ISSUE 302
Hi you all! Welcome back to Furry Weekly, your one stop for anything and everything about the furry fandom! Thanks for joining us for Issue 302!
We’ve got our usual announcements to get through but we especially want to keep your attention on the Recruiting section. We’re still looking for help running the magazine, especially writers, so we hope you’ll consider reading on below to learn more! Of course, you can also scroll ahead to the Content Lineup if you just wanna get straight into the issue!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
RECRUITING
Here’s a list of the roles we have open at Furry Weekly:
- Art Corner Host
- Furry of the Week Host
- Radical Raffles Host
- Species Spotlight Host
- Fursuit Designing Tips Co-Host
- Available Artists Host
- Cover Artist
- Content Artist
- Content Migrator
- Editor
You can reach out to Yeshua, or Carkas if you’re interested in helping out, or have any questions. If you want a description of the roles, check out this document! If you have any suggestions for other roles or things we could bring into Furry Weekly, please let us know as well, we’d be happy to hear your ideas! All in all, 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!
SEND US YOUR STUFF
Our goal here at Furry Weekly is to showcase the creativity the fandom has to offer, and if you haven’t noticed, most of our segments center around featuring folks in the community! So we want to remind you that you can submit your content to us! We actually have two new ways for you to send us your stuff:
Email us: Email us at furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com! You can submit your work (e.g. artwork, writing, quote, original species), tell us you are interested in appearing in a segment like Furry of the Week, Fursuit Focus, or Character Interview, or suggest someone to be featured in one of these segments.
Fill out our form: Check out this Google Forms link and fill it out based on the content you want to submit!
Remember that if you either email us or fill out our Submissions Form, you’re giving us permission to feature you or your work here on the magazine! We will always link back to you if you or your work appears on Furry Weekly!
READER SURVEY
We’re always looking out for what you, our readers, have to say about Furry Weekly! Like we said above, 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!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
That’s all for our usual announcements, thanks if you read through it all! Now it’s time for today’s content, so we hope you enjoy! Let us know what you liked the most, too! There are tons of ways to contact us, but you can also reach us on our social media! We’re @FurryWeekly on both Twitter and Instagram
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
SEGMENT LINEUP
[✔] Raffle Winners
[✔] Furry of the Week
[✔] Art Corner
[❌] Writing Showcase
[❌] Fursuit Focus
[✔] Species Spotlight
[❌] Animal of the Week
[✔] Art 101
[❌] Writing 101
[❌] Fursuit Designing Tips
[❌] Photography 101
[✔] Available Artists
[✔] Radical Raffles
[✔] Character Interview
[❌] Convention Calendar
[✔] Furry Quote
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
RAFFLE WINNERS
1st place: Faithfullightning!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
2nd place: Polymorph Tiger!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
3rd place: Gothic Nixx!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
The winners will be contacted pretty soon! Thank you all for entering and for celebrating 300 issues with us! Don’t be disappointed if you didn’t win, we’re planning on having a few raffles a year going forward, so expect at least one more this year!
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
FURRY OF THE WEEK
Hello, everyone! This is Danielle once again coming back to shine some more positivity onto you from the furry community. We have a special follow-up feature for you this week!
Before we put the spotlight on this week’s follow-up feature, I wish to remind all of you that we’re still 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, or our HR, Carkas, if you’re interested in hosting Furry of the Week.
Without further ado, get your popcorn, snacks, and/or drink ready because the movie is about to begin!
Back in issue 300, we featured Zray because of their charity campaign for PapaBarks. Since then, Zray has raised over $3,600 for the campaign as mentioned here. Their campaign alone put 722 entries into the prize pool. That is amazing!
Despite how the PapaBarks events have ended, there is still an opportunity to make a difference with Zray’s charity campaign. If you’re feeling generous, feel free to donate to the campaign on Zray’s Tiltify.
A big thank you goes out to Zray once again for hosting their PapaBarks charity campaign. On behalf of the Furry Weekly team, we look forward to seeing what the future brings for PapaBarks.
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
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.
Have someone that you’d like to nominate for Furry of the Week? Feel free to fill out this form with your nominee. You can also submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com, or you can directly message me on any of my platforms.
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!
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
ART CORNER
Hey everyone! It’s Jordan here and I’m a new co-host of the art corner! So excited to join the team and be a part of the art corner!
“The Chillers” by Skellulite
This piece features two absolutely adorable characters. I wanted to begin by talking about the color palette since it works so well! I really enjoyed the color chosen for the ears and tongue, the warm yellowish orange perfectly contrasting the cool blues used on the body and fur. Both characters have such rich detail. I wanted to point out the markings on the character on the left. The red nails and markings on the paw matching with the hair made the piece very visually interesting.
Another feature worth noticing is the highlights on the fur; they are subtle highlights, yet add depth to the image. I also love that they both have septum piercings, that was one of my favorite parts about this piece because it adds personality to the characters in it! This piece of art feels so cozy and evokes a happy feeling upon viewing this drawing! If you enjoyed this piece, go check out Skellulite!
⊱────⊰✯⊱────⊰
“Flamme” by Evelete
Our second piece titled “Flamme” is gorgeously majestic! I absolutely love the butterfly features of this canine hybrid. The bright colors paired with the sparkles and glitter details are so beautiful and give the piece such a fun and whimsical energy to it! Also wanted to mention the background of the piece is so well done and gives a sense of peacefulness! Loved that the anthro was in action prancing through a flower field. It felt like the perfect setting for this playful character to be in!
The clouds and trees in the background have the perfect amount of details, allowing all of the details of the character to come through. Specifically, the shading and lighting on the fur is seriously impressive. The white fur on the chest area is so beautifully paired with grays, blues, and pinks that really make the character appear more realistic, as well as giving the character more depth. The anatomy is also worth mentioning! If you loved this, check out Evelete for more art like this!
⊱────⊰✯⊱────⊰
“REVENGE - Jeannie” by Dryllis
I’m just obsessed with this piece! I wanted to begin by saying that the background of the sunflower field is absolutely gorgeous. It feels so smooth and creates a peaceful energy. Some really notable and eye-catching features are the highlights and light purple shadows. The highlights in the hair, as well as the shadows on the fur of the tail and face look so realistic. Also, I can’t not mention how well done the anatomy is; the artist nailed the proportions! I also really enjoyed the pop of color with the fur on the head being a burnt orange. Plus, a nice touch is the eye color matching the color of the orange fur! The white of the legs and paws also paired well with the color palette of oranges and tans, creating a smooth palette, which was also complemented nicely with the olive green shorts.
There are tons of other great elements I’d like to highlight. I loved the cherry earring on the right ear and the little fluff of hair at the tips of the ears. The character’s expression is happy, yet sly, which I loved and made me inquire more about the title of the piece, which was “REVENGE - Jeannie.” Overall, such a lovely piece done by Dryliis, thank you for sharing your work with us this week! If you want to see more art like this, check out Dryliis!
⊱────⊰✯⊱────⊰
That is all I’ve got for the art corner this week! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this and have a wonderful week!
If you want your artwork to be featured in this segment, or if you think someone else’s work should be featured, feel free to send us your work or recommendation! You can fill out our submissions form, you can email us at furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com, or you can use the tags #furryweekly and #artcorner when you post online. We check Instagram, Twitter, and FurAffinity the most! You can also message me directly on Discord at JordanC2404!
Thanks again for reading! See you all next time!
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
SPECIES SPOTLIGHT
Hello readers, and welcome back to an exciting week of Species Spotlight! This is Danielle making a return as a guest host.
Before we put the spotlight on this week’s original species, I wish to let all of you know that we’re still looking to recruit more hosts for this segment. If you enjoy diving into species lore and/or find original species fascinating, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, or our HR, Carkas, if you’re interested in hosting Species Spotlight.
This week we’re getting gooey with a shapeshifting species called Dorbley by Aver-Art!
Dorbleys are a race of shapeshifting liquid beings that take a default shape akin to an anthropomorphic salamander or lizard. They can’t change their color, mass, material, or density, but they are more than capable of fun shenanigans by simply morphing their bodies. They are an endangered race, numbering only a few thousand and live in isolated, inaccessible villages ranging from on top of mountains all the way to deep undersea caves. However, if you stumble across one, you are welcomed with open arms and treated like an honored guest. They live completely peaceful and simple lives, happily continuing their many lively cultures and traditions that are deeply rooted in penance.
For other information about the Dorbleys, check out this post here.
Some Dorbleys have the ability to transform or “shape” things temporarily, and those that train for years or even decades, can shape things permanently. This is because originally Dorbleys were shapeless, autonomous extensions of an interdimensional being known only as the Algan that was meant to terraform the planet for its arrival. No one knows how or why, but the Algan got “stuck” between existences, and without direction, the pre-Dorbleys began fighting each other and using their shaping powers in more creative yet nightmarish ways to establish dominance. Innocent people were shaped into immortal monsters to do battle for their tribe’s glory. The world was soon going to be consumed in this war until the Algan gave them an ultimatum: peace or death.
A one in ten thousand chance an egg is viable. This is their eternal punishment. To save their race, the war needed to end. All the elders of the tribes met – the meeting of the Marshes, as it is known – to create a new identity for their race. Their default shape, language, traditions, hopes, and dreams were all workshopped in a tense month’s long truce. In the end, the Dorbley as we see it was established. A race meant to be fun, adorable, and trustworthy to outsiders, but for them, the pain and sacrifice of everyone who came before, weighs on them with every step. With every smile they bring others, they hope to undo the damage they caused centuries ago. Even if the rest of the world has forgotten or forgiven their sins, it is the Dorbley’s duty to never forget. Even if that means for a select few never letting those forbidden shape techniques go untaught.
Dorbleys are considered how native Americans and Polynesians are today. They have a deep history and culture of both peace and war, but many leave to share their ways, or they don't care and like modern society. There are many tribes that focus on preserving their simple culture, farming, fishing, music, and learning various transformation techniques/magic. They keep to themselves normally, untrusting at first because many would do them harm, but it's not in their nature to be unkind. A Dorbley friend is a friend for life.
Those who choose to study the various Dorbley magics and gain lots of power often act as new mentors or protectors of Dorbley ways. The most advanced techniques are only shared to those with pure intentions. However, those with training and choose to leave the tribes are carefully watched to make sure they don't abuse it. This means there’s no going around transforming people into more Dorbleys or other dangerous things if you choose for your Dorbley to have the magical training. Aver, for example, just wants to be an artist out in the world. He keeps his transformation powers very secret, and only the most deserving get it. But for the most part, the average Dorbley in a city is bored of the simple life and just wants to be like everyone else while posing no threat.
There are Dorbley poachers that steal their eggs and Dorbleys that can use transformative magic because evil rich businessmen want to be a more powerful form. Because of this, staying quiet about your training is good because getting kidnapped and enslaved is also a real possibility.
Although a Dorbley can survive a lot of physical damage, it does tire them slowly, making them too weak to reform. Separated goo must be reabsorbed into the main largest mass as soon as possible or it will die. A Dorbley can just barely survive if 60 percent of its mass has been lost. It can take quite a few days and lots of water to replenish the lost mass. If a Dorbley is dehydrated, they can't shapeshift anymore and are very weak. There are specific Dorbley diseases too.
Dorbleys are an open species, which means you’re welcome to create your own while keeping them in-tune with the lore, culture, and vibes. Please be sure to give credit to Aver-Art for the species. For more frequently answered questions about the Dorbleys, check out the information sheet here.
Looking to make your own Dorbley? Feel free to take a look at this free to use base by Aver-Art here. You can also check out the free original base here and the updated version of the original here.
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Thank you for tuning in to this week of Species Spotlight! I hope you enjoyed learning about the Dorbleys today. There are plenty of creative original species out there, and we’ll be sure to hunt them down.
Ready for us to explore your original species? Feel free to fill out this form if interested. You can also submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com, or you can directly message me on any of my platforms.
As Coyote Peterson from Brave Wilderness says, stay wild, and we’ll see you on the next species adventure!
Disclaimer
All information and art pertaining to the species belongs to Aver-Art.
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
ART 101
We're getting into the thick of it now! So, brace yourself! We're going to be covering the artistic anatomy of arms.
Hi all, Shroom here! It's time to begin part three of our long lesson in the art of anatomy.
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
For the past few weeks we've tackled hands and feet; today we'll be looking at arms and that means we'll have to dive into something we've yet to truly wrangle with. TERMINOLOGY. Scientific terminology to be exact.
When it came to hands and feet, we could largely do away with having to understand the intricacies of what's going on underneath the forms we're trying to replicate. The reason being is because we can substitute that understanding with focusing on shape recognition. Since we're far more concerned with the shape the muscle is creating than the muscle itself.
Arms throw away this notion because the bulk of its artistic form relies too heavily on the muscular structure underneath.
So, a quick anatomy lesson within the anatomy lesson!
There are a multitude of overlapping muscles that compose the segments of the arm. From the shoulder to the upper arm to your forearm. For our purposes we'll narrow down the ones we need to know about to six primary muscles that contribute the most to the shapes found in the arm.
The deltoid acts as the muscle that connects the arm to the torso: this would be your shoulder. There's actually three segments of the deltoid, but we'll consider it as one distinct shape.
The pectoralis is, not surprisingly, your pec, or the muscle of your chest. (A more in depth discussion about this muscle and the torso will come in a later segment.)
You then have your bicep and your tricep. These are the primary muscles of your upper arm. To distinguish them, the biceps is more squishy and lends itself to exaggeration. Think of the mental image of someone flexing their arm. That round-like muscle that pokes out is your bicep. Whereas, the muscle connecting from the underside of your upper arm to your elbow is the tricep.
Lastly, you have your extensors and your flexsors. Within these are rigid muscles and more distinct layers, but for now we'll focus on them as these two separate groups.
Addendum: Finally, we have our lovely little hand! Which we've already covered.
With all our notes sorted, we can get to drawing. It's about time! For arms, we don't have the luxury of using something as simple as the sock or mitten method. But, we do have two distinct techniques to work with that greatly help us understand the forms of arms.
The "link" and the "zig-zag" methods.
Both can be used in tandem and I find myself turning back to these on occasion when I have a particularly difficult perspective to capture. The link method focuses more on how the muscles lay against and on top of each other. While the zig-zag method focuses on the outer contour curve of the arm itself.
However, both deeply rely on the understanding of the muscular structure and shape of the arm.
The link method earns its name because it uses the visual motifs of a linked chain to get across the structure of the arm. With the deltoid, it often appears as if it is coming down over the connection of the arm and torso like a cap. We can consider this a "forward" facing chain link while the upper arm constitutes a "flat" facing link. This method works well because an artist can visually see the divide that the links make and the similarities to how the muscles of the arm layer over each other.
The zig-zag method works as a singularly drawn line. Gaining its namesake from the motion of how the line is drawn to capture the arm. It aims to mimic the contour of the muscle first before focusing on structural details. A typical line for this method first draws the curve of the deltoid, then hooks up, proceeds to draw the curve of the bicep, hooks up once more, and lastly draws the curve of the extensor or flexor depending on what side of deltoid you started with.
With practice, the motion of drawing this line will come more naturally and with learned smoothness. Below are a few examples showing how the lines are drawn in tandem.
This gives us a base understanding of arms and how they're drawn. Once more, I encourage you to utilize Line of Action for anatomy studies and practices.
Go to the "Figure Drawing" option on the homepage. Here you have the same toggling abilities as you did with the hands and feet studies. Focus, subject, mode, and time interval of each image can all be adjusted as needed.
A quick tip: I often reference artists that deeply inspire me and study how they draw certain subjects. It's a useful practice and I encourage you to do the same as you continue to draw and learn. How artists draw or exaggerate the muscles of the arm can help you understand how you wish to draw your own.
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
If you have any suggestions for future segments or simply have some questions regarding anything I’ve discussed feel free to reach out to me! Regardless, I hope to catch you all real soon as we further our art journeys together!
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
AVAILABLE ARTISTS
Hello, everyone! Danielle here once again to bring you the latest and greatest artists to consider commissioning.
Before we get started, I wish to let all of you know that we’re still looking to recruit more hosts for this segment. If you’re a connoisseur of furry art, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, or our HR, Carkas, if you’re interested in hosting Available Artists.
We have three artists this week! Let’s dive in.
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
We start with Luke, an artist who specializes in fantastic outdoor scenery illustrations of large body type furry characters, especially of North American mammals. He’s currently offering icons/portraits, half bodies, full bodies, and detailed illustrations as commission options. However, you’ll also sometimes find Luke posting about custom designs and experimental icons.
You can find Luke’s prices on his pinned post here. Feel free to message him for a quote and/or if you have any questions.
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Next, we have Dritazura, an artist who specializes in amazing furry art. Dritazura does both safe for work (SFW) and not safe for work (NSFW) art, so if you are under 18, please do not visit their links. They offer sketches, lineart, emotes, Telegram stickers, and reference sheets as commission options.
You can find Dritazura’s prices on their post here as well as other social media links on their Linktree. If you have any questions and/or are interested in a commission, feel free to message them.
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Last but certainly not least, we have Ghostiebun, an artist who specializes in neat tattoos as well as cute and edgy furry art. If you live in Florida and are looking to get a tattoo, then Ghostiebun is your go-to furry artist! Besides tattoos, she’s currently offering digital doodle pages, sketchy sketch scenes, lineart scenes, digital full bodies, and character reference sheets as commission options. If you’re working with a small budget, her digital doodle pages and sketchy sketch scenes are the affordable options to go with.
You can find Ghostiebun’s prices on this post as well as important links on her Linktree. Feel free to message her if you’re interested in a commission and/or if you have any questions.
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
That is all for this edition of Available Artists. We’re always on the lookout for amazing artists to put in the spotlight.
Looking to recommend yourself or others for this segment? Feel free to fill out this form if interested. You can also submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com, or you can directly message me on any of my platforms.
Thank you for reading and checking out these amazing artists. Keep being creative!
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
RADICAL RAFFLES
Hello, everyone! Danielle here once 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 seven raffles for you this week! Let’s take a look at them.
First, we have a custom character raffle by PinkBites!
How to Enter:
★ Follow, like, and repost.
★ Please be sure to follow the raffle rules as well.
Prize:
★ Custom character
Deadline:
★ August 31st
There’s lots of time to enter!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Next up, we have a road to 10k art raffle by Kiki Chaos Creations!
How to Enter:
★ Follow and repost.
★ Comment your reference.
Prize:
★ Half body
Deadline:
★ 10k followers goal
As of August 15th, Kiki has 8,600 followers.
There’s still plenty of time to enter!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Up next, we have an art raffle by luther_brh!
How to Enter:
★ Follow, like, and repost. New followers are welcome!
★ Post your safe for work (SFW) reference.
Prize:
★ Fully shaded animated bust
Deadline:
★ September 25th
There’s plenty of time left to enter!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Celebrate with a 100 followers raffle by Project Nao!
How to Enter:
★ Follow, like, and repost. New followers are welcome!
Prize:
★ Bust
One extra winner will be added for every 100 new followers!
Deadline:
★ August 31st
There’s lots of time to enter!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Next up, we have an art raffle by Dritazura!
How to Enter:
★ Follow (18+ only) and repost.
★ Post your reference or any art of your character/fursona.
Prize:
★ Flat-colored full body sketch
Deadline:
★ August 26th
There’s lots of time to enter!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Become a superhero with a Deadpool and Wolverine adopt raffle by Adeptus_Furaffinitus!
How to Enter:
★ Watch Adeptus_Furaffinitus and LPDaemonium.
★ Favorite and comment on the raffle post with your corresponding consecutive number.
Extra Entries:
★ Make a journal about the raffle and include its link.
★ Follow Adeptus_Furaffinitus on Twitter/X and repost its raffle post. Include your Twitter/X username.
Prize:
★ Deadpool and Wolverine adoptable characters (two winners)
Deadline:
★ August 31st
There’s lots of time to enter!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
Last but certainly not least, celebrate with a road to 10k raffle by Ren!
How to Enter:
★ Follow, like, and repost.
★ Reply with a SFW reference.
Prize:
★ Sketched portrait (two winners)
Deadline:
★ 10k followers goal
As of August 15th, Ren has 9,822 followers. There’s still time to enter!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
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.
Would you like us to showcase your own raffle? Feel free to fill out this form if interested. You can also submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com, or you can directly message me on any of my platforms.
Thank you for taking a look at this week’s raffles. Stay tuned because more radical raffles are coming your way!
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
CHARACTER INTERVIEW
What’s up everyone? It’s Yeshua once again and I’m psyched to be back with another Character Interview segment! If this is your first time checking out the segment, we basically chat with some cool folks in the fandom and get to know more about them and what they do here! Stick around because I’ve got an immensely talented member of the fandom to share with you all.
YESHUA: I'm happy to be joined by Flint today! Thanks for taking some time to chat, it's really good to have you! Some folks out there might recognize you, but for those who may be reading about you for the first time, can you tell me a bit about yourself and what you get up to in the fandom?
FLINT: Hi there, it’s a real pleasure getting to work with Furry Weekly. So as you know, I’m Flint! I’ve been in the fandom for around 10 years now, fursuiting for around 4 years. In fandom, my hobbies include art, which was also a full time job for me for a few years! While I don’t create art full time anymore, I still offer commissions here and there. And speaking of art, the buzz right now is our custom LED fursona signs! I’m really surprised they became such the hit they did, and I really enjoy designing them.
Aside from that, I’d also love to mention a new project of mine; the first ever outdoor furry music festival, Noctfurnal!
YESHUA: Sounds like you've definitely gotten pretty involved in the community! I do want to talk about pretty much everything you mentioned, but let's start with the fursona signs, yes! Before I ask anything super specific about them, can you give me the rundown on how you make them?
FLINT: Oh for sure, the signs!
These are actually a partnership! One day my friend, Takio the saber, reached out to me asking to make him a design of his fursona as a neon sign. I didn’t even think that it was going to be anything more than art, until he made this!
We decided that we wanted to work together on the sign-making, using my artwork for them! While I don’t handle much of the making myself, I can give a quick run down of the process…
Client commissions us, the artwork is created, once the artwork has been revised and approved by the client, we start on the sign itself. Making the signs is a very specific process which includes using a machine to cut acrylic boards, the backing of our signs, and the grooves for the LED lights. Once cut, the lights are laid down and then covered with a rubbery plastic to protect them and give the sign a nice finish. Sign is done, and then sent out to its owner.
YESHUA: Ah that's incredible! This is the kind of stuff I love showcasing and talking to creators about! So it sounds like the workload is kinda split in half, since you draw the design, and Takio is perhaps the one to put the physical sign together? Is that right or not quite? How long does it usually take you all to go through the full process of making a sign and getting it to its owner?
FLINT: That’s right! It takes around 2-3 months for a sign to be fully completed and make it to its owner, just with the work of it and leaving time for personal stuff as well as shipping time! We also like to make signs in small batches, 2-4, useful for buying supplies!
This is our first sign we ever shipped out!
YESHUA: Makes sense! It looks like the signs are decently customizable just from the two you've shown. Are there any color limitations perhaps? Or any sort of notable limitations for the signs? Or can you guys pretty much make them any way you want?
FLINT: There are quite a lot of limitations unfortunately, a design can only be so complex before it makes the sign look too crowded, or a fursona’s markings may not work at all. In that case, they tend to be simplified, which we always ask before doing.
We also have limits to the colors. While we offer all the colors you’d see on a rainbow, plus some more, we can’t do anything with the color brown, grey, or black, or any super specific shade. In this case, we would substitute to the best of our ability, such as changing black to dark blue. Sometimes it doesn’t work, and that’s okay. We never start a sign or take payment until all limitations are discussed with the client beforehand! Here you can see one of our most complex signs, with all the markings and details! Their fursona is grey, and we used blue instead to imitate!
YESHUA: Looks like you guys definitely do your best to try and make each design come to life; I love the creativity to substitute colors when needed. That sign honestly looks fantastic, and I can definitely tell it's more complex not just because of the markings, but the bandana design and even the lines next to the character that makes it look like they're talking!
Tell me, how durable are the signs? Of course, I can imagine common sense stuff like not dropping them or getting them wet applies, but is there anything else that's worth knowing to care for them?
FLINT: I’d say quite durable! The acrylic is thick, we’ve only ever had one crack, and that was one of our own personal signs. And even with the crack, it still works great lighting-wise! And from some of our first few signs last year up until now, they still shine brightly.
YESHUA: That's definitely good to hear! So when someone gets their sign, how exactly do they use it? It looks simple but correct me if I'm wrong: is it just a matter of finding a place to hang it, and plugging it in? Or are the lights powered by batteries?
FLINT: Once they get their sign, all it takes is a simple plug in and for them to find the right spot to hang it! We offer little remotes to go with the signs to control brightness, because let me tell you, these can get BRIGHT.
On a similar note, when powered off it can look like this! Clients can choose for the rubbery plastic covering the LEDs to be white or color coded!
YESHUA: Very cool stuff! I bet folks appreciate both the ability to control the brightness and whether they want the plastic covering to be colored. Do you guys have any particular future plans for these signs? Or do you guys feel pretty comfortable with the formula you have developed?
FLINT: We like where we are right now! Take a batch, make them, give ourselves a bit of cooldown time and repeat. Aside from making fursona signs, we are also now creating signs for furry brands and events, such as Fang, and soon a sign for my event Noctfurnal!
YESHUA: Ah, a bit of an expansion to the kind of signs you make, huh? Neat! Any sneak peeks you could share at all? No worries if not, just wanted to ask!
FLINT: Currently we have no signs in queue to share any sneak peeks of, but I’m happy to share this mock up I made for my event to get an idea of what I want it to look like!
YESHUA: Oh I bet that's going to look so good when it's done! Thanks for sharing! Anything else you'd like to mention or talk about regarding the LED signs before we switch topics?
FLINT: Hmmm… maybe just the fact of how happy I’ve been making them. It’s such a different feeling making a physical product than just digital art, in my opinion. And I feel all happy inside when a client shares pics of them in suit by their signs, or tells me how much they love it. I can’t get enough of knowing people enjoy their signs.
YESHUA: Seeing folks in the community push the boundaries of creativity is just stunning! It's awesome you and Takio have collaborated on something as unique as this! Also neat to see Trexler has one! He's one of my favorite fursuiters, but anyway, that's besides the point haha.
Now, you mentioned what you're calling the first ever outdoor furry music festival, Noctfurnal. What can you tell me about that?
FLINT: There’s so much to tell.
Over a year ago I came to a thought… there’s not a lot of furry meets in Michigan, and other surrounding states. I had spent a lot of time coming up with an idea for an event, what I wanted it to be, how long, costs, etc. My friend helped me come up with the name: “Noctfurnal.” At first it was going to just be a nightclub event for furries, but I decided to go big or go home. A weekend long outdoor furry music festival, where we contacted and paid DJs in fandom for their hard work to perform for us. With the amazing help of my friend Raven1841, we made the event happen.
This first year was a test run, inviting only people we knew and letting them bring plus ones. Even having it be a private event, we still had bigger numbers than anticipated. It was so much fun.
Next year, dates still in workshop, and it will be open to the public. It’s going to be bigger and better.
YESHUA: You make it sound so simple but I have no doubt it likely wasn't easy! Still, it's impressive hearing how a new furry event has essentially been born! So I'm assuming that while the event will be open to anyone, it'll be mostly interesting for furries who are into the rave and music scene, huh?
FLINT: Absolutely! Advertised to furries, but anyone is welcome! We actually had a few non-furs pull up to the event’s check in asking what was going on, curious if they could join the party.
YESHUA: That's awesome! Always neat when folks outside the fandom get a glimpse into it and are even receptive to it! I know you mentioned the dates are still to be determined, and I'm sure lots of other details are also still not certain, but what can you tell me about what's coming next year? What's going to make it bigger and better? Whatever you'd like to share, if anything! I'd love to hear about it, but it's no pressure at all!
FLINT: I am happy to share a few things! We’re bringing a few new things to the table, such as merchandise, more outdoor games such as capture the flag, hopefully that new LED sign, banners, vendors, and much more. To add onto existing things, we are getting new/more DJs to perform, as well as expanding our communal areas where games take place.
YESHUA: That all sounds like a lot of fun stuff! Honestly, I'm personally not huge into the rave scene, but you've already kinda got me sold! I gotta ask the big questions too, though: any word on the cost to attend? Or is that still being worked out?
FLINT: Still being worked out, not much to comment on here! A regular badge will cost less than $100, and that covers not only attendance, but parking and a place to camp out for the entire weekend as well! So this event doesn’t break the bank as much as the average convention would.
YESHUA: Interesting, okay! So for those who may already be thinking about pinning this on their calendars for 2025, where can they keep up with announcements and such?
FLINT: Good question! The 3 best places would be our official chat, our official announcements channel, and our Twitter.
Any or all of these are great for keeping up with us!
YESHUA: That all sounds good! Anything else you want to share about Noctfurnal at this point?
FLINT: Sure! If you, the reader, is an artist or musician in the fandom, please check us out as we pay our DJs and will offer spots for vendors to sell at our event!!
And if you just want to come to party and dance, the more the merrier.
YESHUA: That all sounds great!
Now shifting topics one more time, you mentioned you do art and also fursuit. I know you said you used to do art as a full time job and now do commissions occasionally. Tell me about the stuff you like to draw. Is it more of a hobby now aside from the fursona signs?
FLINT: I’m currently in the process of transitioning from artwork as a job to science based jobs! I’ve always wanted to be a scientist, so just spending more time and effort on my true dream! But, art will always be a part of me, I’ll never completely stop drawing, and I’m very happy to offer comms in my free time!
I like to draw anthro artwork, my specialty is icons!
YESHUA: That's so cool that you're making progress toward your dream job! I definitely wish you the best there! But wow, your artwork is phenomenal! You have a style that's so easy on the eye. Right now, beyond the fursona signs, do you just draw the occasional commission? Any personal art or not really?
FLINT: I really appreciate that, thank you! Not a lot of personal art, usually just stuff for friends and mutuals outside of commissions!
And every once in a while, I spend time on my own things to progress my style, such as sticker and shirt designs! Here’s an example I’m working on now!
YESHUA: Oh that's a real cool shirt! So are designs like that stuff you would sell or do you just do it for fun?
FLINT: Oh, for fun, and to maybe sell in my free time! A bit scared to overwork myself, but it would be amazing to have my own line or brand one day!
YESHUA: Hey, that's fair! Whatever you decide, I just hope you keep enjoying what you do!
You also mentioned you're a fursuiter, so I'm definitely curious to hear about how much you partake in the fursuiting scene!
FLINT: The last few years, I did a lot of fursuiting! Sometimes, in peculiar and unusual places, haha. I love taking my suit into the outdoors, as I’m a nature lover. Sometimes it can be embarrassing to bring your suit out in front of others, but I just own it knowing I’m not hurting anyone!
First photo is taken at Sable Falls, Michigan, and the second on top of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore!
YESHUA: That's your fursona, right? Either way, the suit looks great and those are some neat photos! Got any specific places in mind where you'd like to take some fursuit photos? Or do you just like to fursuit wherever you get the chance?
FLINT: Yeah! That’s Flint, my main fursona! I suit when I get a good chance, sometimes it gets hard though! Such as, I brought my fursuit head to Japan, but only managed to get one photo in public very late at night as to not disturb anyone or to cause any scene! But I’m still very happy with the single photo. Maybe I’ll try in Japan again, but I’d love to get photos in suit in Europe or California!
YESHUA: Wow, sounds like you're quite the traveler huh? I'm also fond of the idea of going lots of places and getting some fursuit photos, so I definitely hope you get to do that in the places you have in mind! Anything else you'd like to share about your experience as a fursuiter?
FLINT: Oh yeah! Traveling is quite therapeutic, wouldn’t you agree?
As for experience, I love entertaining! I’m a silent suiter, so I learn to move around with my body language to communicate. It’s nice not having to talk, but to be a cat sometimes!
YESHUA: For sure! I don't get to do it much personally, but definitely looking forward to planning some trips!
You know, I feel like a few years ago silent suiters were much more common, but now I feel like most folks are more open about talking while in suit, which is fine! But it's still neat to see silent suiters who really get into character. It's something I'd like to do, but am not quite good at, so I appreciate seeing others who do it! Being a cat is definitely one of the best choices anyone could make, honestly, I say that with absolutely no bias! Hahah, but for real, it sounds like you definitely make the most of your favorite fursuiting activities and that's always great to see here in the fandom.
There's really just one more topic I have in mind to chat about: what is it that interests you about the fandom? What drew you into it when you joined, and has your perspective of how you enjoyed it changed? And aside from what we've discussed about your involvement in the community, do you enjoy it in other ways?
FLINT: Wow, that’s a good question to make me think.
I was a child when I joined, being in the fandom for around 10 years now? I guess what drew me in was finding a dance competition video from BLFC 2013, and being amazed that people dressed up as giant animals. I wanted a part of that, haha. I’d definitely say my perspective has changed; the fandom is different in many ways from what I remember as a child, but I can’t say much for sure since being a child, I didn’t attend any events or meet ups.
I enjoy what this fandom has done for me and others, in ways it brings us together, especially in times of need. Fundraisers, charity, emergency commissions. Without the love the fandom brings, some people may not get the help they need. Community is most important, I think.
Sure. There’s drama, angry and evil people here. But learning to grow out of those circles and just be you, you’ll find your like minded people, there’s always a group for you here in the furry fandom.
YESHUA: There's just something about pretending to be a big fluffy animal that's satisfying, huh? The furry fandom is definitely very community-oriented and while indeed it's not perfect, you're totally right about how impactful it can be for some when members come together to do great things! I agree 100 percent.
Well Flint, it's been such a pleasure talking to you about what you do here in the community; you have a lot of cool stuff going on so I'm incredibly grateful for your time and willingness to chat about it all. Is there anything else you'd like to bring up before we wrap this up? And if not, got any final remarks?
FLINT: Oh absolutely, you got that right.
It’s been great talking to you, this was a really cool experience getting to join you guys on this amazing ongoing project! Thank you so much.
I guess one last thing to say would be stay positive, simple and sweet.
YESHUA: Great advice, Flint! Thanks again for joining me today!
⊱───⊰✯⊱───⊰
That’s another Character Interview in the books and wow, it was a lot of fun! If you liked any of the many things Flint is working on, I recommend you find one of their profiles to follow!
Remember that I’m always looking for other cool folks in the community to interview! If you know someone you’d like to see here, or maybe you want to be interviewed, just lemmino through one of my socials! You can also emails us at furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com to let us know you’d like to be interviewed!
I hope to be back soon with more interviews, but until then, take care!
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
FURRY QUOTE
Howdy, all! Tide here again. In lieu of all of the violence ongoing around the world I wanted to take this week to talk about love, peace, and kindness. So to that end I decided to get another quote from Milo.
“I’m not anything particularly special. I’m just someone who decided to try to spread kindness instead of negativity. Anybody can do that. You can do that. All you have to do is choose kindness.”
So much violence and anger has been spreading as of late, but to what end? Why do people choose so much negativity when all this world needs is compassion. A willingness to try to understand others. A smile. Or asking how someone’s day is going and actually caring, because kindness is the best weapon we have. Milo has grown a large following by being silly, authentic, talented, and above all kind. There is already enough suffering in the world, and if you can help someone feel seen and feel safe then you have made the world a better place.
I don’t want to talk about politics here or argue who is right or wrong because at the end of the day we are all people. All of us have emotions even if some people are better at expressing them than others. We all get hurt, or angry, or sad and we all could use a bit of kindness. I know how easy it is to hate people who don’t believe what you do or people who you feel wronged you, but blind hatred just closes doors. It leaves you suffering, not just the other party. I know kindness is not some sort of miracle bandage. If I go out tomorrow holding a sign that says “free hugs” it is not going to magically cause all wars to stop, but just maybe that hug will brighten someone’s day and maybe they will spread that kindness. Maybe one by one choosing kindness will mean choosing to ask questions and trying to understand why we have our differences rather than just demonizing those differences or vilifying people now for a history they had no say in. Kindness does not have to be a hug, it could just be a smile, or even just tapping a like button or leaving a quick comment to let people know they are seen. That they are heard.
⊱────⊰✯⊱────⊰
Thank you all for reading this week’s Furry Quote. I hope you all carry its message with you and remember that you don’t have to be some genius or billionaire or influencer to make a difference. You just have to be kind.
Do you have a quote or topic you’d like us to discuss next? Feel free to submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com, or you can directly message me on Instagram.
Thanks for stopping by, and until next time.
────────⊱◈◈◈⊰────────
That is all for today! Thank you for reading! If you like Furry Weekly, share it with your friends or let us know by contacting us on our social media linked below! We always appreciate your support!
Remember, to submit your content to us, make a post with the tag #FurryWeekly and the tag of the segment you would like to be featured in (e.g. #ArtCorner, #WritingShowcase). These tags work regardless of what platform you're on, whether it’s Instagram, Twitter, Amino, or DeviantArt. These are the platforms we currently look at for user-submitted content!
Once again, thank you for reading and submitting content! We will see you next time!
Instagram
Twitter
DeviantArt
BlueSky
Disclaimer: You cannot take any image on any Furry Weekly issue and claim ownership of it or alter it in any way. Every image and some of the contents in them may have one or multiple owners, and some images may be subject to copyright.