How did YOU find your Fursona? Hien Pham goes out there, asking the big questions, and shares more about himself. Turns out, it’s different for everyone and there’s no one correct way to find or express your furry avatar and connect with your community.
I’ve been loving Hien’s Furry-exploration as of late and I hope you have been too!
Hien’s Blog Notes!
This comic was first and foremost inspired by conversations with my dear friend Robin! Thank you for sharing your love of furries with me! I’d also like to thank my wonderful Patreon patrons who shared with me the stories behind their fursonas: Burley Boar, Quasiotter, Nayland Blake, Penumant, and Cameron! I’d also like to shout out my wonderful editorial team here at OJST: Ziggy, Matthew, and Erika. We’ve all been going through some rough times this month but hey! We’re past the finish line! I hope everyone enjoyed it in the end! One final thank you to the venerable Akira Toriyama whose works shaped the artist I am today and whose stories I will forever treasure with my whole heart.
Next week, We start our 11th year of OJST, and will post about this years Pledge Drive! I’ve got a bunch of bonus Patreon comics to post, and we’re really hoping to inspire you all to support for another year – we want to keep this boat afloat, and can only do it with your help! More to come, but if you don’t want to miss a thing; head on over and sign up early!
– The Oh Joy Sex Toy per-comic Patreon to directly support these comics
– The Erika Moen Monthly Patreon with her many art projects
↓ Comic Transcript
Today’s comic is called Finding Furry and was drawn by Hien Pham, he goes by he/him and is depicted in this comic as a big anthropomorphic male bear. Conversing with him throughout the comic is his friend who’s depicted as a tiger with a little black mustache.
Hien’s brown bear fursona wears a yellow T-shirt with a white pattern across it, and some beige shorts while his friend wears a red tank top with black shorts.
Today’s comic is colored in light pretty colors with lots of little hair lines here and there, making these anthropomorphic characters feel very welcoming and approachable.
Page 1
Starts with Tiger and Bear-Hien sitting on the couch, around them is a lovely warm living room. The two of them are scrolling on their phones texting back and forth. We are showing two panels of the phone conversation as they throw different memes back and forth to each other.
The first panel
Hien - ‘No, but she was my fave queen’
Tiger - ‘I love her too… But I think the hair was a bit too dramatic for the outfit :( ‘
Hien replies with a meme of a raccoon looking up in love, it has the following words printed on it
‘100 pplin a room 99 think ur trash. I’ll be your 1 raccoon’
The next panel continues the conversation
Hien sends another meme of the same raccoon. This one has a spotlight, and sparkles surrounding him. His cute little eyes are large, and he wears tomato sauce all over his face. Racoon has been caught digging through some trash. This meme has the following words on it.
‘bb if you’re one man’s garbo, you can be my treasure’
Tiger replies - ‘Considering your meme catalog, I’m surprised your fursona isn’t a raccoon…’
The conversation picks up with us back in the room with the pair, as they switch to using words instead of memes to communicate.
Hien happily replies - ‘Hee hee! There’s still time I guess. I just feel very beary for right now!’
Tiger presses a little bit further, with curiosity on his face - ‘How did your bear ‘sona come about? Did it start with memes as well?’
The page ends with Hien looking up thoughtfully, as he touches the side of his bear chin - ‘Hmm… Nah… It just kind of happened over time?’
Page 2
Is almost entirely one very large splash page of multiple characters as Hienand Tiger explores the subject! This splash page starts with Little John from Robin Hood, who is himself a large, comical-looking bear. Beneath him is Baloo from jungle book, who’s a naked, black bear! And following that is a picture of a regular human bear, which is just a large hairy man!
Each of these characters is very happy with grins and hearts abound. Around the splash page of characters are small little headshots of Hien and Tiger as they talk, giving these illustrations context.
Hien - ‘I’ve always love anthropomorphic animal characters! Like Lil John and Robin Hood and Baloo in the Jungle Book.
Tiger - ‘The *Bear* Necessities!’
Hien - ‘They were joyful, larger than life figures with great sense of humor that everyone around them loved. I was a big and insecure kid, always on the fringe of social circles… Looking up to them, gave me hope, you know?
And get this when I started to discover my sexuality, I found that I had a type… ‘
Tiger - ‘Let me guess *Bears?*’
The page finishes on a big, wide panel of Hien flexing his muscles with Tiger clapping his hands earnestly behind him.
Hien - ‘And so this bear was born! Embodying him helps me work toward that cuddly, cheerful ray of sunshine, I want to be!’
Tiger - ‘And that you are!’
Page 3
Tiger pulls up his phone and starts scrolling and talking - ‘My process was the reverse, actually. I stumbled on the visuals first.’
We are shown a front profile and side profile of a drawn anthropomorphic Tiger with a little color palette next to it. It’s a character sheet: something used to help guide other people to help draw specific characters.
Tiger explains - ‘I’ve always liked the look of furry art, so I was following a lot of artists online. One day I saw a premade character sheet for sale, and I just fell in love with Tiger!’
Tiger makes a Dragon Ball Z blast at a little goober in the corner of a panel, It’s in black and white.
Tigher - ‘I wrote stories and role-played with my friends and Tiger’s personality just came out!’
We’re back in the room with Tiger and Hien as Tiger lays back a bit and continues his explanation, Hien is sat up in earnest interest.
Tigar - ‘Similarly, some start with premade fursuits, and the ‘sona’s grow organically as they wear them!’
Hien - ‘That’s so cool!’
Hien thoughtfully looks up and scratches his cheek while Tiger continues to scroll on his phone looking for examples.
Hien - ‘I wonder how other folks came up with the fursuits?’
Tiger - ‘I know who we could ask!’
Page 4
This page is cut up into four equally sized panels. Each one is a little vignette-style interview with a different anthropomorphic person who explains how they came about their first fursona.
The first one is of a boar-man who talks at the screen in some kind of woodland setting, silhouetted characters sit behind waving. His name is shown in a little pop-up, as Burley. Burley is heavy set and wears a black tank top with a matching black nose piercing.
Burley- ‘I discovered what being a furry was in 1998, and it took creating 10 ‘sona’s before I found features that felt right! Now, going to my internal sacred grove to visit them feels like a practice and mindfulness. ‘
The next character is called Quasiotter, a small otter who is lying in bed, wearing a red shirt surrounded by different plushies and toys. They’re holding one stuffed otter tightly as they talk.
Quasiotter - ‘My mom started to give me otter-themed gifts. After I told her, I was an Otter in the Bears community. When I was asked, if I had a fursona, this just felt natural! ‘
The third character is called Gnomen, who is a heavy-set, hybrid between a bear and a bison, with a hefty silver nose piercing and a fun plaid vest. He’s talking from a back porch in the mountains
Gnomen - ‘I was a bear for many years in the 1989’s queer communities. Then, the online furry spaces inspired me to create a fursona that spoke to my bi-racial identity. Gnomen is both a bear and a bison with a body I wish I had.’
The fourth final character is a blue-beaked bird with gray-tipped hair, wearing a turtleneck sweater, he seems barrel-chested, but that might just be because he’s a bird-person! His name is Fistuk, and behind him is just the sky filled with clouds.
Fistuk - My current Sona is based on my favorite bird! The house sparrow is a common species, and he reminds me to find joy in the little things… That’s something I want to do for everyone.’
Page 5.
We’re back in the room with Hien and Tiger, on the couch. Hien is blushful as he touches his face, and Tiger gesticulates with his hand.
Tiger - Ooh-de-lally! It’s amazing, isn’t it? A fursona is like… a song, or a book.’
Hien picks up the thread as part of his conclusion - ‘A creative process, through which we make sense of the world, and would make sense of ourselves!’
Panel shows a anthromophic sloth hanging from the ceiling, reading a book. Beneath the sloth is a possum also reading their book. It’ s a reading date! Both characters are adorbz. Next to that is another panel of a hyena brushing out their hair as they look at themselves in the mirror, dashing!
Hien continues his narration as he starts about closing this comic
Hien - ‘If you didn’t have to bear the weight of being human, what do you like about yourself? Who do you want to work toward becoming?’
This next panel show’s a shot from below of a dragon who’s flying through the night sky
Hien narration - A fursona could represent the love and care someone has for you. Or perhaps, the love and care you want to have for yourself!’
The comic finishes on a close-up of Ian and tiger, embracing as close friends. Warmth, hearts, and feel good emotions float around.
Tiger - ‘It’s wonderful, how many ways there are to create a fursona, and how many meanings to instill into them!’
Hien concludes his comic - ‘On the journey to find myself, I am glad to have found my furry!’
---
Today's lovely comic was made by Hien Pham who can be found at hienpham.artstation.com
It was then transcribed by Matthew Nolan on 02/25/24 who doesn't really know how to transcribe things, but is hoping you were able to enjoy it regardless.
Oh Joy Sex Toy is paid for and supported by Patreon, and we'd ask for any support you can give us to keep making them!
https://www.patreon.com/OhJoySexToy
Hien’s brown bear fursona wears a yellow T-shirt with a white pattern across it, and some beige shorts while his friend wears a red tank top with black shorts.
Today’s comic is colored in light pretty colors with lots of little hair lines here and there, making these anthropomorphic characters feel very welcoming and approachable.
Page 1
Starts with Tiger and Bear-Hien sitting on the couch, around them is a lovely warm living room. The two of them are scrolling on their phones texting back and forth. We are showing two panels of the phone conversation as they throw different memes back and forth to each other.
The first panel
Hien - ‘No, but she was my fave queen’
Tiger - ‘I love her too… But I think the hair was a bit too dramatic for the outfit :( ‘
Hien replies with a meme of a raccoon looking up in love, it has the following words printed on it
‘100 pplin a room 99 think ur trash. I’ll be your 1 raccoon’
The next panel continues the conversation
Hien sends another meme of the same raccoon. This one has a spotlight, and sparkles surrounding him. His cute little eyes are large, and he wears tomato sauce all over his face. Racoon has been caught digging through some trash. This meme has the following words on it.
‘bb if you’re one man’s garbo, you can be my treasure’
Tiger replies - ‘Considering your meme catalog, I’m surprised your fursona isn’t a raccoon…’
The conversation picks up with us back in the room with the pair, as they switch to using words instead of memes to communicate.
Hien happily replies - ‘Hee hee! There’s still time I guess. I just feel very beary for right now!’
Tiger presses a little bit further, with curiosity on his face - ‘How did your bear ‘sona come about? Did it start with memes as well?’
The page ends with Hien looking up thoughtfully, as he touches the side of his bear chin - ‘Hmm… Nah… It just kind of happened over time?’
Page 2
Is almost entirely one very large splash page of multiple characters as Hienand Tiger explores the subject! This splash page starts with Little John from Robin Hood, who is himself a large, comical-looking bear. Beneath him is Baloo from jungle book, who’s a naked, black bear! And following that is a picture of a regular human bear, which is just a large hairy man!
Each of these characters is very happy with grins and hearts abound. Around the splash page of characters are small little headshots of Hien and Tiger as they talk, giving these illustrations context.
Hien - ‘I’ve always love anthropomorphic animal characters! Like Lil John and Robin Hood and Baloo in the Jungle Book.
Tiger - ‘The *Bear* Necessities!’
Hien - ‘They were joyful, larger than life figures with great sense of humor that everyone around them loved. I was a big and insecure kid, always on the fringe of social circles… Looking up to them, gave me hope, you know?
And get this when I started to discover my sexuality, I found that I had a type… ‘
Tiger - ‘Let me guess *Bears?*’
The page finishes on a big, wide panel of Hien flexing his muscles with Tiger clapping his hands earnestly behind him.
Hien - ‘And so this bear was born! Embodying him helps me work toward that cuddly, cheerful ray of sunshine, I want to be!’
Tiger - ‘And that you are!’
Page 3
Tiger pulls up his phone and starts scrolling and talking - ‘My process was the reverse, actually. I stumbled on the visuals first.’
We are shown a front profile and side profile of a drawn anthropomorphic Tiger with a little color palette next to it. It’s a character sheet: something used to help guide other people to help draw specific characters.
Tiger explains - ‘I’ve always liked the look of furry art, so I was following a lot of artists online. One day I saw a premade character sheet for sale, and I just fell in love with Tiger!’
Tiger makes a Dragon Ball Z blast at a little goober in the corner of a panel, It’s in black and white.
Tigher - ‘I wrote stories and role-played with my friends and Tiger’s personality just came out!’
We’re back in the room with Tiger and Hien as Tiger lays back a bit and continues his explanation, Hien is sat up in earnest interest.
Tigar - ‘Similarly, some start with premade fursuits, and the ‘sona’s grow organically as they wear them!’
Hien - ‘That’s so cool!’
Hien thoughtfully looks up and scratches his cheek while Tiger continues to scroll on his phone looking for examples.
Hien - ‘I wonder how other folks came up with the fursuits?’
Tiger - ‘I know who we could ask!’
Page 4
This page is cut up into four equally sized panels. Each one is a little vignette-style interview with a different anthropomorphic person who explains how they came about their first fursona.
The first one is of a boar-man who talks at the screen in some kind of woodland setting, silhouetted characters sit behind waving. His name is shown in a little pop-up, as Burley. Burley is heavy set and wears a black tank top with a matching black nose piercing.
Burley- ‘I discovered what being a furry was in 1998, and it took creating 10 ‘sona’s before I found features that felt right! Now, going to my internal sacred grove to visit them feels like a practice and mindfulness. ‘
The next character is called Quasiotter, a small otter who is lying in bed, wearing a red shirt surrounded by different plushies and toys. They’re holding one stuffed otter tightly as they talk.
Quasiotter - ‘My mom started to give me otter-themed gifts. After I told her, I was an Otter in the Bears community. When I was asked, if I had a fursona, this just felt natural! ‘
The third character is called Gnomen, who is a heavy-set, hybrid between a bear and a bison, with a hefty silver nose piercing and a fun plaid vest. He’s talking from a back porch in the mountains
Gnomen - ‘I was a bear for many years in the 1989’s queer communities. Then, the online furry spaces inspired me to create a fursona that spoke to my bi-racial identity. Gnomen is both a bear and a bison with a body I wish I had.’
The fourth final character is a blue-beaked bird with gray-tipped hair, wearing a turtleneck sweater, he seems barrel-chested, but that might just be because he’s a bird-person! His name is Fistuk, and behind him is just the sky filled with clouds.
Fistuk - My current Sona is based on my favorite bird! The house sparrow is a common species, and he reminds me to find joy in the little things… That’s something I want to do for everyone.’
Page 5.
We’re back in the room with Hien and Tiger, on the couch. Hien is blushful as he touches his face, and Tiger gesticulates with his hand.
Tiger - Ooh-de-lally! It’s amazing, isn’t it? A fursona is like… a song, or a book.’
Hien picks up the thread as part of his conclusion - ‘A creative process, through which we make sense of the world, and would make sense of ourselves!’
Panel shows a anthromophic sloth hanging from the ceiling, reading a book. Beneath the sloth is a possum also reading their book. It’ s a reading date! Both characters are adorbz. Next to that is another panel of a hyena brushing out their hair as they look at themselves in the mirror, dashing!
Hien continues his narration as he starts about closing this comic
Hien - ‘If you didn’t have to bear the weight of being human, what do you like about yourself? Who do you want to work toward becoming?’
This next panel show’s a shot from below of a dragon who’s flying through the night sky
Hien narration - A fursona could represent the love and care someone has for you. Or perhaps, the love and care you want to have for yourself!’
The comic finishes on a close-up of Ian and tiger, embracing as close friends. Warmth, hearts, and feel good emotions float around.
Tiger - ‘It’s wonderful, how many ways there are to create a fursona, and how many meanings to instill into them!’
Hien concludes his comic - ‘On the journey to find myself, I am glad to have found my furry!’
---
Today's lovely comic was made by Hien Pham who can be found at hienpham.artstation.com
It was then transcribed by Matthew Nolan on 02/25/24 who doesn't really know how to transcribe things, but is hoping you were able to enjoy it regardless.
Oh Joy Sex Toy is paid for and supported by Patreon, and we'd ask for any support you can give us to keep making them!
https://www.patreon.com/OhJoySexToy