How to Be a Furry

• You don't need a fursona or fursuit to be a furry. Anyone can be a furry as long as they like anthropomorphic animals!
• The furry community is generally very accepting and diverse, and there is a large population of LGBTQ+ individuals within the fandom.
• There's nothing wrong with being a furry. It's not inappropriate or dangerous. In fact, it's a very healthy and fun way to express yourself!

Joining the Furry Community

Make the choice to become part of the furry community. In order to become a furry, you don’t have to pass an entry test or get permission from anyone else. The decision to become a furry is completely up to you! Whether you’ve been interested in furry-related things for a while or you’re totally new to the community, feel free to proclaim yourself a furry whenever and however you’d like. If you want to create your own furry-related characters, meet other like minded people, and/or visit furry conventions, you’ll probably love being a part of the furry community! But it’s also totally okay to be a part of the community without calling yourself a furry. If you don't have a strong interest in anthropomorphic animals but you still want to join the community, the people within it will likely welcome you with open arms. People aren’t automatically furries if they happen to like anthropomorphic animals; they get to choose for themselves.

Participate in online furry groups and discussion boards. Since the furry fandom is a global one, most furry activity happens on the internet. Try the mobile app Furry Amino or websites like SoFurry and Fur Affinity. Create an account and start commenting, posting, and connecting with other users. Or, hop into the furry community on Reddit – r/furry is a very active subreddit and it’s easy to get involved in discussions there. You can easily find other furries via Tumblr and deviantART, too. Look for furry Discord servers, Skype groups, and Telegram groups for instant messaging. Search through furry pages and tags on regular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. You’ll quickly find your community there!

Make and share furry fan art and other creative work. Explore your furry fanship or fursona through any hobby or creative project you’d like. Try writing fanfiction, creating music, making video animations, vlogging, illustrating fan art, or performing in your furry persona. Then share your creations on sites like Tumblr, deviantART, FurAffinity, and YouTube. There's a place for every interest in the furry fandom – artists, musicians, authors, dancers, comedians, actors, and many others celebrate their love of anthropomorphism through creative expression. Don’t be afraid to share your work! Other furries will be very welcoming and supportive of however you combine your furry identity with your other interests. Consider taking your creative work to in-person events, too. If you like music, you may be able to DJ at a furry convention.

Take on requests, trades, or commissions to share your creative work. These are great ways to help other furries get to know you and your work. Open for requests if you want other furries to ask you for free artwork. Open for trades if you’re open to swapping 1 free artwork for another. If you want to sell your work, open for commissions. Set up an info page outlining your terms, prices, and policies so others know what to expect. Specify the type and style of work you’d like to create, then spread the word across the online furry community. Other furries might send you an image or written description of their fursona for you to draw, or they might give you a premise for a story to write. Once you develop your skills and reputation, you can potentially make a good income by selling your work within the furry community. If you accept a commission, you’re obliged to complete it. By accepting payment and not finishing a project, you can get into legal trouble.

Attend a furry convention to meet other furries in person. Connecting online can be great, but there’s nothing quite like meeting other furries in real life and seeing some of the media creators that you admire. If you can, attend Anthrocon, the largest furry convention that’s based in Pittsburgh, PA. Or look for a local furry convention online. While you’re there, check out the artwork, tails, accessories, badges, fursuits, and other furry merchandise. Don’t miss the fursuit parade! Even if you don't have a suit, you can still have a blast watching all the incredible fursuits march by. Many furries opt to meet up at conventions since they’re safe, public spaces and you’ll be free to fully express yourself and your fursona. If you’re going to be at the same event as your online furry friends, set up a time to meet up during the event! Special events differ from convention to convention but you might be able to catch a great concert, fursuit dance competition, or discussion panel featuring your favorite animator. Watch videos of furry convention events online if you’re curious to see what they’re all about.

Get involved in a local furry group. Many communities around the world have their own furry groups. Run a search for "Furries in [your area]" to find individuals or meetup groups nearby. Check out the Globe feature on the Furry Amino app to find furries based in your area. Once you find local furries, start up a chat and coordinate a way to get together. When you meet up, have fun! Try out some roleplaying games, act out your fursonas, create fan art together, and take photos in your fursuits, if you have them. Remember to be careful when meeting up with people you met online. Always use common sense, and meet in a public place rather than a secluded, private space. Let a trusted friend know when and where you’re going, too, just in case.

Socialize with other furries to form new friendships. There are quite a few subgroups within the furry community that cater to various interests, from gaming communities to literature clubs, so you should have no trouble finding other furries who share the same interests as you. Once you’re a furry, focus on meeting new people, both online and in person. Start commenting on other furries’ posts and reply to the furries who comment on yours. Eventually, start a chat and get to know them even better. Pretty soon, you’ll start forming long-lasting friendships. Putting yourself out there might sound like a daunting task, especially if you’re shy or introverted. But remember that furries can often be some of the easiest and nicest people to talk to. The more active you are in the community, the more friends you’ll make, and the more fun you’ll have.

Be welcoming and non-judgmental around other furries. You’ll find a lot of creativity in the furry community, so rather than judging and critiquing what other people are doing, be accepting and supportive of what and who you encounter. Speak to other furries with kindness and respect to keep up the positive and inclusive furry environment. The furry community is a place where all kinds of people can really fit in – especially those who don’t often feel like they fit in

Forget your negative misconceptions about furries. There are a lot of myths and rumors about the furry community circulating through the media that you’ll need to debunk – for yourself and for others in your life. Most importantly, know that you don’t have to own or wear a fursuit in order to be a furry. You can participate no matter what you wear. Additionally, know that only a small percentage of furries focus on the erotic aspect of the fandom; you don’t have to do anything like this in order to participate in the community. As with many other dress-oriented fandoms, like cosplayers and sports fans, most furries simply enjoy expressing themselves, performing in a costume, and connecting with other fans on a social level. The majority of furries don’t actually believe they’re animals. Some might wish for animal traits or enjoy exploring them, but most furries are just expressing their fanship of anthropomorphic animals. While it’s not what defines the furry fandom, be aware that you’ll probably encounter some erotic fan art and other content of a sexual nature. If you’re not comfortable with that, try updating your search settings on different sites and web browsers. Sticking with PG-rated furry content only is entirely acceptable!

Crafting a Fursona

Choose an animal species to base your fursona on. Fursonas are characters or avatars that furries use when socializing with other members of the furry community. Many furries start with canines, felines, and dragons when choosing their fursona’s physical characteristics. But the possibilities are endless; you’re free to choose any species you desire, create a hybrid, or develop a completely made-up creature. For example, you might start with the huge ears and cute face of a fennec fox and give its body bird-like legs and wings. Do some research into animal photographs or illustrations to see how each animal’s anatomy works. Then adapt it so your fursona can stand up on 2 legs. Feel free to create more than 1 fursona if you’d like.

Pick out colors and markings to make your fursona unique. There are no rules when it comes to designing your fursona’s appearance. Feel free to use naturalistic colors and realistic markings, or go for bright hues and unusual patterns if you prefer. Try to have an unusual or uncommon pattern. Sometimes certain patterns are overused or taken easily, but some are too complicated. If you wish to buy a fursuit and make a very colorful fursona with many designs, it might be more expensive and the quality will go down. Consider incorporating spots, stripes, splotchy markings, facial details, scales, feathers, and other patterns and textures into your design. Refer to animal photos as inspiration for markings and coloration patterns if you want a more realistic effect. If you’re not sure where to start, check out other furries’ fursonas online. Just make sure you aren’t totally copying another person’s fursona.

Assign your fursona a personality and a name. Have fun when creating your fursona’s personality. It doesn’t have to be anything like your own personality, but it can reflect your ideal personality or 1 specific side of you if you’d like. For instance, your fursona might represent your wild and outgoing side if you tend to be a shy person. Create a list of personality traits as well as likes and dislikes and other fun facts about your fursona’s identity. Give them a unique name, too. The level of similarity between you and your fursona is entirely a matter of personal preference. Try using your fursona to show off your idealized self or explore an alter ego. Don’t be afraid to modify your fursona over time until it’s just right. If you like writing, try writing out your fursona’s backstory or creating a narrative about them. Be prepared to introduce your fursona’s personality to other furries.

Illustrate your fursona if you want to create your own artwork. If you enjoy graphic design or drawing, transfer all of your ideas onto the page or the screen. Use pencils and coloring tools or a digital design program to sketch out the general shape and physical characteristics of your fursona. Then add in the colorings, markings, and other details. Give them an expressive face that shows off something about their personality. For example, if your fursona is bright and peppy, give them a wide-eyed appearance. Try to sketch out as many details as you can imagine even if you don’t plan to buy a full-body fursuit. Feel free to add your fursona’s name and a list of traits and qualities in your illustration, too. Look up "free [animal] base" or "free [animal] line art" on deviantART or FurAffinity for some templates to get you started if you’re basing your fursona on a widely-used animal species. If you’ve used a free template, remember to credit the artist who created it when you share or post the image. Even if you don’t like drawing and would prefer to commission artwork, try making a rough sketch so you can more easily convey your ideas to the artist. Another option is to create an image of your fursona using Picrew.

Commission an artist to illustrate your fursona for you if you prefer. Search through online furry communities to find artists who are willing to create artwork and illustrations for other furries. Send them a message or place an order on their site. Share as much information about your fursona as possible, and provide sketches or reference images whenever possible. Tell them what you love about their past other work so they know what style you’re looking for. Be prepared to pay the artist for their work, too. Make sure you agree on all of the specifications of the project, including the deadline, revision process, file type, pose and background, usage considerations, and fee before they start creating the artwork. Don’t ask for an illustration for free; artists deserve compensation for their time and energy.

Share your fursona with other furries and furry merch makers. Whether you draw your own fursona or commission an illustration, set the image as your profile picture on furry websites, so other furries get a sense of what your fursona identity is like. Consider getting it printed on t-shirts, badges, and pins, too, or get it made into a plushie. If you want to get a fursuit made, make sure that your fursona has at least a 3-view reference sheet either drawn by you, colored on a base, or commissioned by a reference sheet artist. A 3-view reference sheet should show a front, back, and side profile view of your fursona. If you like creating artwork, have fun exploring different ways to use your fursona. You could share illustrations of your fursona hanging out with your friends’ fursonas or make a comic strip to show what your fursona gets up to.

Getting a Fursuit

Save up at least $1,000 US if you want to buy a fursuit. Despite fursuiters being the minority, fursuits are a huge part of the fandom. They’re fun to wear and can be just as entertaining to onlookers and non-furries. Fursuits are a big investment and a luxury item, so you’ll need to save upwards of $1,000 US – or at least $2,000 if you’re in the market for a full-body suit. If you want to buy one, research how you’d get it made and then make a savings plan so you will have enough money to cover the costs. Fursuits are completely optional. You don’t need one at all to be a furry, and the furry community won't look down on you if you don't have a fursuit. It’s best to wait until both you and your fursona have stopped growing and changing. You wouldn’t want to grow out of such an expensive costume! In the meantime, save your pennies.

Choose between getting a partial, plantigrade, or digitigrade fursuit. Choose a partial suit if you want just a head, hands, feet, and a tail. Wear these pieces with clothes to make it look like your fursona is the one wearing the outfit. Opt for a plantigrade fursuit if you want something that covers your whole body and shows off all of the markings and physical characteristics of your fursona. Consider a digitigrade fursuit if you want to take the full-body suit a step further. These suits have animal-like feet and extra padding on the legs to make them appear more like an animal’s back legs. If you overheat easily, try a partial suit rather than a full-coverage suit. When done well, plantigrade and digitigrade suits can really make the character really come to life, but partial suits can be just as fun to wear and see. Consider trying on another furry's fursuit, as long as it’s clean, before you invest in your own.

Commission a fursuit maker. There are hundreds of fursuit makers to choose from, each with their own style. Search around on the Makers Database on Tumblr and read reviews on FursuitReview until you have a shortlist of makers you might like to work with. Make sure the maker is open for commissions, then follow their instructions on their website to commission them. The process differs, but you'll usually have to submit your fursona reference sheet and other details through a form on their website. Fursuit makers may only be available to work on a handful of projects each year. Don’t be upset if a maker doesn’t accept your proposal. Find a few other makers in case your first choice isn’t possible. You can have more than 1 maker create different parts of your fursuit, if you’d like. The turnaround time for a fursuit can be a few months, so don't expect your fursuit to be shipped to you within a few days of ordering it. Carefully review the makers’ rates and terms of service. Many fursuit makers don’t accept people under the age of 18, and most require a 30% down payment upfront.

Practice performing and acting in your fursuit. To be a great fursuiter, you’ll need to put a lot of time and energy into making your fursonas come to life. Remember that you’ll be performing the whole time you’re in your fursuit. Watch videos and attend panels to learn the basics of how to act in a fursuit. Try your best to maintain a character that matches your fursuit. Does your fursuit have a grumpy expression? Stomping around and looking comically irritable could really help your act. Are your fursuit eyes huge and cute? Act like a puppy or kitten and use more cutesy movements. Try not to just stand around in your fursuit. Make your performance exciting and engaging. Kids are always excited to see a cute animal, so always be child-friendly and nice to the youngsters! Make sure you have a handler who can stay by your side when you’re fursuiting. Ask them to help you watch out for rowdy kids, see that you don’t overheat, and communicate with other people as needed. They’ll be your eyes and ears, since your senses will be obscured while you’re in your fursuit.