…From Within the Dragon’s Den…
A friend of mine did this of my character, one of the best in my gallery.
Art, the object that entices our eyes with some of the most amazing shapes and colors that we will ever lay our senses on. Some images paint pictures of the world as we see it, and others paint pictures of the world that we wish for or are curious about.
NOTE: Now, before I begin this particular post (or at least get any deeper), some of the images you will see where commissioned. The phrase commission in the fandom is simple, you pay for it, its yours… just give credit to the artist who did it.
When it comes to artwork in the furry community (you will hear me use ‘furry’, ‘anthro’, or ‘the fandom’ interchangeably, sorry if it’s confusing), the artwork is very diverse and isn’t set to one medium. Allow me to explain.
The picture to your left was commissioned by a good friend of mine. In the websites we use to post these works (deviantART.com or similar) we don’t go by real names (that would be rather stupid). Instead we go by user handles or by ‘fur names’ pertaining to our characters. For example, one friend of mine goes by Salamanka on one website, my friend Bethany that you saw in the ‘About the Blog’ section goes by Hara, I go by Orion. The names can be as vast as your imagination. Anyways, about the artwork.
Artwork has no boundaries, if it can be molded into the image you want it to portray, it’s art.
Like the picture above. An artist by the username DragonLovers (a dual account for artists that happen to be married, the actual artist who drew the work was named Natoli) created this picture using a digital interface and a Wacom Tablet. I gave her a reference to what I wanted and she created it.
At the same time, Traditional work isn’t dead either. I myself have dabbled in the Traditional arena and have found it a bit easier to learn then digital. Plus, there’s an added plus of knowing you drew it and not at the aid of an ALS engine (or Automatic Line Stabilizer).
The picture you see to the right is something that I actually did, not an easy feat to say the least, since this however my work has laxed a bit due to school and such. I hope to get back into the swing of drawing again once the summer comes, but no one really knows.
To some outside the fandom, some pictures they will find are a bit sub par compared to other artists. I for example am not considered commission-able in the eyes of some big spenders in the fandom, because of a lot of things (which I don’t want to bore you with).
But as I said before… artwork in this fandom is not just pictures.
How many of you like Mascots? How many of you enjoy the fun they bring to a sporting event? I’ve always had the pleasure of seeing the Cincinnati Bearcat at almost every home Football game for the last four years. I’ve always wanted to sit down with a member of RallyCats to see exactly how the members who play the crazy pervayor for the Red and Black really do it and make it look so fluid.
Let me tell you something that may surprise you. When you see a mascot costume that is really well designed, like the UC Bearcat, it truly is within itself a work of art.
Some critics may complain as to how this is art. Well, let me explain further. Using this as a springboard in the realm of the furry fandom, cos-play is a big factor in it… in fact, it’s a staple. One of the biggest expenditures in a member’s budget is a costume (sometimes referred to as a fursuit, a suit, or by it’s build type [partial, full, 1/2, quad] but these names can be different even in sub-sectors of the fandom).
How much money would someone in the fandom spend on a costume? Depends on how much you are willing to spend.
Some suits can be really cheap and inexpensive, but these costumes are primarily from costume makers who are just starting out. Either the costume will be made with relatively low materials, or in a fashion that it will sadly fall apart within a years use.
However, there are suits that are really expensive. Some costumes can take an individual over 1k and that is even low for some artists’ standards. It’s all about how much they (meaning the artist) think their work is worth.
I can use a personal example:
I just recently got my first costume, after a summer of hard work and slow (yet steady) payments… here’s what it looks like (or at least the head)…
My costume head
When I first opened the box I was overjoyed! This is what they call a realistic design. The eyes in a realistic costume are normally made of a clear resin. In the case of my mask the eyes are also ‘follow me’ eyes, where the refraction of the eye design from within the resin glass creates a sort of illusion that the eyes are following you.
I had the pleasure of commissioning an artist from out of Great Britain who was really cool to work with, she and her fiance where really great at listening to my concerns and also my ideas about how the suit would look once it was completed. The artist warned me that she had never done a Dragon before, but looking at the final product, you would’ve never noticed.
So back to the price deals, how much do you think mine was when all was set and done. Well, compared to the traditional 1k+ I luckily wasn’t too far off. For a Partial containing the head, hands, feet, tail and arm sleeves, after shipping the costume was a bout 1k flat, which isn’t bad. I’ve gotten some amazing comments and a lot of people saying it looks awesome.
But there’s a danger hidden beneath the works (both physical and digital).
Artist Beware…
In the fandom there are sadly some artists who aren’t really artists at all. Trolls is what the internet calls them, the fandom normally refers to them as Art Thieves, scammers, robbers, and the list goes on. These folks disguise themselves within the fabric of the fandom and lay low till they know they got a bite, then they get your payment and either do the work and don’t send it, or take much longer on something then it should be. This debate on who is truthful and who is lying happened to me when I had a custom stuffed animal made last year. I had ordered the plush during the summer of 2011 and it took until just about Valentines 2012 for it to get finished. Then I had to wait till that summer (actually July) to get it. Some individuals on DeviantART and other sites had put this artist under Artist Beware, a live journal that was created to warn other commissioners of fake commissions.
The live journal can be viewed here Artist Beware – LiveJournal.Com
In the end, when things do work out for the better, you get some pretty amazing individuals doing some of the most amazing work you will ever see. Some work will make your heart twist, others making you want to cry, and some making you even wanna laugh. The ideas are as vast as the creators eye can see, and for those in the fandom it’s quite vast. Want to see this for yourself? I’d suggest DeviantART, it’s the best place to start (was for me).
This was a Valentines commission of an old Girlfriend and I (our sonas).
From Within the Dragon's Den 