One thing that makes the furry community unique is the majority of the characters and artwork enjoyed by it’s members is also created by it’s members! Most of the items and artwork you can buy within the community come from other furries themselves!
Some of you reading this right now might be fellow furries trying to determine the best places to sell your own merch and/or services so you can try your hand at making money as a furry artist.
Below are some of the best places to set up shop so people can find you and purchase your work. Ideally, you will want to only pick 2 to 4 methods maximum as the more platforms you are on the harder it will be to manage everything. Start small. You can always expand later.
Conventions
One of the best ways that many artists and merch suppliers sell their wares is by setting up shop at a Furry Convention! Since one of the pillars of the furry community is art, the busiest places at any Furry Convention will be where that art is sold.
There are three primary ways people can sell and buy art at conventions and each one will fit different peoples needs.
– Dealers Den
The dealers den at a Furry Con is the primary marketplace where artists, suit makers, and suppliers will have an assigned table or booth to sell to the public. Each table must be purchased and registered for in advance before the convention starts.
If you are looking for a permanent storefront at a convention, this is the best option for you. You will typically have more freedom with how you run your table as well as more space to display your work.
– Artists Alley
The artists alley at a Furry Con is a more casual space where the seller has the ability to set up a temporary booth and leave when it best suits them. These tables will typically be small and are often available on a first come first served basis.
Making use of the artist alley is a much more affordable option when compared to the dealers den. And if you choose you can close up shop early and enjoy the rest of the convention as an attendee instead of a vendor. This flexibility can help reduce the stress of some artists who are on the fence between selling and outright enjoying the con.
– Art Shows
Many big Furry Conventions will have an art show where artists can display their work and make it available for attendees to buy. These shows don’t require artists to be present and are run by the convention staff.
Utilizing the art show is going to be the most passive way to sell your art at a convention. Just remember that art shows are usually run by the convention staff. They will take a small cut of the sale price in exchange for hosting your artwork. Very often a part of the sale goes directly to the convention’s charity as well.
Your Own Webstore
For many furries, having a personal website to sell goods and services on will be an ideal option. This allows you to have full control of what is shown and how it is run without worrying about the unknown policy changes or censoring of big online marketplaces.
Building your own webstore does come with its own challenges. Having full control over your online store means added costs to consider like the domain name, hosting, and any extra services you are utilizing. You will also need to learn how to use the website creating platform you plan to build your site with. And finally you will have to drive traffic to your website by posting links on social media and other platforms.
Online Marketplaces
A great way to sell your wares is by utilizing existing online marketplaces that thousands of people go to each day to try and find what they are looking for. This option gives you less control, but on the plus side requires less work to set up, and typically it’s cheaper than hosting your own website.
– The Dealers Den
A great website that is owned and operated by members of the furry fandom is The Dealers Den. This is a great marketplace for everything furry! From cute adoptables to full fursuits!
Before you can buy or sell on the platform there is a small fee that must be paid first. This is to discourage bots and scammers from using the site.
– Etsy
One of the best places to buy and sell hand crafted goods, and one of the cornerstones of the online market place of the furry fandom: Etsy. They have millions of people actively using the site every single day all over the world and shouldn’t be ignored!
There are some seller’s fees and restrictions as to what can be sold on the site, but this is a great place to sell fursuits, supplies, and accessories.
– Storenvy
Another great online marketplace to check out is Storenvy. This platform has a free store option for users who are listing less than 1000 items. Keep in mind, this option requires your to drive traffic to your own shop. There is a small sales fee, but the site has an option to include the fee amount in the overall price.
While Storenvy may have fewer people actively visiting the site to shop, it is a great price and allows for plenty of flexibility so just about anyone can sell their art and supplies to the world.
Print on Demand Shops
Many of you will be selling prints of your artwork or wanting to have your art displayed on mousepads, wall scrolls, or even pillows! Keep in mind: print on demand style shops may require exclusive printing rights and have contracts that must be written up so that your partnership with them is well understood on both ends.
You can even use these services to stock your con store or online shop as well which further supports the furry community as a whole.
– Paw to Press
If you are looking to sell your art either on prints or pillows (dakimakuras) Paw to Press is a great option! This is a furry run and operated one stop print shop that you can work with. They also dropship to customers who order through the site.
– Furry Dakimakura
If you want a little more variety on what you want to dropship, Furry Dakimakura can put your art on dakimakuras (obviously), mouse pads, face masks, and wall scrolls for your fanbase to purchase.
Livestreams
If you are an artist with an active fanbase, you can easily set up a livestream. You can then offer live commissions and work on them in real time for your audience to enjoy. This is great for creating social engagement with your fans and letting your customers watch their commissions being worked on!
– Picarto
One of the most popular art streaming platforms online is Picarto. They have a large and active furry art community on the platform and you can almost always find a furry artist streaming at any given time.
– Twitch
Even though it is primarily a game streaming platform, Twitch does offer a great streaming service for artists. They are fully capable of handling lots of watchers and have a proven platform that you can use all over the world!
– Tigerdile
If you want a streaming service made by and run by furries, Tigerdile is a place to check out. While they may be a smaller group, they can still provide a decent streaming service for your fans to watch you work.
Furry Art Communities and Forums
There are a bunch of different art communities online, but there are two platforms that currently get the majority of the traffic; Fur Affinity and Deviant Art. These platforms are best used as art galleries, places to make announcements, and being active in the forums.
– FurAffinity
The biggest furry platform online is FurAffinity and is a great place to both post artwork and engage in the forums section. They even have a service where you can create your own ads on the website so you can grab the attention of random viewers who haven’t seen your artwork yet!
– Deviant Art
One of the biggest and oldest art communities online is Deviant Art. While the community covers nearly every single type of art, there is a large furry community that resides here and shares their art.
Social Media Platforms
The best places to advertise that you are selling merchandise or commissions are social media platforms. These are great places to interact with other furries, share artwork, and drive traffic to your storefronts or sales pages.
These platforms do require more attention as posts don’t stay up for long. It’s called “social” media for a reason, so be sure to engage with others. If you are able to create a solid following on these platforms you will be able to find quite a few people interested in buying your art and commissioning you for work.
Furry Twitter is one of the biggest and most active furry social networks online right now. By using the right hashtags and posting up quality work, you can create a large following and direct traffic to the places you are selling your work!
Facebook has several handy furry only groups that specialize in buying and selling furry art and goods. These are typically smaller groups but are quite active. Some of the best groups to join are Discount Furry Market, Fursuit and Furry Trading and Selling, and Furry Craigslist.
– Furry Amino
Furry Amino is a social media platform where furry artists and fans alike can get together and interact with each other. It is a great place to share your art with like minded individuals as well as let others know where they can commission you or buy your art if you have a sale.
Finally, Furry Reddit is one of the best places to share your artwork and interact with other furries all over the world. They do allow posting commission info on the subreddit, but have just recently created a commission thread that makes it easier for others to find you and your work.
Telegram Channels
Just about every furry I know is on Telegram, and there are several channels that specialize in buying, selling, and commissions. These are perfect places to go and find customers that may be interested in your work. Links to these channels are below:
http://t.me/TheDealersDen
https://t.me/FurryMarketPlace
You could also create your own announcement channel for your fans to keep up with your commission status and see when you are opened up for commissions or have a sale going on.
Membership Platforms
If you have a large following and want to give your fans an option to support your work, a membership platform can help you earn money either in recurring subscriptions or tips!
– Patreon
Patreon is by far the biggest and most popular platform for fans to support their favorite creators. This platform also allows the creator to reward their patrons with special access to unreleased work, exclusive goodies, and patron only content just for their supporters. Keep in mind that Patreon does charge a fee to use their platform, but can be well worth it.
– Ko-Fi
Ko-Fi (pronounced coffee) is a great way to allow your fans to interact and donate directly to you! They do not charge any fees on donations transactions. You can also open up a shop or commissions page right on the site itself!
Final Thoughts
Creative furries have a plethora of options when it comes to selling their art! Each options has its ups and downs, but you can be successful by picking the platforms that work best for you and what you have to offer.
While this post doesn’t contain every single option and place available online to sell your art (trust me, there are a lot) these listed above are more likely to help you succeed as an artist if leveraged correctly.
Keep in mind, that you don’t want to use all of the options listed above at once. This will cause you to burn out and loose track of important information and clients. Ideally you will want 1 primary storefront or service to sell through, 1 or 2 social media platforms to focus on for advertising and announcements, and a place to share an art gallery for people to find you or to show to potential clients.
Have fun selling your sweet furry art!