on back and thows tantrum wiggling side to side angry squeak*
Anyone out there who wants pointers on how to draw otter furries? May I offer this visual guide? Now what do you really like? I spent the whole day trying to find attreactive and cute otter anthros on FA and it was a real struggle! Nothing seemed to capture the charm of otterdom. There has been a set of key style choices in drawing the faces of anthro otters and ive tried to categorize some of them here... and the thing is... i think these main styles are missing the pure essence that makes otters special over so many other furry animals. IDK why these looks became the 3 predominant ones but I want to really offer up a new change of pace to try and make something wonderful out of these mustelid furries! For real can i get an amen????
Aaaanyways, i aint trying to knock anyones style... welll..... :T ok maybe...
But i will acknowlege there is one or two artists out there who do it differently than the green checked otters here, but are awesome in their own way.... (Mao Otter i squeaks lots). And many of you other artists I'm whining about are fantastic visual artists in skill. But guy!! I want to see more cuties sooo bad! Im so bent on this I even canceled out the middle side profile because it was not good enough and redid it on to the right with as much perfection as I could!
So if u look these guys over and u love the green checked boys here, give em a try!!! It cant be just me who likes them... try and cut back on "is it a fox hybrid" faces and the cheese block jaws!
---
And ok sorry I klnow its a personal taste but fins look freaking bizzare on otter anthros! I mean an otter with a dophin tail fin couldnt even swim! CAuse the way a dolphin uses its tail is exclusively up and down and the otter tail is made for side to side and dynamic curves that a fin would totally make impossible! Its weird and aaaAAAGHH!!! *whines and falls on back and thows tantrum wiggling side to side angry squeak*
Category Artwork (Traditional) / Tutorials
Species Otter
Size 1280 x 992px
File Size 424.1 kB
Now you've got me wondering how my otter character stacks up!
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/28941499/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/29487909/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/30364819/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/29606008/
(He's at least part European otter, so differently shaped nose)
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/28941499/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/29487909/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/30364819/
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/29606008/
(He's at least part European otter, so differently shaped nose)
you have a lot of precision in your style of doing otters. and i liked yours more than others for sure... particularly Barry cause he is exactly like me back around 2010 when i was the prog rock fan with keith emerson hair and otter fursona working at a state park! So I do like yours, certainly much more than chad breh cheese wedge jaw guy! I will say though I do like to accentuate design a little bit more than you do when i draw my water woozles. my onl;y input would be youre forehead profiles are sometimes a little high for an otter and the years, especially with hair i doubt youd ever see since they are so darn tiny on otters. Most of how i built my style was from an obscure kids book i had at age 14 and then heighten its cartoonish detail with a few references to photos of otters. Your chars look like you use a LOT of direct input from photos of otters.
(warning major nerd out)
An interesting debate would be how can style play into design. Youre better than most ive seen out there because you do a lot of direct input from photos and you cater youre style to making them look like a precise blend of otter with human expressions. Most people leave a lot to individual style and i think you get the weird otters that make up most artowrk if you browse on FA. What i realized my otters here go for is some photo input but with more stylized cartoon accenting that emphasizes the known characteristics of otters (leathery nose, big snout, flat head, etc.) I also added uncharacteristic large eyes in order to make them more adorable... which is a hard balance when youre doing a flat head! Compare that to other artists who stylize strange features (big chin, square head, long mouth) areas that just arent part of otters design. I should note as a personal choice I also make the paws a little less webby and long than typical otters mainly due to the kids book artists who influenced my design.
I appreciate the comment a lot. I rarely ever get to chat with other fulltime artists let alone a famous one. most the people who ever reply to me are just fans and not creators. It would be cool to talk styles, techniques, etc with other artists once in a while!
And again yeah I have faved and saved a number of your otter pics! Yore definitely one of the good ones!
(warning major nerd out)
An interesting debate would be how can style play into design. Youre better than most ive seen out there because you do a lot of direct input from photos and you cater youre style to making them look like a precise blend of otter with human expressions. Most people leave a lot to individual style and i think you get the weird otters that make up most artowrk if you browse on FA. What i realized my otters here go for is some photo input but with more stylized cartoon accenting that emphasizes the known characteristics of otters (leathery nose, big snout, flat head, etc.) I also added uncharacteristic large eyes in order to make them more adorable... which is a hard balance when youre doing a flat head! Compare that to other artists who stylize strange features (big chin, square head, long mouth) areas that just arent part of otters design. I should note as a personal choice I also make the paws a little less webby and long than typical otters mainly due to the kids book artists who influenced my design.
I appreciate the comment a lot. I rarely ever get to chat with other fulltime artists let alone a famous one. most the people who ever reply to me are just fans and not creators. It would be cool to talk styles, techniques, etc with other artists once in a while!
And again yeah I have faved and saved a number of your otter pics! Yore definitely one of the good ones!
Thanks for the feedback! :) I do reference photos of otters for my characters (plus I've spent hours at various zoos and aquariums watching otters because they're so fun and adorable) - and yeah, the flat forehead is a feature of all mustelids since they don't really have a dip between their forehead and their muzzle, but I find that I have to make the forehead larger/higher to work well with the eyes, eyebrows, and human hair that I give them. Otherwise the hair would just completely cover their eyes, lol! But that's definitely a stylistic choice on my part and not very accurate for how they actually look. I'm curious about the kids' book that you're referring to, I'd love to see the art in it!
I think my biggest issue with the way many otters are drawn is the tendency to make them look too canine or feline like your second example. I see so many otters with large ears high up on the head, and/or big chins, which end up making them look feline. :(
I think my biggest issue with the way many otters are drawn is the tendency to make them look too canine or feline like your second example. I see so many otters with large ears high up on the head, and/or big chins, which end up making them look feline. :(
right. I figured your chars had the higher foreheads to go for the human expressions youre keen on in your art. I often dont even draw eyebrows on my chars! I also go for hair at times too, cause i have a major love affar for giving super long wavy feminine hair to my male chars, and thats something you also really dont expect on an otter. My solution is to just weigh the hair on the top down heavy and put the bounciness in the shoulders and neck area, though most my chars often have a lot of hair in their face compared to yours. the key i do is to have the eyes peeking out or to have it swept back a little. I really dont know how I do it but i have to do lots of adjustments often as i go. But yeah that is your style choice much as with mine here in this pic ive chosen to give a little bit of excessive cartoon cuteness to mine than go super realistic. like i dont straighten the brow of the nose as much as you would see in a real otter, which gives the muzzle and nose more pop. The books that inspired me... well there was a book called Honest Andrew that was my first intro to otters and got me started on the long physiques and huge tails and little stout limbs. Had that book when i was 7 or so. The other one.... well i kinda have plans of doing my own fanart of it, and ive not seen anyone else do any fan art of it. but the few people whom i showed it to have been totally blown away by its cuteness. I pretty much learned to draw furries by tracing all the books characters with tracing paper as a pre-teen so its very precious to me and really informed my style. And I want to be the one who tries and revive the book through my fandom and some more yiffy or kinky content of them! I gues I REALLY need to get started on that now.
Yeah I agree, the main thing I used to see all the time was otters that looked like dogs. Most often I remember them being done by talented commission artists that are very well known for canines and foxes (which everyone wants) and then are given an otter to do. Hence the reason my dog otter here is asking about his con badge! But now it seems the beach bum guy with the rad spiky hair and the giant chin and wedge face is a lot more common....
have u also seen the third one? the nondistinct otter thing? they kinda have an otter feel but they are all mostly vauge and suggestive, I think the one artist that comes to mind whose really made that style big is the controversial adam wan. hes kinda jumpstarted this whole scene of girl slut otters and all and ive been seeing more and more of other artists creating characters like his. it feels kinda weird. and though he is good at body design, his otters seem to have too many weird bits like how big their back legs are for a non anthro otter, the very stylized tails that just end in a point. and the softened muzzles. I expect there will be more of these in the scene. Which idk how i feel about that. Im all for porn and all... but jezz... his canines are freaking hogzillas (no pun intended) that look like growth hormone monsters. Far too big for a dog. And his otters are always so tan and small...
anyways lol this is fun to chat about.
Yeah I agree, the main thing I used to see all the time was otters that looked like dogs. Most often I remember them being done by talented commission artists that are very well known for canines and foxes (which everyone wants) and then are given an otter to do. Hence the reason my dog otter here is asking about his con badge! But now it seems the beach bum guy with the rad spiky hair and the giant chin and wedge face is a lot more common....
have u also seen the third one? the nondistinct otter thing? they kinda have an otter feel but they are all mostly vauge and suggestive, I think the one artist that comes to mind whose really made that style big is the controversial adam wan. hes kinda jumpstarted this whole scene of girl slut otters and all and ive been seeing more and more of other artists creating characters like his. it feels kinda weird. and though he is good at body design, his otters seem to have too many weird bits like how big their back legs are for a non anthro otter, the very stylized tails that just end in a point. and the softened muzzles. I expect there will be more of these in the scene. Which idk how i feel about that. Im all for porn and all... but jezz... his canines are freaking hogzillas (no pun intended) that look like growth hormone monsters. Far too big for a dog. And his otters are always so tan and small...
anyways lol this is fun to chat about.
I'll have to look for that Honest Andrew book - and what was the name of the other one? I'm always looking for books with cute otter illustrations (we have some at a local bookstore that really piss me off because the otter looks more like a beaver, even down to having friggin' BUCK TEETH...grrrr!!).
And yeah I'm very familiar with how Zaush draws otters (and other artists who have copied his style). :P Though those don't bother me nearly as much as the more common "big ears and/or giant chin" type that I see. I feel like the reduced muzzles are a bit more like Asian small-clawed otters. It is very odd that he makes them digitigrade though! :P (And while I think he's a very talented artist, I'm not a big fan of the body types he usually draws, especially the muscular canines you mention.)
Have you seen "The Willows in Winter" cartoon? I watched some version of it several years ago that had an otter, and I remember really liking the otter's face...but it's been a while so I don't know if I would still like it, since I've had much more experience with viewing and drawing otters since then. Some of my earlier drawings of otters, far back in my gallery here, are outright embarrassing, and I know I was definitely guilty of giving them big ears and weird muzzles when I first tried drawing them!
And yeah I'm very familiar with how Zaush draws otters (and other artists who have copied his style). :P Though those don't bother me nearly as much as the more common "big ears and/or giant chin" type that I see. I feel like the reduced muzzles are a bit more like Asian small-clawed otters. It is very odd that he makes them digitigrade though! :P (And while I think he's a very talented artist, I'm not a big fan of the body types he usually draws, especially the muscular canines you mention.)
Have you seen "The Willows in Winter" cartoon? I watched some version of it several years ago that had an otter, and I remember really liking the otter's face...but it's been a while so I don't know if I would still like it, since I've had much more experience with viewing and drawing otters since then. Some of my earlier drawings of otters, far back in my gallery here, are outright embarrassing, and I know I was definitely guilty of giving them big ears and weird muzzles when I first tried drawing them!
oh god yeah! i discovered the willows in winter when i found the tape at a thrift store and I was freaking blow away not only in the animation quality but also in the excellent beautiful writing and the performace of Rik Mayal whome I had never heard before. and their otters were amazing. its one of my most fav movies! its even better than the preceding wind in the willows cartoon and its a beautiful exploration of Britishness. All the way to Rat's fantasies of traveling the world, poetry, boatmanship, and dabbles in occult mysticism!
Yeah hair, zaush's otters and the other artists in the vein thaty do the soft design otters,,, theyre allight and better than the other two archetypes. but u know, the guy does have a not so good reputation so i kinda avoid his stuff, i have thought to venture on the themes of cuckold in furry art but have it be free of the problematic personal baggage that a lot of the famous artists that do that theme seem to have.... :/ but anyways dont wanna focus on that too much! lol i think his otters are just a little too zootopia in character... theyre way tiny and helpless and victimable or submissive even in their design. and though I do like a submissive otter, otters kinda have this inner heartiness and stout physical constitution that is lacking in his work. and theyre bigger too!
Yeah hair, zaush's otters and the other artists in the vein thaty do the soft design otters,,, theyre allight and better than the other two archetypes. but u know, the guy does have a not so good reputation so i kinda avoid his stuff, i have thought to venture on the themes of cuckold in furry art but have it be free of the problematic personal baggage that a lot of the famous artists that do that theme seem to have.... :/ but anyways dont wanna focus on that too much! lol i think his otters are just a little too zootopia in character... theyre way tiny and helpless and victimable or submissive even in their design. and though I do like a submissive otter, otters kinda have this inner heartiness and stout physical constitution that is lacking in his work. and theyre bigger too!
Beautiful work on this, and I agree that Otters are one of the most unique, Beautiful and often overlooked critters in the Fandom.
Another Truly Great Otter artist is
Flinters
They draw Remarkable and Absolutely Beautiful Otters also! (Plus they're Very sexy too!)
Another Truly Great Otter artist is
FlintersThey draw Remarkable and Absolutely Beautiful Otters also! (Plus they're Very sexy too!)
*goes to check out*
not bad! pretty good on the snout and all, though maybe a little bit more toony and not as tight, but a step up from the typical for sure
Yeah i cant stop nerding about otters. I used to be an otter fursona you know. and they along with squirrels were some of the first furry chars I created myself.
not bad! pretty good on the snout and all, though maybe a little bit more toony and not as tight, but a step up from the typical for sure
Yeah i cant stop nerding about otters. I used to be an otter fursona you know. and they along with squirrels were some of the first furry chars I created myself.
I thought you might approve.... I simply love how they draw their characters. I never thought I would find a Rue attractive, but they draw them the most Beautiful I've ever seen!
Otters have Always been one of my favorites! I think they're just So adorable and quite Beautiful!
No, I didn't know you used to be an Otter....may I ask, why did you change?
Otters have Always been one of my favorites! I think they're just So adorable and quite Beautiful!
No, I didn't know you used to be an Otter....may I ask, why did you change?
personal evolution i guess. a stalker. the char was too similar to me in real life. also my very first tuly furry chars were squirrels. I think a squirrel far more fits my personality than an otter. otters are very fun loving and sociable and outgoing, confident, never worry. I on the otherhand have a lot more little worries, i am a hoarder and obsessive over my favorite things, delicate, talk too much, easily spooked and am a vegetarian now. I think squirrel is a lot more appropriate even if not as handsome as otters
I've gone vegetarian too! Maybe not very fitting for a ferret, but I feel like some of my other qualities (actually similar to yours - worrying a lot, collecting/hoarding/obsessing/talking a lot) fit with ferrets pretty well. I'm ADHD too, which definitely fits with a ferret, lol.
I've never taken any meds for ADHD....I don't now that I would consider myself a clown though, I have to much anxiety. :P And yeah I used to go by MicahFennec, but that character was never meant to represent myself, I just drew him a lot and started going by that name because people started calling me that. It's another reason why I switched my username, everyone thought I was a promiscuous and submissive gay dude, and I'm none of those. XD
right i remember a while back learning that you were a lady. And also i remember that dramatic time in the mid 2000s where troll culture was taking over the web, furries were showing up in maintream media, and many furs became very self loathing and were making attack pages to go after you in an attempt to try and cleanse the scene of kinky and yiffy subjects. But im glad u stuck around. and youre latest chars have been pretty fun and i like a lot of the subjects u approach! (save for the pen and teller art cause I cant stand those guys!) lol!
really??? thats surprising. The only thing i got of them was a roomate in college who religiously loved their Bullshit show. and it seemed to just be a giant libertarian rant hour for penn to talk shit about any social or world issue. it left a bad taste in my mouth even back then. ESpecially their big attacks on environmentalism (former state park empolyee hehe). I mean as i recall they were cheering on Monsanto on an episode about GMOs. IDK what they do nowadays but I cant imagine what they would say about modern social justice movements. Honestly i just dont like loud peiople with a lot of self importance to them.
And on that I will say i am a little interested in some of the workplace office yiffiness in some of your art... though to an extent as i get also kind of put off by too much of that hierarchical business corporate power dynamic with all the strict conservative dress and short neat hair... but... I do like some of the pics with Dane when he comes off more like a submissive quiet gay weasel guy with a perchance for being a little incontinent :P
And on that I will say i am a little interested in some of the workplace office yiffiness in some of your art... though to an extent as i get also kind of put off by too much of that hierarchical business corporate power dynamic with all the strict conservative dress and short neat hair... but... I do like some of the pics with Dane when he comes off more like a submissive quiet gay weasel guy with a perchance for being a little incontinent :P
The attacks on environmentalism and increasingly obvious libertarianism in "Bullshit" is exactly what ended up turning me off to P&T! I've been to their live show many times (to the point where both of them recognized me and would wave to me from the stage), they're nice enough irl (esp. Teller), but I can't stomach their politics.
The workplace stuff with Dane uses an environment that I'm not at *all* attracted to irl (the hierarchical business corporate power dynamic etc.) but I think it's fascinating to juxtapose that sort of strict, authoritarian environment with the type of "taboo" situations I put Dane into - especially since Dane is essentially trapped in that situation but is so much a part of it that he doesn't even realize he can quit, because he sees that as admitting failure. I can't say exactly why that appeals to me. But then I have my hippie character Riesling who's basically the polar opposite....
The workplace stuff with Dane uses an environment that I'm not at *all* attracted to irl (the hierarchical business corporate power dynamic etc.) but I think it's fascinating to juxtapose that sort of strict, authoritarian environment with the type of "taboo" situations I put Dane into - especially since Dane is essentially trapped in that situation but is so much a part of it that he doesn't even realize he can quit, because he sees that as admitting failure. I can't say exactly why that appeals to me. But then I have my hippie character Riesling who's basically the polar opposite....
its kinda weird how im sort of the same way. Im a little interested in the juxtaposition for sure, and i approach it in my own ways. i like the submissive blue tied worker who is content to have himself dominated over without much protest. of course dominated not to the level of uncaring though. im not as much into power bottoms or fioghting back only to lose etc. As a gay guy honestly i cant stand other guys who really desire competition and ego fighting over whose going to top or bottom. but anyways :P
Yeah and my char Rufe. Ive really always thought him and myself to be half and half goth and hippe flowerchild. But yeah i also dont work too much to try to explain why some things appeal to me, it ruins the majic in some way and in the end, you know it just makes life more dynamic and keeps you a bit open and thoughful and not entirely rigid. Sometimes the things you identify the most with really shine the most when you put it next to something totally different. It keeps lit lively.
Yeah and my char Rufe. Ive really always thought him and myself to be half and half goth and hippe flowerchild. But yeah i also dont work too much to try to explain why some things appeal to me, it ruins the majic in some way and in the end, you know it just makes life more dynamic and keeps you a bit open and thoughful and not entirely rigid. Sometimes the things you identify the most with really shine the most when you put it next to something totally different. It keeps lit lively.
Oh and my little example of workplace setting:
https://www.deviantart.com/timon-be.....here-677771899
^^
https://www.deviantart.com/timon-be.....here-677771899
^^
That's an interesting insight I must admit. I can understand how one could outgrow a particular Fursona, as we all tend to change given time and maturity. Still in your basis I find flaws. You say you're not very outgoing or sociable, yet here you are carrying on several interesting and intellectual conversations with me....a Dragon whom you had never heard of until yesterday, and that is a sure sign of self confidence if there ever were one.
Understand I'm not trying to Insinuate that a Squirrel is not a good fit, I'm certain it is and I find them to be Very Beautiful and loving creatures also. I'm just simply picking out thing's that I feel you may not fully realize about yourself...
Understand I'm not trying to Insinuate that a Squirrel is not a good fit, I'm certain it is and I find them to be Very Beautiful and loving creatures also. I'm just simply picking out thing's that I feel you may not fully realize about yourself...
well no im not antisocial or anything per see. Im capable of holding on conversations and doing things. but im not easily a friend to everyone, i can be standoffish. Squirrels are standoffish. also again, im a worry wart, orrers literally never worry about anything!. And there are other reasons i left that fursona that were not of my doing. anyways its how the cards work out currently.
I'm sorry, I wasn't meaning to offend..... I was merely making an observation. Squirrel's are Most curious critters to be honest.
Friendship has to be earned, as does respect, especially around Dragon's. Being standoffish is yet another trait of dragons. But so it not having an concerns. Being at the top of the food chain does have it's perks. But now I'm pradling on...again, sorry.
I find it curious what is shared in common amongst different species.
Friendship has to be earned, as does respect, especially around Dragon's. Being standoffish is yet another trait of dragons. But so it not having an concerns. Being at the top of the food chain does have it's perks. But now I'm pradling on...again, sorry.
I find it curious what is shared in common amongst different species.
I will say... I love dragons. always have. very fun, handsome, pretty, sexual, and extremely versatile in so many situations in art. I even entertained being a dragon fuirsona once for a few months. But you know there is an old saying about dragon furries.... theyre totally crazy lol. Well thats what they say. Ive personally always felt us rather uncommon squirrel furries are very eclectic and obsessive people with extremely specific interests.
Not to hijack your point here but I noticed this is a major issue with squirrels as well (one of the reasons I stuck around with your art is I like how you do them)
Too many give them dog head syndrome and its kind of.... vexating.
Another is canine feet on them and has anyone even LOOKED at them? THey don't have that why are people doing that? Oy....
Too many give them dog head syndrome and its kind of.... vexating.
Another is canine feet on them and has anyone even LOOKED at them? THey don't have that why are people doing that? Oy....
Indeed! Basically the forward upper half of their face is their nose and sinus cavity structure (hence why they have such a great sense of smell)
the hands and feet are both equally capable of grabbing things, and overall it's just a very Specific anatomy to them that's different from a lot of other species. Makes them interesting!
the hands and feet are both equally capable of grabbing things, and overall it's just a very Specific anatomy to them that's different from a lot of other species. Makes them interesting!
as a kid i think i grw to like squirrels cause of their fluffy tails. IDK why that stiuck out to me but also i had 2 squirrel characters that caught my interest at least in theri appearance. Rufe squirrel from the Redwall series (i took his name not his personality!) and Sammy squirrel from the ranger rick books
I definitely would do sea otters different if i drew them. Sea otters would be harryer with a much higher nose that is a bit inward portuding than outward. They would be much thicker in body too with their fat layer. But i have to say im not a fan of sea otters as they have these weird twisted looking flipper legs. Flippers tend not to be a furry design style i like.
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