Carolyn "Cat" Bedell
FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR
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Toon Furs
Toon Furs is an artistic, safe for work sub-section of the furry fandom, a
close-knit community that share a common interest for animation. Typically, the members of this group are into Western (American) cartoons, inspired by Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Animaniacs, Walt Disney Pictures movies, Don Bluth Studio movies, and much, much more. Slapstick comedy and toon humor are welcomed and encouraged!
This subculture is inclusive to all forms and eras of animation, including Japanese anime, European and other international cartoons, stop motion, and computer generated animation. This is a space for novice cartoon fans to experienced members from the animation industry to come together, share common interests, support fellow cartoonists, and meet up at various art-based and furry conventions in the continental United States.
In Fall 2024, a Latin American Toon Furs Discord Server was created by a multilingual member of our community located in Chile.
Since 2023, Cat has been one of the active representatives for the Toon Furs online community, hosting and moderating a Discord Server, creating original mascots for the community, and planned and hosted a couple of panels at art-based conventions in Pennsylvania (Anthrocon, 2023) and Michigan (Motor City Furry Con 2024).
Cat's involvement in this community is based on three words: "Educate, entertain, and explore." Using her interest in animation and film history, Cat's panels focus on educating members on the historical significance cartoons have had and continue to have in the future, providing a clear thesis on the popular traits and archetypes found in animation and how inspired artists and writers can take inspiration from these sources for their own original works. She loves sharing less-known cartoons with her audience, taking suggestions, and encouraging others to spread their own knowledge on the expanding world of animation. Lastly. and most importantly, Cat is a strong advocate for the availability and restoration of historic and international cartoons to the public, including cartoons which may be banned, on the basis of education and historical significance. She has become one of the bigger representatives of this subculture, creating and moderating a community on Discord, fostering a safe space for other Toon Furs to meet, make friends and share their artwork.
Besides hosting and filming cartoon panels at conventions, Cat has also designed mascots for the Discord server, and larger Toon Furs community.
Official Toon Furs enamel pins were designed and manufactured by FursonaPins. A limited release of 50 pins were produced, and are available for purchase on Cat's Kofi shop, as a bundle with a small print, sticker and pin back button.
In Summer 2024, members of the Toon Furs Discord server voted on elements for our mascots, resulting in Chuck the Mouse and Jones the Cat, named after the iconic American cartoonist and animator.
These two screwball mascots are always getting themselves in chaotic toon antics and have been drawn by numerous members of our community - we wanted to showcase just a few of the pieces of fan art created of Chuck and Jones here!
Check out our Carrd by clicking the button below to learn more about the community, and follow us on Instagram!
Stay toony!
Cut Out Illustrations featured on this page drawn by Orlando Fox.