ben ✹𓃥✲

ben ✱ he/him ✱ nb ✱ california

[ interests ]╰┈➤ zoology, ecology, biology (especially marine & herptology), coastal geography, ocean science, coastal foggy weather, architecture & interior design, fashion, perfumery, textile art, ceramics, fursuits, furry history, y2k era, frutiger aero, vintage toys and games (90s-late00s), walking & hiking (nature & urban exploration), public transportation, horror media, pokemon

i'm ben, an artist / designer / hobbyist. originally from the monterey bay area of california, currently living in los angeles, and soon to move to portland, oregon.i work fulltime as a freelancer artist interested in design, colors, character concepts, and want to branch out to physical mediums such as ceramics or stained glassoutside of art my main hobby is reptile keeping, primarily in bioactive terrariums. snakes are my absolute favorite, especially north american colubrids. i also love studying architectural / interior design, biology / ecology / animal sciences, and making personal characters and headworlds for them to live in

cons i attend ✱ FC, LVFC, FWA, BLFC, MFF (possible TFF and AC)

my fursonas

these are my fursonas / mascots!
i have a few of them, but kai is my main mascot, he's really the most important.
the rest are for fun, and i change them often!
they are inspired by different areas/towns of California that are very important to me, where i grew up, where my family is from, where i spent summers or winters, etc
you can see their toyhouse profiles here!

Kai

  • likes the ocean and coastline, rainy days, foggy mornings, redwood forests, sports + athletics, surf + skate culture, street fashion, house shows, retro toys + games, architecture

✱ Name: Kai Laureiro
✱ Species: American Akita Canis lupus familiaris
✱ Gender: Male he/him
✱ Height: it varies!
✱ Hometown: San Francisco, CA
✱ Occupation: Marine Biologist
✱ Smells like: eucalyptus, wild mint, monterey cypress
✱ Song Tycho - A Walk
✱ Toyhouse link here

He's my main mascot and fursona! Inspired by my childhood memories in the San Francisco bay area. A friendly bi jock guy who only ever wants to talk about nature science, Californian ecology, the ocean and so on. Kai lives in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, California, in the shadow of Mt. Sutro. He works as a Marine Biologist, at a tiny (fictional) marine lab outside of the city, north of Pescadero.In his free time, he's always exploring the city, especially the Presidio and Golden Gate Park, flippin' rocks and logs for snakes and lizards, or driving along the coast.

Sierra

✱ Name: Sierra Westbrook
✱ Species: Pacific Marten Martes caurina
✱ Gender: Nonbinary he/him
✱ Height: 5'3''
✱ Hometown: Boulder Creek, CA
✱ Occupation: state park interpreter / forestry
✱ Smells like: coast redwood, pine needles, cold brew
✱ Song goth babe - moments/tides
✱ Toyhouse link here

If Kai is the bay/coast - Sierra is the mountains/redwoods. A recreation of my oldest fursona (who was an American Marten!) Sierra is more of a truesona compared to Kai (though Kai kinda fits the definition but I tend to be more fluid/fun with his design.)
He's a mix of pacific coast dweller + woodsy camper vibes. Originally from Rio del Mar Aptos area, but moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains to work in the parks. I imagine he lives in a small apartment or cabin-ish house in Boulder Creek, and spends part time as a Park Ranger (Big Basin or Henry Cowell?), and part time helping to relocate Rattlesnakes for locals.

  • likes/motifs: the monterey pine (his favorite tree), botanical gardens, small town life, quilts and textiles, five-panel hats, wool jackets, earthy colors, biker dive bars, salmon jerky

Marlon

✱ Name: Marlon O'Neill
✱ Species: Blue Shark Prionace glauca / + Grey Reef Shark
✱ Gender: Cis Male he/him
✱ Height: 5'10''
✱ Hometown: Santa Cruz, California
✱ Occupation: owner of Abalone*
✱ Smells like: marine salt, pacific fog, citrus sunscreen
✱ Song: Goth Babe - Crocodile
✱ Toyhouse link here

blue shark / grey reef shark hybrid
he owns a skate/surf retail store combined coffee shop called
Abalone (inspired by Mollusk in san francisco, just with coffee attached to it)

  • motifs: the ocean, foggy mornings, cute beach houses, aquariums, fossils, sea glass, raw fish, beer, early 2000s skate/beach fashion

Placeholder

✱ Name: ??? ???
✱ Species: North American Wolverine (G. g. luscus)
✱ Gender: Genderfluid she/they
✱ Height: 6'
✱ Hometown: Portland, Oregon
✱ Occupation:
✱ Smells like: cedar dust, fall spices, warm leather jacket
✱ Song: Jaguar Sun - Forever and More
✱ Toyhouse link here

a pacific northwest themed wolverine, a character that reflects my genderfluid identity and life experiences with gender/sexualitythemed around the pacific northwest & autumn/winter time!
woodsy/outdoorsy stoner. works in forestry or maybe a lumberyard or both.

  • motifs: the ocean, foggy mornings, cute beach houses, aquariums, fossils, sea glass, raw fish, beer, early 2000s skate/beach fashion

Idyllwild

✱ Name: "Idyllwild"
✱ Species: Rattlesnake / Sidewinder
✱ Gender: Femme Gay Man he/him
✱ Hometown: Idyllwild, California
✱ Occupation: Ceramics Artist
✱ Smells like: sweetgrass, sun-warmed leather, desert pine
✱ Song: caribou - can't do without you

a lovesick cowboy in the low deserts of california. rattlesnakes have been one of my favorite animals for as long as i can remember, and this character is a homage to that.a hybrid of western rattlesnake species, primarily Mojave Rattlesnake, Pacific Rattlesnake, as well as Colorado Desert Sidewinder.

  • motifs: springtime in the desert, summer on the coast, sage honey, bourbon, black coffee, handmade ceramics and textiles, perfumery, cowboys, vintage furniture stores, southwest americana

rain

✱ Name: Raincoast "Rain"
✱ Species: Mountain/Woodland Caribou
✱ Gender: Nonbinary he/they
✱ Hometown: Big Sur/Carmel Valley, CA
✱ Occupation: Architectural Designer
✱ Smells like: wild mint, coast sagebrush, damp earth
✱ Song: ford. - Tell Me (Anew)

an architectural designer (and designer in general) from the bay area of california. he mostly grew up in berkeley, currently lives part time down in big sur/carmel valley. rain is mostly interested in landscape architecture, and has a fascination with concrete n the sun, weathered driftwood exterior, reclaimed wood and metal accents, ceramic tiles, and round windows.he is inspired by both north american reindeer (like boreal woodland) and scandinavian reindeer (like norwegian mountain)

  • motifs: coastal cliffs, chapparal biomes, beachcombing, brewing tea

YARROW

✱ Name: Yarrow Ferreira
✱ Species: California Valley Coyote Canis latrans ochropus
✱ Gender: Genderfluid he/him
✱ Height: 6'2''
✱ Hometown: Joshua Tree, CA
✱ Occupation: plant nursery technician
✱ Smells like: desert sagebrush, sweet orange, incense
✱ Song Jaguar Sun - Cold Wind
✱ Toyhouse link here

my comfort fursona. meant to be much older than me (40s-50s) and i treat him as a comfort fursona. he's themed around 70's as well as mid century modern aesthetics and anything related to the desert. his guilty pleasure is las vegas. he works for the great basin instute as a plant technician teaming up with the national park service at joshua tree

  • motifs: desert life, mid-century modern design, psychedelic art, 70's aesthetics & fashion, tapestries, poetry, candles, incense, road trips, pinyon trees, creosote, wildflower honey, floral iced tea

my characters

This page is a work in progress
i'll host random pics/galleries of my ocs here!

Joseph "Tex" Saldahna

✱ species: california valley coyote
✱ gender: male he/she
✱ hometown: palm springs, ca
✱ scent: tobacco & orange blossom

A gay hitman based in the Southwest and Southern California area. Main character of my story/headworld so I draw him a lot!!

  • the desert, neon signs, casinos, wildflowers, palm trees, classic cars, cool knives, guns, city night drives, floral prints, roll-your-own cigarettes, fruity cocktails

Orphéon

✱ species: mascot / pool toy / wolfdogpuppy
✱ gender: what
✱ hometown: PARIS / NYC / LA / TOKYO
✱ scent: vinyl plastic & garage fumes

a mascot for a fictional fashion brand. inspired heavily by comme des garcon and similar brands. designed for clothes and collectables and other things. can be made of clear or opaque material, white or shiny silver, covered in stickers/logos, and so on

AeRo

✱ species: airplane dragon
✱ gender: unknown
✱ hometown: the skies...
✱ scent: cool ozonic air & gardenia petals

work in progress etc

  • list of things here

✱ design by: tropicalsteppe

Fen Ranulph

✱ species: eurasian wolf
✱ gender: male he/him
✱ hometown: new york city, ny
✱ occupation: consultant
✱ scent: iris flower & leather sandalwood

Fenrir is a white-collar businessman from New York City, working at a consulting & accounting firm Lupus & Vulpes. A love interest for Tex in my story - Fen hires Tex as a personal (and strictly) bodyguard, but they end up becoming close friends.

  • contemporary design, art deco, autumn and winter, libraries, art and history museums, perfumery, whiskey, rare steak, dark chocolate, tiramisu, affogato

cirrus

✱ species: angel (wolf)
✱ gender: genderless it/they/he
✱ hometown: spawned in at 43°10'59.2"N 111°56'47.0"W
✱ occupation: ?????
✱ scent: rosewater & tea leaves

not to be confused with the generic black wolf i usually draw, this is more of an angel themed character and anthro. sometimes i pair him with church the coyote

  • list of things here

Church Casino

✱ species: demon (coyote)
✱ gender: genderless he/it
✱ hometown: Truth or Consequences, NM
✱ occupation: conman
✱ scent: burnt piñon pine & monsoon creosote

An oldish character of mine I used for experimental art that has more desert landscapes or psychedelic feeling. A mysterious desert dweller, canyon wanderer, night road rider... known by locals as a cryptid, a werecoyote, a trickster, a conman, a gambler... he is a demon but he's not actually all that powerful. wanders the southwest in search of interesting things.

  • dark canyons, old gas stations, cowboy western wear, flashy outfits, smell of the high desert after a thunder storm, gold, rattlesnakes, black coffee, raw meat, clove cigarettes, low riders

Cocoa

✱ species: japanese macaque
✱ gender: nonbinary any pronouns
✱ hometown: toronto, canada
✱ occupation: professional snowboarder
✱ scent: banana smoothie & coconut milk

monkey who happens to be a pro snowboarder...
Lives in a world visually similar to Inkopolis/Splatoon.. but all animals

  • winter sports, bonfires, boba cafes

✱ design by: MunchMonster

Canyon

✱ species: red-tailed hawk
✱ gender: nonbinary he/they
✱ hometown: tucson, arizona
✱ occupation: photographer
✱ scent: dark roast coffee & vanilla clove

just a fun bird oc for whenever i feel like drawin a bird :]

  • film photography, heavy work jackets

Aquarius

✱ species: bobbitt worm
✱ gender: male he/him
✱ hometown: fantasy beach, ca
✱ occupation: life guard
✱ scent: green palm leaves & water lily
✱ pinterest: [link here]

from a (made up) town called fantasy beach, with white sands, quaint pastel beach motels and breezy palm trees. works as a lifeguard, alternating for the beach and a local resort pool.

  • iridescent, holographic, and glittery materials, pool water, seashells, bath bombs, stickers, pink plastic, floral perfume

✱ design by: vhsdruid

Coast.

✱ species: sea otter
✱ gender: trans male he/him
✱ hometown: santa cruz, ca
✱ occupation: surf instructor
✱ scent: sea mineral & old leather

retired pro surfer turned surf instructor based in capitola/santa cruz. lives in a navy blue craftsman house, in pleasure point.

  • neoprene smell, driftwood art, coconut surf wax, verve coffee

my kintypes

  • you found my secret kin page!! this is a page where i list my current animal kin for fun

  • i've had 'kin' feelings since i was a kid, way before the internet. i always attached to a specific animal or group of animals throughout my life. it's always shifted but i've always had some kin feelings towards canines, reptiles, mustelids, raptor birds!

  • please note im not like. really into therian/otherkin, its more of a surface level fun thing for me.

  • the list below is not in any particular order

Martes

  • american marten & pacific marten + other subspecies and so on

  • not so much european pine martens

crotalus

  • pretty much any rattlesnake species :) but i have a soft spot for pacific rattlesnakes...

  • snakes other than pit vipers, mainly na colubrids - gopher snakes, corn/rat snakes, king snakes...

Selachimorpha

  • sharks, pretty much most species, but i like Requiem sharks best (my shark fursona is hybrid of blue shark and gray reef shark for reference)

plestiodon

  • 'toothy skinks' of north america. my favorite are western skinks and great plains skinks

buteo

  • hawks, i do like other birds of prey/raptor birds as well

seabirds

  • i know thats a pretty broard category, i just like the idea of seabirds in general. my favorites are boobies (sulidae), terns, and cormorants!

wolves

  • i especially love mexican wolves and sea wolves

  • also coyotes and wolf coyote hybrids or wolfdogs!

american akita

  • i'm not really 'dog' in general kin. i just really like american akitas and always have! of course any mixes or dogs that look similar fit to this

gray foxes

  • sometimes other north american fox species (kit fox, red fox) but primarily Urocyon

dog
of paradise

my oc tex, main character of dog of paradise

you may see me talk about my story 'Dog of Paradise'I've been working on it since 2014, It follows main character, tex. it mainly takes place in the los angeles and palm springs areas and is focused on various hitmen and character interactions in this dark but also colorful kind of world.It's actually currently on hiatus as I've been really busy with art as a full time job. But I hope to return to it soon! A lot of the info + character designs are old and go back years and are due for updates!i have a carrd + toyhouse folder where i go more in depth to the world, even talk about the worldbuilding, places and locations and so on.

"Sometimes you feel like you wanna be a hero
Other times you just want to sit around and drink some booze
But me and the boys, we just hang out in the disco
So we don't have to choose"

rio - low cut connie

lone moutain

Lone Mountain is a slice of life, small town drama centered around LGBT romance. Focusing on a friend group who grew up the Monte Toyon area forest communities. They remained in town after graduation, despite many peers outside their close group leaving for college.
The story and cast deal with romance, gender/sexuality feelings, post high school/college feelings, longing for a different life away from home

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trauma

working / temporary title

A medical drama taking place at the fictional Westwood Medical Center's trauma unit / emergency room. Ranked #12 in the states, WMC, or Westwood Health, is a non-profit & medical research center, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Famous for it's emergency and level 1 adult and pediatrics trauma centers, and level 3 prenatal care. It competes with NYMed and Cedar Lake Hospital.While it is a serious story / drama, it does play around with early-mid 2000s medical dramas (think House, Greys Anatomy, etc) , a bit of y2k feeling, music, tropes... etc.

jack

-- name: jack laureiro
-- species: vancouver island wolf / mexican wolf
-- gender: two-spirit he/him
-- hometown: seattle, wa
-- occupation: forester / park ranger / conservationist
-- scent: warm summer air, red cedar, sweetgrass, fresh ground coffee
-- pinterest: [link here]

Patagonia camping dad. Woodsy, fun warm colors.Spends time between the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe area.

  • forest hikes, mountain views, small town life, rivers and creeks, wildflowers, five-panel hats, earthy colors, flannels and quilts, roadside biker bars, salmon jerky

design notes:

  • can have entirely natural markings or stylized markings on his back

  • has faint face freckles

  • always has some sort of facial hair, and always has body hair

SANTO

-- name: santo navarro
-- species: california valley coyote
-- gender: two-spirit he/him
-- hometown: palm springs, california
-- occupation: unknown
-- scent: night blooming florals, desert pine, old leather, copal resin, palo santo
-- pinterest: [link here]

descendent of Trickster Coyote. depsite this he could just be an ordindary coyote man in our world, just with special ancestry, or he can have minor powers of a chaos god.

  • forest hikes, mountain views, small town life, rivers and creeks, wildflowers, five-panel hats, earthy colors, flannels and quilts, roadside biker bars, salmon jerky

design notes:

  • i change his design a lot - no worries about getting it "wrong"!

  • most important features: cheek dots, off white fur + big akita head/neck

  • can have optional speckling / freckles across fur

  • chest tattoos are optional, and can be stylized in any way

  • eyes are any blue, blue green, blue gray, etc! below are some examples: