r/RealFurryHours

I live in a big city, and have noticed new (and younger) furries getting fursuits, some before even turning 18. Now I'm not much older than them (second year in college) but I've been in the fandom since 2019 and the idea of getting a fursuit was far, far away for me and most of my friends.

From talking to one of them, they mentioned "being invited to room parties", "being looked up to" and "being recognised"; which felt like putting the cart before the horse really... I've wanted a fursuit even since I joined the fandom from the internet, and only got my partial 2 months ago. I'd still want a fursuit even if the clout/community didn't exist.

Wondering if anyone has noticed the fandom shifting from a nerd space to... (gestures vaguely) something people want to be popular in? I've only been in the fandom since 2019, when I was quite young, so I've not experienced the fandom firsthand before then...

If the only thing you have interesting about you is that you're a furry. That usually goes no where when you want to make friends.

This isn't just limited to furries, this sub sometimes feels like socially awkward people giving other socially awkward people social advice.

Furry is what brings people together. But what connects you to other people?

What else do you do? Can you draw? Make music? Do you watch anime?What are your hobbies? What games do you play? Do you have a fursona? What can you relate to with others? What can you do for other people? Do you participate in gatherings and events?

If all you have is being furry, then that's being boring with extra steps. Oh you showed me a cool looking fursuit? That's neat, but that's someone else, what makes you interesting? Nothing? Then I'll go talk to that cool fursuiter instead.

If you don't join things then no one can see who you are. A furry convention brings furries together, but then it's also split up into niches that people have interests in. Dancing, Video games, Shopping, Art etc. But if you don't do any of that, then don't expect people to notice you if you don't participate in those things.

If your only exist online, friendships are harder to get because there is inherently less investment in it. You can move on or just block people you don't like. If you have nothing to share online, then you're just a name that can be easily passed over. What makes you interesting enough to click on your profile and learn more?

The only way to get better at talking to people is to do it. You will fail at first, but even artists were bad at drawing until they were not. You don't get to that point unless you mess up a few times. So you know what you did wrong and how to do better next time, assuming you want to be better.

Most importantly, most friendships are never forced. If you're actively looking for friends, it'll feel fake and desperate. Focus on common interests first, see if any connection forms naturally. Friends just form when you stick together doing the same thing together. There is no instant SOCIAL LINK FORMED message. It's more gradual process.

This is probably brought up every week but i wanna hear the answers myself, now i personally enjoy animal genitalia on my anthro characters, i just like how it looks more compared to human. I don't see myself as a zoophile or would think anyone is cause of this. But i just wanna see how others see and feel about this. I also dont see the issue with feral honestly, i just wanna see that the character is smart and speaks and understands human language, not just making animal noises yk.

This is coming from my own personal experience as someone who held a well paying job in tech for several years and would generally commission something every month or two, including several generally high profile artists, owns a partial fursuit, and has many friends who have worked with countless artists throughout their time in the fandom. There is obviously some level of generalization, and not everything I say is universal. I've worked with wonderful artists from the US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, etc, and I have been flat out scammed by artists from Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, etc.

Also, this has nothing to do with money. I've taken an economics course before. I ultimately understand why an artist in Buenos Aires would charge $100 for something an artist from Boston would charge $300 for, and I don't want this to come off as just me complaining over how much people chose to charge for things.

That being said, many artists and creators in the West, especially American ones, tend to have an issue with professionalism. They tend to treat what is ultimately a business transaction as a simple hobby, and have no issues taking your money, and sitting around for weeks and months (or even years) on end with few to no updates. Ultimately blaming things like art block or just being busy on why they haven't been able to work on your piece. Sometimes, they end up completely ghosting you or end up lashing out at you over simply asking when something will be finished.

Also, many of these artists will do things like take on additional commissions and publish extra pieces while you still haven't gotten what you paid for back. I personally went in on a $500 comm with a friend 3 years back at this point from a very high-profile artist, and we only got a basic sketch back and haven't heard anything since, despite the fact that he still regularly posts new pieces online.

I also know many people who have spent years waiting for a fursuit or who were promised that they would have their suit ready by a certain date and ultimately didn't get it on time. It's also not an unheard of occurrence for fursuit makers to go completely under leaving everyone who ordered from them left hung out to dry.

On the other hand. I generally have an excellent time working with artists from places like Latin America, Eastern Europe, and South East Asia. Most of them tend to do their work very quickly. Many won't even take my money until they at least do a basic sketch, and always keep clear lines of communication and don't just randomly drop off the face of the earth in the middle of a project. I remember one time working with an artist from Brazil, and he told me he would have my piece done in 3 days, and it ended up taking 4, and he started apologizing profusely for taking so long and I had to tell him that 4 days for a comm was about as fast as they come.

I'm sure many other people have had similar experiences, so honestly, what gives?