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Furry and Nonfurry. What if it might work? by LudoCrow
First before I begin this huge wall of text, I just want to explain the perspective I come from.
I didn't start out as a furry artist. Originally, I was drawing mostly generic fantasy and science fiction art... with the occasional anthropomorphic character once in a while. It's through the later art and RP channels on IRC that I began to meet more furries and decided to try branching out in that direction... and to a nice even if humble success as I discovered.
Now, a lot of people are moving from furry sites... often due to a variety of reasons. But what surprises me is the amount of people who're instead making the move from places like Deviantart instead. People who're not even furry.
And what amazes me? Just how all these people, furries and nonfurries, are civil to each others despite their varied backgrounds.
This said I'm not exactly surprised. I often was of the philosophy that if there ever was a problem with "furry", it's not that people cannot "understand" or "appreciate" furry art. That is, art featuring anthropomorphic animal characters. The only problem was from furries -believing- that such was the case.
The series of comic book "Blacksad" could never have achieved the position for "Best art" at Angouleme's International Comic book festival, with titles not just coming from Europe but also the Americas and mangas coming from Asia, if even "nonfurry" people could not appreciate art featuring anthropomorphic animals.
Which is why I'm enjoying this site. There are a tons of furry. But also many nonfurry whom I'm finding there, enjoying the site for what it is and even a lot of the art. In a way, in my opinion, is that the "furry" community doesn't need to put itself inside an enclosure where there are only other furries to find people to appreciate the art produced.
You could say that, in a fashion, what I would love would be for furries to stop thinking they can only have success amongst other furries. To instead go boldly and out and produces works that will be seen and see success even outside the community itself.
Comic like Blacksad have proved such. All across the world as it is now being written not only in french, but also published in spanish. And English, achieving the rare feat of an european comic seeing success in the USA.
Games like Dust have shown that you can make a game featuring anthropomorphic animals and still find wide success online, the game having a success not just on XBox live arcade but also now available and having much success on Steam.
So to those amongst you who consider yourselves furry, be proud for a moment of your fandom and realizes that, yes, others might just be able to appreciate what it might produces and that you don't need to close yourselves off to others because you might believe they "can't understand". :)
For another and more personal anecdote:
Last year I was up at an anime con here in Quebec city, hosted by University Laval. Someone showed up in a partial fursuit and another guy in full fursuit passed by. When they were gone, just behind their back a girl basically went: "I know a lot of people say lots of bad things about furries, but when I see stuff like these suits I just can't help but go, "Wow, that's awesome!"
Journal Information
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Comments
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Pretty much.
Me deciding to continue forward on my art, even if the commissions I was getting were only from furries, basically happened when a nonfurry friend/aquaintance of mine(a postdoctorate who has, ontop of working high-placed government jobs, done panel and given speeches at medical conventions) fell on one of my old sketchbooks for furry and commissions... and she basically started complimenting me in complete honesty about the sketches she was finding within and, when she noticed my unease(basically because it was furry art), she basically went out and told me I should never be ashamed of whatever I might draw as an artist.-
That is very good advice. Keep on drawing :) You have some really cool stuff.
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Extremely well articulated, I think the issue is self induced segregation. There is a view others can't appreciate or understand, when reality is the enclosed nature makes people guess what is going on, and most peoples guesses take the parts furthermost from the truth for the majority. It will be interesting when the subculture gets assimilated into pop culture (it is only time).
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Pretty much. Then again this isn't something exclusive to "furry" culture. In general it's prevalent in -many- group of "geek" subcultures. Gamers, star wars or star trek fans and such. With many member of "geek" cultures having a background of having been bullied or mocked for being "different" from what people expect is the "norm", they often close-up on themselves and don't realizes sometimes that there are people even amongst the broad "norm" culture who might appreciate the same thing they do.... and unwittingly find themselves even more harshly closing themselves off against anything "different" from them without making any effort to connect with them and realizes they might have shared interests.
In a fashion, I think this kotaku article put it best in my eyes(even if at the time it was relating more to gaming culture): http://kotaku.com/reminder-dont-just-correct-people-connect-with-peopl-1500323816
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To some I guess there is a safety of the wall that a label brings, it allows people to function in an accepting environment without having to explain it to a world they believe will judge them harshly. Over time it will just be accepted, I wonder what the next taboo will be? Art that crosses borders and makes people understand the human condition better, allows an insight and acceptance of others, as people can relate and relate their own experiences through another persons art. It can be the opener of doors.
Much art in the fandom is self-indulgent thus insular. It is not to tell a story but to fulfill a need. The more stories, that revolve around the human condition of people in animal skins, the more acceptance there will be (even if there are parts the cover areas of sensuality and sexuality).
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Though I don't really identify as furry myself, I REALLY appreciate a lot of the artists within that fandom and really love to see the things they can create!
I think a lot of the bad stigma is from people looking up or finding the art that isn't necessarily representative of the views of that fandom as a whole, but represent more of the 'fetishised' things, which is unfortunate.
Honestly, I wish I understood more about it all. It seems really interesting, and a LOT of what i've seen seems really cute and fun ;v; I kind of wish I could draw it!-
Really, at the end of the day, "furry" is just about "people who appreciate art or medias featuring anthropomorphic animals". It's pretty much that simple when bared down to it's simplest form :)
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Excellent post.
Yes it's the fandom's perogative to open up and show off. I feel this is the only way to invite new blood into the mix.
Overall an extraverted action by the community is a great thing I can get behind. -
Funny enough, I am not a furry myself but I enjoy drawing the characters, and the furry community has been the only place I've been able to get commissions. They seem nicer and more open than the anime 'human only' artists I often see on DA. I love seeing both furry and non-furry artists here, and everyone appreciating eachother's art and helping to improve. It seems pretty much the ideal situation to me. :)
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This is completely tangential rant, sorry.. xD I'm sort of being picky here, but Dust always felt like a cheap knockoff of Odin Sphere on the PS2, which did feature anthropomorphic creatures and one of whom was playable with a very detailed story. This was an important step for anthropomorphic legitimacy, because the species weren't a "Mascot" type character like many of the anthro-centric series that originated during the PS1/N64 generation. Dust certainly is pretty and fairly successful, but it's nothing compared to OS as an overall work of art and game. OS didn't have the benefit of an international digital distribution system, sadly. Too many people don't know that OS came first, and it'd be wonderful if more people got to experience such literal art; it's a game I would use as a backbone for my argument that games can indeed be art.
Anyway, my rant aside, very nice journal. It's both a pro and a con that my medium, music, transcends the label of furry. It makes it a bit easier for me, but most of the time I find it hard to connect to -anyone- through it, haha.
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I completely agree and I am so excited to see the mesh of bother sides. I think it could go very well.
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The problems is not with the them of anthropomorphism, as many game, book, series are successful with those. The problem is with the sect like mentality of the furry community.
Their inability to self regulate, to say no, to impose a limit when it come to online content, to pick staff and such.
Their constant 'king child' attitude when it come to them. They can have an opinion on other community, but when the other have an opinion on them, it's fursecution.Remove all the Furry crud, and you have people who enjoy and support anthropomorphism.
And I think convention are a good place too see that, because often, all the crude get filtered in those event. Not all the time, but often. And it help show a good image of what anthropomorphism can be without the obsessive costume, porn and asocial attitude.
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Well, even the fursuit thing still surprised me, as I was refferencing in my own personal experience, there are a fair bit of nonfurries which can appreciate well done fursuit.
Then again, it's pretty much the furry equivalent of cosplaying.
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Being from Europe, I can say that the anthropomorphic characters are quite usual here. A lot of the children's comics have them and some of the adult ones (such as BlackSad as you said). Hell, people should check out French/Italian comics in general. Sky Doll is another amazing comic that can be counted as... anthro (in a way) a more human anthro style. The characters have cat and dog like features... and tails and such.
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Personal rant in 3...2...1 GO!
This is something that bothered me the longest time. When people where either "furry" or "normal". I mean.. Why not both? Or why do you need to despise one if you are the other? I am happy to see people getting over the fences now!
I'm one of those types who dispise labels. I have perhaps two labels I can use for myself without getting in any way uncomftorable.I'm not a furry. Or furry artist. But I have never seen any problem with it either. (True: I am a bit off with people fursuiting, but the same thing goes to Santa Clauses and lolita's or any cosplayer. To which all: I wholeheartly appreciate a well done suit, it needs lots of work, time and money to do every single one. Why I walk around them has most likely something to do with the communication; not sure if I would be talking with a character or with the person portraying them. Just like people wearing sunglasses. I don't like talking to them, because I don't see their eyes. Still, if I ever went to conventions, I would most likely compliment the character for looking good if we ended up having conversation. Or compliment the well done suit to the person? Yeah, still no idea which one I would do, SO I just stay in the bakground and oogle at the amazing suits. Yeeeeah!)
Back to the point! I do hope people will mix together. "normal" artists see that furries aint any more weird than them and furries might find they are not being haunted down.
I used to have a flatmate back at Wales who refused to look art art that one would call furry. They refused to acknowledge the joke of a strip, because there was a animehaired feral type dog/fox/cat?. But when Blacksad came out, he jumped on it! All I could do is be happy for Blacksad (and my flatmate to be open enough to realise Blacksad is so darn good!) and a bit confused. I had shown them furry art equally (in one way or another) good as Blacksad and they had just sneered at it because "furries are pervs".
And furries who see me drawing humans! Man those guys... literally don't care. They are just "cool or whatever". Or that is what I've noticed this far!
I grew up with animal based stories. My first comics were World's Strongest Bear (Bamse) and Tarzan! And one another anthro comic and then came G.I.Joe, which I ate up hungrily! So It is easy to see why I am all good with furry and nonfurry characters. And that is the reason why I want to do both, because that way more people might open up to the idea. And I believe many others think the same!
That is why I like this place. This is not "Furry or gtfo!" or ""normal" or gtfo!" And I do hope there continues to be variation! That the range of different types, mediums and so on will be wide.
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I am really, really hopeful that these are all signs of good things to come.
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Blacksad is amazing and it's one of those comics I can recommend to people without anyone going "Ewww, furry". Same with Dust.