FA+
Shop
Real Furries vs Money Makers (Posers)
11 years ago
Journal Headfluff
The following will be displayed at the top of your journal
The following will be displayed at the top of your journal
I know, it's been forever and a day since I posted some serious journals that express myself. If at any point I get a little too side tracked, I'm going to apologize now and get it over with (sorry about that).
So, here goes:
I've made no secret of it that I hate posers. In this fandom, that would be the artists that only draw furry artwork because it's money. Recently, this has come up in more conversations (on Facebook, Skype, Kik) and I've been getting a lot of people asking me the same questions (usually different format, but essentially the same universal questions). I'll just post everything I can think of here and update if anyone actually cares anymore.
There are a lot of artists out there that are like this. I won't say any names (I'm nixing the drama and do not wish to start any), but if you're smart, you can figure them out on your own. A good example would be, if the artist does not have a fursona of their own. That's generally a good rule of thumb.
These artists go to conventions and people love buying their art. Nothing wrong with that. However, if you look at their art, and I mean really look at it, you will see something is missing. Let's call it the "furry soul" because, I'm too tired to give a flip and come up with something more creative.
I had my character drawn by one said artist and it turned out great. But for some reason, when I look at it, I don't really see my character. Which sucks. Anyone who is a true furry should know how badly that sucks. When you pay an artist to draw your character, you want it to be you. If that's missing, well... Then the picture is essentially, a waste of money, and pretty meaningless.
Now, if you are an artist and you are curious to know if you are one of these poser artists, I can easily answer that for you right now. You're reading this journal, which means you care about the fandom, which means you really ARE a furry. Now don't put words into my mouth and assume that anyone who doesn't read journals on FA isn't a furry. Sometimes you just don't have time to read them all. Sadly, I tend to nuke all the journals and don't skim through them anymore. To be fair, that's mostly because at the time of writing this, my submission count is at 584,806 and I'm actually trying desperately to go through them all, and not nuke them (this time).
This all came to me, sadly, because of someone I used to hang out with. The things that were said to me, have stuck, and (unfortunately?) opened my eyes to these particular artists. I wish I could unsee them in this particular light, but there's that whole "once you see you can not unsee" thing. The reason why this sucks is because, I would love to have my character drawn by some of these amazing artists. Knowing that they don't give a shit about my character though? I'll be avoiding them like the plague.
Let me set an example for you. Think of your favorite furry artist. Now imagine that you found out they only care about the money, when they told you that your character sounded "really interesting and fun to draw," they didn't mean any of it and they just wanted you to commission them so they could make more money. Personally, I was hurt to actually come to that realization. The picture that I had drawn for me, wasn't me. I actually don't like looking at the picture anymore. Fortunately, the picture wasn't drawn by my favorite artist.
The art that I like, is the stuff where people drew my character, and threw some of me into it. It's hard to describe, but I'll give it my best shot. If you talk to me, and I mean really talk, not just grab details, you should be able to reflect this in the art easily. There is a smirk that I have. I don't see it, but everyone that knows me, has. There's something in my expressions that can be carried over, with little effort. It's not even something you have to visually see. There are artists who have managed to capture this in the pictures they have done for me, and they don't even realize it. All because they asked me a couple questions. Maybe it's just one question. Depending on the artist, it may be the only question that really matters to them. Maybe it's more of "how" they ask their questions. I have no idea, but it works. Because I can see "me" in the art that is drawn.
I've had some artists draw my character and they don't really ask me many (if any) questions. But just the little fact that they are a real furry at heart, they let some of their own emotions seep into the picture. It may not be "me" per se, but it is at the same time. Does that make any sense?
I wish I could explain it better. The words are there, I just feel like I'm having trouble arranging them properly. For me, when I have trouble with something, I'm kind of like a dog (only in this sense! Fuck you, I'm a wolf!). "Live life like a dog. If you can't eat it, or hump it, piss on it and walk away." If I don't feel like I can explain myself properly, I keep going (and a lot of times, make things worse). On that same note, a lot of times I try to crack and joke to make it less awkward (guess how often that works). Those of you that know me, know how true this is. Unlike a dog, I don't always walk away.
There is some good news out of all of this. It has made me appreciate the furry artists out there even more. The real furry artists. The ones that draw because they are a furry. They're in this fandom because they have strong emotions attached to the fandom. I couldn't quit being a furry if I tried. It's part of me and it's who I am, now and forever. This fandom has helped me more than any muggle (in the geo caching sense, not the Harry Potter term) will ever know or be able to understand. To non-furries, it's just something we do for fun. Like playing video games. To the real furries out there, this fandom is so much more.
I could list to you a bunch of good friends that I feel have helped me out a lot, but that list would be huge, and I'd hate for anyone to feel like I forgot about them because I didn't add their name. I don't consider myself a popufur, and I swear the next person that calls me one is getting a black eye or raped the next time I see you (whichever is more terrifying). The reason why I have so many friends on FB, FA, Skype (whatever you want to look at), isn't because I want larger numbers. It's because I want to give every fur out there a chance to be my friend. That kind of openness is (a small part of) what this fandom is about.
And that is what I feel is missing, the "furry soul" or whatever you want to call it. All of that babbling I just listed above. All of it and more. I could go on for about 20 pages and only barely scratch the surface of what I'm trying to explain. I wish I could be more articulate about my feelings on this. I've read other peoples interpretations on the fandom and always finish reading it, wishing that I could express myself in the same way. But unlike anything else I've ever had in life, this is where I don't feel ashamed to be where I am. I'm not ashamed that I don't have the same amazing artistic talent as
wookiee. I'm not ashamed that I can't make outstanding fursuits like 
firestormsix. I'm not ashamed that I can't compete with 
sunitai's mind blowing speed. I'm not ashamed of being "inferior" in this fandom. Because friends like you guys don't care about any of this either. You do what you love, you put up with my crazy ass self.
Not a single person has ever told me that I'm not good enough (even though I say it almost religiously). All you guys ever do, is encourage me to be a better person and do what I love. Even if I embarass myself and fanboy all over Wookiee and Firestorm when I see them at conventions.
Bonus shout out to my Michigan friends for somehow managing to put up with me (or those of you who I've met at a convention). I really have no clue how you guys do it. I think if I were my own friend, I would have murdered my ass in my sleep.
So, here goes:
I've made no secret of it that I hate posers. In this fandom, that would be the artists that only draw furry artwork because it's money. Recently, this has come up in more conversations (on Facebook, Skype, Kik) and I've been getting a lot of people asking me the same questions (usually different format, but essentially the same universal questions). I'll just post everything I can think of here and update if anyone actually cares anymore.
There are a lot of artists out there that are like this. I won't say any names (I'm nixing the drama and do not wish to start any), but if you're smart, you can figure them out on your own. A good example would be, if the artist does not have a fursona of their own. That's generally a good rule of thumb.
These artists go to conventions and people love buying their art. Nothing wrong with that. However, if you look at their art, and I mean really look at it, you will see something is missing. Let's call it the "furry soul" because, I'm too tired to give a flip and come up with something more creative.
I had my character drawn by one said artist and it turned out great. But for some reason, when I look at it, I don't really see my character. Which sucks. Anyone who is a true furry should know how badly that sucks. When you pay an artist to draw your character, you want it to be you. If that's missing, well... Then the picture is essentially, a waste of money, and pretty meaningless.
Now, if you are an artist and you are curious to know if you are one of these poser artists, I can easily answer that for you right now. You're reading this journal, which means you care about the fandom, which means you really ARE a furry. Now don't put words into my mouth and assume that anyone who doesn't read journals on FA isn't a furry. Sometimes you just don't have time to read them all. Sadly, I tend to nuke all the journals and don't skim through them anymore. To be fair, that's mostly because at the time of writing this, my submission count is at 584,806 and I'm actually trying desperately to go through them all, and not nuke them (this time).
This all came to me, sadly, because of someone I used to hang out with. The things that were said to me, have stuck, and (unfortunately?) opened my eyes to these particular artists. I wish I could unsee them in this particular light, but there's that whole "once you see you can not unsee" thing. The reason why this sucks is because, I would love to have my character drawn by some of these amazing artists. Knowing that they don't give a shit about my character though? I'll be avoiding them like the plague.
Let me set an example for you. Think of your favorite furry artist. Now imagine that you found out they only care about the money, when they told you that your character sounded "really interesting and fun to draw," they didn't mean any of it and they just wanted you to commission them so they could make more money. Personally, I was hurt to actually come to that realization. The picture that I had drawn for me, wasn't me. I actually don't like looking at the picture anymore. Fortunately, the picture wasn't drawn by my favorite artist.
The art that I like, is the stuff where people drew my character, and threw some of me into it. It's hard to describe, but I'll give it my best shot. If you talk to me, and I mean really talk, not just grab details, you should be able to reflect this in the art easily. There is a smirk that I have. I don't see it, but everyone that knows me, has. There's something in my expressions that can be carried over, with little effort. It's not even something you have to visually see. There are artists who have managed to capture this in the pictures they have done for me, and they don't even realize it. All because they asked me a couple questions. Maybe it's just one question. Depending on the artist, it may be the only question that really matters to them. Maybe it's more of "how" they ask their questions. I have no idea, but it works. Because I can see "me" in the art that is drawn.
I've had some artists draw my character and they don't really ask me many (if any) questions. But just the little fact that they are a real furry at heart, they let some of their own emotions seep into the picture. It may not be "me" per se, but it is at the same time. Does that make any sense?
I wish I could explain it better. The words are there, I just feel like I'm having trouble arranging them properly. For me, when I have trouble with something, I'm kind of like a dog (only in this sense! Fuck you, I'm a wolf!). "Live life like a dog. If you can't eat it, or hump it, piss on it and walk away." If I don't feel like I can explain myself properly, I keep going (and a lot of times, make things worse). On that same note, a lot of times I try to crack and joke to make it less awkward (guess how often that works). Those of you that know me, know how true this is. Unlike a dog, I don't always walk away.
There is some good news out of all of this. It has made me appreciate the furry artists out there even more. The real furry artists. The ones that draw because they are a furry. They're in this fandom because they have strong emotions attached to the fandom. I couldn't quit being a furry if I tried. It's part of me and it's who I am, now and forever. This fandom has helped me more than any muggle (in the geo caching sense, not the Harry Potter term) will ever know or be able to understand. To non-furries, it's just something we do for fun. Like playing video games. To the real furries out there, this fandom is so much more.
I could list to you a bunch of good friends that I feel have helped me out a lot, but that list would be huge, and I'd hate for anyone to feel like I forgot about them because I didn't add their name. I don't consider myself a popufur, and I swear the next person that calls me one is getting a black eye or raped the next time I see you (whichever is more terrifying). The reason why I have so many friends on FB, FA, Skype (whatever you want to look at), isn't because I want larger numbers. It's because I want to give every fur out there a chance to be my friend. That kind of openness is (a small part of) what this fandom is about.
And that is what I feel is missing, the "furry soul" or whatever you want to call it. All of that babbling I just listed above. All of it and more. I could go on for about 20 pages and only barely scratch the surface of what I'm trying to explain. I wish I could be more articulate about my feelings on this. I've read other peoples interpretations on the fandom and always finish reading it, wishing that I could express myself in the same way. But unlike anything else I've ever had in life, this is where I don't feel ashamed to be where I am. I'm not ashamed that I don't have the same amazing artistic talent as
wookiee. I'm not ashamed that I can't make outstanding fursuits like 
firestormsix. I'm not ashamed that I can't compete with 
sunitai's mind blowing speed. I'm not ashamed of being "inferior" in this fandom. Because friends like you guys don't care about any of this either. You do what you love, you put up with my crazy ass self.Not a single person has ever told me that I'm not good enough (even though I say it almost religiously). All you guys ever do, is encourage me to be a better person and do what I love. Even if I embarass myself and fanboy all over Wookiee and Firestorm when I see them at conventions.
Bonus shout out to my Michigan friends for somehow managing to put up with me (or those of you who I've met at a convention). I really have no clue how you guys do it. I think if I were my own friend, I would have murdered my ass in my sleep.
Of course I like your stuff, I love it.
I'm excited (and eagerly awaiting) to see my name pop up on your commission list.
And that's not even how I'm going to feel when I get my suit from you.
I say this because I really like anthro art and people in the fandom, and I really like making money off it, seeing as it's my main source of income, but what I LOVE is drawing for other people and it being my job.
I'm also not in this solely for the money, but it's part of the reason why I am in here. I do draw a lot of other non-furry things, but I do have a fursona with which I have a deep connection, even though I don't classify myself as a furry, since I don't ascribe to anything other than having an anthro representation of myself and appreciating the anthro art world/fandom.
I think you are implying that only (what you define as) furries 'at heart' can be good at drawing furries, and that's a bit like saying only people from Middle Earth can draw fantasy art, and basically no one can be good at drawing mechas since we are all made of flesh.
But the people who are "in" this fandom for the money and don't really care about anything else, those are the ones. They draw the art for money. There's nothing else to their stuff.
You love drawing, and it's great to get paid doing something you love.
There are people who are great at drawing furries. But they aren't furries themselves. Their art is missing something. They have great art, but as an example, when I've seen some of these artists draw pictures of my friends, the picture doesn't look like their character.
At least that's what I see.
I never really ever viewed you as "inferior" in any way and I'm really happy that you're not ashamed to be where or what you are. Big part of being furry there actually and I hear ya on the the points on the "fake" furries out there. Furry has always been a really special thing to me ever since I was living in a mormon community on a farm in Wyoming in a town with a population of 50. It was really my only escape where I felt I could actually be me without having to pretend to be the perfect son/church goer that everyone expected me to be. The first conventions I was able to attend were so beautiful and wonderful in that freedom of just being able to be myself without any preconceived judgements surrounding me were borderline paradise. I know that others may not be able to treat them as special, but when it's more of a "mmmmm, this seems kind of cool, I guess I can try it.." kind of gets to me or the "I can do this and maybe they'll pay me for it" does kind of get to me.
The fact that attending a furry convention can have such a huge impact on someones life, means so much. So that is why I get irked by the people who just see this fandom as a source of income.
Which m'sure is the reason I ain't ever gonna be yer 'go-to' furre if ya want somethin' like that done... but I think m'still a pretty fun critter ta be around... like you I'm more in it cause most us are fun-lovers who've found a place an people where we share similar intrests anan have fun showin' an sharin' our artistic creations :)
You're a furry, I'd gladly buy art from you. I can see emotion in your work. There's that small little bit extra added in there. You add it without having to look for it or even try.