We Asked. They Answered.
It started with Skittles turning the camera lens on me. A feat which, by the way, is somewhere between shocking and earth-shattering. I tend to turn all ninja-kicky-chick when someone tries to touch my camera. Unless they purr at me. Apparently purring catches me off guard and forces me to just stand there smiling like an idiot while a bright blue and green cat snaps a photo of my chin.
Anyway, that one chance encounter led to a realization: furries are friendly. Very friendly. Armed with that knowledge, my furry hunting accomplices and I started to instigate a conversation or two. Mostly it was @kdudders who asked the questions, but we got answers. Lots of answers. In no particular order, here are some things we learned during the greatest Friday Night ever.
(Note: Responses are paraphrased and reflect what the people we asked told us. That doesn't mean every furry on planet Earth agrees with all of it.)
What is Anthrocon?
Anthrocon is an annual convention for people who are interested in giving human characteristics to animals. For example, animators, video game creators, artists, comic book writers, fiction authors, illustrators, puppeteers, and special effects folks all stand to have an interest in learning how to create animal characters with human traits that are more convincing. Some examples of anthropomorphized animals: Scooby Doo, Boots, Sonic the Hedgehog, pretty much every animal to ever appear in a Disney movie, and, if you've imagined your dog talking to you, your dog.
What kinds of things happen at Anthrocon?
There's partying, fursuiting, and a whole lot of learning. Some of the sessions that were held this year including topics like: Developing a Character and Performing, Beginner Puppetry, Color and Light, Fursuit Care, and tons more. Here's the full program guide.
How many people go to Anthrocon?
There were 4238 people at this year's Anthrocon. A little over 700 furries walked in the big parade on Saturday, meaning there were a heck of a lot of people in town for the convention that don't do the fursuit thing.
Why do some people only do tails and/or ears, instead of full fursuits?
We asked this question a few times, and repeatedly heard that it's one of two things: 1) Personal preference or 2) A money thing. It turns out that fursuits are crazy expensive, so some people may go for a tail only when they can't quite swing the full fursuit cost.
How much does a fursuit cost?
Fursuits are usually custom made and start around $500 or so. After looking at a heck of a lot of them, I can tell you there HAS to be a wide range of prices on them. Some were clearly made better than others, with details like stripes and spots making me realize that I would rather swim in a pool filled with centipedes than try to sew one of them.
Sometimes the spots/stripes were airbrushed on, but mostly they were hand-sewn seams. Look at Skittles up there and imagine seaming together every place where the fur changes color. Forget swimming with the centipedes, I'd rather EAT THEM than do all that meticulously detailed sewing.
Is it rude to call a "fursuit" a "costume?"
No, but it's a fursuit.
Isn't it hot in there?
Some fursuits are more comfortable than others, and some are better made for withstanding warm weather.
What about all of the rumors associating fursuits with sexual behavior?
Furverts exist, but they are a very small portion of all furries, just like perverts are a very small portion of all humans.
Do furries talk?
Some of them do. It depends on what sort of persona has been assigned to the "character."
(Check out the blue bottle the furry on the left is holding. It was beer and somehow he was drinking the beer through the fursuit. MAGIC! And, apparently, not only do some furries talk, but some of them know how to get their drink on.)
Why Pittsburgh?
I'll let the Anthrocon site answer that one.
And this concludes this year's lesson on all things Anthrocon. My full flickr set is over here.
Monday, June 28, 2010
