Hello, everyone!

As we’re working towards some large changes to the commission system, I wanted to take a little time and talk about some of our users and testers. I had the lucky opportunity to interview with AilurusMursus. She’s been highly active on Twitter, and she’s been posting furry artwork since 2014. Her artwork, beginning with a sketch style, has blossomed into a variety of types including digital and traditional media. She is open for commissions on Furry Network, so feel free to go get some great art!

It’s great to have you! Tell us a little about yourself – passions, hobbies, and perhaps a little background.

Hi! Well, I’m Scarlet the red panda. I go online by AilurusMursus in most places, though you may know me from other places as LadyScarlet (Like on FN!) or perhaps CrazyZombie. I’ve been dedicated to producing anthro artwork for over 4 years now, although I’ve considered myself an artist since I was twelve! While I started a pencil artist, I now make artwork in a multitude of forms: paint, digital work, crafts, merchandise, animation, comics and etc. and etc. If it’s crafty, you bet I’ll be making it! (And it’s probably going to be red panda themed!)

I’m curious about your name. I know that Ailurus fulgens is the scientific name for the red panda, but I’m unsure where “Mursus” comes from. How did you come up with your name?

Ahaa, I knew the day would come I get asked about this! It actually goes along the same lines as the first portion. The Mursus is actually a combination of two other scientific names: Ursus, for bear, and Muridae (the ‘Mur’) which is a family for rodents. I recently made a personal choice to add some anatomical influence from bears and a bit of dormouse into my red panda fursona, Scarlet. So in essence, the whole username is scientific reference to, well, me! (That, and I just REALLY love science!)

I’m going to be honest – red pandas are absolutely adorable, and I’m not obliged to say that even though I married one. What drew you to red pandas the most?

I learned of them a few years ago and honestly the second I experienced them, the connection was instantaneous. The initial reaction was, of course, they’re my favorite color, always a plus! That and, as you said, they’re just so dang adorable! When you look deeper at them, however, they have such a unique personality as a species, and their anatomy fits features I enjoy so well. Very bear-like, cat-like, raccoon like, but somehow they still put their own spin on it. Really, they’re just a species I’ve found I deeply connect with, and sometimes that can be inexplicable. I honestly could never see myself as anything but one.

What I love about watching your art on Furry Network is seeing the variety of art. You’ve done traditional painting, sketches, digital art, and lapel pins, and that’s all just in the past month! What keeps you creating with these different types? What do you end up loving the most?

Completely honest? The biggest reason is I find myself feeling very stagnated and expended if I settle into a medium too long. It gets me anxious. When I work in one medium too long, there gets to a point where I can physically feel the drop off, sorta like I’ve used up my fuel for that and if I keep going, my art is going to show that. So I pick up something else to keep the momentum going. It’s refreshing to change things up. However, one thing that takes me the longest to hit that point – and I often try to deny that I need to take a break from – will always be plain old traditional sketching. Pencil on paper, my favorite c:

Right now, I believe you’re open for commissions. What part of the commission process is the most fun for you?

To go along with the above, definitely the sketching! I really love the start where you’re messing around with poses, seeing your options, trying to get that initial imagery to fit your commissioners descriptions! And they’re always so moldable. Oh that arm didn’t come out right? Re-done! Commissioner would like to change the outfit? Just some quick extra sketching! I tend to sketch pretty quick too, so it’s extra rewarding in that aspect as well!

Hello, everyone!

Furry Network v1.6 is now live! This one is a big one – the layout has changed significantly, especially for the different gallery pages.

Navigation has been confusing for some users, so we worked on making it easier to follow. The different site galleries are available at the top, and the various filters appear directly under those. In addition, the upload button has moved to an icon in the top-right of the screen.

We’ve also had some large changes with the formatting of the profile. All menu options are at the left of the profile, and every profile page has the same general format – no more reloading the page when switching between users’ profile, gallery, and activity.

We have a handful of other changes with this, as well. We are also more than happy to hear if users encounter new bugs on our support site.

Here’s the full log.

Change Log

1. Updated character profile and submission gallery layouts. The character banner and sidebar are now visible for all character-specific views, profile nav between different sections are all consolidated in the sidebar (dropdown on mobile), media submission pages now resemble the gallery pages, with sorting options and tag filters.
2. Updated mobile gallery filter view. The filter modal has been updated and now opens/closes via a button at the top of the page on mobile.
3. Updated gallery grid view layout. Gallery views have been updated to match the new layout, with nav and filtering moved to the top below the header.
4. Updated the header to the new layout. The new header now links to galleries for the various content types and to commissions. On mobile, the nav is now in a hamburger menu in the top right of the page.
5. “Commissions” option now links to /community/accepting-commissions/ until we implement the new Commissions section.

Known Issues With Release

1. The left margin is smaller than the right margin on various screens. This is especially noticeable on mobile.
2. Images are larger than before on mobile. We plan on shrinking them back down.

Upcoming Plans for Releases

1. Implement new commission system.
2. Additional improvements to the profile page.
3. Add review system for commissions.
4. Create a dynamic home page for users.
5. Create a customizable price sheet page.

Thank you all for your excitement! We are ready to charge forward and finish the commission system in the coming months.

Digby

Hello, everyone!

We’re currently wrapping up development for some changes that will improve navigation on Furry Network, and we’re gearing up to work on the commission system. One major part of this is the price sheet. Until now, the fandom has generally had large, static images showing prices and art types. This has worked fairly well, but it comes with complications – updating the sheets can be a pain, and side projects can have their own information aside from the price sheet.

We’ve worked on a system that captures the purpose of the price sheet while standardizing the look and feel – this way, sections can be updated quicker, and sellers won’t have to reinvent the wheel every time they create something new.

All designs are subject to change, of course, but we’ve created a section for users to browse through the different categories available from an artist. The highlighted image is chosen by the user from their portfolio, and clicking on that specific commission type will take you to a page with more information (and more pictures).

We’ve also looked at an option for putting all the information on one page; the main issue that we found, though, was that viewers tended to get bogged down on the information. They would prefer to read the information for the commission type that interests them.

What do you think? Is there anything else that you’d personally add? Anything that you’d change? Let us know!

As always, thank you for your excitement as we work towards finalizing site features.

Digby