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seconding anon who asked 'what animal,' and sorry for the tl;dr in advance

like you know, a dog is probably going to be a lot more active/expressive seeming than a snake, though even the snake can pull itself up, taste the air, coil up, constantly shift, etc

you're going to have to do a bit of research on your animal! a lot of the more common ones like birds, cats, dogs and such have decently documented body language that you can start with, though these would be for the more domesticated sorts, but you can extrapolate for more wild ones (doubtful that dwrp is going to call you out for something unless you do something so blatantly and flagrantly wrong it can't be ignored). ears pitch forward, pulled back, tail positions on a canine demonstrate emotion (we all know the tail between the legs thing); bird crests rising, birds puffing themselves up to look bigger, preening, pulling out their feathers out of stress, eyes flashing, tails fanning, wings being flipped; a hedgehog curling up in alarm; reptiles tend to react much more strongly if they're stressed vs being pretty lazy and lax with being handled if they're content, that sort of thing.

remember the differences in anatomy is what i'd say. what are the limitations of not having hands, or indeed, not having any limbs at all? what can you do with the extra bits that humans don't have?

don't forget sounds and vocalizations either! a snake hisses lowly as it cautions against coming closer; a bird shrieks sharply in alarm or clicks in warning; a cat purrs in presumed content; a dog whines in protest... humans have nonverbal vocalizations too, so with animals it's not like you don't have plenty to work with. you'd be surprised how a lot of sounds and behaviors can be universal; humans are still animals too, it's not like everything we do is totally unnatural or something. your character's tensed and angry to the point of gritted teeth and balled fists as a human? maybe they're baring their teeth as a dog, hackles raised, ears pushed forward, leaning forward and trying to seem bigger. maybe their tail is lashing around as a cat, eyes thinned and constricted, ears pulled back. maybe their eyes are flashing and dilating as a bird, tail fanned, feathers ruffled and puffed up. maybe they're shifting, slowly curling back into a striking position as a snake. all of them may or may not be growling.

take some liberties, or have fun with how behaviors can translate into what they'd be doing if they were human! a cat grooming or a bird preening itself during conversation could be like the equivalent of someone nonchalantly examining their nails or pulling out a compact to fix their makeup mid-conversation, like that's more important to them than whoever they're talking to right now. alternatively, it could be a nervous habit, like of that person who worriedly runs their hand through their hair all the time, checks their clothing, wants to make sure everything's in order to destress. maybe it's something they can work through to distract themselves, like a person playing with their hair or hands. establish the situation clearly and it should be clear even through unfamiliar body language what certain actions hint at.

also, depending on how intelligent your talking animal is (is it low intelligence, just able to chatter and process basic things? or is it more sapient and aware?), you could probably get away with more... i wouldn't say 'human' i guess but more 'developed' cues and quirks. back when i was playing a shapeshifter that could take human form but preferred not to i was having them make languid movements to resemble shrugs, fidgeting and shifting their weight on their feet for nervousness, etc etc.

oh. also if you really want to get in depth you can do eye contact stuff. like predator/prey species are probably going to have different instinct reactions to being stared in the face at, or having such a direct gaze on them.

but really so long as you don't stretch things too much, like i dunno a bird grinning widely (since, well, beak) or a snake blinking (outer eyelid, they have no need to and really can't anyway) just have fun with it and don't fuss too much i say, you have a wide world of possibilities here. most importantly, remember that your animals are individuals too and might react differently from another of their species!

the animal is a dog. and even without having specified, this is really helpful! thank you!

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Re: general animal characters

Re: general animal characters