What is your snap judgement on a comic that features an animal as the main character?

[Phantomlight]

I still am not entirely clear what labels to use for my own comic so I just use them all "furry/anthro/animal" xD I know most people put "furry" regardless if it's not in the "furry" style because I think furry might encompass more than just that style. I am still relatively new to all this, so I don't know the answer. I think this is a big debate right? Like what is considered "furry" like people say "well what about Disney characters like Mickey, Donald, and Goofy etc."

[Jenny-Toons]

I believe the artist is https://twitter.com/rt0no?lang=en

They do a lot of similar works in this style.

[Rhonder]

I agree with some of the other replies, just hearing "animal main character" in a vacuum doesn't elicit any snap judgements. I would need to have that accompanied by like... genre, the rest of the cast (and their species), art style, or something.

For example "animal main character where the genre is comedy or slice of life and the rest of the cast are mostly humans with maybe a small handful of other animals" suggests to me something kid friendly or wholesome.

The same comic but with a thriller or horror genre gives a much different "mature, not for kids" vibe.

Art style comes into play too. If the animal character is anatomically accurate to whatever species they are that generally doesn't say "furry" to me, but even if the characters are anthro designs depending on whether it's an action comic, or romance comic, for 2 examples, give much different vibes. Anything with anthro characters and a large focus on relationships or romance does immediately invoke a "lol this is some furry stuff" reaction, but for comics with anthro characters that doesn't feature (or have a big emphasis on that) then the vibe isn't really the same. For example, a friend of mine is currently working on a comic that is in an all animals world and features anthro characters, but it's like... more of a slice of life / murder mystery / coming of age story that makes the character designs feel more like an aesthetic choice rather than pandering towards a particular group of readers.

In short my snap judgement is "need more info".

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

Well its no surprise by my username and pfp that I love animal comics. And I am happily a furry haha so I'm definitely biased here. But to your questions.

1. You assume it's furry stuff - - Nope, generally I only assume something is furry or made by a furry author if the animals are anthropomorphic. And even then, animals are great basis for character design. Besides, furries are just people who really like anthropomorphic animal art and choose to add the label furry to themselves to show that it is a core interest/hobby. So you can make a comic with anthropomorphic animals, you can read and watch all kinds of media with anthropomorphic animals in it and still choose to not call yourself a furry. The furry fandom is really diverse and full of creative people who all love to make and appreciate amazing art. It seems like the implication of "furry stuff" is "sexual stuff" There are tons of asexual furries. But, point 2.

2. you assume it's cute and heartwarming - - Nope, for instance I make a furry comic that deals with characters struggling with depression, deaths of loved ones and struggling to be your authentic self in the face of unsupportive family members. There are cute moments and it is after all a LGBTQ+ romance comic. You can tell any story in any medium or genre if you work hard enough. Also to this point it is not exclusive from number 1. Furry stuff can definitely be cute, wholesome and heartwarming.

Exhibit A:

1. You assume it's for children. -- Nope, and even if it is I will still give it a chance. There are lots of kids shows, comics and movies that are great. After all they are all made by adults. Shows like Spongebob are comedy gold even though their core demographic is like 12 year olds. Oh, and there is definitely a big section of the furry fandom that is kid/family friendly. Furry is like a genre. For example, while there are action movies you would watch with your mom or kids that are maybe rated PG there are other action movies with just as many car chases and explosions, but that you would not watch with a young child because they are rated R. Furry is not exclusively sexual or just for adults.

Vice is generally not great for news, but here is a decent article about minors who are furries:

How the Furry Community Became a Safe Space for Youth

So my reaction or my snap judgement with animal comics is.

1. Intrigue
2. Interest to see what the art style looks like
3. Willing to stick around bit longer for the story to develop if the animal art is really great

Oh and thank you to @Phantomlight for pointing this thread out!

[orbitkatart]

That's basically what I'm going for with my current comic, a Warriors tangent type of thing and really the reason behind why I created this topic.
But wasn't sure if Warriors faced a similar stigma to furries

[orbitkatart]

Really LOVE those styles!

[orbitkatart]

Glad to see "need more info" is a conmmon consensus on here, but it makes me wonder what people who aren't on Tapas forums think

[orbitkatart]

I really appreciate your reply and was definitely looking for the opinion of those who label themselves as furries. I mention in another reply that I'm not really sure what consititues as "furry" though I tend to see it as sexualized anthro but probably just because of how a lot of social media portrays furries. No judgement from me or anything but it makes me curious if furries also consider non anthro animals (but still a talking animal) as "furry" or if it's only anthro that's "furry"

[MegaRay]

My first thought would be it is comedy, or aimed at children. Depending on the artstyle.

[Kura]

No real snap judgements to be honest, just the same 'I wonder what this is about' thought process that I have with pretty much any comic. I generally adore animal MC narratives though, but I'm actually more used to animal narratives being darker in novels (Think Black Beauty, a lot of authors use the animal narrative to showcase suffering in both humans and animals and generally how horrible people can be towards animals and one another), so I'm pretty used to the range being varied.

There is one exception though.

If the main character is a bird my snap judgement is more close to: BIRB BIRB BIRB BIRB BIRB BIRB BIRB!!!!!!!!!

[orbitkatart]

Best take I've seen so far

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

Oh, well thanks for being open minded. There is definitely a perception with a lot of people that furry is just sexual. And like with anything made by humans there is a sexual component to the fandom. But that is more because it is a very open and accepting group of people. So for the most part sex is seen as something normal that happens rather than some shameful bad thing. So there are about an equal number of furries who appreciate NSFW art and just as many who aren't interested in it.

I did find it really interesting that many people in this thread mentioned furry as an art style. There is definitely no 1 furry art style. You can draw anthro characters in any style you please and there are hundreds of thousands of furry artists who all have their own unique style they bring to what they create. Like with anything there may be trends that come and go in what kinds of art styles are popular, but this fandom has been around since the 70's and the favored art styles have shifted so much over the course of 50 or so years.

But to your question of

it makes me curious if furries also consider non anthro animals (but still a talking animal) as "furry" or if it's only anthro that's "furry"

Non-anthropomorphic animals that still have humanized facial expressions and minds can still fall under the furry umbrella. Think like the lion king. Typically these characters are called "Feral" in the fandom, which just means "physically non-anthropomoric" aside from facial expressions. But like I said in my previous post the creator may not label themselves or their work as furry at all. Even if it is enjoyed by lots and lots of furries.

For example, I would classify this comic as under that Feral furry umbrella. Just as a reader. I have no idea if the author would say the same.

Welcome to Rakuenko | Tapas

Or like this novel by @Phantomlight

The Graced Ones | Tapas

All of the wolves in their story have essentially human minds and emotions with a bit of animal body language added in.

[orbitkatart]

Thanks for this insight! This is really interesting information.
I started this topic because I'm curious what people's reactions would be to my comic. I don't consider myself a furry but I have a comic featuring cats sort of like Warrior Cats (but not related) where the cats talk to each other like humans (but they can't talk to humans) so then in your eyes this would be seen as "feral"?
Sorry for plugging my own thing, no obligation to sub or anything.

Real Human Bean | Tapas

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

I know so many furries who first got into animal stuff through Warrior Cats lol. Like it's almost a meme lol. I really love your art style in general and this comic seems really well done and well written. Maybe if you asked a different furry they would disagree (who knows, art is subjective), but personally I would say this falls under what most furries would call feral.

[orbitkatart]

Thank you for that! This is good to know!

[cookieroach]

It’s too broad for me to assume anything. It depends on the style. Animal characters are used in a lot of stories, ranging from heartwarming kid’s stuff to mature themes (gore, sexual, etc). So for me personally, I wouldn’t judge a story based on if it features animals or humans, I’m more interested in the story and characters.

[TedGravesArt]

I have quite a few furry friends, so #1 would align with my first assumption. I wouldn't assume that it's cute/heartwarming though, and I definitely wouldn't assume that it's for children. All of the furries I know are adults. The style of art can say a lot about what kind of content will be in the book too, but I've seen an equal amount of more realistic feral work that is wholesome, and not focused around death.

[DiegoPalacios]

It depends a lot of the design of said animal.

As you can see, all these stories have animals but give way too different impressions:

[babywolf121]

I think it's adorable but I also think it can be hilarious depending on the situation

[TedGravesArt]

Wow, I love those!
The middle one in particular, the stylization is fantastic, and the character proportions are so appealing! The cinched neckline make the heads look so much bigger, which increases cute appeal, but they're actually perfectly proportioned. It's super satisfying!