The Australian Government Commissioned Furry Art for the Olympics

16 July 2021

in DOT

Reading Time: 3 mins read

“Hey fellow aussies, the fursonas I was commissioned to draw by the government are now on sale in booklet form for $3 at woolies.” Can you imagine a better introduction to Australia’s Olympic campaign than this?

Australia’s Olympic fursonas are, very predictably, taking the internet by storm this week. Launched as a tie-in with the supermarket chain Woolworths, the “Aussie Heroes” campaign celebrates Australian Olympic athletes and a variety of popular sports. It’s a relatively minor element of the country’s Olympic publicity, but it grabbed people’s attention because the cartoon mascots bear an unmistakable resemblance to furry art, combining humanoid bodies with cartoon animal characteristics.

So, the Olympics are soon, how is your country trying to drum up national pride?

Well here in Australia, supermarket chain Woolworths (Woolies) is having a collectable sticker series for kids to collect of our athletes with 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙩𝙨?! pic.twitter.com/JLWBdMbGYB

— Bluey (@bluedingo) July 9, 2021

Speaking to the Daily Dot in Twitter DMs, artist Landeg explained that they landed this illustration job via a friend who works at the Royal Australian Mint. The Mint wanted to commission some anime-style art for a commemorative coin collection booklet, and while Landeg’s clients didn’t fully understand the cultural background of the furry aesthetic, this was definitely what they wanted.

“They had a pool of references to illustrate the kind of art they were after, some of which was probably created by furry artists,” said Landeg. “The end product was tailored to their specifications. The teams involved just didn’t know that there was a term for this type of art, or that there was a subculture surrounding it.” The end result is a series of sporty characters that look fun, upbeat, kid-friendly… and definitely qualify as fursonas.

Saddened to share I have acquired one of the Australian Olympic Team furry-themed coin sets for my coin collector dad, and have now had to explain to my parents why the internet is horny for the kangaroos… and, by extension, explain what a furry is and what a fursona is 😔 pic.twitter.com/B6tS3bkFWA

— Triana Butler (@trianabutler) July 15, 2021

As Landeg points out, “furry” is in the eye of the beholder. “Pretty much any animal character with humanoid traits is going to get called “furry” by someone. A lot of cereal mascots probably count as “furry art”. So you have to ask if they were really commissioning furry art, or if that’s a label a bunch of people have decided to stick it with, and what that maybe says about them.”

Landeg simply took on a professional commission and executed it to the client’s specifications. They don’t usually specialize in furry art (in fact, they landed this gig with a portfolio of human illustrations), which made the job “more daunting.” But they were happy to receive positive feedback from furry fans once the Aussie Heroes campaign went public. “For the most part, it’s been really supportive, which is great. I’ve heard all the jokes I was expecting. I wasn’t surprised that furries enjoyed the characters, but I was surprised by the sheer volume of the response.”