6
A RTS
& CULTURE
Fur-land of opportunity
*
A LOOK INTO THE FANDOM OF FURRIES
PHOTOS AND STORY BY SUMMER BARRAZA
MANAGING EDITOR
Before any convention there is â fandom, and
before a fandom there is the artist who pioneers
that fandom - but not all art is made by big
time production studios, this art is made by
fandom. Tyler W horff, a student at Clackamaf
Community College and artist in a mostly online
community créâtes freelance furry art - the
illustration and design of anthropomorphic
anim als, under the alias Corre-con Lobos, a
striped hyena. Most furries go by their fursona
alias for privacy and separation from outside
of the fandom, to protect their identities from
co-w orkers and loved ones due to possible
misunderstanding of their fandom.
W horff specializes in reference sheets or ref
sheets, which is the firs t’step into creating a
fursona, which are illustrations animals with
human characteristics that resonate deeply
with the customer - think of Disney’ s Robin
Hood, or Timon from Lion King. Whorff asks
fo t com m ission pay to create the bones of
the customer’s suggestions, imagination and
I M
Furlandia hosted several dance competitions, above, and impromptu dance-offs in the
convention space through out the entirity of the convention.
captures the sim plicities or complexities of
fur m arkings, scars,- clothing and so forth
by illustrating profiles of every angle of the
fursona. “ I really like designing characters and I
really like how many options there are as a furry.
- g w B
You can make you character look however you
want it to look, or you can pay someone to draw
it if you can not draw,” Whorff Said.
- When a commission is complete, usually in
the same day for Whorff, the customer can take
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Tyler Whorff ventures out of reference sheet artistry to purchase a plastic cast fursuit head at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel on May 26 to
design the startup stages of a fursuit for next year’s Furlandia.
Clackamas Print
their ref sheet to an]
within the furry coma
to have it come to life i
W horff’s first comma
left a mark on him af
customer, “ ...This is fit
art of his character an
just so happy about itu
commissioned me f<s
sheet. I don’t rememfe
much he paid me for it,
it was $30 or $40, whid
usually what I do, btl
he got a bunch of mol
for-work art afterwaif
profile picture was ch
to a new art every wee
was like, ‘I did that! i
can get art”
W h o rff charges $
ref sh eets , and it
by com m ission , wh
comparison to full tirfi
artists, can be from,
$300 according to V\
Whorff uses his com«
money to support h im i
his partner Jeffrey B<
helps us pay for food
on this trip - it help«
that. You know he’s 1
get crazy, but m aybet
maybe he could get n
maybe it could be a Ih
Bess supports his pe
through social media,
part within the comn
Joof, a shiba inu m ix,
yourself to it, taking ltd
as a lot of people do, I’
It’ s like a spectaclej
commissions or make,
do enjoy it.”
However, W horff’ s a
pay, but dreams and ac
One of the perks of I
curiosity is being ah
very own furry convei
displaying and sellii
Dealer’ s Den - which
who has attended the 0
and Bess registered foi
in advance as the com
public, but to those w
both left on May 24 to<
hour long drive from E
theclackan