ISSUE 278
Hey you all! It’s time for another installment of Furry Weekly, and we’re very glad you joined us! Welcome to issue #278!
We’re starting once again with our usual announcements, and we’d still like for you all to consider joining us here at Furry Weekly to help us keep doing what we do! We need a lot of help with hosting segments as well as some other miscellaneous tasks, so please check out the ‘Recruiting’ section below and contact us if you’d like to help out, or share with your friends in the fandom!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
RECRUITING
Here are the positions we’re seeking help with:
- Art Corner Host
- Furry of the Week Host
- Radical Raffles Host
- Available Artists Host
- Art 101 Host
- Front End Website Developer
- Editor
If you’d like to help out or if you want more info, please contact Yeshua, or Carkas. If you want a description of the roles above, visit this document! If you have any suggestions for other roles or things we could bring into Furry Weekly, please reach out as well. We’d love to hear your ideas!
READER SURVEY
In addition to recruiting, we want to listen to what you, our readers, have to say about Furry Weekly! Our goal is to showcase a little bit of everything in the fandom, especially giving a small spotlight to all kinds of creators and folks in the community. So we want to know what you think about what we’re doing now as well as what you might want to see from a furry magazine. So whether you’re an avid follower of Furry Weekly, or maybe you just found us, we want to hear what you like, what you don’t like, and what you would like us to do in the future! That’s why we have a short survey on this topic. We would seriously appreciate it if you took just a few minutes to take it and give us your feedback! You can do this multiple times as well! The link is below!
Click here to take our reader survey!
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With all that out of the way, let’s check out this week’s issue! We hope you enjoy, and let us know on our socials what you liked the most! We’re @FurryWeekly on Insta, Twitter/X, and BlueSky now!
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SEGMENT LINEUP
[✔] Furry of the Week
[✔] Animal of the Week
[✔] Art Corner
[❌] Writing Showcase
[❌] Art 101
[❌] Species Spotlight
[✔] Writing 101
[❌] Fursuit Focus
[✔] Photography 101
[❌] Fursuit Designing Tips
[✔] Radical Raffles
[✔] Available Artists
[❌] Character Interview
[✔] Convention Calendar
[✔] Furry Quote
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FURRY OF THE WEEK
Hello, everyone. My name’s Danielle, and welcome back to a new edition of Furry of the Week! We have another special feature for you this week.
Before we put the spotlight on this week’s feature, I wish to let all of you know that we’re looking to recruit more hosts for this segment. If you like spreading positivity, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, if you’re interested in hosting Furry of the Week.
This week we’re here to talk about Infurnity.
Infurnity is a Taiwan furry convention that was established in 2015. Since the first Infurnity, they’ve held a raffle every year to help raise funds for wildlife conservation groups. They are doing exactly that for this year’s convention in the Dealer’s Den as a charity auction and raffle. Many raffle prizes are being offered at the closing ceremony on October 30th. They’re cooperating alongside the Raptor Research Group of Taiwan (RRGT), an association that is dedicated to preserve, study, and participate in international research of raptors.
Besides the RRGT, the Kinmen Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation Association (KWRCA) is acting as part of the guest charity. The KWRCA’s main mission is to carry out medical treatment, care, rehabilitation, and release training for injured and sick wild animals in Kinmen so that they can return to their natural habitats. For more information regarding Infurnity’s charity and raffle, feel free to check out their website.
Thank you very much Infurnity, RRGT, and KWRCA for your devotion towards helping wildlife!
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That is all for this edition of Furry of the Week.
We’re always on the lookout for candidates to feature for their amazing contributions to the community. If you have any questions about this segment or would like to send us a recommendation for a future candidate, feel free to contact Fizzy or me.
Tune in next time for another mystery Furry of the Week! In the meantime, please enjoy the rest of this week’s Furry Weekly issue, and I’ll see you guys again. Bye for now!
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ANIMAL OF THE WEEK
Hello everyone! It’s Zed Shirogane and it’s another animal of the week segment!
Animal of the Week is a segment where we highlight an animal that is really cool, cute, creepy, or just plain fascinating. There will be a coloring page illustration for you all to print out and color in at home, as well as an adoptable character inspired by the animal of that week. The best part? All proceeds made by said adopt will be donated to conservation charities!
Whenever possible we do symbolically adopt the animal, but only some animals have the privilege to have that as an option unfortunately; thus we collect extra funds to donate to many different species conservation charities or send funds to scientists so that they can research underappreciated animal species, so we can in turn learn more about the world around us. Join us on this fun adventure!
Today we’re finishing up our series on foxes!
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail. Twelve species belong to the monophyletic "true fox" group of genus Vulpes. Approximately another 25 current or extinct species are always or sometimes called foxes; these foxes are either part of the paraphyletic group of the South American foxes, or of the outlying group, which consists of the bat-eared fox, gray fox, and island fox.
Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica. The most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox with about 47 recognized subspecies. The global distribution of foxes, together with their widespread reputation for cunning, has contributed to their prominence in popular culture and folklore in many societies around the world. The word fox comes from Old English, which derived from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz. This in turn derives from Proto-Indo-European *puḱ-, meaning 'thick-haired; tail'. Male foxes are known as dogs, tods or reynards, females as vixens, and young as cubs, pups, or kits, though the last name is not to be confused with a distinct species called kit foxes. Vixen is one of very few words in modern English that retain the Middle English southern dialect "v" pronunciation instead of "f" (i.e. northern English "fox" versus southern English "vox"). A group of foxes is referred to as a skulk, leash, or earth.
This Week’s Species: Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus)
Characteristics
The Arctic fox, also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox that is well adapted to living in cold environments, and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is white seasonal camouflage: white in winter and brown along the back with light gray around the abdomen in summer. Additionally, the Arctic fox is the only canid whose foot pads are covered in fur. The fox has a low surface area to volume ratio, as evidenced by its generally compact body shape, short muzzle and legs, and short, thick ears. Since less of its surface area is exposed to the Arctic cold, less heat escapes from its body.
Fun Facts
There are two genetically distinct coat color morphs: white and blue. The blue morph is often a dark blue, brown, or gray color year-round. Although the blue allele is dominant over the white allele, 99% of the Arctic fox population is the white morph.
Habitat
The Arctic fox has a circumpolar distribution and occurs in Arctic tundra habitats in northern Europe, northern Asia, and North America. Its range includes Greenland, Iceland, Fennoscandia, Svalbard, Jan Mayen (where it was hunted to extinction)[40] and other islands in the Barents Sea, northern Russia, islands in the Bering Sea, Alaska, and Canada as far south as Hudson Bay. The Arctic fox lives in some of the most frigid extremes on the planet, but they do not start to shiver until the temperature drops to −70 °C (−94 °F).
Diet
Arctic foxes generally eat any small animal they can find, including lemmings, voles, other rodents, hares, birds, eggs, fish, and carrion. They scavenge on carcasses left by larger predators such as wolves and polar bears. In some locations in northern Canada, a high seasonal abundance of migrating birds that breed in the area may provide an important food source. On the coast of Iceland and other islands, their diet consists predominantly of birds. During April and May, the Arctic fox also preys on ringed seal pups when the young animals are confined to a snow den and are relatively helpless. They also consume berries and seaweed, so they may be considered omnivores. Arctic foxes depend on lemmings as their main food source in inland areas, creating a tight-knit predator-prey relationship between them.
Life Cycle
In the spring, the Arctic fox's attention switches to reproduction and a home for their potential offspring. They live in large dens in frost-free, slightly raised ground. These are complex systems of tunnels covering as much as 11,000 sq ft and are often in eskers, long ridges of sedimentary material deposited in formerly glaciated regions. These dens may be in existence for many decades and are used by many generations of foxes. The main prey in the tundra are lemmings, which is why the white fox is often called the "lemming fox". The white fox's reproduction rates reflect the lemming population density, which cyclically fluctuates every 3–5 years. When lemmings are abundant, the white fox can give birth to 18 pups, but they often do not reproduce when food is scarce. The "coastal fox" or blue fox lives in an environment where food availability is relatively consistent, and they will have up to 5 pups every year.
Conservation
The Arctic fox has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. However, the Scandinavian mainland population is acutely endangered, despite being legally protected from hunting and persecution for several decades. The estimate of the adult population in all of Norway, Sweden, and Finland is fewer than 200 individuals. Of these, especially in Finland, the Arctic fox is even classified as critically endangered, because even though the animal was pacified in Finland since 1940, the population has not recovered despite that. As a result, the populations of Arctic fox have been carefully studied and inventoried in places such as the Vindelfjällens Nature Reserve (Sweden), which has the Arctic fox as its symbol.
The abundance of the Arctic fox tends to fluctuate in a cycle along with the population of lemmings and voles (a 3- to 4-year cycle). The populations are especially vulnerable during the years when the prey population crashes, and uncontrolled trapping has almost eradicated two subpopulations.
The Arctic fox is losing ground to the larger red fox. This has been attributed to climate change, the camouflage value of its lighter coat decreases with less snow cover. Red foxes dominate where their ranges begin to overlap by killing Arctic foxes and their kits. An alternative explanation of the red fox's gains involves the gray wolf. Historically, it has kept red fox numbers down, but as the wolf has been hunted to near extinction in much of its former range, the red fox population has grown larger, and it has taken over the niche of top predator. In areas of northern Europe, programs are in place that allow the hunting of red foxes in the Arctic fox's previous range.
Here are some links to articles about the conservation of the Arctic fox:
Arctic fox Vulpes lagopus population structure: circumpolar patterns and processes
Genetic rescue in an inbred Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population
Adopt
All funds from this adopt will go to animal conservation. The goal for this month is to save up to symbolically adopt two foxes through a donation to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, the two foxes currently in their care are Jade and Storm, a red fox and a marbled fox, totalling to $100 for their care. This adopt will be one of 5 total created to achieve this goal and hopefully more, extra funds are pooled together to be donated to conservation research programs. It will be available for $30 USD at Shirogane Studios.
Coloring Page
Enjoy this coloring page made by yours truly, for you! Feel free to print it out at home to color in, or if you enjoy the design feel free to purchase it on a multitude of products.
Animal Ambassadors
Thank you to our Animal Ambassadors: our AOTW supporters, who have helped make the world a little bit better for animals. If you wish to support this project, or maybe just really like these character designs and want to get access to some exclusive adopts and bases, you can find our Patreon for this passion project HERE.
References
Most of my information was derived from Wikipedia and supplemented from other websites such as the WWF.
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ART CORNER
How’s it going everyone? This is Dozu here to bring you another edition of Furry Weekly’s Art Corner! If you enjoy the art the fandom has to offer, then stick around!
Before we get into it though, I want to remind you all that we’re still looking for a permanent host for this segment. That means we’re looking for someone who is interested in writing it every week, so if you not only enjoy seeing furry art, but also maybe writing about it, this could be for you! Just hit our boss up, Yeshua if you’re interested in hosting Art Corner!
Now, let’s not waste more time and see what we’ve got today!
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soureggnog starts us off today with a very pretty half body!
This piece is very pretty and adorable, the soft colors mix beautifully. The pastel pink of the sweater with the soft browns of the background combine to make a gentle and eye-pleasing piece. Also, the green of the eyes, while also soft, really pops against the other colors.
The slightly sketchy lines also help the piece look more animated and the soft color of them ties the art together nicely. Not using pure black for an art piece always makes it look softer and less cartoony so keep that in mind when you go pick up the tablet pen!
The hearts on the sweater are drawn with a different, more rough brush that makes them stand out. This kind of brush is ideal for lineart or markings because it makes the characters look less flat than a smooth line.
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ShanikaFaceless follows with a stunning piece!
A stunning piece featuring a corvid character. The anatomy is on point in this one, especially in the wings area. All the feathers are in their perfect spot which gives the wings a much more realistic look.
The brush used is another thing to highlight, the roughness of it gives each stroke life and makes the piece almost look three dimensional. The colors also stand out for the light and dark blues used on the feathers of the body. The way the strokes of the brush look make it seem like the bird has tons of manually drawn feathers when looking at the piece from further away, this is a technique commonly used when painting leaves on trees too so you can give the illusion that each leaf was carefully painted.
Lastly, the expression on this character is magnificent. It’s simple yet conveys a lot of emotion and that’s not always easy to achieve in art,
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EnergyVector is last for today with an awesome video game themed piece!
I’m a big fan of the Shantae series so I'm a bit biased to feature this piece but it’s genuinely so good! The expression on the character is lovely and menacing at the same time. Her body lenguaje is also great, very good work!
The colors of the character match the costume even better than the original Risky’s skin tone and the bright blue sky only makes the piece better. There’s little shading but it doesn’t need a lot of it to stand out. The shading that is there makes the art look more cartoony and fitting with the Shantae art style.
Overall, it is a greatly done piece that is perfect for the spooky season!
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That will do for today’s edition of Art Corner! Thanks for checking it out and please, if you liked what you saw, go give the artists some love and give them a follow if you want to see more!
If you’d like to see your work showcased here or maybe you’d like to see a specific artist’s work featured, just let us know by reaching out on one of my boss’s socials, or if you post on Instagram or X/Twitter, just use that tags #furryweekly and #artcorner! You can also reach out to me if you want to submit your work!
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WRITING 101
The deafening drone of wind rushing against the fuselage hums over general chatter. Warm yellow lights illuminate the cabin, and morning sunshine streams through the porthole-like windows. A familiar hawk, crammed into an upright seat just a notch more comfortable than a washboard, types away on his laptop set neatly on the folding tray before him. This arrangement nearly appears comical, though the grimaces of pain communicate otherwise.
“Business class next time… business class next time....” mutters Tad. He reaches for his lower back, already supported by the complimentary pillow and blanket, and digs into his muscles. Being a touch over six feet tall has served him well at times, but others have simply caused him more suffering than he’d wanted.
He glances around. It would be tough to break the habit of turning to his machine pal for feedback on his writing. Though security allowed the Camera in Tad’s carry-on bag, hauling out a big and bulky piece of kit would certainly earn him more curious stares than he’d wish to attract. So he refrained, wrestling with the guilt of having his pal powered down for such a long flight.
He rubs his eyes and glances at the clock. His laptop reports around mid-morning, but who could tell the real time as this jet soared high above the Atlantic Ocean? At least Tad chose to fly during the day rather than overnight. This flight gave him plenty of time to work on important business… like writing for the magazine!
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Hello friends, and welcome to Furry Weekly’s Writing 101! I’m Bryce Griffin, here to get all you writers out there the inside scoop on literature tips and tricks. Let’s get started!
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Last issue, we covered villains in story writings. More specifically, we talked about how to make a villain that is an important part of the story and not just a plot point that is “there.” The hero, just like the villain, needs to progress the story in meaningful ways. A traditional hero is likely to succeed in their ultimate endeavor; however, the hero is also likely to fail at points in the story. The hero’s struggle and eventual success against internal forces or conflicts is a key ingredient that makes most stories successful.
Why do flaws matter? The easy answer is this: implementing flaws avoids creating a “Mary Sue” character (or, for the male version, a Gary Stu or Marty Stu). A “Mary Sue,” though historically a term meaning an author’s idealized self-insert character, currently refers to any character with no demonstrable flaws or weaknesses. A Mary Sue—usually inexplicably, but sometimes quite deliberately—is extremely talented in whatever they do. They succeed at almost everything they try. A Mary Sue is typically not well developed in terms of how they came to be such a perfect being. In other words, they are an unrealistic character because they lack believable flaws.
Now, we must question how we want to implement a flaw. Think about real people, their flaws, and how such issues impact their daily lives. Is somebody a little too eager to jump the gun? Do they have a tendency to blurt out something foolish at the exact wrong time? Or maybe a new development compounds existing challenges? Whatever the case, a key flaw should be significant enough to present a clear obstacle to the protagonist’s development and progression of the plot.
With this in mind, it is important to note that physical or mental flaws and conditions are not character flaws. A paraplegic protagonist can still very much be written as a Mary Sue. The same can be said for someone that is blind, deaf, an amputee, cognitively impaired, or any other physical or mental flaw. If the character still easily achieves anything they attempt, then they are just as guilty as any other Mary Sue.
Conversely, don’t make your character so flawed that the story cannot reasonably progress. Very rarely, if ever, will somebody inexplicably fail every step along the way, yet still wind up moving the plot forward. This is the opposite problem of a Mary Sue. A story written like this will simply come off as silly. It is possible to write characters like this (think The Three Stooges or similar), though these approaches often work much better in episodic installments where character growth and development is not expected. Novels and some short stories do not accept characters like this very well. It is better practice to not subject a story protagonist to such incompetence.
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Want us to take a look at your work? Got a general question for Writing 101? Just shoot me a message on Discord! I’ll be happy to answer any writing questions or even critique your work.
Thanks for joining me in Furry Weekly’s Writing 101. I hope you enjoy the rest of the magazine!
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Tad types out the final few words of his piece. In fact, he has to do so several times. Each time he attempts to finish up the writing, he finds his head jerking up and his eyes flying open.
“Woah....”
It’s a strange sensation to feel so tired while rays of sunlight beamed right onto his keyboard. Perhaps waking up so early to get to the airport finally caught up to him. Tad almost never took naps… but perhaps now could be an exception?
The hawk closes his laptop, trying but failing to stifle a huge yawn. He slips it back into his backpack and settles as comfortably as he can into his seat.
“Next stop…” he mutters as his eyelids ease shut, “The Emerald Isles.”
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PHOTOGRAPHY 101
Hello, friends and photografurs! Welcome back to this week's Photography 101! I'm your host, Jaden. Did you buy a film camera and regret it? Do you hate it when the only photography store in your area runs out of your favourite film? Well, recently a company made a breakthrough to solve that problem!
Film cameras have been around since 1888 and have dominated the camera market ever since. Even with the introduction of the digital camera, film cameras have been able to keep themselves afloat in the market when most people expected them to fail. They are an amazing photographic medium and are never going away anytime soon.
But what if you bought a film camera and regret it? Maybe you can't afford to keep buying film every time you run out, or are simply tired of refilling it? Thankfully, there's a device for that.
A company by the name of “I’m Back Film” has recently invented a product that can convert film cameras into digital cameras! This technology has been around since the 1990s, most notably with the Kodak DCS line, which could also easily convert Kodak and even some Canon film cameras into fully digital cameras. Kodak released this to introduce consumers to the amazing technology of digital cameras. Sounds amazing right? Well, the Kodak DCS had one flaw, it was massive, sometimes being the same size as your film camera or even bigger.
“I’m Back Film” revolutionized this technology by making it more compact, light and compatible with nearly every brand of 35mm film camera.
As amazing and perfect as this technology sounds, there are a few flaws that you should take into consideration.
While it is much more slim compared to older film-to-digital converters, it still adds some weight and makes the overall silhouette of your camera bigger.
The current model only supports a sensor size of 4/3 which is a significant size smaller than the preferable full frame sensors and only supports a megapixel count of 20. All this combined means you'll be sacrificing a lot of picture quality compared to standard film.
The “I’m Back Film” is an amazing piece of technology nonetheless, and it is no small feat to accomplish what this company has. With time, I can only hope the technology evolves and allows for the sensor size and quality of a modern digital camera. However, until it gets to that level, I would recommend only buying this out of necessity. If you're new to photography and want a digital camera, then get a digital camera, if you already have a film camera and need a digital camera for whatever your reasons may be, then this might be an avenue to take into consideration.
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That concludes this week's segment! If you have any questions or would like to share your photos, don't be afraid to shoot me a message!
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RADICAL RAFFLES
Hello, everyone! Danielle here again to bring you a variety of raffles.
Before we get into the raffles, I wish to let all of you know that we’re looking to recruit a more permanent host for this segment. If you enjoy coming across raffles, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, if you’re interested in hosting Radical Raffles.
We have six raffles for you this week! Let’s take a look at them.
Celebrate with a 100 followers raffle by rave_studioz!
How to Enter:
-Follow and share the post to your story (be sure to tag Rave in it). New followers are welcome!
-Tag two friends you think would be interested.
-Comment your favorite mythical creature.
Prizes:
-1st: Three full bodies
-2nd: Two full bodies
-3rd: One full body
-Five small busts will be raffled off too!
Deadline:
-This raffle will end when Rave reaches 100 followers. As of October 17th, Rave has 73 followers. There’s still time to enter!
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Celebrate with a 6k raffle by Kryonsite!
How to Enter:
-Follow, like, and repost.
-Human and furry original characters (OCs) are welcome!
Prize:
-Custom pixel art and animated icon
Deadline:
-This raffle will end when Kryonsite reaches 10k followers. As of October 17th, Kryonsite has 7,622 followers. There’s plenty of time left to enter!
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Become doodle-fied with a doodle icon raffle by FunSizeMini!
How to Enter:
-Follow and repost. New followers are welcome!
-Comment with a safe for work (SFW) reference.
Prize:
-Doodle icon
Deadline:
-This raffle ends on Monday, October 23rd. Be sure to enter while you can!
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Get sketchy with a sketchy half body raffle by snow_amami!
How to Enter:
-Follow and repost.
-Optional: Post a reference and/or tag a friend.
Prize:
-Sketchy half body
-An extra winner will be added if Snow reaches 100 entries!
Deadline:
-This raffle ends on Monday, October 23rd. Be sure to enter while you can!
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Next up, we have a fursuit raffle by Doki!
How to Enter:
-Follow and repost.
-Comment a picture of your fursona.
Prizes:
-1st: full fursuit (two winners)
-2nd: fursuit tail (three winners)
-3rd: fursuit claws (one winner)
-If Doki gets more than 10k followers, another full fursuit winner will be added!
Deadline:
-This raffle ends on Monday, October 23rd. Be sure to enter while you can!
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Get spooky with a Halloween raffle by KingTerrae!
How to Enter:
-Follow and repost.
-Optional: Show King a picture of your pet(s) and say if they’ll be dressed up for Halloween.
Prize:
-Halloween your character here (YCH)
Deadline:
-This raffle ends on Tuesday, October 24th. Be sure to enter while you can!
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Those are all the raffles I have for you this week. There's always more out there, and we'll make sure to find them and bring them to you every week!
Make sure you use the tags #RadicalRaffles and #FurryWeekly so we can find your raffle more easily.
Thank you for taking a look at this week’s raffles. Stay tuned because more radical raffles are coming your way!
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AVAILABLE ARTISTS
Welcome, everyone! This is Danielle bringing you the latest and greatest artists to commission.
Before we get started, I wish to let all of you know that we’re looking to recruit a more permanent host for this segment. If you’re a connoisseur for furry art, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, if you’re interested in hosting Available Artists.
We have two artists this week! Let’s dive in.
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We start with Moko, a digital and traditional artist as well as a plush and fledgling puppet maker who specializes in neat furry-based art. Moko offers a variety of commission options such as pay what you want (PWYW) sketches, digital and traditional badges, custom plushies, and more. She also has cute merchandise available on her website.
You can find Moko’s prices and links to her other social media on her Linktree. Feel free to message her on Twitter/X or on Telegram if you’re interested in a commission and/or if you have any questions.
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Last but certainly not least, we have Rave, an artist who specializes in cute furry-based art. They offer busts, half bodies, three-fourth bodies, full bodies, Twitch and Discord emote packs, oil painting style art, and experimental art as commission options. All of Rave’s October commissions are $10 in celebration of their first original character (OC)’s birthday. Commissions will stay open until November 15th as well.
You can find Rave’s prices and terms of service on their Google document. Feel free to message them if you have any questions and/or if you are interested in a commission.
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That is all for this edition of Available Artists.
We’re always on the lookout for amazing artists to put in the spotlight. Don’t forget to use the hashtags #AvailableArtists and #FurryWeekly so we can find you. Feel free to message me directly on any of my social media if you have any artists with open commissions you’d like us to feature.
Thank you for reading and checking out these amazing artists!
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CONVENTION CALENDAR
Hello again, readers! I’m Shetani, your Convention Calendar segment host for this issue. Read on to learn about all the furry conventions and events happening online, around the world, and in your neck of the woods!
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Furry Takeover is just wrapping up at Fontana Dam, North Carolina, USA from Friday September 29 - Sunday October 1. This is a camping style convention first established in 2018 for those who wish to enjoy the amenities and beauty of a natural setting while fursuiting and hanging out with others in the community. Though you’re generally able to spot critters of all kinds at a furry convention, 2023’s theme is Safari Takeover, perfect for capturing rare and unique beasts - on film, of course. Prospective attendees should be aware that while wi-fi is available at the lodge and some areas around the resort, there’s little to no cell service in the mountains. However, you’ll barely miss it due to FTO’s jam-packed programming, including panels, karaoke, dance competitions, DJs, gaming, Nerf wars, a dealer’s den and artist alley - and what outdoors furcon wouldn’t be complete without nightly bonfires for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs? All attendees must be at least 13 years old, and minors under 17 require parental supervision.
Website | Twitter | Telegram | Facebook | Instagram
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Western PA Furry Weekend returns to the North Park Lodge in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, USA from Friday October 6 - Sunday October 8. Often abbreviated to WPAFW, this con has all your favorite events: sketchbook swaps, dances, karaoke, fursuit photos, gaming of the tabletop, board, and video variety, and panels galore. Paws Across Pittsburgh, an all-volunteer home based foster organization for dogs and cats, will be the convention’s chosen charity partner once again. Cartoonist AC Stuart, of “Awoo Comics” fame, is 2023’s Guest of Honor. This year's WPAFW Super Sponsor event is a three-hour long carnival, with games, prizes, funnel cake, and deep-fried Oreos galore! Pre-registration quotas have already been met, but you still have a chance to get a day pass at the door. WPAFW attendees must be at least 18 years of age to register.
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The Marriott San Antonio Airport will welcome furries back to San Antonio, Texas, USA for Alamo City Furry Invasion, Friday October 13 - Sunday October 15. The theme this time around is Dr. Virginia’s Island Paradise. ACFI’s three Guests of Honor are DJ Recca, Marks Barks, and It’s Probably Mars. Sherbert will also return as a special guest for 2023. Dancer furs should be happy to hear that the con hosts a non-suiter dance off in addition to traditional and junior fursuit dance competitions. Unique to ACFI is their Fursuiter Dog Show, in which fursuiters (all species welcome) and their non-suited handlers compete in an agility course similar to those run by our less-anthropomorphic counterparts in competition! On a less furry-related note, ACFI will provide protective wyewear for any attendees who wish to watch the once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse during the con! ACFI’s full panel schedule is still in the works, so keep your eyes on their official channels for up-to-the-moment announcements.
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Arizona Fur Con takes place Friday October 13 - Sunday October 15 at the Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona, USA. Look out for ghouls and goblins as you explore the venue this year with their theme “Welcome to the Haunted Manor.” Fursuit builder Copper Sprite, dancer fur Humphrey O Wolf, artist Stella Kitty, and content creator The Fuzz are all honored guests at ACFC 2023. Be sure to stop by the charity table and toss a dollar or two to Any Rat Rescue, a non-profit dedicated to finding loving, forever homes for any pet rat in need. ACFC’s schedule is packed full of exciting events like a tail building workshop, furry flea market, graymuzzle meet & greet, and even a workshop where you can make your own rat toys with representatives from the charity! Plenty of standard con programming such as a fursuit parade, gaming, dance competition, and concerts await attendees as well.
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Get ready for a monster mash at Confuror from Thursday October 19 - Sunday October 22. 2023’s theme is Science Madness, muahaha! Confuror will have a new venue this year, Hotel Barceló Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico. In lieu of a Guest of Honor, Confuror chooses to highlight multiple featured artists, many of whom are to host panels and sell their wares over the convention weekend. Confuror will have a Dealer’s Den, Artist’s Alley, and Night Market for you to get your shopping fix while supporting artists and craftspeople within the furry community. In addition to panels and activities yet to be announced, check out the exclusive Drink and Draw event, where 18+ attendees can sample craft beers while enjoying artist interviews, charity auction, games, and a welcome party hosted by RadiOso and Rudderbutts in the lounge. A separate ticket is required for this, but if you know your way around a pen, you can win free admission by entering the “Draw My Beer” art contest on Confuror’s website! Their charity for 2023 is Nutrias de México, an initiative seeking to promote the conservation of otter populations in Mexico.
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Can’t get enough of furry literature? Check out Oxfurred Comma, an online furry convention over the weekend of Saturday October 21-Sunday October 22! Brought to you by the Furry Writers’ Guild, this free event dedicated to anthropomorphic literature will be streamed on Twitch, and prospective attendees can join the Discord or Telegram channels to get started. Oxfurred Comma 2023 will run a furry flash fiction contest, with the winner announced at the conclusion of the con. Writers can also submit self-published works to one of two general audience and adult-rated story bundles. The panel schedule is yet to be announced, so make sure you’re following Oxfurred Comma or the Furry Writers’ Guild for updates as they come.
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Golden Leaves Con will celebrate its 13th anniversary from Wednesday October 25 - Sunday October 29. The theme will be “Spacedock GLC13 - A Space Odyssey.” Experience the beauty of the Hasliberg valley of Switzerland from the C’est La Vie Guesthouse and Hotel Panorama, both of which will exclusively host furries for the span of the weekend! Amenities include authentic Swiss food catered by an all-furry staff and free cocktails from the bar during the nightly furdances. Golden Leaves Con is known for its full-length puppet show put on by the Swiss Pawpeteers, an event not to be missed! Attendees can also expect to enjoy a Dealer’s Den, two fursuit lounges, fursuit dance contest, nightly lantern walk, and heated outdoor pool. Due to overwhelming interest last year, GLC is switching to a lottery-based attendance system for registration, so if you’d like to attend, check out their website for more details about what you need to do to enter. Finally, guests must be 18 years old to attend GLC.
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Something lurks in the shadows this Halloween season… it’s Furpocalypse! This spooky themed furry convention is always a frightfully good time. 2023’s iteration will take place from Thursday October 26 - Sunday October 29 at the Armon Hotel & Conference Stamford in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. As a Halloween convention, Furpoc is known for its frightful flair, and this year’s theme - Summercamp Slasher - does not disappoint. Take your experience to the next level by participating in hotel-wide door-to-door trick-or-treating, fun no matter which side of the candy basket you’re on! A charity auction and raffle will be held to benefit Q Plus, a Connecticut nonprofit dedicated to uplifting and empowering queer youth. Possessed Opossum and ZucchiniFuzz, the two artist Guests of Honor this year, will be introduced at Opening Ceremonies to crown the surprise Furpocalypse Guest Host. Furpoc has historically featured a masquerade, fursuit parade and group picture, dance competition, fursuit games, nightly dances with DJs, art show, and last howl afterparty. Of course, no Halloween con is complete without a costume competition! All costumed attendees of Furpoc are welcome to enter, though fursuits alone don’t count and suiters will have to wear a costume over their fursuits.
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Make a splash at AquatiFur this year from Friday October 27 - Sunday October 29! This unique furry con is hosted at a waterpark: the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA. This year’s theme is “Oktofurfest.” Guests of Honor include fursuit making company Fursewna Studios and freelance artist Wooperworks. AquatiFur boasts a Dealer’s Den, Artist Alley, dance competitions, nightly dances with DJs, panels, workshops, meetups, and let’s not forget access to a fantastic water park with all the thrills and rides that come with it! AquatiFur’s 2023 charity of choice is Feathered Friends Sanctuary and & Rescue, Inc., which provides a safe haven for homeless parrots living in captivity. Attendees can watch and take part in the Charity Dance-Off to raise money for this great cause while enjoying the talents of dancer furs in the community.
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Infurnity will return to the Fullon Hotel Tamsui in Taiwan from Friday October 27 - Sunday October 29. There’s plenty of potential for fun with their theme of “The Taiwanese Furstival.” Should you plan on fursuiting at Infurnity, you can add your fursuit photo to the online registry at their website, so everyone knows who to look forward to meeting at the con! Infurnity’s Guests of Honor include artist Racoonwolf, cartoonist Zisak, and dancer & video creator Wolvinny, all three of whom are hosting panels and meet & greets at the con. In addition, the con will raise donations for Raptor Research Group of Taiwan, which will have a presence in the Dealer’s Den, charity auction and raffle, and panel schedule. Infurnity hosts a unique Fursuit Debut show, where fursuiters whose costumes were made between November 2022 and October 2023 have a chance to strut their stuff onstage for their first ever public appearance! New this year is a furry boating trip where attendees can enjoy a scenic sunset tour along the Tamsui River. This year’s schedule has just been announced, so head over to Infurnity’s website for details on their Dealer’s Den, art shows, dances, fursuit parade and group photo, talent show, panels, and events.
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A convention that certainly lives up to its name, Biggest Little Fur Con hits the scene at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, USA. In an unexpected move that polarized social media, BLFC selected midweek dates of Monday October 30 - Thursday November 2 for 2023’s iteration; only time will tell what the furry public thinks of a non-weekend convention. BLFC’s theme is Curse of Coeurasa, about which attendees can learn more by reading the expansive lorebook and listening to the podcast on the theme page of the con’s website. Events and attractions include a dealer’s den, art show, dance competition, escape room, and even more fun planned. Attendees must show proof of initial COVID-19 vaccination and one booster or equivalent.
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This month’s calendar features DarlingTheDoe rocking a fall-themed outfit!
Remember to get vaxxed and wear your face mask when meeting up with any furs in person.
Got questions or suggestions for Convention Calendar? Feel free to drop me a line on Twitter and the Fediverse, or hit me up at any of the other platforms linked on my website. If there’s an upcoming con you want to ensure we cover here on Furry Weekly, don’t hesitate to let me know. Have fun and stay safe out there!
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FURRY QUOTE
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Furry Quote! I’ve been thinking about this topic for a little while now. It has been steadily, and slowly, running laps around my mind and I want to share the idea with you all. I’ve considered the difference between the small joys in life and the large ones, and why we slowly lose the wonder that is living as we grow older. Shockingly, I managed to sift through all the cheesy quotes that Google loves to offer and find one that relates to these ideas pretty well. Let’s take a look, shall we?
”The great beauty of life is its mystery...”
The rest of this long quote is very good and I recommend taking a look at the full thing, but for this study we only need to look at this first portion. We will start by defining what Oldster is saying here. The first word we want to look at is none other than “mystery”.
According to Webster, mystery means “something not understood or beyond understanding”. Oldster is saying that the beauty of life is the fact that we can’t understand it. That seems really odd, especially since we spend years of our lives learning about life. We learn how to play the game, how to make memories, and how to grow our characters. Unfortunately, we also are taught how to explain away the phenomena that occur around us on a daily basis. We study the sciences, arts, mathematics, and history, and we are told that everything has an explanation. Yet we aren’t taught how to keep our sense of wonder in life. We lose that feeling of joy when we find anything new because we subconsciously tell ourselves that it isn’t new.
This sense of knowledge and understanding that we gain from learning continues to grow as our experiences grow. We begin to lose the colour and vibrance of life and it becomes a dull, grey repetition of the same set of actions. This is where we lose ourselves. However, let’s look at what Oldster said again. He claimed that not knowing, not understanding, life is where we find its beauty. When we can’t just explain something it is wonderful to us and many times we are scared. Things like a best friend that just chose you one day, or a stranger buying your meal ahead of you in the drive through. No reason behind it, but it brings some of that wonder for life back to our otherwise boringly familiar life.
Understand that knowledge isn’t the cause of lack of interest in life, it is how we use the knowledge we gain. Also understand that while having something good done to you without reason will brighten your day, your day will brighten just as much by being something good in someone else’s life. You won’t receive anything except maybe a smile, if you’re lucky, but something lights back up inside when we rekindle our sense of wonder with the world. If you stay tuned, next week we will explore how we can rekindle that sense of wonder back in our lives!
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That’s a wrap for this week’s Furry Quote and the end of this week’s Furry Weekly! If you enjoyed reading through and diving into the meat behind this quote, let one of us know on our socials. We would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading and we will see you all in the next publication of Furry Weekly!
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