Anthro Vs Furry

"People continue to debate this topic because very few people look at it
objectively or choose to only view one opinion on the matter. After
investigating both the communities of deviantART and Furaffinity, the
question is not about a comparison.

There is a difference between furry and a furry. "Furry" is an adjective and "a furry" is a noun.

"Anthro" or Anthropomorphism is a philosophy of conceptual design.
" A Furry" is a person with specific state of mind
"Furry" is an adjective to describe a specific quality of anthropomorphic art.
(and it is also an adjective that describes anything extensively covered
with fur lol)

Anthro is the conceptual philosophy involving the projection of human physical or behavioral traits onto anything that is not human. (also known in literature as personification).

"A Furry" is a term invented by a group of people who have many levels of
interest in the personification of animals. If the anthropomorhised
thing happens to be an animal that has fur....people of this state of
mind assume it is "a furry." People who say they are "a furry" associate
with what is called the furry fandom.

THEREFORE:
Not all "anthro" is "furry" (a talking toilet is anthro..... but does not have fur)
Not all "furry" is anthro (a drawing of a feral wolf is furry....but is not anthropomorphic)
Someone who draws anthropomorphic art IS NOT ALWAYS "a furry"
Someone who draws anthropomorphic art CAN BE "a furry"

Objects & Things

Feral

Human with Anthro features

Common Anthro Art

• 
  "Words of advice I could give are...keep going. Don't compare yourself to
  artist whose skill level surpasses your current one. It is ok to want
  to improve to their level, to have artists you look up to, just don't
  compare to the point you feel there is no way you can get to where they
  are. I used to and if I am to be honest still feel that way a great deal
  of the time. there are always new artists who far surpass you but
  instead of doing a direct comparison against their work I pick out the
  things they do well that I aspire to do well and use those points in
  practice. What it comes down to is a hunger to improve, don't lose it,
  no matter how 'good' you get...don't lose the hunger and even the sky is
  not the limit!
  
  Beyond that, study life. If you are standing
  around waiting for a bus and bored, watch the shadows on the ground, see
  how the color of the sky impacts the shadows, watch them move and
  change shape. Sketch people on the bus bench or walking outside. If you
  want to improve your color, choose photos you like and try to paint
  them. Avoid using the color picker, pick the colors using your own
  instincts and afterwards pick colors in the original photo and your
  piece and see how close you got. You will surprise yourself and you will
  also train your eye to instinctively pick colors. You will also learn
  how different colors interact and what colors compliment or contrast
  each other. Trust yourself more. Also don't worry about succeeding when
  you practice. Use practice sessions as fun times and don't plan on
  having something finished to show for your time spent. If you worry too
  much about having a final product you will fail more often than you
  succeed because you have expectations. Lose them and let yourself go
  into the work..don't plan..just start painting and see where it takes
  you. And if something does turn out, it will be a pleasant surprise!
  Most pieces I start for myself end up failing, and it's ok! The failures
  can actually teach you more than the successes!
  
  Be careful about
  using tutorials you find online, even from artists you admire. You may
  well learn a great deal from them and they are certainly invaluable
  learning tools but keep in mind that while you can learn things the
  artist does well you can also learn their mistakes and use them in your
  own art. By mistakes I mean things like bad anatomy or color advice.
  This is what I always advise when someone asks if they can use my art to
  learn from. I welcome them to but I warn them to be careful because I
  make a lot of mistakes in my work that I don't want them to pick up in
  their own. Trained mistakes can be a hard habit to break if it becomes a
  part of your process. So the best advice I can give is just be
  careful..don't take tutorials as the final word on things. Study other
  tutorials..and life..life is the best tutorial there is!
  
  Originality.
  Don't paint with that goal in mind. IE don't sit down and think "I want
  to paint a wolf...but I want to do something that someone hasn't done
  before". In doing so you actually end up thinking more inside the box
  than outside, because your goal is not the feel of the art...or what you
  want it's soul to look like but standing out of the crowd. It sounds
  cliche but create what you care about and where it may not start off
  original this is more likely to help you develop an image as an artist, a
  style that is uniquely yours. Don't be afraid to be inspired by other
  artists, but also don't try to become them. I do not begrudge emulating
  styles to learn but I warn against letting them hold you back. You can
  learn a lot by emulating, but you are also a unique individual and will
  never be exactly like someone else. Let all the things you learn along
  the way shape how you create and you will find you become an individual.
  But don't let being an individual be your end all goal.
  
  Artists.
  Along the lines of what I said above, you other artists out there who
  have been creating for a long time and have developed a style all your
  own, don't fixate on your style. Don't get angry when someone copies
  your style..this is inevitable to happen if many people like what you
  are doing. It happens in both professional and amateur circles (look how
  many video games styles resemble other video games very closely as an
  example). It can also bring about new ideas and new artistic movements.
  Many historical art movements built upon what previous art movements
  did, as an example expressionism was very closely related to
  impressionism and arguably arose out of impressionism. Also if you look
  through history, different periods of art have many overlapping
  similarities, be it in the color palettes use, the preferred
  compositions or even the style the subjects themselves were depicted in.
  People always emulate, it isn't exclusively a bad thing.
  
  Hopefully
  you are a dynamic changing artist who is always growing so regardless
  of how well someone copies your style now..chances are they will always
  be a step behind you and you will always be moving ahead and new
  additions and polish comes into your evolving style. I especially hazard
  against picking on young artists who are just starting out. We all
  traced and copied at some point in our young artistic careers. It is in
  our nature to learn by emulating.. I would say know when to be flattered
  by it! Of course it does no harm to lightly warn people copying styles
  too closely that it can stunt their artistic growth, but oftentimes
  people use styles as learning steps. I realize this is a touchy subject
  and we are all bound to feel hurt if we see an artist we may have helped
  along the way start selling art that closely resembles what we do...but
  frankly...there's nothing you can do about it but hope they find their
  own way. No matter how hard we try to combat this, it is an
  inevitability..so instead of focusing on what 'they' are doing...try
  instead to focus your energy on what you are doing.
  
  Anthro
  artists specifically, keep at it. I think this is a genre of art that
  has so much untapped potential. And where many professional artists
  advice against putting 'anthro' art in your professional portfolio I do
  not share that mindset. Be who you are in your work and create what you
  care about..it is more likely to end up taking you places than following
  the mainstream. That's how new ideas became mainstream..when someone
  sticks with their convictions and brings a vision to the world that may
  at first meet with hostility...but eventually change something in the
  mainstream. This doesn't just apply to art either. Besides chasing the
  mainstream because it is already accepted, well you are less likely to
  discover the roads less traveled and new ideas that may take you to bold
  horizons."
  

• "Practice your butt off. Look at art that isn't furry, get inspiration from things outside the community."

~Ashalind

• Practice drawing humans! Anthrōpos) = man, therefore be familiar with human anatomy. It is also very handy to learn the names of muscles and bones in the human body, something that I need to study more myself.

What do you want to learn most about making Anthro Art? 

Anthro Related Groups

Here is a list of Anthro Groups around DevianART!