I say you should create a mix of them all. It will stand out from the rest of us and be yours. When you start, think of it as if you were making a clay model. I'd start with a blank fursona. Something very generic, and then just start adding everything you've wanted in your fursona. Don't even pay attention to the fact that it will look weird at first! After you've got a base for it, start tweaking it. Move parts around until it starts looking normal. And remember, if you can't make it look right then switch out parts. For example, if you don't like the ears, switch them out with a different set of ears from another animal.
P.S. This is all just advise. I've watched ppl draw for a while so I've picked up random little techniques here and there. They never help me any, but that's because I has no talent for drawing a living creature lol.

^^ thankyou so much

I've been going through a similar thing here recently myself. I like my current character concept, but he's just not very unique feeling, and if I end up with a fursuit, I'd like something a little more exciting, ya know?

You've got a huge advantage over me, though: you can draw out as many concepts as you want. You can test things out, see what you like. I can't do that. I'm stuck trying to come up with a concept all in my head, and can't actually flesh it out on paper to see how it looks. That's the main reason my current one is so, well, boring. I've kinda stalled in my search for something more unique, at least for the time being. I think about it from time to time, but it feels so useless without being able to see what I'm thinking.

And all of what FuzzelFox said is very true. You could try combining things. Get crazy, get creative. Nobody says you have to like all your ideas. But if you keep playing around with things, you should hopefully find what you like. You can even make minute changes as time goes by.

Also, don't get yourself all worked up about not being able to find what you want right away. Many people change fursonas multiple times. It's not that big a deal. And if you take your time with it, and really put some thought and work into it, you very well may come up with something that will last you a long time. Never know. But if you keep stressing yourself about it, and keep rushing yourself to figure something out, you'll never be happy with anything you come up with.

I wish you best of luck in your search, and hope that some idea will just kinda hit you, and you'll come up with something you are satisfied with.

I can do no more but agree with FuzzelFox and Zielmann here. Listen, Mylo, finding your personal fursona can be the easiest thing in the world, and it can be the hardest thing in the world. I have seen it many times, and I have had friends asking my advice when they were trying to figure out a fursona for themselves. Now, there is not much help you can get in finding your exact fursona from others, because it's a very, very personal thing. You say it's a matter of trial and error; true, it is that, as much as it is a journey. A trip into your inner self, to the very core of your soul, to find just that what you feel, deep inside yourself, that represents you the best.

And that does not just go for species or breed! Color and other traits are very important in this as well, because especially colors are a very powerful force, and each color represents certain emotions and feelings, and there are very specific colors you can feel that represent your inner feelings.

There are not many people who can find their perfect fursona right off. It's usually a process of time, of making small changes as time goes by, of making your fursona grow constantly, because you grow constantly. Take myself for example; it has taken me the better of seven years before I found my exact fursona. I started out as a rabbit. Over time, I have been three different rabbits, a mouse, and six different cats. And you know how I finally decided on my current fursona, which has been me for over five years now? When I was writing a story. One of the lead characters was a blue and white long-furred cat, and as I wrote more and more about him, all of a sudden it hit me, and I thought to myself; "Holy crap! That guy... that's me!" And from there on, I adopted that cat as my true fursona, and only then started to really think about that cat as me, and began to attribute some extra looks and personality quirks to him to make him represent my inner self even more. The cat was of a nondescript breed at first; I've determined the breed as a Maine Coon, because I felt that just fit the best. Large, and with a long, fluffy fur, that represents the soft, mellow, and quite cuddly person I am, but yet with an underlying strength beneath all that fur. And I chose a stronger blue for the secondary fur color instead of the regular grey, because firstly, it looked better, and secondly, blue is my color.

The best you can do, is to take a little break at first. You have been so actively searching for it that you probably became hung up on it and got stressed about it, and that will not help you. So take a little break, let it slide from your mind, and just concentrate on doing the things you like; drawing, and any other hobbies you might have. Only when you feel you're relaxed and not constantly thinking about what you are, you can embark on that journey to your inner self to find what it is that represents you the best.

And who says it has to be just one single animal? There are a lot of hybrids out there, more than you would think, and I have seen the strangest combinations already. Take, here on FA,  sugarcat for instance; she is a mix of a panther and a swan. Or take the owner and creator of my furry forum,  imago ; she is what she calls a Montalibar, a species she created herself, and there are at leasts even different animals in there!

So, don't be hesitant to mix and match! First off, try to determine which generic species of animal you feel represents you the best; a canine? A feline? Something else? Maybe you even find characteristics of more than one species that represent parts of yourself; mix them! Then when you have the generic species down, look into sub-species and breeds. You feel like a canine? Look at all the different canines, and see of which canines the characteristics and the personality match with your own.

You say you feel energetic and sporty, yet still cute and cuddly; that could be some kind of sled dog with a thick, fluffy fur (which does not necessarily has to be a husky). Do some research into the lesser known breeds; perhaps you're an Akitu Inu? A Samoyed? Do you feel you're a cheerful and playful kind of person? You said that lately you've been thinking about an otter, which are very playful and cheerful creatures. Mix! Take some otter traits and apply them to the dog you think represents yourself the best, like for instance the cute little round ears, the fur color and pattern, the thick tail. A Samoyed dog for instance is all white; mix it with the brown on an otter. Play around! And most importantly; have fun with it!

As for a fursuit, I can very much understand you would want a fursuit of your fursona. When I get the chance, I'm getting one of mine. But don't think it's an obligation that your fursuit has to be your fursona; there are a lot of artists here on FA who have made fursuits of several different characters they play as; that's a very different thing.

Believe me, finding your true fursona can take years. It's a constant process of groping and tweaking, of looking at yourself with a new look and finding new things. Your fursona will constantly grow and change, because you constantly grow and change. Just don't stress out over it, and don't think it's an obligation that you have to have a fursona.

Like I said, the best thing you can do for now is to take a little break, give your mind a rest, and try not to think about it too much. Do what you like to do, have fun with your hobbies, and relax. The best ideas often come to you smack dab out of the blue when you least expect it, and always when you were not thinking about it. Perhaps someday, when you're drawing a random picture, you suddenly realize "hey, this is me!" =^_^=

fritti,

Thankyou sooo sooo much for the amazing advise, you don't how much I really appreciate it :3 I really am going to just forget about it for abit, step back and clear my mind :)

I think my problem is that i'm afraid about mixing some animals, but not after what you said about those other people ^^ thnx so much :D

Your AWSM :3
Mylo

You're very welcome, Mylo =^_^= I'm glad to hear that my advice has been so helpful to you. Hopefully a little break will help you get a new perspective and suddenly see the perfect idea to go by. It often happens like that; something you desperately need to remember, or an idea you badly need to think of, mostly comes to you at that time when you weren't thinking about it at all =~.^=

Yes, and you certainly need not be afraid to mix animals; I could name you a whole list of people I know, and people I've seen here on FA, whose fursonas are mixes of the most varied of species, so mixing different kind of canines would certainly not be strange at all =~.^=

Just enjoy the little break, have fun drawing and doing other things you like to do, and you'll see that at the most unexpected moment, the perfect idea suddenly just hits you! =^_^=

fritti,

Thankyou sooo sooo much for the amazing advise, you don't how much I really appreciate it :3 I really am going to just forget about it for abit, step back and clear my mind :)

I think my problem is that i'm afraid about mixing some animals, but not after what you said about those other people ^^ thnx so much :D

Your AWSM :3
Mylo

A Fursona is just one of those things that changes with you :3


I've gone through, like...4 so far, and I'm still workin' on it.
It just takes time sometimes, but it'll come to you :3