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What Are Furry VTubers And How Do I Get Involved?
Article Content
- What Is A VTuber?
- Where Did This Trend Start?
- So What’s A Furry VTuber?
- Who Are The Most Popular Furry VTubers?
- Why Are VTubers So Popular?
- Who Is The Most Popular VTuber Overall
- Are They Safe For Kids To Watch?
- How Can I Make A Furry VTuber Of My Own?
With the innovations in AI, the rise of the metaverse, and the growing technology in the world of virtual reality, we are heading toward a future of complete automation at a meteoric pace. And what better embodiment do we have of that than the world of VTubers?
The term VTuber was originally an abbreviation of the term “virtual YouTuber”, but has quickly evolved into something much greater than just a form of YouTube content. VTubers use a computer-generated avatar that is mapped to their face (and sometimes even body) to mimic their every move as opposed to just having a face cam. This means that their avatar can literally be anything or anyone. VTubers typically like to remain anonymous and the fact that VTubers can remain faceless and completely incognito means that almost anyone with a webcam can build a platform.
In recent years VTubers have become more popular in the live-streaming world than YouTube content creation and you can find VTubers telling stories, hosting Q&As, playing video games, making music, literally anything you could do normally as a live streamer. What once started out as a niche on YouTube can be found everywhere from TikTok to Twitter to Twitch.
Where Did This Trend Start?Of course, while it may feel like it, the VTuber trend didn’t just come out of nowhere. The idea of having a virtual character in place of a human but representing a human everywhere is not some new phenomenon. The “virtual” British TV show host Max Headroom fooled thousands of viewers across the UK into believing that he really was an AI-generated show host when in actuality he was just an actor wearing thick prosthetic makeup under harsh lighting and a distorted backdrop all the way back in 1985 to give the illusion that he was AI-generated. While this is not an actual example of a VTuber it was the beginning of the idea that would eventually become VTubers as they are known today.
Then in 2007, more popularly, the avatar of Hatsune Miku grew massively in popularity and was performing as a projected hologram. Fast forward four more years to 2011 and you have London-based vlogger Ami Yamato creating videos using a virtual avatar as opposed to her own face. So, yes VTubers are exploding in popularity right now, but this technology didn’t just pop up one day and the ability to almost physically become your avatar isn’t something that people have wanted recently, it’s been brewing for years.
VTuber Hotaru Hikari’s Reference Sheet
Image via Twitter
So What’s A Furry VTuber?So, you may be wondering what any of this has to do with furries. Well, like every community, there are sub-communities and it just so happens that the furry fandom has made its mark in the wider VTuber community. But what does it mean to be a furry VTuber? Don’t worry, we’ll break it down for you here.
For one, possibly the greatest thing about being part of the furry fandom is having your very own fursona, and what better way to celebrate that than literally becoming your fursona as a VTuber? That’s right, furry VTubers are just furries who have mapped a 3D model of their fursona to their face, or sometimes it’s just a sound-responsive image that will slightly move when the user speaks. Regardless, furry VTubers use their fursonas as a means of remaining anonymous while also being able to express themselves and build a platform and community for others.
It has become a super common form of content creation within the furry fandom as it saves so much time that would typically be spent animating individual frames that they would usually use in an animated video. In addition to this, animated-style videos don’t translate super well to live streaming, but with the help of VTubers, this problem has been completely solved.
Who Are The Most Popular Furry VTubers?If you’re looking to take the plunge into the world of furry VTubers but you aren’t sure where to start, there are a bunch of amazing content creators that you should definitely check out and we’ll cover them here. And not to gatekeep, but we’re not talking just your standard VTuber avatars with some cat ears on them, we’re talking about the VTubers out there with full-blown fursonas.
Firstly there’s Kris Yim or better known by his Twitch alias imkrisyim. He was first an animator and is now a VTuber who you can find playing everything from the latest God of War to the newest season of Fortnite or sometimes just telling a story about something that has happened in his life. With over 43.4K followers on Twitch, he is likely the biggest furry VTuber out there and it shows in the quality of the content he puts out.
There are also content creators such as Lordmau5 who are perfect for those of you looking for a cozier and much more personal chat with the streamer. There isn’t as much hustle and bustle in Lordmau5’s chat (no offense) as there is in Kris Yim’s which leaves a lot more opportunity to talk to him. You can find him playing games like GTA San Andreas or Goat Simulator 3 if that’s the kind of thing you are looking for.
Finally, you should definitely check out creators like BetaEtaDelota if you’re not really looking for a live streamer and want some quality editing instead. If you’ve ever seen videos by Youtubers like QuackityHQ or Pyrocynical, then you’ll probably be pretty familiar with the format that they operate on. They are semi-commentary, semi-“informational” videos that are just a little bit of light-hearted fun.
Of course, there are different strokes for different folks and there are hundreds more creators out there that make equally as good content but these are just our favorite picks.
Furry VTuber Chester’s Avatar
Image via im kris
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One thing that certainly gave the VTubing world a bit of a boost was the whole 2020 pandemic thing. With everyone locked indoors, and chronically online, everyone was looking for something to do. Whether it was to start creating content of their own or looking for new types of content to watch, VTubers finally had an opportunity to shine.
VTubers were already relatively popular in Japan before this though, so this moment of mass online connectivity greater than we’d ever seen before allowed Japan to bridge the gap between their content and the western world. As well as this, VTubers also caught the attention of many anime fans as many of the avatars are modeled after popular anime characters. This allowed VTubers to go even further in breaking boundaries between standard modern entertainment and innovative new methods of content creation.
Also, as mentioned before, it allows people who would otherwise be uncomfortable showing their faces to be an entertainer to actually pursue what they want to do without sacrificing their comfort. This makes being a VTuber so appealing as it allows practically anyone to build a platform.
3D Furry VTuber Model
Image via ArtStation
Who Is The Most Popular VTuber Overall?Now obviously, furry VTubers are more of a niche within the broader VTuber community, so it would be hard to be both a furry VTuber and the most popular VTuber overall. So who is the most popular VTuber in the world? Well, we’ll split it up into two platforms as the most popular on Twitch and the most popular on Youtube are completely different. The most popular VTuber on Twitch would likely have to go to Shylily. With over 900,000 followers, Shylily is a streamer who has built up a huge fanbase through the Just Chatting category on Twitch as well as their Genshin Impact gameplay and ASMR.
In the world of YouTube, however, the VTuber Gawr Gura takes the cake for the most popular. Boasting over 4.25 million subscribers, Gawr Gura gained this popularity through a variety of different styles of content. From ASMR to original animations to song covers, Gawr Gura can do it all. Above all though, what really got her this traction was her Minecraft and GTA V live streams which kept fans engaged if you check out her content page she doesn’t actually have that many videos to her name.
Furry VTuber Model By NekuroSilver
Image via DeviantArt
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A big question surrounding the VTuber community right now, especially the furry VTuber community, is whether or not they are family-friendly or rather should parents be allowing their kids to watch them. The furry fandom already gets a bad wrap as it is, so, when you combine this with the VTuber community which in itself seems to have this weird stigma surrounding it, it’s understandable that parents would be concerned about their children watching them.
What is probably the best advice for parents looking to mediate what their children are watching is to vet what they are watching first. It’s virtually impossible to say that all furry VTubers (or VTubers in general) are safe for children to watch, the same way it is impossible to say that all furry VTubers are not safe for your children to watch. Especially in the case of live streams where it is impossible to censor or moderate perfectly, you should be checking out if the stream is generally clean before you start showing it to children rather than just assuming that all furry VTubers are or aren’t safe to watch.
Mochas VTuber Model
Image via Reddit
How Can I Make A Furry VTuber Of My Own?For those of you looking to get a furry VTuber of your own commissioned, there are a few ways of going about it. Getting a VTuber commissioned isn’t always as easy as just someone throwing together a quick sketch and sending it to you. Sometimes it can require actual 3D modeling and rigging before it can be used in a video. However, below we have listed a few ways to easily get your VTuber made.
Etsy: If you’re looking for an easily accessible means of getting a VTuber avatar commissioned, then Etsy is the one for you. You have the luxury of being able to browse multiple sellers if you aren’t happy with one or the other. Granted, due to Etsy’s tax, sellers tend to charge quite a bit more on Etsy and Fiverr than other services that are designed specifically for commissioning VTuber avatars.
VTuberArt: When talking about services designed specifically for commissioning VTuber avatars, VTuberArt is the first that comes to mind as it is one of the most reliable out there. If you are looking to get an affordable commission, then VTuber art is the way forward for you.
Fiverr: Much like Etsy, Fiverr is a super great pick for those of you who want variety in your options. If you don’t want to be limited to just one artist, Fiverr has hundreds of sellers looking for a gig right now. However, the only downside, much like Etsy again is that sellers tend to charge more as Fiverr take a split of the money they make.
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A School for Dragons?
At a recent convention we met self-published fantasy author Amy Wolf. We’ll let her describe A School For Dragons, the first book in her Cavernis series: “Mattie Sharp was never special–except when it came to getting in trouble. Then, she was exceptional. So when she falls into a portal and winds up in dragon-filled Cavernis, imagine her surprise when she discovers she’s the heir to a magical prophesy and must train to be the hero she never thought she could be. Though Mattie has always been a top student, studying at a school for dragons puts even her to the test! Join Mattie and her crew of new friends as they learn not just how to survive in the world of dragons, but to save it as well.” Ms. Wolf has many other fantasy titles for sale as well, and not all of them feature talking dragons. But some of them sure do!
image c. 2022 Lone Wolf Press
The Furry Expansion To Mastodon & PreReg Updates - Grovel Reports 12/16/22
This broadcast was recorded on Dec 16th 2022. Interested in seeing recent news in the furry community? Here are the highlights: Furality Aqua in VRChat https://vrchat.com/home/launch?worldId=wrld_f5dd279b-72fa-4b4b-abb8-b46e4b0e1d78 https://furrycon.social/ is without the doubt, the largest server that contains furry conventions/events. https://furality.social/@furality https://social.goblfc.org/@blfc https://mastodon.social/@FurnalEquinox https://defcon.social/@dcfurs AnthrOhio is open for PreReg http://anthrohio.org/ https://t.me/GrovelReports/4920 Keep Tahoe Furry plans to open PreReg soon https://keeptahoefurry.com/ https://twitter.com/KeepTahoeFurry/status/1602744019074748417?s=20&t=rZ8YOUSA6drTE4EM4-Uw7g AnthroWeekendUtah has opened PreReg https://anthroweekendutah.org/ Announcement Details https://anthroweekendutah.org/Anthro_Weekend_Utah_2023_Updates.pdf Garden State Fur The Weekend, Located in New Jersey, will open Registration Jan 2023 https://twitter.com/gardenstatefur/status/1603907966725406720?s=20&t=9V9XXS2dDA2Q0kbMozQsiA Furry Migration welcomes their next Con Chair https://twitter.com/FurryMigration/status/1603887703208124417?s=20&t=9V9XXS2dDA2Q0kbMozQsiA The full details of MFF 22 https://www.furfest.org/news/2022/12/7/2022-wrapup Interested in their shirt or polo? https://artworktee.com/collections/mff-2022 HFF announcement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_8Y8U7zDd4 Would you like to volunteer? https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOgvcZZwna2sXN7dF7YzSxKucd8EcZUXDUUMByHYJLAY1zeQ/viewform
Bearly Furcasting S3E34-Corvallis Fury Meetup LIVE
MOOBARKFLUFF! Click here to send us a comment or message about the show!
Welcome to another exciting episode of BFFT! This week we are coming to you LIVE (well ok, recorded live) from the Corvallis Furry Meetup! We chat with the organizers, discuss media, Furries in the News, have a wonderful Christmas story for Storytime, and tell some really bad jokes.
Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.
You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com
They Do Anything. Really.
We stumbled across an ad for Lee’s Detective Agency, a new anime mini-series that’s a spinoff of the popular Arknights smart-phone game and anime series. Set in the same multi-species dystopian world, if follows the exploits of “…an odd jobs business in guise of a private investigation firm based in [the city of] Lungmen that is run by the namesake Mr. Lee and his personal, close-knit ‘family’.” We’re not sure how it works either, but it’s coming soon (December 23rd) on Crunchyroll, and they’ve got the trailer up for you to see.
image c. 2022 Yostar Pictures
He said yes! British couple proposes before LondonFurs attendees
求婚成功！福瑞伴侣当众在英国兽聚求婚
The Biotech-Cyborg-Transhuman Fursuit | Fursuit Future Part 4 FINAL
Get In, Losers, We're Going Cybernetic Fursuiting. Arrkay is driving this train off the rails into the final Fursuit Future where we combine all the concepts of parts 1-3 into the ultimate fursuit of tomorrow. Written with guest collaborator Nasidoe: www.youtube.com/entobird And our staff writer Tempe O'Kun Merch, Sweet Tees and stuff: https://culturally-fd-merchandise.creator-spring.com/ Support Culturally F'd: https://www.patreon.com/culturallyfd Listen in on TEMPO TALKS with Tempe O'Kun https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPyIK2c7mK-LpbvfDNqfcSW Check out Tempe O'Kun's books "Sixes Wild" and "Windfall" here: http://furplanet.com/shop/?affillink=YOUTU2907 Here's a playlist of his other Culturally F'd videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPS7tnT4hdJwBI-CeLF8Kb_
Darkness in the City of Fur… and Scales
At Midwest FurFest we met Stacy Bender. She’s a science fiction and fantasy author based in Cincinnati, Ohio. As you can see from her Amazon page, many of her works have a degree of anthropomorphism to them… But what she’s especially known for is the Poached Parody series of furry noir novels (written under the name P.C. Hatter), featuring hard-boiled detectives Lucius Anoraq (wolf), Kaiser Wrench (tiger), and Lizard Fifth (guess!). Most of her works are available in paperback, kindle, and even audio book form, from Byrnas Books.
image c. 2022 Byrnas Books
TigerTails Radio Season 14 Episode 21
TigerTails Radio Season 14 Episode 21. Join the Discord Chat: https://discord.gg/SQ5QuRf For a full preview of events and for previous episodes, please visit http://www.tigertailsradio.co.uk. See website for full breakdown of song credits, which is usually updated shortly after the show. If you like what we do and wish to throw some pennies our way to support us, please consider sending a little tip our way. https://streamlabs.com/tigertailsradio/tip * Please note, tips are made to support TigerTails Radio and are assumed as made with good faith, so are therefore non-refundable. Thank you for your support and understanding.
S10 Episode 3 – Group Plap - Come join the threeway! Sammy and Roo want to growl in your ears! This episode will bring you in bed with a cookie as the hosts of Fur What It’s Worth talks about the in and out of group sex. - NOW LISTEN! SHOW NOTES PATREON L
NOW LISTEN!
SHOW NOTES
PATREON LOVE
The following people have decided this month’s Fur What It’s Worth is worth actual cash! THANK YOU!
Tails Bursting out of Pants Supporters
Ashton Sergal (Pic Pending), Nuka, Ichigo Okami
Fancy Supporter Tier
Rifka, the San Francisco Treat and Baldrik and Lufis (Pic Pending)
Deluxe Supporters Tier
Guardian Lion, Ashton Sergal, Harlan Fox, Plug (Pic Pending), Refractory Rictus (Pic Pending)
Plus Tier Supporters
Ausi Kat
Chaphogriff
Lygris
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McRib Tier Supporters
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MUSIC
Intro: RetroSpecter – Cloud Fields (RetroSpecter Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2018. ©2011-2018 Fur What It’s Worth. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth.
First Break: Fox Stuff, Ekko Fox - Argofox, Creative Commons 2021.
Second Break: Ghost, Mystery Skulls. Use with permission.
Third Break: Rev, Eveningland, Creative Commons 2018.
Closing: Cloud Fields (RetroSpecterChill Remix), USA: Unpublished, 2018. ©2011-2018 Fur What It’s Worth. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. S10 Episode 3 – Group Plap - Come join the threeway! Sammy and Roo want to growl in your ears! This episode will bring you in bed with a cookie as the hosts of Fur What It’s Worth talks about the in and out of group sex. - NOW LISTEN! SHOW NOTES PATREON L
It’s A Lost Art
There’s no stopping the Transformers movie series, it seems, but now something new has definitely been added — Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, due next year, is based on none other than the 90’s animated series Transformers: Beast Wars, where the whole series went severely furry for a time. Nerdist has the teaser trailer. Good old Optimus Primal is prominently featured (voiced this time by Ron Perlman), but look swiftly and you’ll see Cheetor, Rinox, Dinobot, and Airazor. No sign of Rat Trap yet, but who knows? The film is due in theaters in June of 2023.
image c. 2022 Paramount Pictures
A Guide To Attending Your First Midwest FurFest
- What Is Midwest Fur Fest?
- How Often Are They Hosted?
- What To Expect From Midwest Fur Fest
- How To Prepare For Midwest Fur Fest
- Is It Kid-Friendly?
- What About That 2014 Incident?
- What’s Its Attendance Like?
- How Much Are Tickets?
- Are There Any Alternatives To Midwest Fur Fest?
Midwest Fur Fest is the largest furry convention in the world. They typically take place in Rosemont, Illinois, and are a completely non-profit organization. These conventions are hosted in attempts to facilitate and educate others on the ins and outs of anthropomorphic literature and general art. It also facilitates the donation of funds to other non-profit organizations, typically ones that promote the well-being of animals and/or humans. It was first held in the year 2000 and has since grown to be one of the highest-attendance furry conventions in the world.
It started as a furry branch of the science-fiction convention DucKon but this track grew larger and larger each year until it reached a point where over a third of the attendees of DucKon were there for their collective interest in the furry fandom. Keep in mind this was in 1999, before the explosion and wide accessibility of the internet that we have today means that the rapid growth of this convention was borderline inevitable. By 2000, DucKon was facing a serious dilemma and that was the fact that the furry interest of the convention was becoming so overwhelming that they were running out of room to expand without cutting into other branches of DucKon at which point it was decided that these furries had to form their own separate convention. This would eventually become what we know today as Midwest Fur Fest.
It has since helped raise over $767,000 for various charities including MCP Rescue + Outreach, Felines and Canines, Sitstayread, Crisp, and Save-A-Vet.
Article Content
How Often Are They Hosted?
This is an annual convention that is typically hosted the second weekend after Thanksgiving. Although I am unsure of the reasoning for this, that just seems to be when the venue is. They have always been held in Illinois, most often in Rosemont, and have been hosted once a year, every year (apart from 2020 because of that whole COVID-19 thing that happened), since 2000.
Midwest Fur Fest 2019
Image via RollingStone
What To Expect From Midwest Fur FestNow that we’ve gone through all of that, for those of you who have never been but are looking to attend, what should you actually expect from a Midwest Fur Fest? Well the event organizers themselves describe it as an opportunity to “celebrate the furry fandom which includes art, literature, and performances based around anthropomorphic animals” but I think they do themselves a disservice with this description as it’s a lot more than that.
Furries are often treated with a lot of hostility within wider internet culture so are often discouraged from disclosing the fact that they are furry making it kind of hard to meet other furries. Luckily a lot of these keyboard warriors don’t have enough hate in them to attend furry conventions making not just Midwest Fur Fest but furry conventions, in general, a safe space to meet new people and possibly even make new friends.
As well as this, if you’re into fursuiting, this is a great place to meet other fursuiters as if there was ever an opportunity to show off your best work, this is definitely the spot. Here you’ll see some of the most extravagant fursuits you’ll probably ever see anywhere and if you’re looking to make your own fursuit you may even be able to get some inspiration from this convention.
How To Prepare For Midwest Fur FestIf you haven’t already read our article on the steps to take to prepare for Biggest Little Fur Con then it’s worth noting that a lot of the same rules apply when preparing for furry conventions in general. However, for those who haven’t read it, we will cover the brief do’s and don’ts of attending a furry convention.
- Bring A Portable Charger: It’s bad enough that these conventions have notoriously bad reception, so, what would be even worse than having bad reception would be having no phone at all. Whether it’s to take pictures or if you need to phone someone in case of an emergency, it’s super important to have a working phone on you.
- Try To Socialise: One of the best parts about attending furry conventions is that, as we mentioned before, you get to meet so many people interested in the same thing as you. In such a niche community, it’s hard to come by anywhere else and because of this, it’s important that you are ready to socialize with other people at the convention. We completely understand that it can be terribly nerve-racking to just go up to random people and strike up a conversation but when you get to know these people, you quickly realize how friendly everyone is and you might even forget that you were ever even nervous.
- Be Aware Of How You Smell: This one might sound a little silly and it also feels a little taboo, but seriously, be aware of how you smell. It’s pretty easy to start sweating and inherently start smelling with the amount of walking around and the number of other people there. This especially goes for those of you who intend on wearing a fursuit as they can start to feel like an oven after a few hours and let me tell you now, smelling the combined BO of several thousand people is not pleasant at all.
Of course, there are other things you should be aware of and you should prepare for, but we feel like these are the three most integral parts of preparing for a furry convention as it just makes it a much more pleasant experience for everyone.
Midwest Fur Fest 2021
Image via Flickr
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Midwest Fur Fest themselves explain that they offer a variety of programming and events for a wide spectrum of audiences. For the most part, the shows are appropriate for all ages, including all daylight hour events. However, beyond daylight hour events, there are events that may not be age appropriate and should therefore be double-checked beforehand if you intend on taking a child. Having said that, it should be made pretty clear when the event is or isn’t child-friendly anyway.
A Group Of Fursuiters At Midwest Fur Fest
Image via Twitter
What About That 2014 Incident?If you’ve read into Midwest Fur Fest at all then you may have heard about an incident in 2014 that would put a lot of people off the convention altogether. Essentially on December 7th, 2014, a gas leak occurred within the Hyatt hotel in Rosemont (the place the event was being hosted) which ended up hospitalizing 19 of the attendees and forcing the hotel to evacuate all other attendees. Further investigation was done on the gas leak only to find that there was a broken glass bottle containing a concentration of chlorine powder within the building meaning that this gas leak didn’t happen by chance and that someone intentionally did this. Hotels guests, employees, and employees of nearby shops that sold chlorine were interviewed to no avail and the culprit of this still remains unknown.
If this slightly puts you off attending at all it’s definitely worth noting that for one, that was the only time that something like that has ever happened in the 22 years that the event has been running. As well as this, all of the people who were hospitalized were able to return to the convention shortly following their hospitalization. In short, you shouldn’t really be afraid as it’s extremely unlikely something is going to happen.
Midwest Fur Fest 2014
Image via Flickr
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As mentioned before, Midwest Fur Fest has the highest attendance out of any furry convention, but how many attendees do they get exactly? Well, you’ll be happy to know it has only grown massively with each year. Below we’ve listed their annual attendance since 2000.
2000: 473 attendees
2001: 511 attendees
2002: 685 attendees
2003: 800 attendees
2004: 959 attendees
2005: 1066 attendees
2006: 1422 attendees
2007: 1690 attendees
2008: 1992 attendees
2009: 2040 attendees
2010: 2285 attendees
2011: 2600 attendees
2012: 3216 attendees
2013: 3904 attendees
2014: 4571 attendees
2015: 5606 attendees
2016: 7075 attendees
2017: 8771 attendees
2018: 10,989 attendees
2019: 11,019 attendees
2021: 9332 attendees
2022: 13,641 attendees
Midwest Fur Fest 2022
Image via Pinterest
How Much Are Tickets?Now, we’re not going to lie, registration to Midwest Fur Fest can actually be pretty pricey. Registering can cost upwards of $50 which seems like a lot if you’ve never been to a furry convention before. However, if it’s any reconciliation, the money that you put towards tickets is what allows Midwest Fur Fest to fund charities such as the ones listed above. For example in 2019 Midwest Fur Fest raised a record-breaking $224,704 for the charity Felines & Canines. They are a rescue center for stray cats and dogs and without the ticket prices as high as they are, Midwest Fur Fest would not be able to fund the event and the charity so generously at the same time.
Are There Any Alternatives To Midwest Fur Fest?Maybe, for some reason, you’ve been put off attending Midwest Fur Fest but you still want to attend and experience a furry convention. Whether it’s because of the price tag or the number of attendees, there are still plenty of other furry conventions out there that cater to your needs. So here is a list of alternatives to Midwest Fur Fest.
Biggest Little Fur Con: This is a convention that (as we mentioned before) we not too long ago wrote about, and with good reason. This isn’t one of the biggest conventions in the world but it’s just one that has received a lot of positive reception and is typically held in Reno Nevada around Halloween time. However, this one is a little less child-friendly than Midwest Fur Fest so keep that in mind when attending.
Anthrocon: This is probably the second biggest furry convention in the world next to Midwest Fur Fest but has actually (technically) been around longer than Midwest Fur Fest. It has been held every year since 1997 and has had a max attendance of over 9700 people. It doesn’t really offer anything that Midwest Fur Fest doesn’t, it’s just a bit quieter (but you probably won’t even notice it when you are there) and is typically located in Pittsburgh.
Furry Weekend Atlanta: As you could probably guess, this one is hosted annually in Atlanta and has been since 2004. Even in 2021 when they physically could not host the event, they held an online version of the event anyway. The highest attendance they have ever had was in 2022 when over 7000 people attended.
Furry Fiesta: This is the last entry on this short little list and is probably tied for the smallest on the list with Biggest Little Fur Con. Furry Fiesta started in 2009, and much like Midwest Fur Fest is non-profit and makes it its goal to raise as much money for charity as it possibly can. Their highest attendance was in 2019 in which they raised $29,429 for the CARE charity.
Of course, there are plenty of other conventions you can and should check out but these are the 5 biggest furry conventions out there.
Furry Convention
Image via Reuters.com
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The Internet Is For… Cats
Recently got this from Animation World Network: “Disney Branded Television and Emmy Award-winning Baobab Studios have begun development, with award-winning screenwriter Pamela Ribon, on Intercats, an animated sitcom set in a cat workplace… Baobab’s co-founder and chief creative officer, Eric Darnell (Baba Yaga, Madagascar, Antz), is the creator and executive producer on Intercats… Jony Chandra (Nimona, Spies in Disguise) will direct… Told through the big reflective eyes of cats, Intercats is a four-quadrant animated workplace comedy about the cats who produce the hysterical cat videos that go viral on the Internet. It features a ragtag team of cats aspiring to get what all cats want: their independence. But, to do so, they must first learn to navigate their own internal relationships and build upon their success as the premier studio for viral cat videos.” Interestingly, Pamela Ribon is also the writer of My Boyfriend Is A Bear, which we’ve talked about previously here.
image c. 2022 YouTube
Creatures, Piece by Piece
Judith Peterson describes her background as coming from education and library science. But along the way she’s found an interesting hobby: Carving original 3D puzzles out of wood. Lucky for us, most of her designs are animals: Current, prehistoric, or mythical. The puzzles range in complexity from 3 pieces to 57 pieces (!). She and her husband have even written books on how to create wooden puzzles using scroll saws. We found them vending at Midwest FurFest, but you can check out FanTaminals’ web site to see the latest designs.
image c. 2022 FanTaminals
Infurnity 2022 Panel - How to Start a Podcast
Infurnity 2022 Panel - How to Start a Podcast ---- Thought about running a podcast? Don’t know where to start? Well look no further as Fox and Burger tell you how to start a podcast, software and hardware you’ll need, and more! We would like to thank all the Infurnity for inviting us to host a panel, as well as all the staff and volunteers for their hard work! ---- The Fox and Burger Podcast is one segment of our production house, Fox and Burger Productions. The podcast’s goal is twofold: 1, to know more about the Asian furry fandom; and 2, compare and contrast the Asian fandom with the Western one. If you have a guest that you would like to see on the show, please PM us! We will also take questions for our guests, so don’t miss this opportunity to know some amazing furs.
Bearly Furcasting S3E33
MOOBARKFLUFF! Click here to send us a comment or message about the show!
Back again this week to educate you and make you laugh Bearly and Taebyn are joined by Rayne Raccoon acting as guest producer for this episode. We try to answer some existential questions about existence, a new friend stops by to chat, we tell some jokes, talk about media, and generally get waaaaay off the rails!
Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.
You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com
The Cards… The Cards!
Recently we learned about Disney Lorcana, a new card-collecting game set to be released in the fall of 2023. According to The Gamer, “Disney Lorcana is a trading card game (TCG) by Disney and tabletop games publisher Ravensburger. Like other games, such as Magic: The Gathering and the Pokemon TCG, you’ll collect cards in booster packs and create decks with the aim of defeating your opponent. It is being developed and published by Ravensburger, who previously worked with Disney on the Villainous series of tabletop games. It’s also known for other board games like Dingbats, Escape, Labyrinth, and El Dorado, however this will be its first-ever trading card game.” While Disney’s Twitter feed says “In Disney Lorcana, you’ll wield magic inks and the power of Lorcana to assemble your team of Disney characters. Some characters will be familiar friends. Others will be fantastically re-imagined.” More info to come, needless to say.
image c. 2022 Disney/Ravensburger
Midwest Wyvern
Among the many amazing artist we met at Midwest FurFest was Lindsey Burcar — who is actually from that part of the continent herself. “Lindsey Burcar is a self-taught freelance illustrator working from her home in Milwaukee, WI. Inspired by all things fantasy and nature, beast and creature, her travels and exploration of the natural world are a pivotal part of her life and art.” If you visit her official web site you can find links to her Inprnt shop, featuring some very high-quality prints of her art — as well as her Etsy shop, where you’ll find not only prints but pins, stickers, and other artistic goodies she has for sale.
image c. 2022 by Lindsey Burcar
Fursuit Cyborgs | Fursuit Future Part 3
What if your fursuit was more of a MECH? Update your fursuit's firmware and climb in, join Arrkay in this FURSUIT FUTURE where our bio-mechanical mascot reaches the singularity and wants it's own room at the hotel. Merch, Sweet Tees and stuff: https://culturally-fd-merchandise.creator-spring.com/ Support Culturally F'd: https://www.patreon.com/culturallyfd Listen in on TEMPO TALKS with Tempe O'Kun https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPyIK2c7mK-LpbvfDNqfcSW Check out Tempe O'Kun's books "Sixes Wild" and "Windfall" here: http://furplanet.com/shop/?affillink=YOUTU2907 Here's a playlist of his other Culturally F'd videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPS7tnT4hdJwBI-CeLF8Kb_
Learn About Real Animals — While You’re Playing One
Dr. Wildlife is the professional name of a conservation biologist based in Canada. “I’m Dr. Wildlife, a zoologist who focuses on conservation through education by working in the zoo and aquarium field. A lifelong animal conservationist, I have helped with projects around the world from rehabilitating injured seabirds in South Africa to tracking tigers in central India. My involvement in the zoological community has so far spanned 13 years and has included such positions as Keeper Aide at the Memphis Zoo to Migratory Bird Researcher at the Smithsonian.” Definitely the real deal. What’s interesting is, we met them at their table at Midwest FurFest — showing off their fur-suit! Yes, a dedicated scientist and a dedicated furry fan. If you visit their web site you can find out more about their wildlife lectures, both on-line and live in classrooms.
image c. 2022 Dr. Wildlife