-sona

A Sona, also know as an Art Persona, Art OC, or a fandom-specific name, is a fanart of an original character design. The design often references the aesthetic of a canon or other characters. They are distinct from self-inserts because the focus is on character design, and the sona is not made for the purpose of interacting with canon characters. Creating a sona may be part of a challenge or hashtag. They are generally not accompanied by fanfiction or roleplay – they are mainly for visual enjoyment, and are not meant to be imagined as existing within the canon of a story.
==History==
Sonas likely originated with the fursona from Furry fandom. Fursonas have long been a "character, persona, alter ego, avatar, or identity assumed by a person or player normally associated with the furry fandom." The origins of the fursona concept and its role in furry fandom today are difficult to pin down to specific dates, but it in Western society in the 1970s and 1980s due to the growing clout of roleplaying gaming (including live-action, tabletop, computer multi-player, etc.)Fursona on Wikifur, retrieved June 2019 induced the adoption or self-creation of highly-stylized, often genre-specific alter-egos for RP purposes among specific audiences.
Such characters often did not need to be written into written narratives, but were instead buoyed by being a general-purpose alter-ego for the RPer or costumer. This difference from the traditional idea of the character as being driven by stories of fiction allowed for the "favorite character" or "custom-made character" to be shifted to the "alter-ego", "alternative persona" or "fursona".
Personas are usually rendered in art. Often there is a profile showing off the sona's character design. 
The terms and agreed-upon tags for sonas are usually fandom-specific. A noun, usually related to the species of the character, is placed before -sona.
Following Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spidersonas became extremely widespread. This popularized the concept of the -sona, leading to the creation of -sonas for different fandoms outside of widespread trends.
===Self-Insertion in Fan Art===
====Drawing Someone Else's Self-Insert====
There is a disparity between writing other people's sonas and drawing other people's sonas, which could be explained by differences in commission culture between fan authors and fanartists. While self-insertion for writing pretty exclusively deals with the author inserting themselves into their work, self-insert fanart is sometimes done on commission or by request.
In a 1975 issue of the Star Trek:TOS zine A Piece of the Action, a fan had an ad offering to paint other fans in fantasy settings, with prices started at 9x12 for $25.00 and going up to 18x24 for $59.00. The advertisement read:
 
Plus, from a flyer printed in the Beauty and the Beast zine, Dreams of Thee 
 
The fan artist Pyracantha explains her choices in a piece of art drawn for one of her friends: 
Image:bblite-2.jpg|from B & B Lite, artist is Nancy Stasulis
Image:selfinsertionflyer.jpg|In 1983, a Dark Shadows fan offered to incorporate a real person into a Dark Shadows portrait.
File:Timewarp6-7-12.jpg| the artist is Nancy Stasulis for the story "Prince in Waiting" in Time Warp #6/7 Volume 1, the fan portrayed is Pat Nussman
====Drawing One's Own Self-Insert====
Many fan artists who draw self-insertion do so because it's comforting and allows them to escape. One fan artist said:
Another fanartist explains that she draws herself as a self-insert in every fandom she's in, because:
==Fandoms==
Fandoms with notable sona art trends.
* Steven Universe - Gemsona
* Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - Spidersona
* Homestuck - Fantroll and Trollsona
* Boku no Hero Academia - BNHA OC
* Pokemon - pokesona. Drawing oneself as a trainer or gym leader is common, in addition to the trend of Rymesonas following the release of Detective Pikachu.
* Invader Zim - Invader OC
* The Owl House - Witchsona and Demonsona
* Helluva Boss - Impsona
* Furry - fursona, truesona
* Fictionkin - kinsona
* My Little Pony - ponysona
* Saint Seiya - Saintsona
* Minecraft - Minesona
The BNHA OC and Spidersona trend are notable for rarely being intended to represent the artist, and are not self-inserts.
=== Homestuck ===
Fantrolls as well as Trollsonas.
Many Homestuck fans create their own troll or human avatars for RP complete with art and typing quirks. There is a generator available to make them, a wiki specifically for fantrolls, and several forum posts and tumblrs about fantrolls.Examples: Fantroll Evaluations, F-yeah Fantrollreviews, fuck yeah awesome fantrolls, and fuck yeah awful fantrolls
* Trollsona on MSPA Wiki
* What Is The Difference Between A Trollsona And A Fantroll?
* Fantroll/Trollsona Template
===Steven Universe===
Known as a Gemsona.
Many fans have developed their own Crystal Gem personas or Gem OC's, also known as "gemsonas"The World Of Steven Universe. "Steven Universe - U.G.R.V. (Clip) Say Uncle." YouTube. YouTube, 02 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
According to the FAQ on the Gemsona Archive on Tumblr:
Series creator Rebecca Sugar also encouraged this in an AMA:
===BNHA===
Known as a BNHA OC.
The practice of creating an OC U.A. student with a profile sharing their Quirk and character design is extremely popular. There are ask blogs and RPs dedicated to OCs.
===Spidersona===
Spidersonas became popular after Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which deals with parallel and alternate realities and, to some extent, legacy heroes. The concept of a multiverse is also a part of Marvel and Spider-Man comics.
In 2019, Marvel held a contest for fan-made spidersonas, and the winners were featured in several Spiderverse comics beginning in 2020.. Sun-spider, one of the winners, also had a brief appearence in the 2023 animated movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
* Spidersonas are a joyous celebration of Into the Spider-Verse’s message
* Spidersona
* #spidersona hashtag on Twitter
* #spidersona on Tumblr
** Some examples: gecko man by spicy-universe (with headcanons contributed by several other users), color design by quartergremlin, by sophietheghost
==Fanwork Examples==
* Class Zero: a BNHA OC Zine
==References==
Category:Visual Art