I've only been to one anime con and I confess my experience wasn't as grand. I think though the main reason for my lack of fun at the anime con was I didn't know many people so I felt very alone in a mall of anime. I find furry cons fairly fun, but I also realize I usually have a few more folks I know in them so the other people tend to make it pretty fun. There is a lot of emphasis on folks looking for art of their characters, one of the big draws is usually folks will go to various artists and get commissions, usually of their character, in a sketchbook.

When it comes to art booths, I actually find the somewhat smaller cons tend to fair better. They're usually pretty friendly and relaxed, and the larger a con is, the more likely folks are going to be spreading their finances thin so it can be harder to make sales unless you have a very unique gimmick. But overall I find the atmosphere very friendly. I usually recommend if going, certainly bring a friend or a few...the most bad stories I hear about usually involves the person rooming with folks they barely knew and it ends up being bad roomate scenarios but with furries. XD

Is there anything in particular you were curious about regarding furry cons?

Thank you very much!

You pretty much summed up what I needed to know, though I don't have really many friends that are considered furries, so unless if I make online friends, I'd probably be alone, whereas I have a lot of friends in my everyday life that enjoy anime/anime cons :C

I'd like to go to one at least once to experience it, and I really enjoyed the artist alley at the last anime con I went to.

In that case, I'd say try to see if there are any local or at least easy to get to cons near you. I find small cons tend to be really friendly and a great way to meet folks without feeling really overwhelmed by the "I'm all alone in a sea of strangers. D:" and generally for artist alley it's a lot more convenient. Depending on your location, there are usually a few that are within stone's throw. I am in the midwest area and there are several that aren't too far a stretch to reach if I really aim for it. I know there are a bunch on the coasts as well.

One thing I like about furry cons is that they are pretty friendly when it comes to meeting new peeps. And despite the focus on furry, there is a lot of overlap into other cultures. I know there are usually a bushel of anime and homestuck and TF2 fans that are all over the fanbase that almost always make appearances at cons. I think last year I ran into like...a bushel o Nepetas and Karkats. *laugh*

I live on the east coast, so I know Anthrocon is about a 5 hour drive and FA United is even closer, but I'll try to find a smaller one before attempting those :/

Anthrocon is quite the beast of a convention I cannot deny that. I've been attending that one for a while and it has gotten pretty crazy. XD I'm going to FA United this year for the first time so I'm not sure what it is like but I have heard it is a bit more mellow than AC. I've heard good things about Furfright, which happens around Halloween.

I'll be sure to try to go to one in the future C: I've heard about Furfright, but sadly I don't think an October con is going to work out for me this year.

OKAY SO I'M A BIT LATE TO THIS, BUT...

I went to my first furry convention last year, and it totally hooked me.
I've been going to anime cons for 6 or 7 years; been to ren fests, steampunk cons, and like-.... crazy anime/comic/gaming/etc mishmash cons...
They're awesome, they're fun, you meet cool people and have a great time
... but they're nothing
NOTHING compared to even my FIRST furry con.
JUST. WOW.

I never wanted to go to a furry con, because I'm not much into furry culture-- I just like drawing animals.
BUT I REALIZED THAT I'M PROBABLY MORE INTO FURRY CULTURE THAN I AM INTO ANIME/STEAMPUNK/ETC CULTURE
And, unlike anime cons, where you tend to gravitate toward people with the same show interests...
... at furry cons, it's all just this big mishmash of people who are PRETTY MUCH ONLY THERE TO HAVE FUN
There's a LOT less subsects (i.e. Hetalia folks, Homestuck folks, comic folks, etc. who cluster together and stay there)-- you've pretty much just got the awkward shy subsect, the 'only there for yiff' subsect, and then the HUGE MAJORITY WHICH IS THE "TOTAL BADASS, LET'S HAVE FUN TOGETHER" SUBSECT

First furry con I went to was Central Plains Fur Meet and had about 70 people, and I made friends with pretty much ALL of them-- As opposed to small anime/steampunk/etc. cons I've been to and made like maybe 10-20 acquaintances and 4 or 5 friends. ;<;

JUST WHOA
If you're outgoing, like to laugh, like to be silly, like to watch people be silly, like to sit quietly and observe other people having fun, or whatever... Furry Cons will DEFINITELY be a fun experience.
But if you prefer things to be chill and quiet all the time, you may not dig it as much. 8'D
CAUSE I MEAN. PEOPLE ARE CHILL AT TIMES. But everyone is really just there to enjoy each-other's company and ham it up, so the general theme is going to be bouncing and fun.
UNLESS YOU GO TO THE ARTIST ALLEY
CAUSE PEEPS ARE SUPER SERIOUS IN ARTIST ALLEYS 8I

-- blahblah, lots of rambling, but basically
if you can find a small con in your area, it's at least worth checking out-- for the experience, if nothing else!!

Thanks~ C:

I see what you mean by everything. I'd like to make friends at cons ^^ I'm going to at least try to get out to one next year if possible.