Anthro Art from the Inside! A Brief Interview with ARCR-CRic

By Andibi - July 02, 2020

Long Nights

Hi Guys!

From my plush office suite here in the Hybrid Building, I was able to track down a certain highly talented raccoon, namely ARCR-CRic! He very kindly answered a few questions and gave me some insights into where he's coming from as an anthro artist! Read on and check him out!

(Andibi) How did you come to specialize in anthropomorphic art?

(ARCR-CRic) Animals and nature have always been my favorite subjects when it comes to art, on my early days, landscapes and animal portraits were the only things I used to draw. For some time it was enough to sate my creative needs but I felt like I wanted to draw more than just animals, I wanted to give them emotions and expressions people would be able to look and relate to, so by drawing anthropomorphic creatures I could achieve my desire to be more expressive while preserving my love for animals and nature.


Bakin' Bun

(Andibi) What is your favorite anthro animal and what does it mean to you?

(ARCR-CRic) Right now the raccoon feels special to me due to the way those ring-tailed creatures behave and live their lives (and because they are hella floof). It is funny because when I was first introduced to raccoons, I didn't like them, but the more I learned about them the more I could project myself into them.

(Andibi) What are your goals as an anthro artist?

(ARCR-CRic) I believe my main goal is to be able to please my inner critic. Arguably this might be an impossible goal that we are still driven to try achieving, however I have some ideas that I think might put me a few steps closer to it. Which are improving my painting technique, exploring more varied themes and moods and learning how to create more dramatic compositions.

Heron

(Andibi) Do you have any notable artistic influences or inspirations?

(ARCR-CRic) I certainly do, and those influences were cornerstones that made me do the leap from being just an animal artist and becoming an anthro artist. The artist that made feel like trying my first anthro art back in 2014 was Kacey; her clean pencil work and great colored pieces with copic markers and acrylics were my dream goal as a beginner, and she remained my main influence during my early steps into anthro art. However, along the road I discovered the works of artists such as Goldenwolf and Darknatasha and their tribal themes with realistic anthro animals were too beautiful not to fall in love with, so I slowly switched my focus. Till today, Goldenwolf and Darknatasha are still my main sources of inspirations and the artists I look up to the most.

(Andibi) What advice would you give to a beginner, either in art or in the furry fandom?

(ARCR-CRic) The advice I would give to anyone who is beginning to draw or who is still just considering the idea is to approach art as a journey. We see the sucessful artists and all the fantastic things they create and it is easy to feel discouraged, I felt like this for a good while before deciding to actually try anthro art, but then remember that they went through years of practice to get where they are. You just need to walk the same steps, practice as much as you can and strive to learn a new thing with every piece you finish. This way you will progressively make your art be as good as your ambitions.