Personas
I've had various personas over my life, current and past.
I actually have Disassociative Identity Disorder,
which makes me just one of many people living in this body.
But these personas are of my (Okuajub's) own, or collective personas.
You'll notice that all of these are non-human, which I think is interesting.
I also think it's because drawing humans is hard and
you have less ways to express yourself in an abstract way, haha.
While I'm active in furry spaces, I'm not too keen on labeling all of these personas as "fursonas".
I think there's a lot of connotations tied to that word about what a fursona means to the
person who made them. And I think the original word "persona"
fits how these characters were and are used better.
Ichiban
This guy is a persona you'll have seen already! Ichiban is a character I commissioned to act as a more idealized form of how I would want to present myself online.
(Image by lantams)
Generally the idea for him was to project a bit more confidence for myself, and be a character I could inhabit to shake off my anxiety. I named him Ichiban as a sort of reference to this, it means "Number 1" in Japanese. As in, the best or first place. I like him very much.
Algernon
Algernon was born from our collective struggle with our disabilities. He's deliberately named after the short story as we often find our support needs fluctuating. We felt a lot of connection to how Charlie was viewed differently depending on how much he was able to comprehend and present himself.
He is probably the persona that is the closest to our (collective) current self.
Hal (CHIPtest v1)
Hal (sometimes also labeled as CHIPtest) was a persona I used when the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic lockdowns were in full swing. I had limited internet access and with everyone inside, I couldn't really socialize anymore. I think the art of Hal during this period reflects how low my mental health was. Although I've moved on from this persona, I will always be thankful for how he helped me express myself in a time of need.
I think he is one of the characters I have the most art of, because I had a lot of spare time and my joints were still pretty good at the time.
You can view his gallery here.
CHIPtest (v2)
CHIPtest is a redesign of Hal who went through a lot of stylistic changes as it was 2022 by the time I worked him over again. CHIPtest is essentially a completely different character in my mind, even though he looks somewhat similar.
CHIPtest was created more purposefully to be a public persona, and he now more represents my Ukagaka brand. He's one of the mascots in the CHIPS template. The other is Sentinel, a character based off of one of my boyfriends.
credit
design by almost sweet - resources