Portal:Furry
Furry
Furry fandom is a fandom devoted to anthropomorphic animal characters. Since the 1980s, the term furries has come to refer to such characters. Members of the furry subculture are known as furry fans, furries, or simply furs.
Fictional work celebrated by furry fandom typically attributes high-level intelligence, human facial expressions and anatomy, speech, bipedalism, and clothing to otherwise animal characters. Work in any medium that includes such characters may be considered part of the furry genre, although they are most often seen in comics, cartoons, animated films, allegorical novels, and video games.
Key topics: Furry convention • Fursuit - Lists: Comics • Conventions • Role-playing games
Selected article
Fursuits are animal costumes associated with furry fandom. They range from simple tails and ears to full costumes cooled by battery-powered fans. They allow the wearer to adopt another personality while in costume, and can be worn for personal enjoyment, work or charity.
The standard fursuit is a full body costume consisting of a head, forepaws (hands), hindpaws (feet) and a body with an attached tail. In some cases, the tail is connected via a belt to the wearer and hangs out through a hole in the back of the body. Many suits include special padding or undersuits to give the character its desired shape. Due to their delicate nature, they require special handling while washing.
Fursuits are comparable to costumed characters and are similar in construction to the mascots and walkaround characters used by theme parks and stage shows. The concept is similar to cosplay, despite the latter's focus on Japanese culture.
Fursuits are usually sold at conventions, or online by commission or auction. Prices typically range from US$500 to $3000, but can go far higher depending on complexity and materials used.
Selected biography
Samuel C. Conway (born June 4, 1965 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) is an American researcher in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and agrochemical fields of organic chemistry. He has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Dartmouth College. In furry fandom, Conway is better known as Uncle Kage /ˈkɑːɡiː/, chairman and chief organizer of Anthrocon, the largest furry convention in the world. He is also a volunteer entertainer and auctioneer, and the author of several anthropomorphic short stories.
A graduate of Ursinus College, Pennsylvania in 1986, Conway subsequently studied at the Burke Chemical Laboratories of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, obtaining his Ph.D. in 1991. His thesis concerned the attempted generation of indolyne (an aromatic compound related to indole). Conway took a postdoctoral appointment in Chicago, subsequently working for the Food and Drug Administration and several pharmaceutical and life science corporations. He claims authorship of eleven papers and three patents, including one for recyclable packaging material.
Conway has been involved in fan activities since the early 1990s. He became the chairman of Anthrocon in 1999, incorporating and moving the convention to Philadelphia where it grew from 842 to 2,489 by 2006, and then to Pittsburgh, where 3,390 attended in 2008. He commonly leads charity auctions at Anthrocon and other conventions.
Conway styles himself "Furrydom's Storyteller", making annual appearances at Anthrocon in what has come to be known as Uncle Kage's Story Hour, which typically consists of four or five extended personal anecdotes. His stage name resulted from his first storytelling experience ConFurence in 1994, and derives from his fandom name Kagemushi Goro - itself a reference to Kagemusha. He is regularly invited to tell his stories at other conventions, including I-CON, Eurofurence, ConClave, and Camp Feral.
In the news
- Elysian Tail game wins $40,000 prize in XNA Dream-Build-Play competition
- Anthrocon 2009 psychological survey team releases preliminary results
- New hotel aids Califur revival
- 2008 Ursa Major Award winners announced
- RMFC seeks $30,000 to survive
- Anthrocon wins 2008 "Missy" Award on ABC's Good Morning America
- WikiFur reaches 10,000 articles; adds portal to highlight multilingual efforts
- Gorillaz create 'Journey to the East' for BBC Olympics coverage
- Anthrocon 2007 draws thousands to Pittsburgh for furry weekend
- Pittsburgh playwrights pen furry musical, invite Anthrocon attendees to observe reading
- Furry fans flock to Further Confusion 2007
Did you know?
- ... that the first volume of printed strips from the furry "Slice-of-life" webcomic A Doemain of Our Own won the 2006 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work"?
- ... that the creators of stage musical Furry Tales were inspired by Anthrocon, the world's largest furry convention?
- ... that Kyell Gold, a furry homosexual erotic literature author, has won six Ursa Major Awards, equaling Usagi Yojimbo author Stan Sakai?
- ... that T.H.E. Fox, drawn on a C64 KoalaPad and published on CompuServe, Q-Link and GEnie, is among the earliest online comics?
- ... that in Bryan Talbot's graphic novel Grandville, France won the Napoleonic Wars, invaded Britain and guillotined the British Royal Family?
Selected comic
Kevin and Kell is a furry comedy webcomic strip by syndicated cartoonist Bill Holbrook. The strip began on September 3, 1995. It is one of the oldest continuously running webcomics.
The strip centers on the mixed marriage between a rabbit, Kevin and a grey wolf, Kell Dewclaw. In their society, their major difference is their diet: Kevin is a herbivore and Kell is a carnivore. Their family includes three children: Lindesfarne, a hedgehog adopted from Kevin's first marriage; Rudy, a wolf/fox hybrid born during Kell's first marriage; and Coney, a carnivorous rabbit. The comics plot revolves around species-related humor, satire, and interpersonal conflict.
Kevin and Kell receives over three million pages views per month and is published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Holbrook has won honors from the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards and the Ursa Major Awards for the strip.
Selected picture
A still from Big Buck Bunny, a short free software, free content computer animated film by the Blender Foundation which features anthropomorphic animals.
Selected convention
The main furry convention for the Pacific Northwest since 1998, Conifur was canceled in 2006 after its prior hotel was demolished in preparation for the Link Light Rail station at SeaTac Airport. The convention had its highest attendance in 2005, at 525 attendees. Conifur has been replaced by All Fur Fun in Spokane, and RainFurrest in the Seattle area.
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