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

[NickRowler]

How I react to a comic featuring an animal would depend on other factors like art style and story.

I don't mind animal stories and I don't automatically think it is for children or it will be a heartwarming story. And even if it is child-friendly and cute, that will not automatically turn me off as a reader if I enjoy the story.

I think my major criticisms is when it turns into fetish material, I am not really a fan of that.
I am also not a dog person, so stories designed to pull on the heartstrings of dog lovers doesn't really do much for me. I do enjoy stuff with dogs, like 101 Dalmatians. It's the sappy stuff that I could never get into.

[irresponsiblepics]

Interesting thread.
My characters are animal/none animal hybrids but the only reason I approached my strip with these creatures are do to my criteria of being fantasy and wanting to avoid anything "political" as it has no place in what I am making. I make it as escapism.
I also am making for any age to read. So technically cutesy I guess.

I am not into Furry and when I mean Furry I mean the getting aroused by Anthro characters doing arousing stuff.
When designing my characters I deliberately aim to get to that fine line of ugliness. None of that horny slender/buff stuff.
I do love animation and many of my favourite animated films are essentially anthro.
I also am inspired by Moomins...Moomins isn't a furry comic. Tove im pretty sure wasn't a furry! XD
I have some my subbers who are into furry comics.
Same on Comicfury every single one of my subs is a furry fan.
I dont have an issue with it though.

But to reinstate my comic strip isn't coming from a furry place XD

Im pretty sure many are put off by my comic thanks to assuming its a furry comic and the darker side of the fandom.

But animals doing human things in art is as old as time
Heinrich Kley comes to mind.

[irresponsiblepics]

I think my major criticisms is when it turns into fetish material, I am not really a fan of that.

This.
There is a market for it has been for years (it aint nothing new) but not a fan of it AT ALL.

[orbitkatart]

completely agree with your sentiment. Story is number one and I'm really not into animals being sexualized.
And also not a fan of dogs either!

[orbitkatart]

Glad to hear this as I'm in the same boat and why I made this thread. I wanted to get an idea for people's gut reactions upon seeing animal comics.

I am also not a furry but think there are some really creative, untapped stories that can be told in the eyes of an animal.

I truly wonder if people are also put off by my comic lol

[AmysGames]

I agree with the people saying that it really depends on the art style. You can often gauge whether a comic is meant to be cute, cartoony, sexual, or just a story that happens to have animal characters, based on the art style alone.

...That said, I feel like I can say the same about comics with humans, too? So I don't know if the presence or absence of animal characters really affects my perception that much.

[thedude3445]

It depends on the art style; if it's non-anthropomorphic animals I don't necessarily assume anything, but with anthropomorphic animals, there's sort of a divide in art style where I think "this will be a family friendly comic strip" versus "I think this will be a furry fandom story," and it's a clear divide even though I can't articulate it precisely. Just my immediate reactions.

[N1ghtm4r3]

id be interested and take a look at it, , ,sometime intellectual curiosity compels me to look

[domisotto]

Children or furry...

[therosesword]

No problem. The first thing I think of when someone says Animal comic is Maus:

Maus

[therosesword]

One of the funniest books I ever read was a mystery called Three Bags Full where a flock of sheep solve the murder of their shepherd.

Three Bags Full

[LostSpirit]

Not since playing Divinity Original Sin 2 with the Red Prince. I would label the game as a high, maybe dark fantasy type. It's glorious, breathtaking and brilliant!

Though I suppose there is something to be said about the character being humanoid at least (lizard). Anyway, I think it's mostly your experience?

[rainbowolfe]

I immediately assume that a very specific kink or two is gonna be laced into the story/visuals in a very blatant, but not necesarrily sexual way. Not that that stops me from reading, but furries are gonna fur

that or it's gonna be a racial allegory

[R.n.P]

i assume its furry n go read something else

[chickknightgreenleaf]

at first glance "it's for children" , and depend on what going on in the story my assumption will chance

[irresponsiblepics]

Yes! That's a classic.
Is Animal Farm furry content I wonder? XD

[saffasas]

Hey everyone, I hope it’s okay that im posting my own thing here (if not pls let me know and I’ll take it down!)

I’d love to know what impression this gives off, because I didn’t know what kind of image to make for the cover/banner and just uploaded what I had to hand when I started. But i’ve been thinking that I should maybe redesign them to make it clearer what the comic is about.

Absolutely no pressure to sub or even read it, but honest feedback on what assumptions you make about the story based on the cover and banner would help so much!

That Damned Dog | Tapas

[saffasas]

I definitely wouldn’t assume furry seeing this. I might think it was for kids, or younger readers at least at first glance. But that’s more because it’s a coming of age story and has a pretty cute art style rather than a super realistic or gritty one, you know?

[Iridium]

My reaction is either furry stuff (and that's not bad actually; furry stories can be quite dark and deep in their plots) or cute and heartwarming. I don't know why, but it might have to do with the fact most children shows I watched back then featured animal characters xD

[saffasas]

I definitely don’t assume that stuff with animals is any of those things, I go more off the synopsis than the cast of characters. But I know a lot of people who do automatically assume that things with animal main characters are for kids of teens!