ISSUE 309
Hello everyone! Thanks for joining us for a new edition of Furry Weekly, we’re glad you’re tuning in!
We’ve got our usual announcements to get to but we want to keep your attention on the Recruiting section below since we’re looking for a lot of help to keep this project going. Read on below for what we’re looking for, or you can also scroll ahead to the Content Lineup if you just want to get straight into the issue!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
RECRUITING
As you may know, Furry Weekly is entirely run by volunteers, and right now we’re a bit understaffed. Most of our roles are to write the segments on the magazine, so if you like writing as well as certain things here in the fandom, like art, fursuiting, or anything else, we hope you will consider joining our team! We also have some miscellaneous roles, so check them out below:
- Furry of the Week Host
- Art Corner Co-Host
- Writing Showcase Host
- Fursuit Focus Co-Host
- Species Spotlight Host
- Fursuit Designing Tips Co-Host
- Photography 101 Co-Host
- Radical Raffles Host
- Available Artists Host
- Cover Artist
- Content Artist
- Content Migrator
- Editor
You can reach out to Yeshua, or Carkas if you’re interested in helping out, or have any questions. If you want a description of the roles, check out this document! If you have any suggestions for other roles or things we could bring into Furry Weekly, please let us know as well, we’d be happy to hear your ideas! We just need lots of help in general, so please consider joining us or sharing with other friends in the fandom if you can! We’d really appreciate it!
SEND US YOUR STUFF
Our goal here at Furry Weekly is to showcase the creativity the fandom has to offer, and if you haven’t noticed, most of our segments center around featuring folks in the community! So we want to remind you that you can submit your content to us! We actually have two new ways for you to send us your stuff:
Email us: Email us at furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com! You can submit your work (e.g. artwork, writing, quote, original species), tell us you are interested in appearing in a segment like Furry of the Week, Fursuit Focus, or Character Interview, or suggest someone to be featured in one of these segments.
Fill out our form: Check out this Google Forms link and fill it out based on the content you want to submit!
Remember that if you either email us or fill out our Submissions Form, you’re giving us permission to feature you or your work here on the magazine! We will always link back to you if you or your work appears on Furry Weekly!
READER SURVEY
We’re always looking out for what you, our readers, have to say about Furry Weekly! Like we said above, our goal is to showcase a little bit of everything in the fandom, especially giving a small spotlight to all kinds of creators and folks in the community. So we want to know what you think about what we’re doing now as well as what you might want to see from a furry magazine. So whether you’re an avid follower of Furry Weekly, or maybe you just found us, we want to hear what you like, what you don’t like, and what you would like us to do in the future! That’s why we have a short survey on this topic. We would seriously appreciate it if you took just a few minutes to take it and give us your feedback! You can do this multiple times as well! The link is below!
Click here to take our reader survey!
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That’s all for our usual announcements, thanks if you read through it all, we know it’s a lot! We hope you enjoy today’s content, and be sure to let us know what you liked the most! There are tons of ways to contact us, but you can also reach us on our social media! We’re @FurryWeekly on both Twitter and Instagram!
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SEGMENT LINEUP
[✔] Furry of the Week
[❌] Art Corner
[❌] Writing Showcase
[✔] Fursuit Focus
[✔] Species Spotlight
[✔] Animal of the Week
[✔] Art 101
[✔] Writing 101
[❌] Fursuit Designing Tips
[✔] Photography 101
[❌] Available Artists
[✔] Radical Raffles
[❌] Character Interview
[✔] Convention Calendar
[✔] Furry Quote
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FURRY OF THE WEEK
Hello, everyone! This is Danielle once again coming back to shine some more positivity onto you from the furry community. We have another special feature for you this week!
Before we put the spotlight on this week’s feature, I wish to remind all of you that we’re still looking to recruit more hosts for this segment. If you like spreading positivity, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, or our HR, Carkas, if you’re interested in hosting Furry of the Week.
Turn your character or fursona into a dragon with this free art opportunity by Lovelock!
After losing over 70 followers on X/Twitter in October, Lovelock is trying to stay positive by offering free art to turn your character or fursona into a cool dragon.
“Honestly, I'm a person that doesn't commission art a lot myself (shocking) mainly because I can't afford to. So, it’s just something nice I like to do since even people who may not afford mine or other’s prices still deserve to enjoy art.
Once a year, I host a furry wall where I do over 250 free ‘lil chibis, and I'm aiming to do it again next year! It'll be my third year doing it.” Lovelock explained.
For now, she is done with making these, but if you’d like to still try, you can comment a safe for work (SFW) reference on this post. Be sure to follow Lovelock if you aren’t already and to repost that post in order to participate. If you already have a dragon character, you’re not out of luck. Feel free to follow the same rules on this other post if you’d like a chance for your dragon to be turned into a furry animal. Lovelock offers free art and raffles very frequently, so feel free to be on the look-out for future ones.
Thank you for your generosity, Lovelock! I hope you enjoyed making them. The ones you made already look cute and amazing!
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That is all for this edition of Furry of the Week. We’re always on the lookout for candidates to feature for their amazing contributions to the community.
Have someone that you’d like to nominate for Furry of the Week? Feel free to fill out this form with your nominee. You can also submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com.
Tune in next time for another mystery Furry of the Week! In the meantime, please enjoy the rest of this week’s Furry Weekly issue, and I’ll see you guys again. Bye for now!
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FURSUIT FOCUS
How’s it going everyone? It’s Yeshua here to bring you another Fursuit Focus segment! As you may know, I’m filling in on this segment when I get a chance since we don’t have a permanent host right now, so I’ll keep doing my best to show off some of the fursuiters here in the fandom while we find a permanent host! Huge thanks for your patience with this segment!
Today we are sticking around in Europe as we meet Askara!
Look at this adorable doggo! The toony style of the suit along with the fur colors really make Askara a friendly-looking canine. Just look at that face! He looks so happy to see you! Focusing on the fur colors a little more, I think it’s really interesting how the black and white combine with the lavender. Black and white together is of course a pretty simple, muted combination, but the lavender is such a soft color that looks so great in a fursuit! I also love how the lavender appears in the suit; the facial markings, the eyebrows, the inside of the ears, the hair – it just looks great everywhere it is! Huge props to Khochukhlebb for bringing this character to life. One more feature I think is worth highlighting are the eyes; I mentioned earlier how the face makes Askara look pretty friendly, and the eyes – especially the star-shaped pupils – make him look, well, starstruck! I’m sure just the sight of him can bring a smile to anyone; definitely the case for me!
Askara likes fursuiting for two big reasons. First, it’s a way for him to set aside his normal life for a bit and just let loose taking part in something he likes, that being the furry fandom of course. Second, Askara loves embracing the performing aspect of fursuiting! He participates in a lot of fursuit walks in his area, so he gets a lot of chances to fursuit in public. Whether it’s kids, adults, or the elderly, Askara says he just likes to make people happy when he fursuits. Of course, he also loves interacting with fellow fursuiters: “... doing shenanigans, giving hugs, boops, or throwing rubber duckies at each other … it always is the right amount of chaos!” Askara really sounds like a fun husky, huh?
Askara loves traveling, and he makes sure to show off where he goes and the furries he meets! In 2024, Askara got to visit Switzerland, Denmark, and Belgium! Add to that several cities and villages in his native Germany, and it’s no surprise Askara has tons of fursuit photos in places across Europe! “There’s barely a weekend where I’m not out to another place, meeting more new people every time.”
Whenever he’s not taking photos with other fursuiters, Askara loves posing in environments showing a town or city’s architecture, or natural areas! He really is just a traveling husky who likes to share where he goes, so if you also like traveling or just seeing different places around the world, this canine might just be your new favorite fursuiter!
Askara is actually a somewhat newer fursuiter. As of writing this, he’s had his fursuit for two years, which is not an insanely long time, but if you couldn’t tell, he dove straight into the fursuiting scene. After his Christmas celebrations one year, he stayed up to browse The Dealers Den, found the fursuit that ended up being Askara, and bought it! Askara always wanted to try fursuiting and was actually in the furry fandom years before getting his suit. What better time to jump into fursuiting than with a Christmas present to himself like this? Like I mentioned earlier, Askara didn’t hesitate getting into fursuiting, saying his suit changed everything in just a matter of months! Two years later, he is still going strong being a big, fun husky!
Speaking of still going strong, Askara definitely isn’t slowing down in the fursuiting scene! He doesn’t have a lot of very specific things planned for fursuiting, saying he just likes to fursuit whenever he gets the chance and do whatever is fun! Still, there is one thing he’s got in the works for 2025: “One thing that might happen in [2025] is me getting the chance to fly over my own city in fursuit in a private plane! That’s gonna be quite something if it works out.” I agree, that’ll indeed be quite something! Super intrigued to see if it does happen!
Like we’ve been talking about, Askara is just doing all the things in the fursuiting scene, and you bet he’s made a lot of great memories! One of them was organizing and going to an event where a whole ship was rented for about one hundred furries and fursuiters! He says that along with all the official work like collecting fees and documenting attendees, he and the folks who organized the event also made custom badges for everyone who attended, and even coordinated with television stations to cover the event! I’ll let him talk about his favorite moments because I think it’s only fair he describes how it all went:
Definitely sounds like something where you just had to be there, huh? One more fun part Askara shared was that there really were a ton of fursuiters: “One doesn’t realize how many a little over one hundred people are until they all walk along a narrow sidewalk from point A to B! It was quite the image.”
I mentioned before that Askara likes to take any opportunity he can get to fursuit, and he especially enjoys fursuiting for a long time: “Suiting on and off for HOURS at conventions with friends is a whole other world of fun and freedom.” One of his favorite places to do this is at Eurofurence. The park ”Planten un Blomen” (Plants and Flowers) sits right next to the convention, and Askara says there is con security, and tons of support for fursuiters including a lounge close by: “It is a wonderful place for fursuit photography while giving a safe environment during that time while still being able to interact with the normie folks in the wild.” It’s pretty clear that Askara has had a great deal of neat fursuiting experiences, so I think sharing this last one is a good way to close the segment as we finish getting to know this fun-loving husky, always ready for his next adventure!
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That’s all for today’s edition of Fursuit Focus! Thanks so much for reading! Writing about Askara was so much fun so I hope you all enjoyed reading about him as well! I highly recommend giving him a follow for a nice dose of husky shenanigans, and like I mentioned before, if you enjoy traveling and seeing the world, he’ll give you a nice look into Europe with a furry twist of course!
Don’t forget I’m always on the lookout for other fluffy individuals to talk about, so if you’re a fursuiter and you want to be on this segment, reach out to me or preferably – you can email us at furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com to tell us you’d like to be featured! We also have a Submissions Form you can fill out if you prefer!
If you’ve read this far, seriously, thank you! I’ve been Yeshua and I’ll be back with another Fursuit Focus segment soon! Until then, take care!
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT
Hello readers, and welcome back to an exciting week of Species Spotlight! This is Danielle making a return as a guest host.
Before we put the spotlight on this week’s original species, I wish to let all of you know that we’re still looking to recruit more hosts for this segment. If you enjoy diving into species lore and/or find original species fascinating, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, or our HR, Carkas, if you’re interested in hosting Species Spotlight.
This week, we will be taking a look at an alien dragon species called Drakenoids by Zillaborg!
Drakenoids are a super intelligent alien dragon race loosely based off of Zillaborg’s fursona that value wisdom and wealth. However, many have their own morals and are more alien dragon than anything. They are multilingual travelers and traders who live on a cyberpunk planet.
The overall and most common look for a Drakenoid (see concept sheet above) involves a tall, somewhat muscular structure that is usually around on average six to eight feet in height. Drakenoids have evolved overtime from a history of fighters and galactic war. This may involve scales seen on the legs, arms, chest, and other parts of the body, such as the tail or even up to the head. Just like you’d expect a reptile to look in our world. This is not their only anatomical limit.
Drakenoids have the incredible ability to change and adapt their anatomy to any situation that may require it. For example, if a Drakenoid has lived on land but decides to venture underwater, it can choose to grow fins, webbed body parts, or change their tail structure to swim as efficiently as possible. Below is an example of a Drakenoid with different traits.
Head Drakenoids will always have a minimum of four nostrils which can be placed almost anywhere at the front of the head and usually one pair of eyes that sit at the sides of the head. Imagine a predatory dinosaur like a velociraptor (one of their distant cousins from evolution), for example.
The nostrils have become less useful with evolution. They mostly rely on their gills (seen on the neck and ribs) to breathe, and are used less for hunting in the wilderness. It might sound crazy to have so many holes to breathe through like this, but it is a result of millions of years of evolution. This is so they can adapt to any environment whether that be underwater, through the galaxy, or in the dustiest of planets in the west. The nostrils and gills combined serve as a three-way filter system to ensure that the Drakenoid body can filter out the impure air and always breathe. However, there are likely planets out there which are highly toxic and impossible for Drakenoids to live or survive on.
The overall design of a Drakenoid’s head is sleek and smooth, seen most commonly with two pairs of ears set backwards. This is to protect their eyes and ear canals from high speeds or winds. Naturally, Drakenoids can travel at high speeds due to a strange intergalactic mineral that makes up their blood and bone structure. Like a bird, but without the wings, they can float and fly as much as they’d like with their hollow yet strangely strong bones.
Drakenoids can have all kinds of different teeth and head features (scales, horns, spikes, antennae, and even fins) depending on where they have adapted to live. The head structure will always follow the sleek design, however. There are also mutations out there with Drakenoids that are seen with one pair of ears or three pairs of ears. This is very rare but not impossible. Maybe even two heads, extra eyes, or even an extra mouth. Never forget, Drakenoids are aliens.
Body As mentioned previously, Drakenoids can adapt to their environments. Colder climates may require the growth of thicker skin, furred body parts, more aquatic structure, and so on. Think about where your Drakenoid lives. Are they tribal in the wilderness? Are they more modernized living on a cyberpunk planet? Or are they strictly living underwater? Drakenoids are always required to have one pair of legs, one pair of arms, and a tail at minimum. However, this can be replaced with artificial body parts such as a mechanical arm or tail if they have lost a limb or have been born without one.
Some Drakenoids might be able to regrow their body parts due to their gecko and lizard-like ancestry. However, others either choose not to or cannot do this. Drakenoids have the ability to grow extra limbs and extra tails as they’d like. Though this is very rare. A Drakenoid prefers to have a more humanoid structure simply because they are intergalactic travelers and do not want to intimidate potential clients or business. Other Drakenoids don’t consider it, especially if they are not traveling much. A Drakenoid can be slimmer, but the average build is somewhat muscular. Is your Drakenoid a fighter? Fighters may be seen with more limbs and stronger muscle structure.
Drakenoids are also very fashionable creatures and may simply choose to adapt to their environment in a more modernized way by wearing clothing or armor based upon where they are traveling to. For example, they may wear winter clothing going to cold climates or street fashion when visiting a highly populated cyberpunk planet. They try to fit in with the crowd as much as they can and respect the culture around them.
Internal (Blood, Bones, and Internals) Drakenoid internals are alienoid in nature. With the mineral content in their blood, it can change color or even glitter/glow in a bioluminescent fashion with some other bodily fluids. This is why the innards of a Drakenoid’s mouth or their saliva, for example, may glow. It can be extremely toxic to other species. In the past, a Drakenoid would use their toxic saliva to paralyze their prey. If the mineral content within a Drakenoid gets out of control, this can cause gem/mineral growth on the body. This can be seen on any body part and considered a mutation sometimes even so drastic that it can be formed into a weapon on the arms or horns.
Some Drakenoids may embrace their mineral growth and shave or even carve it to look like an accessory. Similar to how cervids can in our human world, Drakenoids can grow and shed their minerals like a deer or moose can shed their horns. The minerals have nutritional value, and sometimes even medicinal properties and are sold on the black market. This technically isn’t legal and considered morally weird. It is not uncommon to see jewelry made from a Drakenoid’s shed gems, but this is usually personal and not sold elsewhere. For example, a parent may make jewelry out of its first Drakelings shed. Similar to if a human parent might keep its child’s baby teeth. The gems and minerals from a Drakenoid have minor magical properties to them and glow. In a panic, a Drakenoid may choose to consume its shed minerals just like vulnerable reptiles would eat their shed skin. This is quite rare, and usually considered a tribal or traditional practice. Otherwise, they are hoarded for other uses. The minerals tend to grow from anywhere on the body that has bone structure of some kind.
The elemental gem seen on the chest of a Drakenoid will determine its blood color and usually the gem growth color. For example, if a Drakenoid has a red gem, it may be that it has fire elemental abilities, and the gems will grow to a pure red, or even orange/yellow. Their blood will reflect this as well and can be seen glowing through their gills and between their scales. Some Drakenoids will have a mixture of color if they have somehow learned the ability to control more than one element. This is not traditional for them and considered a mutation.
Drakenoids are an open species, which means you’re welcome to make your own while sticking to its anatomy. Please be sure to also take a look at the general information and terms of use on Zillaborg’s Google document before creating one and to credit Zillaborg for the species. This species is still a work in progress, so feel free to keep your eyes out for more.
Looking to make your own Drakenoid? You can find this free to use chibi base by Zillaborg on her public Patreon post as well as a pay to use base by Masvino on their Payhip.
Feel free to join the Discord server to immerse yourself in the amazing world of Drakenoids. If you have any questions regarding them, feel free to reach out to Zillaborg.
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Thank you for tuning in to this week of Species Spotlight! I hope you enjoyed learning about Drakenoids today. There are plenty of creative original species out there, and we’ll be sure to hunt them down.
Ready for us to explore your original species? Feel free to fill out this form if interested. You can also submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com.
As Coyote Peterson from Brave Wilderness says, stay wild, and we’ll see you on the next species adventure!
Disclaimer
All information and art pertaining to the species belongs to Zillaborg.
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ANIMAL OF THE WEEK
Hello animal enthusiasts, and welcome to another edition of Animal of the Week! This is Danielle once again popping in as a guest appearance.
Animal of the Week is a segment where we highlight an animal that is really cool, cute, creepy, or fascinating. Unfortunately, there won’t be a new coloring page illustration, but there will still be an adoptable character inspired by this week’s animal of the week colored by me. The best part? All proceeds made by said adopt will be donated to conservation charities!
Whenever possible, we do symbolically adopt the animal. However, sadly, only some animals have the privilege to have that as an option. Thus, we collect extra funds to donate to many different species conservation charities, donate towards wildlife rehabilitation programs, or send funds to scientists so that they can research underappreciated animal species. Join us on this fun adventure, and I hope that you, too, will enjoy these amazing animals!
Here in the United States, it’s a time for giving thanks this month. There are many species that can resemble Thanksgiving in various ways, so let’s examine a species associated with this holiday.
This week, we’re swimming with the mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)!
Mallards, also known as wild ducks, are large ducks with hefty bodies, rounded heads, and wide, flat bills. Like many dabbling ducks, the body is long, and the tail rides high out of the water, giving a blunt shape. In flight their wings are broad and set back toward the rear. Male mallards have a dark, iridescent-green head and bright yellow bill. The gray body is sandwiched between a brown breast and black rear. Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange and brown bills. Both sexes have a white-bordered, blue speculum patch in the wing.
Mallards can be very tame and approachable, especially in abundant city and suburban ponds. They often group together with other mallards and other species of dabbling ducks. In more natural settings and where mallards are heavily hunted, they can be very wary of approaching people. They commonly associate with and may hybridize with other dabbling ducks.
Mallards have a huge variety of displays that can be fascinating to watch and decipher. Most displays are ritualized versions of common motions. Males may face off with a head-bob, threaten an aggressor with an open bill, or push against each other, breast to breast. Paired males defend their territories with vigorous acrobatic chases. Males court females by shaking or flicking the head side to side, looking over their shoulder, or raising up in the water and flapping their wings. Several males often gather around a female to display. A female encourages a male by nodding her head back and forth or paddling with her head held low.
★ Mallards are the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds (everything except the muscovy duck).
★ The standard duck’s quack is the sound of a female mallard. Males don’t quack; they make a quieter, rasping sound.
★ The oldest known mallard was a male that was at least 27 years and seven months old when he was shot in Arkansas in 2008. He had been banded in Louisiana in 1981.
Mallards are the most widespread and abundant duck in North America, and their populations have been steady from 1966 to 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Their numbers increase during wet periods and decline when there are droughts in the middle of the continent. Over the last 50 years, their estimated numbers have cycled between about 5 million and 19 million. Mallards are the most heavily hunted North American duck, accounting for about one of every three ducks shot. State and federal wildlife agencies keep close track of the numbers shot. Like other waterfowl, mallards can be poisoned when they ingest lead shot while feeding. This species can also be affected by poor water quality, including mercury, pesticide, and selenium pollution, wetland clearing or drainage, and oil spills.
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A huge thank you goes out to the animal ambassadors and Animal of the Week supporters who have helped make the world a little bit better for wildlife.
If you wish to help support us, you can find Zed’s Patreon for this passion project here. You can also find adoptables, free to use bases, and pay to use bases by Zed on their website.
As Coyote Peterson from Brave Wilderness says, stay wild, and we’ll see you on the next species adventure!
Disclaimer
All of the information was derived from All About Birds and Alexandria Zoo.
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ART 101
A single stroke of a pencil, pen, stylus, or brush: This is the common understanding of a line. Or the major processes through which we sketch, draw, or paint our subjects. A line is that single continuous mark meant to capture the form or flow of a subject.
Hi all, Shroom here! Let’s talk about the nature of drawing and the fun ways lines help us. Particularly in Line Weight!
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Lines are typically where a lot of us start drawing. Whether it’s with a finger, crayon, marker, pencil, pen, brush, or stylus we start our drawings with the structural foundation of lines.
Various art styles adapt or manipulate those lines in turn. Think of the lineless style of art. The shapes and forms of those pieces utilize bold forms and shape language to capture their subjects. Some rely upon gradients of color, shadow, and highlights to build upon the foundation of form.
Then there’s the other extreme. Which can be commonly seen in old comic book art that uses lines to communicate form with cross hatching shadows and, our subject of today, LINE WEIGHT.
Line weight is the strategic or deliberate bolding of lines on a subject. More precisely, that the thickness and thinness of a line varies across the stroke.
A good visualization of this is actually calligraphy.
How we go about writing out characters in a word or sentence comes with it a potential desire to emphasize certain curves or lines within the stroke taken. Be it the loop of an “O” or the cross of a “T”.
In some ways, you’ve been using Line Weight in things without realizing it.
For art, that just means changing how we go about applying this weight to our line art.
Line Weight can help us breakup the monotone feel of our line art by using the same principles of calligraphy: the need to emphasize certain strokes. But when? And more importantly, where?
To answer those questions, we have to understand what contour lines are. Contour lines are lines that follow the implied 3D form of a subject. To visualize, imagine drawing a line across an apple. It would start at one edge and curve around the circumference before reaching the otherside. Draw another below the first and then another and another: Those would be contour lines.
In combination with Line Weight, the concept of contour lines can help us with implementing them into our art.
The most common use of Line Weight is to make lines thicker near a potential shadow and make lines thinner near a potential highlight. This bolding of lines mimics the nature of contour lines. It shows the form of an object with a single stroke.
It has the potential to add a bit of visual variety to a subject or character when we draw. Allowing us to draw attention to posing, forms, expressions, and shapes. Although, it is optional.
Remember, this is only a means of stylization. There are various styles that manipulate lines differently or remove them all together.
Line Weight is a simple concept, but holds a lot of variety in its implementation.
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If you have any suggestions for future segments or simply have some questions regarding anything I’ve discussed feel free to reach out to me! Regardless, I hope to catch you all real soon as we further our art journeys together!
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WRITING 101
A lanky snake of pinkish-red scales lounges in his racing-inspired chair, long legs hoisted and folded on the seat. His head is tipped back into the chair’s firm pillow while the computer monitor’s cool glow washes the dark apartment in blue light. All is… suspiciously quiet.
The Camera, having just received a quick recharge, slips out of the snake’s bedroom and into the common area. It has a clear view of the scene before him; Phoenix has something that looks like goggles strapped to his eyes! How can he even see?
Phoenix looks around at the quizzical chirrup. The goggles come up, themselves splashing blue light over Phoenix’s face. His hood twitches quizzically.
“Hm? What’s up?”
Another chirrup.
“Oh! I’m watching a YouTube video. This is a virtual reality headset!”
The headset comes off. It really does look as small as a pair of goggles. The Camera gawks, clearly amazed at this piece of technology.
“Pretty nifty, right? I wish I could let you try it, but… you know.... Probably wouldn’t fit.”
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Hello friends, and welcome to Furry Weekly’s Writing 101! I’m Bryce Griffin, here to get all you writers out there the inside scoop on literature tips and tricks. Let’s get started!
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Know Your Audience - Yourself
You may have heard on your writing travels about understanding the audience for whom you’re writing. This is, of course, an important consideration! Imagine writing a mountain of technical jargon dealing with gene sequencing in the middle of your story; very few people, if any, would understand what you’re saying. In a typical writing project, this would be a bad idea. But if you’re writing something for just yourself, then none of this applies.
For more experienced writers, this may seem like a strange concept. We’re taught that we need to know who we’re writing for so that our work can “speak” to our audience. After all, how should we know the way to package our writing if we don’t know or understand who will be reading it? But if you are the only person to read your own work, then should you even be concerned?
You have limitless potential if you are your own audience. You know yourself best, so you know exactly what you want to read. And when writing, you have ultimate freedom with experimentation. Whatever you want to try is fair game, for the only audience member to be concerned about is yourself. This awesome potential is where some people find writing to be the most enjoyable, freeing, and empowering experience. It can also be that “aha!” moment where novice writers discover they have limitless power in the worlds they create.
More experienced authors, however, will know that writing only for yourself is not an ideal way to create good storytelling. You know exactly what you want to see in your character developments, plot progression, dialogs, and interactions. Catering only to yourself runs a risk of incorrectly reinforcing to yourself that your writing is strong and correct. Of course, this probably won’t be an issue if you don’t plan on sharing your work with others. But if you’re a new writer and are looking to grow your skills, then it is imperative to know that, at some point, others will be reading your work. A good way to get started on that journey is writing with other people in mind—perhaps a good friend or somebody else you know—and fielding external feedback from fellow writers.
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Want me to take a look at your work? Got a general question for Writing 101? Just shoot me a message on Discord! I’ll be happy to answer any writing questions or even critique your work.
Thanks for joining me in Furry Weekly’s Writing 101. I hope you enjoy the rest of the magazine!
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Phoenix relaxes in his chair again. “Yeah… I’ve been really distracted by this. I had forgotten how much fun VR is. This makes everything feel so fresh… and it’s awesome.”
The Camera glances around. Indeed, the headset now in the snake’s hands isn’t the only new piece of equipment adorning the computer station. Wireless dongles, plugged into individual cradles, tethered to cables… all stemming from a glowing USB hub. Not to mention the numerous puck-like devices neatly arranged on the floor under the desk, all screwed into padded, strap-like body gear. Phoenix could have literally jumped into the gear because it was arranged so nicely.
“Oh… that?” he asks, pointing to the floor. “Those are trackers… eight of them. They strap on to your body and a game can tell where your body is. It can actually mirror your body pretty well.”
Yet another chirrup of curiosity.
“How much did it all cost?”
Phoenix smiles knowingly.
“You don’t want to know.”
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PHOTOGRAPHY 101
Hello, friends and photografurs! Welcome back to this week's Photography 101! I'm your host, Jaden! Today we’re bringing you a super special segment, the very first photografur highlight! Today, we’ll be showing off the amazing work of DiabloRacc!!
First off, the perspective in this camera work is amazing! It complements the posing beautifully and makes it feel much more dynamic. DiabloRacc definitely has an artist's eyes, and thinking like an artist is something I've encouraged a lot throughout my time on furry weekly, this camera angle and dynamic posing just feels like something ripped straight out of a drawing or a luxury magazine and it's just absolutely stunning. Moving on, we notice the shadows produced by the natural light of the window also add a lot of depth and character along the right side of the image and with that, let's move on to the next image.
I cannot describe in words how jealous I was when I first saw this image. Getting a picture of a lightning strike like this is one of my dream shots but my fingers are never quite fast enough to capture it, but this was beautifully done. The lightning leaves a beautiful lilac coloured glow over the surroundings, and the high ISO gives the image a grainy look which I think works in this photo's benefit! The grain gives the entire photo an almost kind of haunting feel, like it was taken on a film camera on a late halloween night. This photo encapsulates some of my favourite things in photography; lightning and stylization!
Finally, I just wanted to give some attention to this last photo, it reminds me a lot of the classic windows XP screen, the sky is absolutely stunning and is framed beautifully, your eyes are just instantly drawn to it and locked on. Overall, this photo shows an excellent understanding in framing
Thank you so much for your submissions DiabloRacc! Your photos were stunning and i'm so happy to have you here for the first photografurs highlight! For all of our readers, be sure to show them some love on their Twitter!
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That concludes this week's segment! If you have any questions or would like to share your photos, don't be afraid to shoot me a message!
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RADICAL RAFFLES
Hello, everyone! Danielle here once again, and I’m here to bring you some fun raffles to potentially participate in.
Before we get into the raffles, I wish to remind all of you that we’re looking to recruit more hosts for this segment. If you enjoy coming across raffles, then this might be for you! Feel free to message our boss, Yeshua, or our HR, Carkas, if you’re interested in hosting Radical Raffles.
We have four raffles for you this week! Let’s take a look at them.
Let’s get in the spirit of Christmas with a Christmas art raffle by Trialestis!
How to Enter:
★ Follow and repost.
Prize:
★ Sketch illustration (winter/Christmas themed and SFW)
Deadline:
★ December 1st
There’s lots of time to enter!
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Celebrate with a 100 followers raffle by Neo!
How to Enter:
★ Follow Neo. New followers are welcome!
★ Share the raffle post to your story.
★ Comment your favorite character when you are done.
Prizes:
★ 1st: Simple-shaded bust
★ 2nd: Flat bust
Neo might add another prize if there are 100 submissions!
Deadline:
★ November 24th (GMT +8)
There’s lots of time to enter!
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Welcome the winter season with a winter special raffle by kirino03!
How to Enter:
★ Follow, like, and repost.
★ Extra entry: Comment on the raffle post.
Prize:
★ Winter portrait
One extra winner for each 100 likes and reposts!
Deadline:
★ December 1st
There’s lots of time to enter!
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Last but certainly not least, we have an animation YCH raffle by Yellow K9!
How to Enter:
★ Follow and repost.
★ Optional: Tell Yellow K9 something that you like about her art.
Prize:
★ Animation YCH of your choice
Deadline:
★ December 1st
There’s lots of time to enter!
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Those are all the raffles I have for you this week. There's always more out there, and we'll make sure to find them and bring them to you every week.
Would you like us to showcase your own raffle? Feel free to fill out this form if interested. You can also submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com.
Thank you for taking a look at this week’s raffles. Stay tuned because more radical raffles are coming your way!
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CONVENTION CALENDAR
Hello once again, readers! This is Shetani, your Convention Calendar segment host for this issue. 2024 is just about over, but there’s still plenty of opportunity to get together and have fun with other furries, no matter your location. Are you ready to learn about all the furry conventions and events happening online, around the world, and in your neck of the woods? Well, I’m ready to tell you about them, so let’s get started!
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Continuing from last month, Furry Blacklight starts October 30 and runs through November 3. The Hilton Paris Charles De Gaulle in Tremblay-en-France welcomes furry fans back for the twelfth iteration of this yearly French furcon. Meet furry friends under the neon lights and Ride the Retro Wave - that’s the theme for this year’s convention! Whether you’re into learning how to VJ, watching (or participating in) fursuit dances, improv, or meeting up with like-minded furry subgroups, the schedule offers something for everyone. Last year’s celebrated tattoo parlor will return to the FBL Dealer’s Den, along with nearly 80 other purveyors spread across their regular and After Dark Dealer’s Dens. You must be 18 years or older to attend FBL. At press time, FBL has already hit their attendance cap of 800, so if you missed pre-registration, you’re sadly out of luck - but there’s always next year!
Website | Twitter | Telegram | Instagram
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Everyone’s favorite USA-based Halloween furry convention, Furpocalypse, fittingly starts Thursday, October 31 this year and continues through Sunday, November 4. Always a frightfully good time, their theme for 2024 is Astrophobia. 2024’s iteration will take place at the Armon Hotel & Conference Stamford in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. Take your experience to the next level by participating in hotel-wide door-to-door trick-or-treating, fun no matter which side of the candy basket you’re on! A charity auction and raffle will be held to benefit Q Plus, a Connecticut nonprofit dedicated to uplifting and empowering queer youth. Peri Pendrake and HorrorHippies, the two artist Guests of Honor this year, will be introduced at Opening Ceremonies to crown the surprise Furpocalypse Guest Host. Furpoc has historically featured a masquerade, fursuit parade and group picture, dance competition, fursuit games, nightly dances with DJs, art show, and last howl afterparty. Of course, no Halloween con is complete without a costume competition! All costumed attendees of Furpoc are welcome to enter, though fursuits alone don’t count and suiters will have to wear a costume over their fursuits.
Website | Twitter | Telegram | Facebook
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Bask in the radioactive glow at Flüüfff 2024 - Toxic Critters! This Belgian convention boasts an amazing five days full of events, from Wednesday, November 6 to Sunday, November 10. After skipping a year in 2023, everyone’s raring to go and twice as excited to gather for fun and entertainment. Come to the Bedford Hotel in Brussels, Belgium to see everything Flüüfff has to offer, from dancing, to shopping, to panels and meetups, to an entertainment show night, and everything in between. Flüüfff’s charity this time is SEA LIFE Blankenberge, an aquatic zoo dedicated to marine conservation and education, which will be hosting panels, fun games, and a booth at the con to raise donations for their worthy efforts. New to 2024, the con will be combining their previous Show Night with the Closing Ceremony for a spectacular send-off not to be missed. Basic registration to Flüüfff includes a convention ticket, breakfast, and accommodations at the con hotel, though you can buy just a day ticket if you don’t need a hotel spot. Attendees must be at least 18 years old with a valid photo ID.
Website | Twitter | Telegram | Facebook
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Make a splash at AquatiFur from Friday, November 8 to Sunday, November 10! This one-and-only furry con hosted at a waterpark is located at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA. This year’s theme is Welcome to Atlantis - sounds like they already have a head start on the decorations! Guests of Honor include fursuit maker FenneCrafts and merchandise producer EagliDots. AquatiFur boasts a Dealer’s Den, Artist Alley, dance competitions, nightly dances with DJs, panels, workshops, meetups, and let’s not forget access to a fantastic water park with all the thrills and rides that come with it! Feathered Friends Sanctuary and & Rescue, Inc. returns as AquatiFur’s charity partner. This organization provides a safe haven for homeless parrots living in captivity, and will bring feathered friends to the convention for attendees to meet. A Charity Dance-Off will be held to raise money for this great cause, too.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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PAWCon is coming back to the DoubleTree San Jose Hotel in San Jose, California, USA from Friday, November 8 to Sunday, November 10. The theme this year is “The AF-TAUR Life.” The Guest of Honor is Corkie, sole owner of fursuit-making business Sour Citrus Suits. Events and attractions include a Shopping District of furry wares from 30 vendors, panels, nightly dances with DJs, dance competitions, and an entire party floor of the hotel. PAWCon is bringing back underPAW, an 18+ space for exploring freedom of interests, which is sure to be lots of fun. Other programming will include, among other events, a snack social, LAN party, Greek line dancing, sticker swap, and even a talk about how to navigate the US “Paw-stal” System. At the time of writing, PAWCon had still not announced their 2024 charity partner, so be sure to follow them on social media for updates. Pre-registration closed in October, though day passes and weekend passes will be available for purchase at the door.
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Continuing the trend of Halloween themed furry conventions, we have Howloween, held Saturday, November 9 to Monday, November 11 at the Executive Hotel Vancouver Airport Richmond in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The 2024 theme is “The Bork Collective.” The Wildlife Association of British Columbia is Howloween’s charity partner, and attendees can donate throughout the con weekend or by bidding on items at the charity auction. The Guest of Honor is textile artist Apoxon, and Astra Ether is also spotlighted as a community member. Howloween has put together a fun-filled schedule with events like a fursuit maid cafe, fursuit performance master class, vulture culture meet & greet, and game show. If that’s not enough excitement for you, check out the Dealer’s Den of furry artists and vendors, many dances hosted by talented DJs, dance competition, and gaming galore.
Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram
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Roaring back for their second event is Bangkok Beasts, taking place at the World Siam Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The fur will fly this year on Sunday, November 10, with the con’s theme of Stage Fighter. The artist Cheetahpaws is the 2024 Guest of Honor. Bangkok Beasts offers a Dealer’s Den, Furfreshie fursuit showcase event, a stage show, and more memorable programming. Don’t miss it!
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Discord | Telegram
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After a restructure, FurcoNZ is holding its first hotel event this year from Friday, November 22, to Sunday, November 24 at the Holiday Inn Auckland Airport in Auckland, New Zealand. Animals of all shapes and sizes convene at events like this, so what better choice for a con theme than Safari? Activities are still being finalized, but this writer can confirm they’ll include a talent show, fursuit parade, games of Werewolf and Blood on the Clocktower, nightly dances hosted by local DJs, and even a charming safari of airplanes at the nearby Auckland Airport. Be sure to keep an eye on FurcoNZ’s socials for even more announcements as they come, including news of the con’s chosen Guest of Honor and charity partner. Attendees must be over the age of 18 to enjoy FurcoNZ.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Telegram | Facebook
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The annual furry caravan park event, Furcation, has a new home this year at Sandford Holiday Park, Poole, Dorset, UK. Keep your wits about you Friday, November 22 to Monday, November 25, and try not to get scared at the con themed Tails of Terror! Furcation’s website lists amenities included with each accommodation. Expect a dealer’s den, nightly dances with guest DJs, dance competition, gaming, and attendee-led panels during your vacation stay. One great thing about Furcation is that events are equally open to all, which means that attendees can join in everything, even the group photo and games, without a fursuit. A charity auction and meet & greet will be held to benefit Ferne Animal Sanctuary, which caters to a wide range of animals from horses and goats to cats and dogs. Attendees must be 18 years or older and present a valid photo ID.
Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram
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Our editor Rizou will be attending Howloween, so be sure to say hi if you see him there! Remember to stay healthy by keeping up-to-date on booster shots and wearing your face mask when meeting up with any furs in person.
Got questions or suggestions for Convention Calendar? Feel free to drop me a line on the Fediverse or hit me up at any of the other platforms linked on my website. If there’s an upcoming con you want to ensure we cover here on Furry Weekly, don’t hesitate to let me know. Have fun and stay safe out there!
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FURRY QUOTE
Howdy, all! Tide again. I hope everyone is doing well. As we are starting to get to the season of family gatherings I wanted to take this week to talk about a quote from a man who chose his own path in life, regardless of what others might think. The incredible artist and social activist, Banksy.
“Not everyone will understand your journey. That's okay. You're here to live your life, not to make everyone understand.”
Holidays seem to be made for family drama. Whether it is related to politics, career choices, or even whether or not you have found a partner, something is gonna be brought up that has you awkwardly deflecting the conversation to avoid issues. But it is just as Banksy says, “not everyone is going to understand your journey”. Whether it is just during the holidays or all year round, someone you know is going to not understand your journey. They might question your life choices or maybe even ridicule them. It can be hard not to take such comments to heart, especially when they come from someone you trust. Sometimes you just have to remember to trust yourself. Afterall, it is your journey, people don’t need to understand. And the best people, be it friends or family, will support you even if they don’t understand.
So this is your reminder that it is more worthwhile trying to push yourself down your own path, to continue your journey, than it is trying to get people to understand. As a people pleaser I have spent far too much time trying to make everyone happy and trying to make everyone understand, but ultimately there will always be people who don’t understand no matter how thorough and logical of an argument you give them. If you have something you want to pursue, even if it may seem crazy right now, go after it! Having the drive to do something is the first step to achieving it. Just don’t let your drive, your vision, die when you do.
Journeys are not typically easy, often they are long winding roads that lead back on themselves. To an onlooker who is only ever going to see the risks, it will never make sense, they will see these backwards steps as a justification to tell you to stop rather than realizing that if you made it back, you are back with new lessons learned, ready to go for it again. So live your life, go on your journey, and show people that it doesn’t matter if they understand, because you are going to live your life, and you are going to make it work.
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That’s it for this week’s Furry Quote. Now that you’re all caught up, think about how you can advance your journey without worrying what others will think. Sometimes the answer lies in the crazy things you wouldn’t consider because of other’s perceptions.
Do you have a quote or topic you’d like us to discuss next? Feel free to submit content by emailing furryweeklysubmissions@gmail.com, or you can directly message me on Instagram.
Thanks for stopping by, and until next time.
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Once again, thank you for reading and submitting content! We will see you next time!
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