This is the second drawing I ever did of Jonah (left) & Jonathan (right). It has become the defining version of the characters, and the emblem of the series as a whole. For the convoluted story of how the idea of these characters even came about you can read the description in my submission "BTBF: First Sketch Ever".
The idea here is that these two have been close friends since their earliest "childhood" (the earliest point in which you have an identity outside of your parents, which I gather happens at around the age of 4). The rabbit boy is the cooler more confident of the two but he's never abandoned his somewhat shy companion because he was his first major friend (note, the boy on the left is a chipmunk, not a squirrel).
The rabbit character (full name: Jonathan Joseph Jack Rabbit) came about naturally and with little difficultly I guess because he's an idealized perfect "best friend"/"boy crush" for me. I literally can not think of a male (furry) character I could find any more appealing both physically and personality-wise. He's my favorite furry species, rabbit, he has light blonde tuffs of hair, light blue eyes, a cool and simple shade pattern (the middle ear bars), he wears a lot of blue (blue jacket blue jeans), and just a tiny fashionable flare (the gloves, makes him seem like an aristocratic british kid or something), nothing garish or super effeminate. He excudes an aura of gentle boyishness, kind caring and easy going yet without a hint of "girl" in him, like Tails or Christopher Robin, that sorta thing. He's very different than Kyaw (my other rabbit boy) whose into stuff animal tea parties, painting nails, and wearing ballet dresses. But Jonathan is not the sort of boy who makes fun of other boys, he has no "ego" in that sense, he's got nothing to prove, and he is always being authentic and totally himself. He is also totally comfortable in his own skin and in the company of other boys, and is not shy of his interest in making (same sex) friends. That being said, he is not without his snarky/roguish/rude boy side (I guess I find a little bit of wise guyishness appealing too) but this is never at the expense of other boys, certainly never in a mean spirited way, more a playful perhaps even flirty way. He can be a sassafrass with girls and authority at times though. In short he is the cool confident kind object of devoted love of our friend Jonah here (seen on left).
Jonah (full name: Jonah Jahirah Chipmunk) was much more difficult to design as I wasn't quite sure what I was creating. Although originally based on Corey, the character has essentially made a complete break with him in this picture. Jonah has almost nothing in common with him except for flights of fancy. I spent a lot of time drawing and erasing his face until something unique, something very specific personality-wise, emerged. A quirky, odd boy who is difficult to categorize. There are nerds and dorks ... and then there are just those odd kids who defy categorization, who can't really be compared to anything else but themselves (for example, there's being a dork and a weirdo ... and then there is being "Jonah", that sort of thing). If they are ostracized (as they almost invariably are) it won't because they are specifically any one thing but just because they are not "normal". It's almost better to be a nerd because at least then people know what to make of you and expect. Jonah does have some nerdy interests but he is not solely defined by them. One thing these type of "a uniqueness-all-my-own" characters do always have in common however is a lack of care for the opinions of others for their behavior/manner and a general sort of emotional openness that can't be shut down. This is the kinda kid who can't sit down in class, talks too much and might be considered a general nuisance at times. Jonah is that odd mix of precocious intelligence in some areas yet can be quite innocently naive in others, a "smart/stupid" character (something I don't see too much in mainstream media where it seems like you are one or the other but never both at the same time). He's the sort of kid that can make friends easily sometimes because he at least offers something unique and distinctive to any friendship, yet he will invariably be off putting to some no matter how friendly he is. I think that pretty much sums up Jonah, and I think that translates in a subtle way with his character design.
One interesting note about Jonah's design, specifically outfit. I gave him a sailor suit primarily just to give him something different to wear than Jonathan (a simple tee shirt and jeans would be very boring). I like sailor suits (my character Meeks and Petroshka feature them). Also it's a good excuse to have a hankercheif tied around his neck without it seeming out of place, suggesting a slight effeminacy ( I find little bits of ornamentation on a character design add appeal for me. This holds for male and female characters). The sailor suit however has gained an additional significance in that "Jonah" in the bible gets thrown overboard, creating a water/swimming/sea fairing association with the name. The interesting part is that I did not initially make this connection. The original name for this character was going to be "Jorah", but it changed to "Jonah" to make it more biblical and because Jonah means "dove" which represents "devotion" (the idea being that Jonah is "devoted" to Jonathan). Later I realized that the biblical narrative "dove-tailed" :p nicely with the sailor suit unintentionally. So Jonah has a water-affinity/theme and later on we will learn that Jonah is actually a very good swimmer and this will have important story ramifications later.
I hope I have successfully conveyed how close they are in the way I drew them together. We can see that Jonathan is the more confident "cool" character but we also can see there is no hint of a patronizing sense that Jonah is somehow less than him. They are equals here. If anyone sees Jonah as the weaker of the two it would be others who see it that way, not how they personally experience their own relationship.
Well I could go on and on, but that's enough sneak peak info for now.
If the characters and themes interest you, you can check out my ongoing comic book about them starting here:
