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Discounted $12 full colour commissions! 5 Slots!
Trailer: Killer Robots vs. Killer … Slugs? ['Exoids']
i just got my first collar today ^v^
Go watch my Friend draw some amazing stuff :O
Phoenix Area Furs!
A quick foreword: This is a self-post, for which I receive no karma. If you could please upvote this so that geographically compatible furs can see it, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
Hello, my fellow roasted furs!
I'm interested in organizing a get-together for all of us. My question here is whether or not there would be enough furs interested in going to make it worth the time to try and organize such a gethering. So, if you're a Phoenix Fur, or an AZ fur who'd be willing to make a trek, comment here and let me know!
submitted by candid_canid[link] [4 comments]
Where did the stereotype of "Furries like beastiality" come from?
I'm seeing it more often now. Mostly morons commenting on con videos and such saying: "Oh hurr, furries have sex with animals! Furfags!" Where did that even originate? I know there's yiff and things, but those are anthropomorphic pornographic drawings. So, does anyone really know where it comes from, or did it just spawn randomly? Or what? Thanks!
submitted by Madisaurus[link] [17 comments]
[Series Reboot]Live From the Hop Inn Episode 300
[Series Reboot]Live From the Hop Inn Episode 301
[Series Reboot]Live From the Hop Inn Episode 302
[NSFW] Bukkake game targeting Toragami [M]
Nordguard Takes the SDCC pic
While not even OFFICIALLY opened yet, Nordguard takes the lead in the first San Deigo Comic Con pic. Take a look at the website here for information if you’re going. I do not head to many west cost things, so sadly I will miss out, but hope everyone has fun!! I will now do things with my fursuit to make people happy………. take reasonable pics of course, check back soon for this!
Art and Money
The relationship between art and money is always tense. In fact, one of my favorite books that I read during my time in the music composition department at school was Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland (which I very highly recommend to any artist readers out there). They describe the relationship, in part, as “There’s one hell of a lot more to art than just making it.” The tension shifts in the world of ‘crafts’, functional art, and the like. The website What The Craft dissects the problem of working with money in craft in two excellent posts, one about why handmade is “so expensive” and another about how to price hand-made goods. In both cases, the author explains that “[h]andmade goods mean attention to detail, quality craftsmanship, and a significant amount of TIME and SKILL”, which can in turn lead to the higher price.
Furry art, then, fits in a strange place in the middle, what with the “traditional art” aspect of a commissioned artist creating a work, as well as the custom, attention-to-detail oriented aspect of handmade crafts providing a visual representation of our characters. I’ve written before about the how the connection between a visual representation of one’s character can affect the way one interacts with an artist, but I spent little time on how the financial aspect of the transaction plays in the scenario.
In order to gain some insight on the matter, I conducted interviews with various artists, asking questions suggested to me by a few others. The truth is, I simply have very little basis on this to work from in my own past. I have had exactly one piece of music commissioned of me, pro bono, and it went terribly. The work I do on my own in web design is a little more expansive, but still hardly worth much in the way of experience points. Having collected the answers into one place and read over them a few times, I started to notice a few points of tension that stick out beyond simply “drawing one’s character”. I asked questions about how the artists had come up with their pricing schemes and how they interacted with customers, and each showed that a good amount of thought went into their role as furry artists.
When it comes to pricing the work of a furry arist, there seem to be two main ways of going about it. The artist will either come up with a rough guideline as to how best to price their work on an hourly scale – for example, given that a certain type of drawing takes x number of hours, they’ll come up with an estimated range for pieces of that type. The other way in which a commission price is determined is by checking prices against their peers and estimating from there. An artist of a certain style and perceived skill level can get a pretty good idea of how much they might charge for work by looking at their friends’ work and how much that goes for.
That said, the overwhelming response from those that I interviewed was that furry artists most definitely undercharge for their labor. One artist, Ten, mentions, “I’ve been to far too many artists pages’, even talked to friends of mine who do outstanding work, and they’re all ‘is fifty bucks too much? That sounds like too much’, and it turns out they think fifty bucks is too much for a fully colored custom work.” Another artist, who wished to remain anonymous, echoed the point clearly: “I have seen some very talented people charge very little for their work, and I try to point that out when I can. ‘You could charge twice as much, you’re so talented!’ is what I usually say.”
The question of why many artists charge as little as they do and why they don’t often raise their prices is a fairly interesting one. Certainly one of the reasons that many do not charge more is that it isn’t their primary source of income, but out of the five artists that I interviewed, only two of them had additional sources beyond their own art. So, if many artists are making art in order to support themselves, why is it that there is a general impression of undercharging art?
Part of it, I believe, is tied to the expected consumers of the art, the patrons who pay for the commissioned works. There is an expectation that furries simply will not have the money at hand in order to afford what would be full-price for a similar commission outside the fandom. Rhazafax mentions, “if it were possible to raise [prices] without losing a chunk of clients, I won’t lie, my pocket book sure could use it,” somewhat supporting that idea, while the anonymous artist mentioned that they “certainly charge furries less than what [they] would charge at a professional artist level.”
There seems to be quite a bit of mental strife involved in valuing one’s work in terms of dollars, pounds, or yen. In order to come up with a price point, not only does hourly wage need to be taken into account (the “am I making enough” aspect), but also how that relates to one’s peers in style and skill level (the “am I asking the right amount” aspect). For those who do it for a living, the point is quite fine, there. The artist needs to pay for their rent and food, as does the client, and so their output needs to be high enough or of high enough quality; as Sigil puts it, “you can sell one picture for $100 or ten pictures for $10…which would be more rewarding?”.
But what about the client?
I should be honest that the impetus from this post came from seeing a rash of “wish I could afford it” or “those are cool but too expensive for me” comments on FurAffinity when an artist opened up for commissions. I understand the difficulty of finances first hand, having paid my way through three years of college, then going on to buy a house. Even many of the artists I asked sympathized on some level with these comments. However, many of those comments seemed to be implying that the artist should lower their prices, even if only for the one who posted the comment. Ten addresses this directly: “[I] wish I could cater to their price level, but then everyone would expect alterations for them, and it’d through off my whole point of having specific price points.”
This leads to another mechanism of catering to many when it comes to commissions: target audiences. Sigil mentions that everyone can save up for a $20 piece of art, though the sentiment is echoed by many that I interviewed, leading to varied price points for different levels of work for the artist. These are often exemplified by the ubiquitous pricing sheet (Floe, Ten, Rhazafax, and Sigil - the four named interviewees – all have their own in their galleries). Another example of a targeted client base was provided by Floe: “My target audience is repeat customers. I tend to get better every time I draw them.” She mentions that her prices are structured around this idea.
All these financial reasons surround this tension, and yet one main economic factor is very much subdued in this market: competition. Most of the artists that I asked mentioned that competition plays a relatively small role in their interactions with others, often due to style. ”Furries are going to commission the artists they like and the artists they can afford,” Ten explains, and Sigil echoes this: “if someone wants a Sigil picture, they will come to me.” Even though there may be competition within price range, Floe explains that this is why she strives to build a relationship with her customers. As a concrete example of this, Floe created our delightful RandomWolf banner for us at the top of the page, and I commissioned that from her last year after meeting her…gosh…five years or so ago, and having received several pictures of my own characters from her.
In the end, some of the tension surrounding money and art may indeed be due to the “yes, but this is ME!” aspect of having one’s character drawn by another, but there are often simple and mundane reasons at work, as well. The artists need to make their money for their own reasons, whether to support themselves completely or simply to supplement their income, and the clients need (or want; I say need because I’m so terrible at drawing) art of their characters created by others if they want some sort of visual representation of the avatar into which they’ve poured so much of themselves. It’s economics at its (complicated, puzzling, sometimes hurtful) finest. And in the long run, well, we seem to do pretty well by ourselves.
I’d like to thank the artists who provided me with their input, and one of the best ways I can think to do so is to encourage you all to go check out their galleries, they’re really awesome! Their input was invaluable not only in constructing this post, but also increasing my own understanding of the other side of the trade. If you’d like to check out their responses in full, I’ve posted four of the interviews here. I asked seven base questions, but, of two of the artists, I asked an eighth question that was put to me by a few friends. Sigil broke this down into two delightful sub-questions that anyone can answer in their own way; feel free to let us know what you think in the comments! Sigil’s in-depth response is available on the interview page mentioned above.
1. Is commissioned art different because it’s furry, and hence, usually more personal/self identifying for the client?
2. Should furry art be handled differently financially due to its niche status?
‘A Fox Tail’ – what?
Sex Roles in Bed Are Ruining an Otherwise Good Relationship
Alright, this has been a problem that's been plaguing me and my boyfriend for about a month and a half, at least, and I figure since we're having trouble coming up with a solution an outside source that doesn't know either of us personally would be the greatest help. (Because let's face it, while friends are very good for support and bias, even mutual friends will be slightly biased towards one, the other, or both.)
We haven't been dating for too long, only about a week and a half shy of three months. This is his first relationship; this is my ninth. (So I have a lot more experience dealing with stuff like this) Our problem is this:
I've obviously been in a lot more relationships than he has—despite him being about a year older (his 19 to my turning 19 tomorrow), I've got more experience. However, most of my relationships were abusive in one way or another, usually emotionally/psychologically. Its gotten to the point I have an irrational fear of showing aggression/dominance, for fear I'll be expected to act that way from that point onwards. (Its happened before, so...I guess its not FULLY irrational?) I'm already pretty timid/passive/docile/pick your term, because I grew up in an abusive home as well, so the fear doesn't affect too much. Or...at least, that's what you'd think.
See, the thing is, most people I've been romantically involved with, or who've wanted that from me (crushes, wanting to date me, etc.) have all wanted me to be something THEY wanted. I've very, very rarely found someone who's accepted me fully as being this way- flaws, personality, desires, preference, what have you- without any desire to change me, even on a smaller level. And....my current boyfriend is no exception. He wishes I was more aggressive, more forward, more assertive...etc. He's told other people before that he prefers to be the submissive role in a relationship, as well. And while he does understand that the trauma I went through growing up and the abusive relationships I've had are to blame for my current state, he still wishes I was more that way.
For me, its less of a want and more of a need- I've got a need to feel safe and secure, protected, and comforted, moreso than an average relationship has. Going through all I have has left me with countless scars and issues I'm still coming to terms with, and I need someone supportive and more dominant/controlling to guide me and give me a solid foundation so I can begin to fix myself; someone who I know when I have an emotional break I can come to for security. And...he's not like that, at least, not anymore.
We're barely affectionate ever since this problem arose, and we've been intimate a sum total of once since it started- in which I forced myself to be what he wanted, to show that I was capable of it in rare circumstances, despite not enjoying it really at all. I didn't really get any recognition for it- afterwards, it was never really mentioned and the sentiment/gesture was not and has not since been returned. And, I mean, its a little wrong to EXPECT it, but it just cemented home my fear that that's what he's going to want from me from that point on, so things've gotten awkward...
I know, you'd think the obvious answer would be to break up, but, he's the first guy I've dated in who knows how long who ISN'T a jerk or hurtful or abusive- I do love him and I am very much attached to him still. And, the other obvious answer would be to work this out- but how? The only solution we can think of requires one of us to ignore our happiness (Or, in my case, needs) to change ourselves completely to make the other person happy (or, again, in my case, fulfill my needs), and neither of us are really comfortable with that- either for ourselves, OR for the other to do that.
We're at an impasse. And the stress from this has been greatly impacting me- I haven't been able to focus on schoolwork, or drawing (I have backed up commissions, aaagh), or anything. Heh. Great birthday present, am I right?
Hoping to hear from you soon,
Mix
PS: If you need any more info or for me to go into detail, feel free to ask! I don't mind, really. Heh.
* * *
Dear Mix,
Firstly, my sympathies to you for the pain you have suffered in your young life. The scars inflicted upon us in childhood mold us throughout our lives, and no amount of therapy can ever fully undo the psychological pain of a rotten childhood and abuse by people who supposedly loved us.
It is logical what you have written here, therefore, about your sexual preferences: the desire to play a more submissive role and to find a more comforting partner to take charge is natural. Now your partner wants you to be dominant and you need to be submissive. It doesn’t sound like he is willing to compromise in bed, and he didn’t even acknowledge the effort that you made to satisfy his needs.
While your current relationship might be the best relationship you have had to date, that doesn’t mean, Mix, that you will never find another mate who is not abusive like this one. I could suggest seeing a sex therapist, but somehow I doubt that would help you at this point. You say that the only way you think you could find happiness is if one of you compromises on what makes you happy, which is illogical.
If you are looking for a magic bullet, there is none. The two of you are sexually incompatible, and once you both realize that, you have one of two choices: continue a relationship that is sexually unsatisfying, with the inevitable outcome that one or both of you will eventually cheat in order to get what you need, or admit that this relationship cannot work and break it off now instead of wasting your time. You can remain friends, certainly, but a well-rounded relationship is impossible for you. Move on.
Hugs,
Papabear