Why Is Furry Art So Expensive? 

Buying any art can be pretty expensive, but when it comes to furries, it just seems as though they push the highest rates for their work, why is this? 

What Is Furry Art?

Furry art, although typically an illustration of a furry’s fursona (the cartoon animal depiction of themselves) can literally be an illustration of any anthropomorphic cartoon animal and sometimes it doesn’t even have to be a real animal, it just has to resemble one.

These drawings can range from just basic solid-colored background portraits of said character to entire full-fleshed out magnum opus-worthy landscapes filled with the most scrupulous attention to detail you’ve ever seen. 

In the last few years, it has seen a huge surge in popularity and if you’ve spent any time on the internet you probably know that the furry fandom is a pretty polarizing one. It seems to be a pretty “you’re with them or against them” situation when it comes to discussing the fandom and what they do and this is partly why their art costs so much. 

What Does It Cost?

Fursonafy, a furry art commissioning service, charges $89.99 for their most expensive package and this isn’t even the most outrageous of the prices out there. If you look at any open art commissions on socials like Twitter or Instagram you will see that some artists charge upwards of $100 for some of their pieces simply because of the complexity of it and the length of time they will take to complete. 

Then if you look at freelancing sites like Fiverr you can even find artists charging in the region of $200 supposedly because of the commission that Fiverr takes on each purchase made. Some of the top furry artists have been known to make around $100 an hour for their work, a lot of them also working another job.

So, it is no secret that furry art can cost you an arm and a leg at times, but why is this? 

Why Does It Cost So Much?

A lot of the cost of furry art derives from its scarcity. Sure, any old artist can probably make furry art for you if they tried, but the average furry doesn’t want a random artist to make it for them, they want someone who is experienced in that field.

Unfortunately for them, there aren’t nearly as many super-talented furry artists as there are any other freelance artists. This means that there is a higher demand for the few great artists that there are, which means that artists are often overwhelmed with commissions and will often have to close them to catch up with the number of orders they are getting. 

As well as this, because of the stigmatization of the furry fandom, a lot of furry artists don’t want to label themselves as furry artists and would rather just try and make money under the title freelance artist. This creates even more scarcity. 

Also, commissioning art, in general, can typically be quite expensive, so it’s not surprising that when you combine this with the fact that not many people are making good furry art, it can appear quite expensive.