September is when folks usually start taking orders for art-calendars for the following year — and this one is no exception. Orders are now open for the 2013 Werewolf Calendar, featuring lycanthropic-themed works from artists like Goldenwolf, Kyoht, Vantid, Balaa [See Below], Nimrais, Kyndir, Katie Hofgard, Myenia, and more. According to the calendar web site, orders will open at midnight on September 1st, and the first 150 orders will receive a free werewolf sticker and bookmark as well. Then there’s the Rare Calendar for 2013, which every year features anthropomorphic versions of rare or endangered species — and this year, also features the theme of world cultures. The artists involved include Ashalind, CentraDragon, Tiina Purin, Donna Quinn, SilverFox5213, AlectorFencer, Katmomma, Qzurr, Nimrais, Heather Bruton, BloodhoundOmega, Windfalcon, and Kaji. Orders are being taken right now at the Rare Calender web site.
Furry Art
Oh, Hiya!
OHiya, the Art of Making Friends is the name for a concept created by illustrator Jason Tharp and a group of fellow artists who live in Ohio (get it?). The idea is to use funny animals and other strange creatures to encourage people to greet one another — be they friends or strangers — and learn more about one another and how to make friends. The creatures of Ohiya each have their own unique personality quirks, and how they learn to get along together with so many differences provides the lessons in friendship that Ohiya is all about. To start things off Mr. Tharp and his associates have created a set of t-shirts, buttons, and posters featuring characters like Mythaken the sasquatch, Zoomi-Pop the panda, and Katinja the… well, cat ninja! More is on the way, and you can see it all at the Ohiya Friends web site.
Furry Ladies for Furry Ladies
There’s a new, decidedly adult-oriented furry fanzine in the works, and its currently seeking contributions. Its intentions are stated pretty clearly by the title: LFR, which stands for Lesbian Furry Rag. The editors are looking for stories, illustrations, and comics “of the girl-kissing-girl persuasion”, to quote them, and female characters of all body types are welcome. Ratings run from pretty and romantic to full-on erotica, with an emphasis on the pleasure of the ladies, rather than the “fetish” sort of lesbian scene meant to entertain straight males. Visit their Tumblr site to find out more about how to contribute and what they’re looking for.
Ursa Major Winners for 2011
Hey there, we’re back among the living. Your ever-lovin’ ed-otter has been down with a very, very nasty sinus infection for no less than two weeks, and is only just now getting back to his feet. So it’s time to play some major catch-up with In-Fur-Nation, yes?
The winners of the Ursa Major Awards were recently announced at a Saturday afternoon ceremony at CaliFur in Irvine, California. The June 2nd show was emcee’d by CaliFur’s own Gary Whalen. Greenreaper was on hand to accept Flayrah’s award for Best Anthropomorphic Magazine. The full list of winners for 2011 looks like this:
Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture: Kung Fu Panda 2 (Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson)
Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Series or Short Work: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Produced by Studio DHX)
Best Anthropomorphic Novel: Isolation Play, by Kyell Gold
Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction: “How to Get Through the Day”, by Kyell Gold
Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work: Nordguard, Book One, by Tess Garman & Teagan Gavet
Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story: Furthia High, by QuetzaDrake
Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip: Housepets!, by Rick Griffin
Best Anthropomorphic Magazine: Flayrah
Best Anthropomorphic Website: Equestria Daily
Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration: Blotch, for the cover of Nordguard, Book One
Best Anthropomorphic Game: Pokemon: Black and White
In addition, the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA), which administers the Ursa Major Awards, announced a new “ALAA’s Choice” award for a nominee which the committee felt deserved special mention for its merit. This year that award went to the graphic story Red Lantern by Rukis and Alectorfencer.
The Ursa Major Awards are the “People’s Choice Awards” for anthropomorphic fandom, nominated and awarded every year by votes from regular fans like you. Want to get involved? Make suggestions? Visit www.ursamajorawards.org to find out more. And start thinking about what to nominate for 2012!
Game Art from Japan
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter is an Ursa Major Award-nominated video game from Japan which (according to its Wikipedia page) is “a spiritual sequel to the Tail Concerto game”, which was also released by Namco Bandai. Now the anime/manga fan site Otaku.com has let us know that the Solatorobo Sketch Book is available for import, and you can order it on their site. It’s expensive (kind of), but it this softcover book features some striking anime-style furry art.
The My Little Pony Project
Don’t look now, but My Little Pony has invaded the world of cool urban art. Actually, they did a long time ago, but with the phenomenal success of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, people’s awareness of ponies as fine art has grown by leaps and bounds. So folks are expecting quite a turn-out for this month’s My Little Pony Project in Los Angeles, California. Headquartered at the Toy Art Gallery (7571 Melrose Avenue), My Little Pony Project 2012 features 2D and 3D high art from a variety of artists, all dedicated to their interpretations of My Little Pony — the current show and previous incarnations. This year, the gallery is hooking up with several local retail stores in the Melrose high fashion district (including Munky King, Japan L.A., and Joyrich) to display pony art and pony materials. Two of the sponsors of the month-long event (which started today and ends May 26th) include t-shirt maker We Love Fine and DVD maker Shout Factory. Juxtapoz Magazine has a good write-up on their site explaining it all.
Cats and Dinosaurs
Okay, so you’ve got a pet dinosaur. Raising one from an egg can be a real pain, er, adventure! Not the very least for your other household pets! That’s the idea behind Kitty & Dino, a new children’s hardcover book written and illustrated by Sara Richard. From the publisher’s press release on Amazon: “When a little boy brings home a dinosaur egg, the cat of the house isn’t too keen on the tiny creature that pops out. But after a few weeks of showing the new baby the ropes, a bond forms between kitty and dino that transcends species.” It’s available for order now, and coming from Yen Press in April.
Ursa Major Awards Nominations are Open!
Here’s a press release from Fred Patten of the Ursa Major Awards’ organizing group, the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association: “Nominations are now open for the 2011 Ursa Major Awards, intended to recognize the best works published in the field of anthropomorphics last year. Nominations will close on February 29; voting starts March 15 and closes May 4 (to allow last-minute online voting from Morphicon). Furry fans may nominate up to five works in each category. The 2011 Awards will be announced and presented in a ceremony at CaliFur VIII in Irvine, California, June 1 – 3, 2012. Award categories include Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture, Dramatic Short Work or Series, Novel, Short Fiction, Other Literary Work, Graphic Story, Comic Strip, Magazine, Website, Published Illustration, and Game. If you cannot think of five worthwhile nominees in each category, see the 2011 Recommended Anthropomorphics List on the Ursa Major Awards website for suggestions.” Remember, something doesn’t have to be on the Recommended List to be nominated. It just has to have furry characters featured in it prominently, and have been released during the 2011 calender year. So get started! [And we’ll see you next after Further Confusion!]
Happy Birthday … to Me!
This is no one’s idea of a personal blog, but when your ever-lovin’ ed-otter turned 47 yesterday he received two books from his family that are so cool and so furry that he just had to give mention to them — again. Both of them feature behind-the-scenes looks at recent Dreamworks Animation films, and both of them are available now (here and here) in hardcover from Insight Editions. The Art of Puss in Boots is edited by Ramin Zahed (veteran editor of Animation Magazine) with a forward by famous director Guillermo Del Toro. The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2 is edited by Tracy Miller-Zarneke (who worked on numerous animated films including Chicken Little and The Emperor’s New Groove) with a forward by famous actor Dustin Hoffman (aka Master Shifu). Both books feature so much background artwork and character development for these two very furry films that the reader may find themselves wondering which are more interesting: The final character designs or the sketches leading up to them.