How to Be a Furry

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Know what the furry fandom is.

   There are many videos on YouTube explaining what the furry fandom is.
   
   An especially good one is "The Furries of Anthrocon" by NBC.
   
   In short, though, the furry fandom is a group of people of varying backgrounds that simply enjoy anthropomorphic animals (a good example would be the animals in Zootopia).
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   Step 2: Consider your interests and how they tie into the furry community.

   The group is centered around anthropomorphic animals, which are animals with human characteristics.
   
   Even if you simply enjoy the concept of werewolves, you may find your calling in this community.
   
   If you dislike anthropomorphic animals, think they're childish and silly, or don't like animals at all, you may not enjoy the furry community. , There are many sub-groups within the furry fandom and you can probably find your own group of friends that have the same types of attitudes and interests as you.
   
   However, most of the community is supportive and interactive toward each other.
   
   There is a strong connection between most furries, as they all have a common interest that defines a lot of who they are as people. , While some furries like to merge their sexual interests with the artwork and literature they create within the furry fandom, by no means does being a furry mean you have to enjoy the sexual side of the fandom.
   
   Many furries enjoy creating and participating in the fandom in a completely family-friendly way, and many who enjoy the sexual side often also enjoy PG furry artwork., If you want to create your own furry characters or enjoy wearing and roleplaying (in usually the most innocent of ways) in animal costumes like fursuits, your best bet will be to join the furry community.
   
   However, it is completely up to you if you want to join the community or not.
   
   Even if you don't have a strong interest in anthropomorphic animals, if you want to join the community, the people within it will likely welcome you with open arms.
   
   On the same note, just because you like anthropomorphic animals a lot doesn't mean you are automatically a furry.
   
   That is completely up to you, and there is nothing forcing you to call yourself a furry or participate in the community. , Creating one is technically optional but is recommended.
   
   Fursonas are fictional characters made to represent you. , Many furries choose canines, felines, and dragons.
   
   However, you are not limited at all in your fursona species of choice.
   
   You can make birds, hybrids, and even made-up species such as Dutch Angel Dragons.
   
   If you want, you can even make your own.
   
   There are no rules at all when picking a fursona's species., The colors are completely up to you.
   
   It would benefit you to try your best to make the character look good.
   
   Bright, oversaturated neon colors can hurt people's eyes.
   
   However, feel free to design your fursona however you want.
   
   If neon colors are truly your thing, go for it.
   
   If you prefer completely natural colors, use them! Like with the species, there are no rules with colors and markings except..., If your character has a lot of similar unique features to another fursona, you should change them to something else.
   
   Fursonas are very close to people's hearts, and stealing them is not only unoriginal, but it can also get you in big trouble.
   
   It's okay to be inspired by other fursonas, but don't outright steal the character just because you like it., If you can't draw too well, consider paying another artist some money to draw your fursona.
   
   You can also use free-to-use bases by looking up "Free base" or "Free lineart" on deviantART or FurAffinity.
   
   These are free templates that you can color as a way to show others what your fursona looks like.
   
   Don't just take images from the internet and say that it's your fursona.
   
   Those are other people's fursonas and often times, people have paid money to have those images drawn for them.
   
   It's considered art theft, and you can get in trouble for doing it! Never claim to have drawn a free base.
   
   Always mention the person who made the base in the descriptions of the places you post it, and never say you drew it because you did not.
   
   You colored it, but an artist put time and effort into making the base for you to color. , Most furry activity happens on the internet, and there are many websites to join within the furry community, like Furry Amino (mobile app) and FurAffinity.
   
   However, there are other places to hop into the furry community. /r/furry on Reddit is a very active subreddit and it is easy to start getting involved in discussions there.
   
   There are also many furry Discord servers, Skype groups, and Telegram groups for instant messaging. (There is a sizable list of them on /r/furry.), Tumblr, FurAffinity, and deviantART are great places to post artwork, literature, and other furry content.
   
   You can also talk to other furries on those sites and develop friendships over time with other furries that carry over onto other platforms., Many locales have their own furry groups.
   
   You can often look up "Furries" to find people near you who may be in the furry fandom.
   
   You can also check out the Globe feature on Furry Amino to find furries near you and start up a chat.
   
   Be careful with meetups.
   
   Like with any community, meeting up with people online can be dangerous.
   
   Use common sense, and don't meet in secluded areas like their house or a hotel room.
   
   Many furries opt to meet up at conventions, as it is a safe environment to be in and you are free to fully express yourself in the con space. , One of the best ways to get involved in the furry community is by attending furry conventions.
   
   The biggest furry convention in the world is Anthrocon, a US-based convention in Pittsburgh which had over 7,300 attendees in
   2016.
   
   These conventions are fun places where furries can meet up, talk, socialize, and visit many events that happen there.
   
   There are vendors that sell artwork, tails, accessories, badges, fursuits, and much more.
   
   In many conventions, there are also spectator-friendly fursuit games, fursuit dance competitions, fursuit floor wars, concerts, and many more special events that vary from convention to convention.
   
   Most top it off with a massive fursuit parade in which almost all of the fursuiters that attend the convention march along a path.
   
   Even if you don't have a suit, you can still watch all the fursuits march by.
   
   You can watch many of these events on YouTube if you are curious to see what happens during them. , That is a wild misconception, and the fact is, less than a third of furries actually have fursuits at all, and not everyone even wants or likes fursuits.
   
   However, it is a staple of the fandom.
   
   They are very fun to most furries and are very entertaining for non-furries.
   
   If you want to get a fursuit, though, you'll need to save up quite a bit as the price tags on them usually start at $1,000 and up. ($2,000 and up for full-body suits!) If you don't want to get a fursuit, you can skip this part, but if you are interested in getting a fursuit, read on! , Fursuiters usually put a lot of time and energy into making their fursuited character come to life.
   
   They give their character personality, and the whole time they're in their fursuit is a performance.
   
   There are many panels you can watch about that teach you how to act in fursuit.
   
   You can look up "Fursuiting 101" and find many panels that walk you through the basics of performing in costume., These suits are a luxury and should not be put before your needs for food, water, hygiene, and shelter.
   
   Put aside money to save for a fursuit, but if you are in a financial crisis, your health and living conditions are much more important than a fursuit.
   
   You do not need a fursuit!, If you're only planning to wear your suit at conventions, at furry parties, or in an otherwise secure place, this may not be important for you.
   
   However, if you are planning to fursuit in public where most people aren't familiar with fursuits/fursuiters, you will most definitely need a handler.
   
   You will need someone in real life who can help you out when fursuiting.
   
   There needs to be someone with you at all times when fursuiting who can help you watch out for problem people (rough teenagers and dirty or rowdy kids especially!) and can speak for you if you are a silent fursuiter.
   
   These people will be your eyes and ears as your senses are very muffled in fursuit, and will help you get out of problem situations and aid you in getting to a private area if you are overheating.
   
   Heatstroke is very dangerous, and nobody really likes it. , Partial Fursuits:
   These are fursuits that come with a head, hands, feet, and a tail.
   
   They are minimal and are meant to be worn with clothes to make it appear that the character is the one wearing the clothes.
   
   These are great for people who overheat easily, as they are easy to take off, are much more insulated considering there is less fur covering you, and have no extra padding.
   
   Plantigrade fursuit:
   These costumes cover your full body.
   
   They are easier to overheat in and harder to get out of, but they show off all the markings of your character and make the suit look more like a character.
   
   The feet are flat, with the ankle being angled 90-degrees (like a regular human foot).
   
   Digitigrade fursuit:
   These costumes cover your full body, but also have extra padding on the legs to make them look more animal-like.
   
   When done well, these suits can completely pull off the illusion of actually being a character, and make the character really come to life.
   
   Digitigrade feet resemble animal feet (they look like an animal's back legs when it's standing). , If you only have one character, this part will be easy, but if you have multiple ones, spend time deciding which one you want to get as a fursuit.
   
   Make sure it is a character you enjoy and that you think would look good as a costume.
   
   Make sure that character has at least a 3-view reference sheet either drawn by you, colored on a base, or commissioned by a reference sheet artist.
   
   It's extremely rare for fursuit makers to make you a fursuit without a reference sheet. , There are hundreds of fursuit makers to choose from, each with their own style.
   
   You can find a large portion of them on the Makers Database.
   
   Keep in mind whether or not the makers are open.
   
   Fursuit makers often only open 1-4 times a year, and when they do, they do not accept every order.
   
   Turnaround time for fursuit makers is usually a few months, so don't expect a fursuit to be shipped to you within a few days of ordering it.
   
   Also, keep in mind their prices and terms of service.
   
   Many makers do not work with people under the age of 18, and most require a 30% down payment up front. (Not all of them require that, so check their websites!) Read through and understand what you are signing up for when you plan to commission them.
   
   Decide on other options for makers.
   
   If you love a certain maker's work, but they haven't made a single fursuit in a year or two and look inactive, you may have a hard time commissioning them.
   
   Look through the Makers Database to find other options in case your first choice doesn't quite work out.
   
   Check the maker's reviews (if they have any) on FursuitReview.com to get an idea of who you're dealing with.
   
   A few makers are great at making fursuits but have bad communication and miss details on characters.
   
   It's better to know this before you decide to commission them than after. , Make sure the maker is open for commissions, then follow their instructions on their website to commission them.
   
   Make sure you are financially able to pay them and have read through their terms first.
   
   The process is slightly different depending on the maker, but for most, you'll have to submit your character reference sheet and the details of what kind of suit you want through a form on their website.
   
   Don't get upset if you don't hear back or weren't picked.
   
   Fursuit makers often get many commission requests, so they can't take every single one.
   
   Just wait for the next opening or wait for another maker to open. , There's a place for every interest in the furry fandom.
   
   Artists, musicians, authors, dancers, comedians, actors, and many other creative people come together to celebrate animal anthropomorphism.
   
   Find some things you enjoy within the furry community and either start up that hobby or learn more about it., This can sound like a daunting task, but furries can often be some of the easiest people to talk to and make friends with.
   
   Furries who comment on your posts or whose posts you comment on and furries with similar specific interests as you are some types of people you can start making friends with.
   
   Sometimes, a furry is open to simply chatting with you randomly, and over time you may develop a friendship.
   
   The more active you are in the community, the more friends you will make., While you don't need to like every popular furry out there, it helps to at least know a few of the more well-known members of the fandom such as Uncle Kage (President of Anthrocon) and Ino/Telephone (founder of Dutch Angel Dragons and an actor).
   
   You can search for great artists within the fandom of all types and find people who inspire you., No matter what creative work you do, spreading the love by offering requests and/or art trades can help people get to know you and your work.
   
   Opening for requests means you are allowing people to ask you for free creative work.
   
   Users may send you an image or written description of their character for you to draw or give a premise for a story.
   
   You're free to accept or deny requests, and you should not feel obligated to complete them, as they are free gifts.
   
   Opening for trades means someone can ask you for a request, and in return, you can ask them for a request.
   
   There is a mutual agreement that each party will make something for the other.
   
   Unlike requests, you are obligated to complete a trade since they are giving you something with the expectation of getting something in return and vice versa.
   
   Do not accept a trade without doing your part. , This means that you are offering to sell your work to others.
   
   Someone can give you money (either a set price or on a price quote basis) for something you made for them.
   
   Once you develop your skill, you can even make a living off selling your work exclusively within the furry fandom.
   
   Your work is great for both you as a content creator and the people commissioning you.
   
   Be warned that there are complete obligations, and you can get in legal trouble if you do not finish a commission
   - by accepting payment and not finishing, you are unintentionally scamming someone.
   
   Set up a price page.
   
   You can ask other furries for help in pricing your work if you're not sure how much it should cost.
   
   Take into consideration how long you spend on each piece, and specify different styles.
   
   For example, a bust icon of someone's fursona with no shading would cost much less than a full-body drawing with lighting and shading.
   
   Set up an info page.
   
   This will let them know if they are allowed to request changes after the commission is done, if the commission may be streamed, if you have refund policies, whether they pay before or after, and any other important information about your commissions.
   
   Inform others about your commissions.
   
   You can post on Furry Amino, leave a link to your price page on your profile, and mention them in furry chats that allow advertising.
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   Step 3: Decide if you enjoy the people within the community.

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   Step 4: Understand that furry is not a sexuality nor a fetish.

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   Step 5: Decide if you want to be a furry.

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   Step 6: Understand that the grand majority of furries have a fursona.

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   Step 7: Pick a species.

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   Step 8: Pick out colors and markings.

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   Step 9: Make sure you aren't copying other people's fursonas.

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    Step 10: Draw out your fursona.

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    Step 11: Participate in online furry groups.

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    Step 12: Check out places on other platforms to post about furry-related things.

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    Step 13: Get involved in local furry groups.

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    Step 14: Attend furry conventions.

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    Step 15: Know that not all furries have fursuits.

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    Step 16: Learn to act in a fursuit.

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    Step 17: Make sure you are financially prepared to buy a fursuit.

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    Step 18: Try to find a handler.

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    Step 19: Decide what kind of fursuit you want.

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    Step 20: Decide which character you want to be made into a fursuit.

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    Step 21: Decide on a maker.

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    Step 22: Commission a maker.

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    Step 23: Discover your interests and start being active in them.

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    Step 24: Make some friends.

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    Step 25: Know the prominent members of the community and find inspiration.

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    Step 26: Open for requests or trades.

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    Step 27: Open for commissions.

Detailed Guide

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