I was thinking that since there's a lot of common species such as foxes and hedgehogs, so I decided to post up a list of a few uncommon species (but hey, they aren't perfectly rare, either, so don't whine if you disagree.... X_x) you can use for your char.

• Shark
• Elephant
• Horse
• Cardinal (or any bird that's similar; like blue birds and such)
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Mouse/Rat
• Porcupine**
• Snake
• Monkey
• Skunk
• Penguin
• Turtle/Tortoise
• Butterfly/Moth
• Bee (sorta)
• Mole
• Duck (kinda)
• Frog/Toad
• Seal
• Crab
• Blowfish
• Goldfish
• Seahorse
• Dragon*
• Phoenix*
• Unicorn*
• Sea Lizard (kinda like teh Lochness- monster- thing.)*
• Owl
• Spider
• Sheep/Ram
• Dragonfly
• Cow/Bull
• Lion/Lioness
• Tiger
• Panther
• Cheetah
• Leopard
• Giraffe
• Antelope
• Zebra
• Bull Dog (or any other dog of a specifically mentioned species)
• Scorpion
• Praying Mantis
• Bear
• Pig/Boar
• Octopus
• Squid
• Deer
• Hyena
• Gecko (or any other specifically mentioned lizard)
• Pelican
• Sloth
• Gorilla
• Whale
• Camel
• Dolphin
• Panda
• Mongoose (kinda)
• Badger
• Crawfish
• Armadillo (sorta)
• Opossum
• Walrus
• Beaver
• Kricket
• Grasshopper
• Peacock
• Kangaroo
• Parrot
• Hippopotamus
• Bobcat
• Ferret
• Sting Ray/ Manta Ray
• Horshoe Crab

((*mythological creature/ extinct animal.))

I made this list a long time ago... and also, I'm aware that it's quite unoriginal to use mythological/ extinct creatures... but that's where you come in. That's where you explain how they're still alive (if they are). Also, I'm VERY aware that animals such as snakes are VERY difficult to come up with a design, but that's also where creativity comes in! ;P

But remember, when making a fan char's appearance, make sure it's very original and creative; however, it should STILL stick within the boundaries of the species (I'm not gona say too much about this, though, 'cause it goes into too much detail.)
Also remember that you can use references such as wikipedia if you're having trouble with your char's appearance, behavior, etc. ^^

((*And also, for the love of gawd, DON'T make your character a porcupine to have an excuse of it looking too much like a hedgehog. As how the admin on Concept Mobius once said: They're not even in the same animal kingdom.

So I strongly ask you to limit the times you make your char. a porcupine... however, if you do make it to be one, then I highly suggest that you go to somewhere like wikipedia for a complete reference. Also, don't take TOO much of an advantage of this little tip, but if making a porcupine character, it'd seem kinda original- ish if you were to make it goth, punk, or have a "prickly" attitude. Anywhere around those categories. =P))

And, YES, I DO understand why most people make their chars. the same species as Sonic, Tails or someone like that: because they admire his/her design so much that they just HAVE to make theirs similar. If so, this doesn't have to apply to you, so PLEASE don't whine or complain about that here. @_@

Also, dogs, cats, and wolves ARE rather common, but if you use a specific species (such as a gray wolf, shiba inu, calico cat, etc.) then it should be okay, because despite it still being a cat/ dog/ whatever, the branch species of teh dog/ cat are more specific. ^^

Oh, and ONE more thing: furry muzzles aren't just for fuzzy animals such as foxes; they can also be used toshow a bit of ruggedness in a character. How much fur the muzzle has depends.

Oh, yeah, and try to stay away from hybrids, too. WAAAAAY too common. XP

If you have any GOOD suggestions, post them here and I'll be happy to add them to the list. ^__^

edit: Also, I just now pinned this, so it could always be up if people need help. I hope that's alright. ^^;

i'm probable gonna make a penguin

I've been meaning to go for an Opossum or Possum-type character, but perhaps later XP

I MADE THE PENGUIN!!!!! look in mah sprite topic.

Thanks, Skippy, for taking this into some consideration! ^^ Hopefully this will get a few other people's attention, too. =)

@Molotv: lol. I know what it's like to get all lazy about something like that.... xD

I don't think it's always the case that people base their character off official characters. I hate Tails with a passion and the only reason why Ky and Sol are based off him is because I don't know anyone that can make cats out of Sonic and Shadow sprites.

I didn't say it was always the case, now did I? :\ Please don't just to conclsuions... the LEAST thing I expected people to do; I gave a good explanation....

Anyways, then why don't you sketch out a design?
And please don't tell me... "I can't draw" 'cause anyone can at least use their creativity to think of a good design. ^^ And even if you say you can't sketch something out, then you can ALWAYS request; just as long as you have as much of a detailed description as you can. ^^

And anyways, like I've said a lot of times, you can always look on wikipedia for references if you're having trouble.

Hm... I know you're not asking for suggestions for anything, but maybe, instead of just making Ky just a cat... maybe you could make him be... well, maybe have a more specified species of cat...?

Here's a list of different cat breeds if ya wanna see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cat_breeds

Or better! Maybe you could make him a hybrid cat...?
Now, I know that I said that hybrids were common and quite unoriginal (NOT directing that toward ANYONE.), but now something that I'd like to see someone do is make a hybrid within the species....

Let's take dogs, for instance. Someone, instead of making it just a "dog" or just a "Shiba Inu" (for example), could have a combo of two different dog breeds; such as the Shiba Inu coming together with a Chihuhua (hypothetically. XD)

Of course, just a suggestion. And yes, I know that you didn't ask for help and such. XP

I have drawn Ky and Sol before. In fact, Sol was originally going to be a Hedgecat but people kept on drawing him as a cat. So I eventually gave in and decided to make Sol a cat instead of a hybrid. Ky has been with me for quite some time. I don't think his design will ever change. He's helped me thorugh my life. If it wasn't for Ky, I'd be dead right now. I think it's better he stays a DSH.

What about farm animals? I don't see them a lot either.

Although, this is a good guide. If I make another fancharacter, I might have a look at this topic. Thanks for posting it. ^_^

No problem.
Eh, I think there's plenty farm animals there for now... Chicken, Horse, Cow/Bull, Pig... unless you had more in mind. XD

I pwn the Owl! xD I tried to make some of those b4! xD random Ideas ofcouse.

Big bump but...

What about hybrids that are of uncommon species? Haha. I've done that before. I don't see too many of them though.

*Just now sees this*
Since it's basically okay to bump pinned topics as far as I'm concerned....

I'm sure it'd work out well just as long as you have a logical explanation for everything. ^^;

Hello Speed-X. It's me again. I was wondering if you could rate the characters in my avatar. Just rate their appearance. Give me some pointers on how original they look, What things I should change to make them more original, etc.

Wow, that's neat that you pick me to rate your charries. xD
But nonetheless, sure I will, just as long as you PM me about it, because this is just a little off subject. =3

I've done one of those, I made a few characters who're dog/dragon hybrids!

I have a character that is a weasel. Other than Nack, Ive found that to be pretty rare. Isa also have an echidna character too. ^-^ That's something I personally haven't seen a ton of. Where I normally RP, there are an endless supply of hedgehogs. :T15:

Weasels are so cyoooootteeee~ >w<
*brick'd*

I'd say, in my humble opinion, that echidnas are okay, just as long as you give background info as to how he/she still exists... remember? All of the echidnas died off in the past, and Knux is supposedly the only one left (mostly referring to Sonic Team).

I think if you have/had an original background story mostly, or at least halfly, describing about that idea, without giving him/her a stereotype dark background, that'd be pretty neat. =3

Lolz, this is starting to turn more into a "C+C your char's species" kinda topic. XD

X.x; Technically he's a fake echidna. Hes more like an artificial life form sorta thing. I figure everyone is all like, "That's such a Shadow rip-off", but it wasn't intended to be... Heh, it was one of those things where it was my first time doing a Sonic RP, and I needed a character in a minute or so. But he ended up catching on.

oh, alrighty then.
Well, lolz... not neccessarily that technically ripping off of Shadow... not like he's a hedgehog. XD; But, yeah.

Another good species is a wolf. You could use that instead of choosing your character to be the common fox species. ^^

A wolf in general is okay, I'd think, just as long as you make it's appearance actually look like a wolf and not a [b]fox[/f], which is what most people tend to do. *sigh* Not referring to anyone, but I just can't see how some of those people (who're older, like my age and above) will just do that.... Just doesn't make sense to me. :| Only one word comes to mind: LAZINESS.

Is this character ok?

http://i40.tinypic.com/30six5y.png

This is not really my best drawing, but I tried to make him more wolf like then fox. The main problem is I still want it to look like a normal Sonic character but I don't want it to look like a fox.

I'm afraid if I give him to much detail he won't look much like a Sonic character...

Oh, he looks very wolf-like. Especially the eyes. I think that really helped~

Some of my characters are common species, (Max- Fox, James- Hedgehog) but they have more unique looks than what you'd usually see in a fan character of that species.

And then I have Kamal. He's a Porcupine-Goat hybrid. xD He doesn't exactly look it but.. I don't know what else to make him. =/ Someone once said he should be a Chimera. LOL

But yeah, I've seen lots of common species out there. Usually it's okay if they have an interesting quill/bang style kinda.. thing, or they have a good back story. It's the worst when people rip off Sonic character's back stories. Especially Shadow's, I've seen that way too much; even if it is an original species. rofl

Well, you've got a wolf-ish appearance goin' on, I'd say, it's nice for a start... yet he still has that "Tails-ish" look goin' on that I can't quite put my finger on....
Maybe it's because of the eyes, first off... maybe you sould make them more shaped similar to like a Blaze/Knux eye shape. Secondly, this has nothing much to do with the Tails concept, but this char's tail looks much more "skunk" than "wolf." You have the rugged look, which is good, but the majority of (forest-like) wolves, if not all, have kinda like a regular... stereotypical dog tail. The spine area of a "standard" dog's tail curves up a little, and fluff-ness usually dangles from the bottom, but you've got that part down. Its tail also wouldn't be quite that long at all... maybe half that size or so.

I don't know what else it is, but maybe if you were to change that stuff around a bit just so I can see, maybe I'll be able to tell exactly what it is that makes him still look Tails-like (even though I have some concepts down...).
I've also been wanting to ask: why does his forehead come up like that, kinda like a Treecko's (*stabb'd for referring to Pokemon*)?

Despite all of that, he does look very wolf-like indeed. I like how you actually changed the muzzle fur around so that it resembles more of a short, rugged-ish furry muzzle instead of just ripping off of Tails', and how he's fluffy in a kinda scrappy way. All in all, you did a very good job on him. =3

Haaaiii. :D

Speed, you're, like, really good at this. xD; Would you mind if I ask for some help? x3;;

You see this guy here? I looked up some information on Coyote's last night to kinda redesign him a bit and give him more of that "Coyote" look. I think I did pretty well, but do you think he could use any improvements? owo;

I'm just asking, if you have time. xD; If you don't, it's fine. x3;;

Lol, you really think so? XD At this rate, I may have to post a char appearance critic thread. xD;

Hmm... Okay, so coyotes are basically (note that this is in basic terms...) smaller, slimmer versions of wolves. You captured the height just fine, I'd say, but there's just something... about the body that I can't quite capture that makes it seem less coyote-ish. (sorry, can't really put my finger on it right now). I would imagine a coyote anthro as looking slightly less tough and masculine-ish. The word that comes to mind that would describe a coyote char is "scrappy"-ish. Okay, so I'm probably not making any sense right now, but I'm crashing from a Monster Chaos at 12:00 A.M. here....

But, anyways, I'd say that you should make the char's muzzle thinner and longer (snout-wise), with a big of a more dog-like nose instead of... the one you have now. But that part's probably optionable.

I think that, to make its eyes look more "piercing" you should make the irises thinner. That'd do good for the eyes. =3 And maybe making the eye shape a little thinner (reducing the height of the top) would help out, too.

And it's muzzle fur would be much less. Maybe you could have the fur tips in a bit of a more "upwards" position, also being shorter?

This is also a mistake that is made for some fluffier animals. It's not like it completely looks like a fox tail, but a coyote's tail really isn't all that poofy as a fox's is. Anyways... you should try making it look mor dog-like.

Here, here's a good pic of a coyote from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canis_latrans.jpg
Maybe that will help out. =3

Sorry I couldn't help out so much/ was being so vague and such... it's late/early here-ish. I mean, he resembles a coyote, yet not... to me, he looks more like a wolf (kinda).... Of course, I'm sure it's difficult to make distinguishments between a coyote and a wolf char, since due to the slight oroportion change in the animal, and the restrictions of Sonic anatomy... yeah.

Sorry, I tried, I'm crashing from a monster currently. xD; Hopefully that reference will help, because I think it shows a good portrayal of a coyote. |3

Thanks, Speed. I really appreciate it. <3

Even though you are on a crash, that was really helpful. 8D I'll try sketching him again soon and show you, since you're so much help. xD;

If no one has it im takeing the dog!for strike and jake!oh and if the wolf isent there ill have him for storm!!

I like the coyote idea, too!

I don't really use the few Sonic characters I have... I need to actually develop them as characters. At the moment, I have a lion, a monkey, and an otter. I need to draw them... Well I have a pic of the otter but it sucks, I dunno if I wanna post it... xD;;