ISSUE 294
Hi you all! Thanks for joining us for another edition of Furry Weekly! We have our usual announcements to tell you about and we still want to keep your attention on the “Recruiting” section below. We have a lot of positions open that we need to fill to help us continue doing issues every week – so please have a look at them and reach out if something interests you!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
RECRUITING
Here are the roles we currently have open at Furry Weekly:
- Art Corner Host
- Furry of the Week Host
- Art 101 Host
- Species Spotlight Host
- Radical Raffles Host
- Available Artists Host
- Writing Showcase Host
- Front End Website Developer
- Editor
- Content Migrator
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! We still need lots of help in general, so please do consider joining us or sharing with other friends in the fandom if you can! We’d really appreciate it!
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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That’s all our usual announcements done! With that, let’s get into today’s issue! As always, let us know on our social media what you liked the most or if you’d like to see something or someone in a future issue. We’re @FurryWeekly on both Twitter and Instagram!
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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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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, donate towards wildlife rehabilitation programs, or send funds to scientists so that they can research underappreciated animal species. Join us on this fun adventure, and I hope that you, too, will fall in love with these amazing animals!
Today we have the third part of our series on the Rorquals!
Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales containing ten extant species in three genera. Rorquals take their name from French rorqual, which derives from the Norwegian word røyrkval; the first element røyr originated from the Old Norse name for this type of whale, reyðr, probably related to the Norse word for "red," and the second from the Norse word, hvalr, meaning "whale" in general.
All members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel – except the sei whale and common minke whale, which have shorter grooves. These furrows allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding. These "pleated throat grooves'' distinguish balaenopteridae from other whales. Most rorquals feed by gulping in water, and then pushing it out through the baleen plates with their tongue; the exception is the gray whale, which gulps in and filters large amounts of marine sediments from the seafloor.
This Week’s Species: Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
Characteristics
The gray whale has a dark slate-gray color and is covered by characteristic gray-white patterns, scars left by parasites which drop off in its cold feeding grounds. Individual whales are typically identified using photographs of their dorsal surface and matching the scars and patches associated with parasites that have fallen off the whale or are still attached. They have two blowholes on top of their head, which can create a distinctive heart-shaped blow at the surface in calm wind conditions.
Fun Facts
The two populations of Pacific gray whales (east and west) are morphologically and physiologically different. Other than DNA structures, differences in proportions of several body parts and body colors including skeletal features, and length ratios of flippers and baleen plates have been confirmed between Eastern and Western populations, and some claim that the original eastern and western groups could have been much more distinct than previously thought, enough to be counted as subspecies.
Habitat
Two Pacific Ocean populations are known to exist: one population that is very low, whose migratory route is presumed to be between the Sea of Okhotsk and southern Korea, and a larger one with a population of about 27,000 individuals in the eastern Pacific traveling between the waters off northernmost Alaska and Baja California Sur. The gray whale became extinct in the North Atlantic in the 18th century. Other than speculations, large portions of historical characteristics of migration and distribution are unclear such as locations of calving grounds and existences of resident groups.
Diet
The whale feeds mainly on benthic crustaceans, such as amphipods and ghost shrimp, which it eats by turning on its side and scooping up sediments from the sea floor. This unique feeding selection makes gray whales one of the most strongly reliant on coastal waters among baleen whales. When gray whales feed planktonically, they roll onto their right side while their fluke remains above the surface, or they apply the skimming method seen in other baleen whales (skimming the surface with their mouth open). This skimming behavior mainly seems to be used when gray whales are feeding on crab larvae. Other prey items include polychaete worms, herring eggs, various forms of larvae, and small fish. Gray whales seem to favor feeding planktonically in their feeding grounds, but benthically along their migration route in shallower water.
Life Cycle
Breeding behavior is complex and often involves three or more animals. Both male and female whales reach puberty between the ages of six and twelve, with an average of eight to nine years. Females show highly synchronized reproduction, undergoing oestrus in late November to early December. During the breeding season, it is common for females to have several mates. The gestation period for gray whales is approximately 13 and a half months, with females giving birth every one to three years.
Image Credit: Flip Nicklin
Conservation
Gray Whales have been hunted since prehistoric times, and were particularly vulnerable to whalers due to their slow swimming speeds and coastal distribution. The North Atlantic population was extinct by the early 1700s, although it is unclear whether this was due primarily to hunting. Gray Whales were hunted in prehistoric times on both sides of the North Pacific, but aboriginal catches declined to relatively low levels by the early 20th century due largely to depletion of the stocks by commercial whaling.
Gray Whales are subject to anthropogenic threats such as entanglements in fishing gear and ship strikes. Entanglement rates in the western North Pacific appear to have been comparatively high relative to abundance. Plastic debris has been found in stomachs of dead Gray Whales but does not appear to have been a significant factor in the deaths of the individuals concerned. Seven to eight times more gray whales than average washed ashore on the US coast in 1999 and 2000, but the causes of this unusual mortality event have not been conclusively identified.
Gray Whale calf production is positively correlated with the length of the ice-free season in the main feeding grounds in the preceding season. While this would imply that reduced ice coverage, as predicted by most climate models, could benefit Gray Whales in the short term, the longer term effects of arctic climate change on Gray Whales are unknown. There is some evidence that the distribution on the winter breeding grounds shifts northward in warm (El Niño) years and southward in cool (La Niña) years. The conservation implications in the context of a general trend towards higher water temperatures and more frequent El Niño conditions are unclear.
Here are some links to articles about the conservation of Gray whale:
Gray whale Eschrichtius robustus population and stock identity
Population abundance and growth rate of western gray whales Eschrichtius robustus
Adopt
Our adopt this week is specifically an Arcane manokit, a new subspecies of manokit introduced in 2023. Manokits are an original species currently being owned by Crucis/Yoskavel and originally created by DubMutt. To learn more about the Manokit species and its three major subspecies go to their official Discord.
All funds from this adopt will go to animal conservation. The goal for this series is to save up to help fund the monitoring of local baleen whales with the Oceanic Society. Specifically, for two years monitoring of SAYU-1.004, known as Lily, who is a humpback whale that has been seen twice at the Farallon Islands off of San Francisco, California in the United States, and one year monitoring of HW-MN0502559, known as Alexis, who was first sighted in 2022 and was estimated to be born in 2021, meaning she is as of now only 3 years old. These two adoptions require a total of $160 and this adopt will be one of five total created to achieve this goal, making $150, with extra funds pooled together from previous AOTW adopts to cover the additional $10 cost. It will be available for $30 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. If you enjoy the design you can also purchase it on a multitude of products like shirts and stickers: links to these options can be found at Shirogane Studios.
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 IUCN RedList.
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WRITING 101
A tall anthropomorphic snake sits at his workstation, hunched over a stack of official-looking papers. It’s clearly a scene of organized chaos—many papers are off to either side of the computer monitor while some lay directly on top of the keyboard. A website is loaded onto the screen, displaying information about universally-dreaded, ever-present—
“Taxes…” mutters Phoenix. His long and normally-calm tail flicks in agitation, and his folded hood flares slightly at his utterance. “Who knew moonlighting could get this complicated?”
He takes some notes in his notebook but doesn’t get much farther than that. He props his elbow on the chair arm and lets his head rest in his free hand as he taps his pen against the notebook. His concentration is slipping fast… or, rather, his willingness to continue navigating complicated tax laws quickly wanes. Trying to figure out federal taxes is bad enough, but why Virginia taxes as well?
Phoenix glances to his side. A dark hard-shelled case—a recent acquisition by the Boss Cat himself—sits next to his bookbag. He knows a camera sits comfortably inside the case, yet he has no clue why he might need it. He has his own digital and film camera at his apartment as hobbies… but why might he need a video camera? Even Yeshua wasn’t too sure about it; he simply wanted Phoenix to check it out.
The snake shakes his head as he shuffles his papers off the keyboard. He needs to refresh his eyes from looking at tax information for so long. So, up comes his Writing 101 document, neglected these past few weeks thanks to crazy work demands, and his fingers gradually work a rhythm against the keyboard.
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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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Abandoning Perfection
We all strive to do our best. Us writers want to make beautiful works, no matter how large or small in scale and grandeur. Whether it’s a poem, a short story, an essay, or a full-blown novel, we should try our best to channel our skills into exemplary work. However, it isn’t very wise to expend all of our energy into a “perfect” work.
It sounds like harsh or even foolhardy advice. Or perhaps it sounds almost too obvious. Of course, we know that, in the real world, there is no such thing as perfection. There will always be a flaw, something that can be done better, or something that can be changed. Such is true with any art, including writing.
When you chase perfection in one of your works, you end up spending more and more energy for smaller and smaller gains. The gains amount not only to very slight improvements in the quality of your writing, but also to the knowledge gained through those slight quality improvements. You can read over your very first completed novel a thousand times. Each reading will reveal something small to edit or change. Is it an improvement? Possibly. Is it worth it? Most likely not.
Why give such advice? I, along with many other artists, will tell you that you’ll learn much more through creating new works instead of fiddling the same project to absolute exhaustion. You will learn a great deal more through trying new techniques, applying tips picked up in your travels, and overall acquired knowledge in a new project instead of an existing project. This doesn’t mean to drop everything the moment you have a stroke of inspiration, or to refuse to edit a draft and call your first attempt your best attempt. There is always room for edits and proofreading. But there comes a time where you must lay down your pencil—either metaphorical or real—so that you may declare a work finished and create something new.
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Want me 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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Phoenix finishes writing with a flourish. The much-needed change of pace sufficiently refreshes his brain—so much so that he breathes a sigh of relief as he leans back in his chair.
“Ahh… that always feels good.”
However, the snake can’t quite bring himself to trudging through more daunting tax work. He glances at the camera case, then back to his computer monitor, then back to the case.
“A little peek can’t hurt, right…?”
He scoots his chair over to pick up the case. It’s somewhat heavy for its size as it sits in his lap. Phoenix undoes the clasps and eases open the shell, letting the bright office light spill inside the case.
An interesting machine rests within the protective molded foam. A sturdy device with a silvery metal chassis lays on its side, caressed snugly by the foam. It’s somewhat larger than a camcorder, yet not nearly as large as a television broadcast camera or even a professional video camera. Several spare batteries are packed into the case. One of those batteries is already installed on the device.
He picks up the camera to study its chassis. It looks simple enough to operate, though waiting until he’s not trying to cram for his taxes would definitely be the wiser move.
“You’re definitely coming home with me tonight,” he mutters as he returns the camera to its home.
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FURSUIT FOCUS
Hey you all! Welcome to another edition of Fursuit Focus! I’m Yeshua, and I’m happy to be able to share with you another fursuiter! Let’s see who it is!
This time we have one of our own staff members; when she’s not drawing some of our covers, Shiina may be found suiting up from time to time!
For a demon rabbit, she looks pretty adorable, doesn’t she? There’s actually a bit of a funny story about the fact Avalon – Shiina’s fursona – looks this cute, but we’ll get to that later. Shiina actually made the suit by herself with the help of one of her good friends, and for a first attempt, it’s pretty impressive! Despite how cute she looks, the suit’s style is more realistic than toony which is actually kinda rare for bunny characters. If you take a look at Ava’s head, you’ve got the short snout, longer front teeth, and of course some big ol’ ears! All classic features of a bunny. While we’re talking about the head, the fur patterns and colors look great too; white and gray are the two dominant natural colors in Ava’s design, but the pink and black spots are a nice touch to the solid pattern on her face. Plus, speaking on the color palette for just a sec, the pink ears, nose, paws, and tip of the tail all complement the rest of the design so well; it’s a pretty memorable combination! Now for the one aspect of Ava’s design that really stands out: the tail! Shiina opted for a long tail that almost looks like that of a dragon’s, especially with how it ends. That may be the demon part of Ava and while of course she is clearly a rabbit, the tail actually looks quite good as part of her design. Like I said, this is a pretty distinct and just really cool character!
Despite being somewhat new to fursuiting – more on that in a sec – Shiina has already found tons of activities she enjoys! For the most part, she likes doing things at home that simply let her interact with her character, like trying out different outfits for her suit, learning dances, and sometimes just getting into a different mindset. Shiina says she’s been spending most of her time recently dancing while fursuiting, explaining that she used to do it when she was active in the cosplay scene. She had to stop when her life started getting busier, but now that she dedicates some time to fursuiting, dancing is one of her biggest interests.
Shiina is also trying out making TikTok content. She says she doesn’t feel like she’s good at it, and while that’s likely not true, she’s still having a good time doing it! She’ll jump on dance trends whenever they appear but doesn’t post a video until the trend passes. Meanwhile, when it comes to dressing up, Shiina says she wants to come up with more outfits for Ava. Cottagecore tends to be her preferred style, but Ava is “quite a bit edgier” than Shiina herself, so she’s trying to look at other clothes she usually wouldn’t consider; she’s currently thinking about techwear and street clothes, so that’s something to look out for as she posts more photos and videos in the future!
Speaking of Ava being edgier – Shiina points out that although Ava is supposed to be an ominous demonic character, ironically she was built to look cute. Shiina tries to find ways to make Ava look scary, but as she explains, “you take one look at that face and there is no way she could ever give you the horrific nightmares she’s meant to.”
Dance trends are what you can expect the most from Shiina right now, but she also wants to get into skits and tell stories through videos! Something else she’ll be working on are more suits for her and maybe one of her siblings, so she’s thinking about documenting her fursuit-making journey. Not only that, but she’s also going to upgrade Ava! Shiina appreciates WIP videos other fursuit makers have made which is why she’s inspired to potentially do the same: “I hope documenting my own WIP could help someone else in the future and just continue the chain of helping each other with fursuit projects!”
As I alluded to earlier, Shiina started fursuiting somewhat recently from the time this is written. She finished Ava along with one of her good friends, Lux, the night before Furry Migration in September of 2023! Quite the debut, huh? The journey to that day was quite long, but perhaps not too surprising for Shiina. I also said earlier that she used to cosplay, and during those days she got to see fursuiters at anime conventions: “They were always so friendly and gave the best hugs.” Shiina used to make her cosplays from scratch – something she really enjoyed – so some time after stepping away from that she was craving something like that. Her friend Lux slowly brought her into the fandom, and it didn’t take long for her to become interested in making a fursuit since she had the skills for it.
Shiina’s experience with fursuiting has been very meaningful, which is common for a lot of fursuiters. In particular, she values the self expression she can show off while fursuiting. Shiina says she purposefully made her character Ava to have her body type, for example, as well as traits she wants to improve on. This has allowed her to gain a lot of confidence in herself: “She’s cute, but that’s me, so that must mean I also am cute!”
I mentioned some of what Shiina hopes to do with fursuiting in the future, but she’s got so many ideas! She’s really interested in doing sports or playing games in fursuit, saying it always looks like a lot of fun when she sees fursuiters ice skate, ski, or play rhythm games (I’m gonna be one of those that play rhythm games by the way so although a little biased, that is exciting to hear!) She’s also looking forward to making fursuiting friends in her area to make silly content with! Aside from that, Shiina just likes to pick up whatever seems fun at the moment, which is of course probably the best mindset to have when fursuiting! If you can’t tell, Shiina is just getting started in the fursuiting scene so no doubt we will see a lot more! No matter what she gets up to, you can expect her to have a lot of fun doing it!
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With that, we’ve come to the end of another edition of Fursuit Focus. Thank you all for reading! If you liked what you saw from Shiina today, be sure to give her a follow on her Instagram where you’ll also find some of her other socials!
We’re always looking for fursuiters to show off here, so if you want to appear here, just use the tags #furryweekly and #fursuitfocus when you post your fursuit photos and videos to social media! You can also reach out to me or our usual host, tahlmorra and tell us you want to be featured, or you can also suggest your friends or favorite fursuiter!
Thanks again for reading! I hope to see you all next time, but until then, take care!
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PHOTOGRAPHY 101
Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of Photography 101 with your co host Sherry! During my time behind the glass I've noticed many people ask me questions like, “ How much is that camera?” or “What do I need to get photos as good as yours?” I will tell you this right now while there is some value to having more expensive gear, having the best gear in town will only get you so far. In this lesson I will be going over my set up – which is a Sony A7III with two lenses – that has taken me far versus lower “valued” cameras. This is Mind over Value!
To start with, the value of my setup is roughly around 4k. While that sounds like a ridiculous number, there are far more expensive options out there. There are also some better value starter options out there that will take you really far if you invest TIME in learning the craft and upgrading over time. A decent starter set with a camera bag, two lenses and a starter body can run you around 600-700 dollars. It's a decent start to learn the craft and see if it is something you want to pursue. The beginner body will teach you a lot of things once you dissect into the camera itself. One of my first shots done was with a Nikon D7000 that I got second hand at around 200 dollars. I also bought a 50mm lens for 300 brand new, so it was around 500 to get started. One of my favorite shots is shown below.
For me this shot was one of my favorites due to the camera angle. I love how the picture can tell a story of what's going on without any audio. This was at a motorcycle stunt show at a motorcycle store close to my old apartment. I stepped back a decent amount away but still managed to squeeze in the shot. Now with the photo up above as the “starter” setup shot, below is one of the shots I took with the newer, upgraded setup.
This is Sprinkles from one of the local anime conventions here in Oklahoma City. I was running a long lens, Sony G Master 70-200MM F/2.8. Angles and lighting from one of my last issues is what I harp all day long. Get the settings right, lighting, the correct angle and you can get a spectacular photo no matter the camera. Also fun fact, Sprinkles managed to make the whole outfit and head FROM SCRATCH. That in itself takes far more creativity I only dream of ever having. I can do photos but creating heads is not my forte.
Well that is all for me folks. Any questions do hit me up on @kami.t.photography on Instagram. Sherry signing off!
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RADICAL RAFFLES
Hello, everyone! Hopefully all of you had a nice Easter. This is Danielle again, and I’m here to bring you some fun raffles to potentially participate in.
Before we get into the raffles, I wish to remind all of you that we’re looking to recruit more hosts for this segment. If you enjoy coming across raffles, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, or our HR, Carkas, if you’re interested in hosting Radical Raffles.
Feel free to stick around because we have four raffles for you this week! Let’s take a look at them.
First, we have an icon giveaway by Eellie!
How to Enter:
★ Follow and repost.
★ Optional: Comment a safe for work (SFW) reference of your original character (OC).
Prize:
★ Icon
Deadline:
★ This raffle will end on April 25th. There’s lots of time left to enter!
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Gotta catch ‘em all with a Pokémon raffle by Moonyfurr!
How to Enter:
★ Follow, like, and repost.
★ Comment your favorite Pokémon.
Prize:
★ Icon with your choice of Pokémon (two winners)
Deadline:
★ This raffle will end on April 30th. There’s still time to enter!
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Up next, we have a 2.5k raffle by Griiffziilla!
How to Enter:
★ Follow and repost.
★ Extra entry: Tag a bud.
Prize:
★ Graffiti full body
★ Extra winner drawn at 3k followers!
Deadline:
★ This raffle will end when Griiffziilla reaches 2.5k followers. As of April 11th, Griiffziilla has 2,301 followers. There’s still time to enter!
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Get cozy with a sleepover raffle by Baba!
How to Enter:
★ Follow and repost.
★ Optional: Comment a reference.
Prize:
★ Sleep over your character here (YCH) (four winners)
Deadline:
★ This raffle will end on May 1st. There’s lots of time left to enter!
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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
Hey, all! It's Rave, your local plug to all things furry art! We’re back with another group of amazing artists, so if you’re looking to get yourself or your friends some art, we have a lot of awesome options for you! Let’s check them out!
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First up, we have mikabxn. Mikabxn – also known as Mamacat – is a 21 year old safe-for-work artist who does anthro and feral furry commissions. Among their work you can see a beautiful array of pastel colors and soft line work. Mamacat draws primarily cats and would be a perfect artist for any of our Warrior Cats fans. Their turnaround time is 1-4 weeks and work-in-progress updates will be sent for the sketch lineart and color phases of the piece. All terms of service can be found on their Instagram, under a story highlight titled TOS. They have affordable prices and great quality and are great for multi-commissions.
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Next on the list is a.j.crusher. Crusher is an artist with a vibrant, oil paint-esque style. They offer commissions and adoptables on their page. They excel in complex characters and detailed rendering. Their detailed and realistic style truly brings life to every character. They don’t have their terms of service or prices listed so please DM them on Instagram. They are quick to respond and have great communication.
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Following up on the list we have goobleiz. This 22 year old underground artist has a uniquely cartoonish art style. They use minute details to bring their artwork to life. They’re great with shading and lighting and are incredibly good at a plantigrade artstyle. They feature icon commissions, badges and adoptables on their Instagram. They do not currently have prices or terms of service on their page, however they have open DMs for any questions or interesting commissions you may have.
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Last up on the list but certainly not least is wishingmelodies
. Nico is an up and coming 18 year old artist. They work primarily on Instagram and Twitter. They have incredibly affordable prices for high quality art. Their muted color palettes and kemono style leaves an ethereal feeling about their art. Their art seems to be heavily anime inspired, and will leave any commissioners character feeling like it came straight out of one. They won’t do explicit/NSFW, mecha or gore as well as having a fairly standard terms of service. They ask that payment starts once the sketch is sent. If you’re interested in commissioning them, they ask that you DM them on Instagram or Twitter.
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A special thanks to those reading and those who worked with me on this week's segment! As always, if you want to see yourself in the next Available Artists segment, please use #FurryWeekly and #AvailableArtists when you post on social media, or DM me on Instagram.
I’m excited to see you all next time for even more incredible artists!
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CONVENTION CALENDAR
Hello again, readers! I’m Shetani, your Convention Calendar segment host for this issue. Birds are chirping, bees are buzzing, flowers are blooming, and that can only mean one thing - spring is here! With pleasant weather on the horizon, lots of furries are looking to get out there and mingle. Thankfully, I can help you with that! Let’s talk about all the furry conventions and events happening online, around the world, and in your neck of the woods.
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Fauntastic’s fourth event is Friday March 29 - Tuesday April 2. Point your GPS to a new location, Novotel Lyon Bron Eurexpo in Lyon, France! The theme, Greetings from Camp Critters, aims to delight fans of cryptids and the paranormal. Planned events include a dance competition, IT furs presentations, Me Too panel, and others, in addition to the standard furry con activities like a dealer’s den, group photos, gaming, karaoke, and dances. Programming is hosted in French and English, with Fauntastic providing translation services for attendees who need them. A unique aspect of Fauntastic is their specially-marked sticker areas on which furries can feel free to self-express by writing, drawing, and of course sticking surfaces to their hearts’ content! If you want to attend Fauntastic, keep in mind that you must be over 18 years old.
Website | Twitter | Telegram | Facebook
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Motor City Furry Con roars back onto the scene Thursday April 4 - Sunday April 7 at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA. This year’s theme is The Lost World: Furassic Park! MCFC boasts a video game room and prize arcade, bingo after dark, and even a raffle where you could win a PS5! Be sure to say hello to the Guests of Honor, artist BlindCoyote and CAMP HOWL owner Clyde Pine. You’ll also have an opportunity to help out the worthy charity The Pipsqueakery, a small animal rescue and sanctuary, via donations and events over the course of the weekend. Attendees must be at least 18 years old.
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The Hilton LAX in Los Angeles, California, USA welcomes the furries back for this year’s Golden State Fur Con between Friday April 5 - Sunday April 7. If you’re into retro aesthetics and haven’t made it to another con in the past year or so, you’ll be delighted to know GSFC 2024’s con theme is Back to the 80s! The Guests of Honor are fursuit making duo Delicious Disguises, retro-styled furry artist Kosperry, and pastry chef Arden Wolfsky. Charity and schedule info were not available at the time of reporting, but if you’ve had the pleasure of attending GSFC in the past, we’re sure they can offer more of the same fun you’ve come to expect this year.
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After a banger first year, Furcationland is ready to welcome the furries back from Friday April 12 - Sunday April 14. Returning to their previous digs, the Holiday Inn Portland-By The Bay in Portland, Maine, USA, Furcationland promises a fun “Fireside Tails” themed weekend. The Guests of Honor are artist Fleur and molecular biologist Chise. The con continues its charity relationship with Short Folks for Hope, raising donations through a bucket brigade, charity auction, and pinball tournament during the duration of the event. Other scheduled programming includes gaming demos, a writing slam, game shows, and comedy improv. Let’s not forget the dealer’s den, dance competition, masquerade, and nightly dances!
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Furries who prefer a taste of the great outdoors in their furry events should look no further than Woods Flock, also from Friday April 12 - Sunday April 14. This family-friendly camp event returns to Fall Creek Falls State Park in Spencer, Tennessee, USA. The theme this time around is Finding Harmony, and going by what they have planned this year, attendees are almost guaranteed to do just that. Begin your adventure by going over the schedule posted to Woods Flock’s social media, wherein a blend of traditional camping activities and furry convention staples are listed. Iggi of Alstro Arts is the Guest of Honor this year. A Charity auction and bake sale will be held to benefit Exotic Pet Wonderland, a registered non-profit which provides sanctuary to captive-bred wildlife such as foxes, raccoons, and more. Whether browsing the Maker’s Market, doing arts and crafts, fursuiting with friends, or making s’mores by the fire, a memorable weekend awaits you at Woods Flock!
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Furry Tea Party is scheduled for Saturday April 13 - Sunday April 14. Located at The Pier2 Art Center in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, furries from all around will gather to have fun and celebrate under the theme Tale of the Adventurer. Watch the super-cool trailer on Furry Tea PArty’s website and get excited for the con! Activities will include a fursuiter cafe (similar to maid cafes), photo contest, special banquet, group picture and parade, and a seminar hosted by the Taiwan Guide Dog Association.
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Furry Down Under, also known as FurDU, will be held Friday April 19 - Sunday April 21. Blast off from the Crowne Plaza Hotel Surfers Paradise & Oaks Hotel on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia and get ready to explore the far reaches of space with the theme Furbidden Planet! Three days’ worth of excitement await attendees, such as multiple fursuit games, trivia, dance competitions, a talent show, and dances each night of the convention. The Guests of Honor are ToxiDeVyne and JibKodi. Every year, FurDU raises donations for Fresh Start Rescue, an organization which assists with rescuing animals from shelters, fostering them, and giving them a new forever home. Pre-registration has closed for the season, but a limited number of day passes will be available on site. Bear in mind that you must be 18 years of age to attend FurDU.
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Wild Nights is a furry camping convention taking place Thursday April 25 - Tuesday April 30 in Robbers Cave State Park near Wilburton, Oklahoma, USA. This long-running community staple held their first event in 2009, if you can believe it! 2024’s con, themed the Rawring 20s, promises to be a swingin’ good time. Programming and events have historically included outdoor games such as swimming and basketball, a variety show, fursuit events, and artist sketchbook swaps. The charity partner is Oklahoma Exotics Rescue and Sanctuary, a rescue and adoption group specializing in reptiles and birds. The Guests of Honor are listed as musician Matthew Ebel and artist Zola, though they were also last year’s GoHs, so take this with a grain of salt! It may simply be a case of the con lagging in updating their website. Take a peek at the “Who’s Coming” list on WN’s website to start networking with the other furries you’ll meet at WN! Lodging and meals are included in the registration cost.
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This month’s calendar graphic features Shetani spending a glorious spring afternoon in a public garden, enjoying the beautiful flowers. It looks like she’s found some that fit her gothic aesthetic!
Remember to keep up-to-date on vaxx boosters 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! This is Danielle coming back to enlighten your day with an inspiring quote. Spring has sprung here in the United States, but before we delve into quotes themed around spring, there was a particular quote that stuck out when I recently watched Kung Fu Panda 4. I thought it would be a great quote to start out April with. Let’s take a look!
“Every step leaves a footprint. No matter how small.”
Zhen is a new female character to the Kung Fu Panda series. To keep it mostly spoiler-free, she’s a species of fox who acts as a deuteragonist, an individual who eventually accompanies Po. There’s a point during the movie where she states this quote to Po in a sly-like manner. Her words feel like another similar quote by an unknown individual: “There is no footprint too small to leave an imprint on this world.”
Both versions call attention to how impactful everyone’s life has on earth, no matter how small or big it is. Leaving a footprint can be both literal, metaphorical, and possibly philosophical depending on the circumstance. I believe in Zhen’s case, she said it mostly in a literal sense but also kind of in a metaphorical sense, too. During spring a seed in the ground will grow given the time and nourishment. This also applies to our own footprints we make in life. Each one of you tells an unique story that we can’t see on a physical footprint but can by your kind words and actions.
This quote is a reminder to keep your head held high in both the positive and negative moments and to know that you are worth it. Keep being that ray of sunshine for someone you care about.
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This concludes this week’s Furry Quote. I hope it brought some encouragement to your day.
If you have a topic you’d like to have covered or a quote you’d like to have shared, feel free to reach out to the main host of Furry Quote: Multifurse.
Thank you for reading this far, and we’ll see you all again next time!
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