Solatorobo: Red the Hunter is an Ursa Major Award-nominated video game from Japan which (according to its Wikipedia page) is “a spiritual sequel to the Tail Concerto game”, which was also released by Namco Bandai. Now the anime/manga fan site Otaku.com has let us know that the Solatorobo Sketch Book is available for import, and you can order it on their site. It’s expensive (kind of), but it this softcover book features some striking anime-style furry art.

image c. 2012 Namco Bandai

This is very short notice, but the Big Wow ComicFest at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA this weekend, May 19-20, will have Juanjo Guardino, the artist of the Blacksad comic albums, as one of its featured guests, for his first appearance in the U.S.

A dozen prints and portfolios of his art, as-yet-unseen in the U.S., many including his Blacksad and other anthropomorphic characters, will be on sale.

Anime/manga fans will be interested in another of the Big Wow’s featured guests: Toshio Maeda, creator of the XXXXX-rated Urotsukidōji and other X-rated titles like La Blue Girl. Not anthro, unless you count the sex-crazed human/demon hybrids in Urotsukidoji, but still of some interest...

Don’t look now, but My Little Pony has invaded the world of cool urban art. Actually, they did a long time ago, but with the phenomenal success of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, people’s awareness of ponies as fine art has grown by leaps and bounds. So folks are expecting quite a turn-out for this month’s My Little Pony Project  in Los Angeles, California. Headquartered at the Toy Art Gallery (7571 Melrose Avenue), My Little Pony Project 2012 features 2D and 3D high art from a variety of artists, all dedicated to their interpretations of My Little Pony — the current show and previous incarnations. This year, the gallery is hooking up with several local retail stores in the Melrose high fashion district (including Munky King, Japan L.A., and Joyrich) to display pony art and pony materials. Two of the sponsors of the month-long event (which started today and ends May 26th) include t-shirt maker We Love Fine and DVD maker Shout Factory. Juxtapoz Magazine has a good write-up on their site explaining it all.

A missing wing doesn't have to keep a dragon down, as shown by CalArts student Toniko Pantoja in this animated short [quymazing]:

Audio was provided by Denny Schneidemesser, Taryn J. Harbridge, Kristin Naigus and Glenn Hårfagre.

Voting for the 2011 Ursa Major Awards, for the best anthropomorphic literature and art of the calendar year 2011 in eleven categories, closes on May 4.

If you have not voted yet, you have one week left to do so on the Ursa Major Awards website.

The finalists are . . .

I had the pleasure of interviewing Zelaphas (iowncharles on FA) about her Twitter feed. My questions and comments are not to be taken seriously.

Isiah Jacobs: Hello there, ma'am! Thank you so much for joining me today! It's a pleasure to have you on the show!

Zelephas: Thanks, glad to be here :D

Isiah Jacobs: So, you currently run a Twitter feed called @BestofFurry. For those that aren't aware, could you please briefly explain what exactly you do with this feed?

Zelephas: Sure! The goal of BestofFurry is to be the one-stop-shop for the very BEST in the furry, fantasy, feral and mythical fandoms. Many sites allow you to see the top artists, but often mask the wonderful work that up-and-comers do, or only showcase digital art and not costumes, crafts, literature, music, dance or other performance. Furries and fantasy fans are an incredibly talented bunch in a variety of mediums, and my hope is to provide an outlet for fans to see the best of all of it.

Less than a month after the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, California held its “Animal Kingdom” exhibition of Josh Agle’s Furry-inspired paintings, the WWA Gallery, also in Culver City’s Art District, is holding its “Gag Me With a Toon 4” exhibition, from March 17 to April 21, of paintings by different artists irreverently inspired by “last century’s” animated cartoon and comic book characters.

The majority of the paintings in this exhibition feature non-anthropomorphic characters like Superman, George & Jane Jetson, Boris Badenov & Natasha Fatale, and Fred Flintstone. But there are enough paintings of cartoon animals like the Angry Beavers, the Animaniacs, Beany and Cecil, Chip ‘n’ Dale, Garfield, Gossamer, Heathcliff, Mickey Mouse, Mighty Mouse, Roger Rabbit, Scooby Doo, and the ThunderCats to make “Gag Me With a Toon 4” of interest to Furry fans.

Voting for the Ursa Major Awards for the Best Anthropomorphic Literature and Art of 2011 is now open, and takes place until May 4. The winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony at CaliFur VIII in Irvine, CA on June 2. Anyone may vote, and you are encouraged to ask your friends to vote also — please help spread the word!

There are five nominees in each of eleven categories, except where there was a tie for fifth place. To be eligible, a work must have been released during the calendar year 2011; must include a non-human being given human attributes (anthropomorphic), which can be mental and/or physical; and must receive more than one nomination.

Read on for the nominees . . .

Nominations for the 2011 Ursa Major Awards, intended to recognize the best works published in the field of anthropomorphics last year, close in just two weeks, on February 29. Nominate now or lose your chance to pick the five finalists in each category.

Voting starts March 15 and closes May 4 (to allow last-minute voting from Morphicon 2012).

The 2011 Awards will be announced and presented in a ceremony at CaliFur VIII in Irvine, CA, June 1–3.

Available awards include Best Motion Picture, Dramatic Short Work or Series, Novel, Short Fiction, Other Literary Work, Graphic Story, Comic Strip, Magazine, Website, Published Illustration, and Game.

If you cannot think of five worthwhile nominees in each category, see the 2011 Recommended Anthropomorphics List for suggestions. Find us now on Facebook!

That's right, folks, we need your help! The t-shirts we so adore each year are still blank slates in need of love. We're calling upon all artists, established or not, to submit their artwork for the annual Morphicon t-shirt contest.

Entries must be rated G to PG-13, and must relate to this year's theme, Fables and Furry Tails. The deadline is March 15th and you could win a Patron or Sponsor level registration.

We look forward to seeing what kind of wonderful art you can come up with!

The Corey Helford Gallery, in Culver City, California, is to play host to an exhibition by painter Josh Agle, also known as "Shag".

Entitled Animal Kingdom, the exhibition will display a number of Agle's paintings, created in his distinctive retro style. Each features one or more characters dressed as animals, including feline women, equine men, a boy dressed as a lamb, and men sporting antlers.

Agle found inspiration in the furry subculture and anime fandom:

I love looking into subcultures. [...] I love that people throw themselves into it wholeheartedly

Agle was particularly inspired by fursuiters, the subset of the furry fandom which dresses up in costumes, and intrigued by the notion that "people are 'hooking up' in costume at furry conventions":

In my paintings, I always try to reference our connection to our prehistoric selves as human beings. Since we're descended from earlier mammals, maybe these people are more in touch with their primal being.

Animal Kingdom's initial reception is scheduled for February 11; the show ends on the 29^th.

The Steam Whistle Brewery, in Toronto, Canada, is hosting an exhibition of "a series of anthropomorphic illustrations".

Entitled Menagerie, the art show features the work of nineteen local artists, who explore "the idea of anthropomorphism as a form of self-extension".

The exhibition, featuring images of a number of different species, runs until February 26. Entry is free.

A piece of Skyrim fan-art by Blotch sold for $5500 at Further Confusion 2012's art show last weekend. [sibe/reddit]

The mixed-media work depicts a battle between a leopard-like Khajiit and a non-morphic dragon. [dA, FA]

Videl, the winning bidder, was enthusiastic about his purchase:

It was totally worth it! Love the work of Blotch and love Skyrim!!

The most expensive furry art show piece sold to date is Goldenwolf's "Eyes of the Night", which was auctioned for $10,000 at Further Confusion 2004.

Update (29 Jan): Videl says he was bidding on behalf of his roommates as well as himself.

A set of four auctions featuring work by 60 artists has been launched to support Belgian fursuiter Cookie, who organizers say has been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

Each auction contains the work of at least 20 artists, and has a minimum bid of $250.