Ask Papabear, the First Advice Column for Furries

Latest Letter (May 10, 2026)

Dear Papabear,

I bought an Adoption of a fursona (my current now) and spent a lot of money on it just to realize that it was copied from an existing suit and resold. Is my fursona worth anything anymore if it's a copy of an existing one? Even if I put so much soul in it (artworks, lore, merch...)? I feel cheated, especially after I liked my fursona so much.

I don't know if it's going to be the same if I make a new fursona... I really love the fandom, but I don't feel like I'm really happy in it. It's why I became an artist!

Do I continue with something I love even if it hurts my mental health after all that it caused?

Anonymous (age 18)

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Dear Furiend,

I'm guessing that perhaps you didn't really understand what an adoptable is. To clarify, adoptables are when artists create a kind of template--line art, usually--that a customer can then customize with choices of colors and textures. This is a quick way for an artist to create commissions for multiple customers. They only have to draw one character and then simply colorize it according to what a customer wants. The advantage for the artists is speed; the advantage for customers is that adoptables are usually much cheaper than a completely unique piece of art. So, when you say you "spent a lot of money on it," I find that a little surprising because, again, usually adoptables are fairly inexpensive (usually around $10 US; if you paid much more than that, then yes, you got cheated). I'm sorry you didn't understand what an adoptable is, but the artist wasn't ripping you off. They told you it was an adoptable and assumed you knew what that meant.

I'm not sure what you mean by "is my fursona worth anything?" If you mean money-wise; no, adoptables aren't worth much. If you mean to you personally, well, you said you loved it, yes? If you love it, what does it matter that it is an adoptable?

Here's what I recommend: Take the idea of your fursona and make unique art for it. You say you are an artist. If so, why don't you draw your fursona yourself? That's kind of the part I don't get. If I could draw worth a damn, I would draw my own fursonas using my style and, in that way, make it totally unique to me. So, if the adoptable you paid for upsets you, toss it in the bin. You lost some money on it, sure, but consider it a lesson learned and move on. The author didn't cheat you, so please don't think that, unless they charged you more than $20. There's no reason this should hurt your mental health. You just made a mistake based on a lack of understanding of that particular area of furry commissions. I would encourage you to pursue your own art or, if you like to explore furry arts, find some artists whose styles you like and commission an OC--original character.

Don't let this cause you any grief or upset. It's not worth it. Now that you know, you can continue to explore the furry art scene more knowledgeably.

Hope that helps!

Bear Hugs,
Papabear