What are furries?
What is Furry fandom?
Where can I get one of those furry animal costumes?
Did you like Disney's new movie Zootopia? Did you know that Furry fandom, a thriving community of fans interested in art, costumes, stories, and games featuring anthropomorphic animals, has existed for more than 30 years?
Furry Fandom Infocenter is a useful starting point for people interested in furries and Furry fandom. Discover everything Furry fandom has to offer!
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What are Furries?
Furries are anthropomorphized animal characters—animals with human qualities or characteristics. A typical furry is mammalian, bipedal, humanoid with animal features. However, they cover a wide spectrum—from cartoony to serious, from humanoid to animal-shaped, and can be any member of the animal kingdom (yes, even reptiles and avians count as Furries).
Popular examples of furries include My Little Pony and Zootopia, but many Furry fans create their own original characters (OCs), known as fursonas! A fursona is someone's personal anthropomorphic animal character or avatar, which can be used for interacting online or commissioning artwork. Some people may even get a costume (called a fursuit) made of their fursona.
What is Furry Fandom?
The definition of Furry fandom is the appreciation, promotion, and production of stories and art about anthropomorphic animals, as well as the exploration, interpretation and examination of humanity and human values through anthropomorphic expression. This includes animated cartoons, comic books and strips, stories, artwork, costumes, and stuffed animals.
Furry fandom developed as an offshoot of Science Fiction and Fantasy fandom in the 1980s, for fans interested in anthropomorphic animal characters (commonly known as furries). Over the past two decades it has increased in size and popularity, attracting artists and enthusiasts from all over the world.
Today, Furry fandom is a creative and thriving community of costumers, animators, cartoonists, puppeteers, artists, illustrators, writers, and enthusiastic everyday fans.
What's Up With Those Furry Animal Costumes?
Have you seen those furry animal costumes on TV or in the newspaper? Those are known in Furry fandom as fursuits. While popular in the media for their "eye candy" value, only about 20% of Furry convention attendees own them.
Fursuits can be made for as little as $100, but typically cost $3,000 or more! (Fursuits are not actually made of fur, but out of plush fabric found in craft stores.) Since fursuits are usually expensive, their owners pay careful attention to their care and maintenance.
Furry Conventions
A Furry convention is a gathering of Furry fans for buying and selling artwork, attending art and writing workshops to hone their skills, showing off fursuits, and socializing with friends. Furry conventions are an excellent opportunity to meet and network with other artists, writers, and fans!
Furry conventions are held worldwide throughout the year. There are also smaller gatherings known as "furmeets". Look at our list of Furry conventions and find one near you!
Furry Art
People have been drawing anthropomorphized animals for thousands of years—from prehistoric cave paintings, to representations of Egyptian gods. It is only within the last two decades that Furry art has become the focus of an organized fan base. Today, there are many tips on drawing Furry art available from other artists, as well as books on how to draw furries.