Furries are a subculture that is centered around anthropomorphic animals. Furries experience their fandom mainly through art, of their own characters (called 'fursonas') and of others. How these furry characters are depicted can differ vastly from artist to artist. Nonetheless, in general, most furry artists have a preference for bright, happy colours, often with pastel tones.

In many fursonas (especially older ones made pre-2010), tacky, kitschy colour combinations are seen (such as a wolf character with grey body, neon blue snout, eyes and hair, plus bright pink stripes on their body). Although this trend seems to have diminished somewhat, the preference for bright, happy colours remains, which is unsurprising, considering how many furry characters are - directly or indirectly - inspired by cartoons. Therefore, the furry fandom is often close to Kidcore .

Obviously, not all furry artists have this aesthetic, and in principle virtually any aesthetic may be combined with a furry character.

The furry subculture has its roots in the 1970s underground comix movement, a genre of comics of which depicted adult content.

In 1976, a pair of cartoonists created a press association based on animal based art called Vootie, many of its featured works featured adult themes,

The concept of a “furry” itself originated at a science fiction convention in 1980, when a discussion started about more anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels.

Anthropomorphic cartoon animals are the core of furry visuals, seen through either artwork or custom suits called "fursuits". The colors used in furry designs are often neon and very bright.

Furries occasionally accessorize with pins, buttons, badges, wallets, lanyards, backpacks, shirts, hoodies, and socks that feature furry characters or are custom-made to resemble a fursona. Tails and animal ear headbands made of faux fur are also sometimes worn.

Kigurumi, or kigu, is a type of hooded one-piece pajama costume that originates from Japan. Kigurumi are made to resemble animal bodies and have animal faces on the hood. Kigurumi are somewhat popular with furries as a more accessible way to dress like their fursonas without spending thousands on a fursuit.

A fursuit is a costume designed to look like a fursona or another anthropomorphized character. The main component is the fursuit head, with additional components like gloves, shoes, sleeves, and body suits being optional to complete the look. A fursuit is comparable to a mascot costume, but no official affiliation to a brand is made and the head and body of the fursuit is more structured. Sometimes fursuit makers will design and construct a fursuit that is not a commissioned piece and auction or sell it off to a second party. In this case, that suit is called a "pre-made". Some fursuits have magnetized eyebrows and eyelids or electronic components like lights and speakers to aid in character performance. A fursuit can be any species, including fictional or anthropomorphized inanimate objects, and the colors chosen are often unnatural for the species. The number of furries that own or desire a fursuit is small compared to the size of the furry fandom; this may be due to the high cost neede to own one.

A toony fursuit head has large, exaggerated facial features and resembles a cartoon more than a real animal. Toony suits often have plastic mesh eyes, fabric teeth and tongues, plush noses, and body padding to help make a rounded silhouette. Markings on toony suits are usually made by piecing the fur sewing patterns together.

Semi-realistic fursuits blend traits of toony and realistic suits in a variety of ways. This could be a combination of realistic colors and toony proportions, fantasy colors on a realistic suit, realistic eyes and a realistic muzzle with toony ears and hair, or any other combination possible.

Realistic fursuits are made to resemble real-life animals. Their heads have small eyes made from painted glass cabochons. They are made to look as realistic as possible and have less visibility than toony heads as a result. The markings of realistic suits use more airbrushing than toony suits to to achieve a smooth and realistic blending of colors.

Kemono is a Japanese fursuit style utilizing highly detailed anime eyes that are created by printing a digital artwork of the iris on either perforated material or as a sticker on top of black car tint. There is a tendency to a chibi-like style, but mature character designs exist as well.

Furkig is a type of furry costume that utilizes a solid mask base (often 3D printed), a zentai/morph suit, and elaborate outfits. Different to a fursuit, both the head and body are smooth with fur being only used for minor parts like ears, and tails. They often feature wigs made from synthetic hair instead of hair sculpted from faux fur like fursuits have. They are the most common among kemono fans.

Plantigrade fursuits have feet and legs built like a regular human leg. They don't mimic the toe-walking stance of many animals and are considered easier to make than digitigrade fursuits. For some animals, like bears, plantigrade suits are more accurate than digitigrade suits.

Digitigrade fursuits have sculpted feet and legs to achieve the illusion of an animal that walks on its toes, such as a cat or a dog.

A partial fursuit is a suit that doesn't cover the wearer's entire body. This can be anything from just a head (head only) to everything but the torso (3/4 suit). Common partial components are a head, paw gloves, a tail, and paw shoes. Partials are worn with human clothing covering the non-costumed portions of the wearer's body. A fursuiter wearing a partial without sleeves or legs in combination with a short-sleeved shirt or shorts in a manner that reveals their human skin is said to be "poodling".

A fullsuit covers the entire body, including the torso, and is often worn without any additional human clothing, but clothes may be worn over the bodysuit as accessories. Fullsuits can have a variety of leg styles and padding, including plush suits which use a large amount of padding to look like a stuffed toy.

A quadsuit or quad costume is a fursuit that utilizes the wearer's arms as forelegs, allowing them to walk on all fours in a hunched position. Quadsuits are rare, owing to the limited number of quadsuit makers.

Here you can find a list of media featuring anthropomorphic furry characters.

Members of the furry subculture may listen to various genres of music, although they are most associated with EDM music such as Scene .

Kemono (ケモノ) is the Japanese equivalent to the Western furry and also commonly used to refer to the anime-inspired style. The term translates to “beast” and fans are referred to as "kemoner" (ケモナー). Kemoners dress up in fursuits, go to conventions, draw art, and enjoy the same movies as furries, like Zootopia. In many ways, the fandoms are nearly identical, but there are some differences.

The fandom's relationship with sexual content remains a subject of frequent debate within the community and in external media. Documentation of these aspects is necessary for understanding the subject through a rigorous, multi-perspective approach.

A significant part of the Furry fandom includes sexual interest, which is often centered on erotic anthropomorphic art and literature, sometimes referred to by the slang term "yiff." This content is primarily explored through online platforms rather than through physical interaction. The community is internally segmented regarding this content: one segment strongly separates their non-sexual creative and social activities from the sexual aspects, often condemning or distancing themselves from erotic content. However, another large segment is accepting of this content, viewing erotic art and commissions as a valid and enjoyable part of the overall fandom experience.

The fandom is frequently associated with public misconceptions, particularly regarding its relationship to non-anthropomorphic animals. External media and critics often raise the stereotype that the fandom promotes or involves zoophilia (sexual interest in non-anthropomorphic animals). This claim is contradicted by social research conducted on the fandom. Studies suggest that interest in zoophilia is not more common in the Furry fandom than in the general population, and the vast majority of participants are interested only in anthropomorphic (human-like) characters.