So, a friend posed a question to me yesterday about a theme in TF art, and it made me reflect on exactly what it is that I personally enjoy about transformation art (referred to in shorthand as TF). I was also asked much earlier by someone whether I preferred one TF theme over another. The others in chat had very strong opinions over whether they preferred pool toys or plushies with TF. At that moment, I realized that I didn’t have a strong opinion at all over this choice. In fact, I had never even thought of TF in that way. It left me feeling a bit awkward and out of place. TF is something I love, and while I do have preferences, I also don't seem to separate things in quite the same way that other people do. It made me think about how I categorize and enjoy TF.
For me, it's all about the emotion of the piece and the current mood that I'm in. Sure, sometimes I enjoy your more standard type of TF. Perhaps someone gets turned into an animal or object. Those are things that you’d often see in a cartoon in some way. At other times, I want goo or latex or something else. Maybe an abstract or surreal concept currently satisfies my desire. My mood shifts around, and that determines the type of TF art that I work on. For anyone that still doesn’t really understand, think of a favorite movie, book, show, or game that you enjoy. Maybe you enjoy the same thing over and over. Maybe now and then you feel like partaking in something a little different. Romance? Mystery? Action? This is what TF is like for me with my enjoyment of it.
A big aspect that I love about TF is the feeling and emotion that you carry with it. It's not just the act of the transformation itself. It's the whole experience that I'm trying to convey. Am I stuck? How do I feel? Is it fun? Am I trapped? Do I want to stay this way as a comfort thing? Am I worried? Conceptually, it’s not limited to portraying myself, either. Sometimes, I enjoy seeing established characters in media shifted and changed. Seeing how they'd react or deal with being stuck as something else is an interesting and fascinating idea to explore. For example, I have drawn Link from The Legend of Zelda game as a real bombchu. How does he react? Is he stuck? Will he turn back? How does he deal with the situation in the meantime? Does it alter his approach to problem solving? Does he have new instincts that he has to deal with or fight against now? For me, this kind of thinking is very engaging and fun!
Concepts such as these are what help me determine the type of TF that I currently desire. I have a hard time picking a favorite type because my mood and desires often shift from day to day. Though I might have preferences, I enjoy it in a lot of shapes and forms.
Honestly, I'm surprised I like the idea of TF as much as I do because there were some concepts I saw in various media as a kid that I found horrifying. It's like one of those things you see, and it might unsettle or bother you in a way that you can't really get it out of your head. Like characters having horrific, monstrous changes to them and suddenly they're evil and bad. Or the idea that someone is trapped forever and can't call out for help. But then, there were also examples where it was really fun and happy. The squirrel scene from The Sword in the Stone always comes to mind. That was a very cute moment.
I've always lived through my art and games and such, so getting more into cartoons and cartoony aspects of things isn't that surprising, and as I grew up, I would always find myself secretly hoping that there would be a transformation episode in the cartoons I watched. My eagerness was so palpable that I was very self-conscious of anyone else being in the same room. I just knew that they were going to know my secret, and I knew that it was strange! Expressing myself through words was always difficult, so I just knew if it was ever known, I wouldn’t be able to properly describe why I love it, and it would just make people worry about me more (though, that may be happening from me writing this out, too).
For me, enjoying TF goes hand-in-hand with being a furry. I always felt more comfortable watching cartoon animals than I did people. I always loved animals more than people. They’re easier to relate to. When I saw certain shows like Swat Kats or Disney’s Robin Hood, I would think, “Why don’t all shows have characters like this?” It hit a sweet spot that I really loved. So drawing myself as a mouse is great. I get to be the animal that I want to represent myself as, but drawing TF art? It’s like I get to experience the thrill and fun of actually turning into something. Of course it’s all pretend, but that’s the fun of imagination. You get to bypass the limitations of real life and lose yourself in the moment of something that you enjoy and have fun with. My mouse fursona represents me better than anything else ever could. You could say it drives closer to the core of my being.
There were two pieces of TF art that I drew in high school. I used some Bomberman characters for practice. I drew Pommy turning into a Like Like from the Zelda games, and I drew Bomberman turning into a puddle of water. The weirder things always seem to appeal to me. These initial TF drawings were more poof-style transformations rather than showing a process. With those images drawn up, I stopped drawing TF because I was too worried of anyone seeing them and being weirded out. No other TF content came from me for several years after that. My age was around 14 - 15 at the time and didn’t draw anything else TF related until I was around 25.
It’s interesting that it took me so long to continue drawing transformation related media, but that was mainly because I wanted to draw it as a process and not just having a before and after image. Drawing that sort of process seemed beyond my capabilities. My biggest reason for starting to draw it again was because I was tired of not having the funds to get awesome transformation art from other online furry artists that I loved. So, one day I bit the bullet and started drawing TF again, this time practicing the process of it and learning how to draw those changes in a way that was satisfying for me. Now it's basically what I'm known for doing. That and drawing fun cartoon expressions.
By engaging in furry art and TF, I’ve been able to find other like-minded individuals who also enjoy it like I do, and I’ve found a fair amount of work in making it for others. I’m glad that something I happened to enjoy throughout my life is something I can share with others, and that they want to come to me to get art of it, as well.
Anyway, I just wanted to share some more insight into why I enjoy TF and am a furry personally
