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The Odd Design Problem with Anthro Characters
7 years ago
https://www.deviantart.com/kyanbu/a.....-wip-749142622
https://www.deviantart.com/kyanbu/a.....-wip-752448931
So while doing research and reading on designing characters. I learned a bit more about a popular pet peeve. Anthro characters having breasts. It appears that no matter what, this one is a big no no. Mainly because while fantasy designs always bend what's possible. That only applies to things that would be a benefit. Things that are cosmetic, like human breasts. Is something that should not be on an anthro or furry character. They have to be flat as is the case with that's species in real life.
So basically it means to appeal to a more general or just main stream audience I and a lot of others would need to redesign those characters in one of two ways.
A. Make all anthro like characters flat as a board. Easy enough as the breasts add nothing and getting rid of them hurts nothing.
or
B. Make your characters Human, since at that point they may as well be human.
For me, I'm probably going to have to go with options B. Mainly because if your anthro character is too human in appearance. That too is a problem that can be seen as over sexualized. So even If I made them all flat, they are still in the red. So I may have to just make them human and rewrite a lot of the world building and plot points built around them being "Ani-Humans". I had a planned reason to explain the design but it ultimately means nothing due to "Death of the Author". It doesn't change that fact that it's a unnecessary trait. And could be seen as just as bad as Kojima's excuse for Quiet in MGSV.
Designing characters is a complicated thing. And Breasts are a big complex mess of an issue for a lot of reasons. Mainly over sexualization and medical issues caused by large breasts. So having them on a character is already walking on razors edge if that character is not a completely normal human with no genetic or magical changes. Because the logic is that if a women could change anything through genetics or magic, it would be getting rids of the dead weights on her chest if she's larger then B cup. So a fictional character with them is sexualized no matter what based on this logic alone. It is what it is due to the current state of our society and genetic oddities with humans.
So what do you all think about this?
Personally it bothers me a bit since It means I have to redesign the entire cast all over again. And rewrite huge chunks of the plot and world. Been in the concept stages for about a decade now so I would be lying if I said I wasn't partly sick of it and just want to get SOMETHING out, be it a indi game or the comic. Could also just make them all male but that would create a different much more terrible problem so not much of an option there.
https://www.deviantart.com/kyanbu/a.....-wip-752448931
So while doing research and reading on designing characters. I learned a bit more about a popular pet peeve. Anthro characters having breasts. It appears that no matter what, this one is a big no no. Mainly because while fantasy designs always bend what's possible. That only applies to things that would be a benefit. Things that are cosmetic, like human breasts. Is something that should not be on an anthro or furry character. They have to be flat as is the case with that's species in real life.
So basically it means to appeal to a more general or just main stream audience I and a lot of others would need to redesign those characters in one of two ways.
A. Make all anthro like characters flat as a board. Easy enough as the breasts add nothing and getting rid of them hurts nothing.
or
B. Make your characters Human, since at that point they may as well be human.
For me, I'm probably going to have to go with options B. Mainly because if your anthro character is too human in appearance. That too is a problem that can be seen as over sexualized. So even If I made them all flat, they are still in the red. So I may have to just make them human and rewrite a lot of the world building and plot points built around them being "Ani-Humans". I had a planned reason to explain the design but it ultimately means nothing due to "Death of the Author". It doesn't change that fact that it's a unnecessary trait. And could be seen as just as bad as Kojima's excuse for Quiet in MGSV.
Designing characters is a complicated thing. And Breasts are a big complex mess of an issue for a lot of reasons. Mainly over sexualization and medical issues caused by large breasts. So having them on a character is already walking on razors edge if that character is not a completely normal human with no genetic or magical changes. Because the logic is that if a women could change anything through genetics or magic, it would be getting rids of the dead weights on her chest if she's larger then B cup. So a fictional character with them is sexualized no matter what based on this logic alone. It is what it is due to the current state of our society and genetic oddities with humans.
So what do you all think about this?
Personally it bothers me a bit since It means I have to redesign the entire cast all over again. And rewrite huge chunks of the plot and world. Been in the concept stages for about a decade now so I would be lying if I said I wasn't partly sick of it and just want to get SOMETHING out, be it a indi game or the comic. Could also just make them all male but that would create a different much more terrible problem so not much of an option there.
