A self insert is a representation of the artist or commissioner of a piece. For the sake of specificity this tag should not be used for fursonas or similar characters, which may be used to represent the character owner, but are not closely patterned after the owner's real world appearance.

Self Inserts are usually humans that obviously have the appearance of the "character's" owner — in the case of artists, the self-insert is sometimes a simplified cartoon character.

This Tag Should Not Be Confused With...

• anon - an anonymous, generic human (or anthro) character with little detail that allows the viewer to self insert, or simply is a stand-in for a generic character
• canon x oc - a relationship (sexual or romantic) between a character from a piece of media and an original character, self inserts should not be included under this tag
• fan character - for original characters derived from the setting of an established piece of media (e.g. a Sonic The Hedgehog or Pokemon OC)
• first person view - the viewer is inserted into the scene, given the perspective of being physically within the image and interacting with a character