Is it worth it to advertize among furries?

DeleteThisAccountFag 2020-06-10 02:08:26 UTC #22

Is that Comic-Rocket site still active? The announcements date all the way back to 2013!

writercynknapp 2020-06-10 02:20:06 UTC #23

The recent updates list shows when comics have new chapters.

But the announcements are ancient.

allenT 2020-06-10 04:15:16 UTC #24

I would call myself a furry because of what i like, but i'm don't associate myself as a “member" of fandom. I'll only speak about the lewd fanart part because I'm concerned about this for mine too.

If it's me to post to furry sites i would also hesitated, as my character designs are more likely to attract those people. We can't prevent them from doing so but we can control the content we post. If i'm ready to put stuff on the sites, I would post more arts of places, items, interactions between characters(sfw), than just character pinups. It'll sent an overall image that is it‘s a comic with a story I dedicate and care. I'm sure it'll attracts more people coming for your story than those who look for the body eye-candies.

If your comic becomes REAL popular, Lewd fanarts will exist, and you need to live with it. 'Beastars' creator has broke convention as first successful "furry" manga and i must applause her bravery to breakthrough. Regardless of how many Legosi x Louis porns were drawn, it didn't stop her from working her series ya? (i don't think it's a fair comparison to us but) I think if you care about your work strongly, don't let those things drag you down. Gotta be brave i must say, @Darth_Biomech

About the furry stigmatization: There's almost a trend of furry/anthro on cartoons, animes and movies in recent years (that shines positive light), so I'm sure it will only gets better & less stigmatic from days to come.

Darth_Biomech 2020-06-10 09:52:42 UTC #25

Already do. My comic is there... somewhere... on the 94th page of the search results, I guess. X)

I guess that means "repost your stuff"?

Considering there are numerous outright sex scenes in the manga itself (or so I heard), I don't think the creator would mind if people would sexualize characters that are already sexualized. Plus its Japan, man, a country when you can buy schoolgirl's panties in a wending machine. It doesn't feel that they even do the "lewd is bad" mindset at all.

allenT 2020-06-10 10:25:04 UTC #26

That's true, Japanese are more open as long it's tailored to their demographics.
Beastars may not be the best comparison to our series. The series is highly popular & acclaimed before the toxic fandom begin and I don't think it would affect the series' image or the mangaka.

But for small creators it can be damaging. I can't imagine if one day there's more lewd arts of my characters on the internet than my series' content, That could affect how people sees my work, prejudices and such, and that is one of my fears. (though i don't think it would be that bad)

mitchrandom 2020-06-10 22:33:16 UTC #27

I've always taken a very hands-off approach with regards to this topic.

My comic consists of animals that are literally animals. It's meant for anyone who comes across it, and my audience reflects that, including a large number of my acquired readers that are or appear to be furries. If someone were to claim that my comic were a furry comic, then, well, that's just their opinion. The only person who truly knows my reader demographic is me. My comic is there for everyone to enjoy if they wish to, and I hope they do.

In the end, readers are readers, and if you can form a nice relationship with your audience that's all that really matters in building a good community. If anything, people who try to antagonize other groups are the real ones that should be excluded.

If certain readers try to push your artwork in a certain direction, you don't have to follow it. If they get mad at that, then they weren't good for your readerbase in the first place because they can't appreciate your art for what it is, so it's a good thing if they leave.

I used to be a bit cautious of the concept of furries too, then I actually talked to some, and they are really just like everyone else. Some are nice, some not so much, just like any other group or fandom.

Along with this, add everything that @nathanKmcwilliams and @Jenny-Toons said. I would never consider an audience built from misrepresentation to be a truly beneficial readerbase. Respect people for who they are, not what they represent.

Kiweevil 2020-06-11 07:51:49 UTC #28

If you yourself don't regularly invest time into the furry fandom, you may not want to deliberately market yourself towards them. They could take it as pandering, as it is a community that focuses heavily on artist support. If furries find an anthro character they like in a piece of media that isn't specifically furry, they will still cling to it, don't worry. It happens all the time. If they like it, despite it being not openly furry, they will still read it, make fanart, share it, etc.

But if your wanting to seek out and engage with the furry community, it might take a lot of effort on your part. Furry fandom is a very creator-oriented group who's members are usually heavily involved. And, I'm going to be very blunt here, they are a highly dramatic fandom who will drag other furries through the mud if they catch wind of something sketchy. You might not want them to get the wrong idea, ya know?

But then again, if you yourself are interested in furry fandom, it could work in your favor. They're normally a hugely supportive bunch, especially towards artists. Artists are the backbone of the fandom and typically looked at in high regards. Just be prepared if you choose to go down this route, though. A gigantic chunk of the internet still thinks furries are nothing but cringe-emitting sex freaks, and anything labeled "Furry" openly may make them automatically hate it. Some people are just like that, sadly.

DarkChibiShadow 2020-06-11 08:13:57 UTC #29

I've only got two quick things to say:

-Even negative comments drive the algorithm. If you got spammed with 50 comments saying they hated your comic, the algorithm wouldn't know this, it would only think, "Wow! 50 comments!" and bump up your comic to reach more people within that day. So, people who are outwardly mad about your comic instead of just ignoring it, are actually secretly helping it. This applies with basically all algorithms everywhere btw, they only care about activity and not about what's actually in that activity.

-You'd have to become a pretty big webcomic to have people start drawing r18 content of your work, especially without your consent. Most artists now-a-days ask someone if they are okay with that material before doing so, especially if your comic isn't particularly horny. If you're really super worried about it, simply ask people in a short disclaimer on the comic not to draw r18 content of your work. Most people here on Tapas are very understanding.

But, regardless, putting your work out into the world always risks the chance of someone doing something with it that you don't want. That's just unfortunately the nature of the internet, at least right now!

Good luck!

thedude3445 2020-06-11 08:43:03 UTC #30

Of course it's worth it! A reader is a reader, no matter what subculture or fandom they are in. Furries like furry stuff, yeah, but it's not like they are monolithic robots; they are human beings, and even if they decide "hmm this story isn't as furry as I would have hoped," they may still enjoy the story anyway.

Also, gosh I wish I had a story popular enough for people to draw R-18 fanart without my consent. I don't want to see it ever, but the idea that it exists would be enough for me lol