At the beginning of 2024, Akela Taka's Crafts and Fursuits changed the logo from the split black-and-white wolf head to a similarly colored Chinese crested dog. Here you can read why.... and also dig a little deeper into Akela Taka's history.

You may remember Akela Taka, the split black-and-white wolf (with a hint of red :)) that was representing me ever since I have begun the artist's journey on the Internet at TLKFAA. My one and only fursona. What happened to her? And why am I replacing her face in the logo with a... strange, but similarly colored dog? Well, there's a story behind that change. Quite a long story...


Quite a long story, indeed. More than 20 years old story. My story. I have first "designed" this fursona of mine back in 1999, and she has been growing with me ever since. Back at the time, Internet connection was quite rare, and most of my artwork was thus inspired by "offline" stuff and events. Like the fact that she is a wolf - this animal was not as over-represented (and extremely popular) in my surrounding as it is today all over the Internets. Still, I have always loved wolves, ever since I was a little kid... I have read countless books and watched countless documentaries, and I always felt a deep connection to these animals. So I didn't choose my fursona's species, it kind of chose me - I am what furries would call a therian. And the wolf did not symbolize just my love for wolves, but also the wild and curious, exploratory mind of my childhood self. However, as I started to experience the freedom of an artist - a person that can create basically anything and whose only limit is their own mind - I realized that while my fursona's "main" appearance (and the species she was "born as") was a wolf, she could freely transform into any species. What truly made her special were the colors that stayed the same on each of her form, allowing for an easy identification.

The black and white colors on my fursona have never represented (as some may think) the "good" and "evil", but rather the different personalities that lie hidden within a person. Some that may never awake because the life events never give the reason for it... but are still there, my essential parts, the parts that make me whole. And when later on I was introduced into the furry community, these colors have represented me throughout the fandom. Even when I have left the community much later, Akela Taka has stayed with me and represented me as my online avatar. That has never changed.

So, why the sudden change of the logo - an image that represents my small business?

No, I have not abandoned Akela Taka. But as I have continued my journey throughout life, as I aged... my artistic mind somehow shifted from the wild explorative soul to a much calmer, stable, and phlegmatic self. One that enjoys a good time in a bed, drinking hot chocolate, more than running wild over the mountains. I guess that's just how life is... but what also changed with me is that my art shifted from images to mostly crafts and cosplay. I LOVE fancy dresses... and making fursuits (which is the reason why, after so many years, I am again meeting with the furry community, and although I don't really consider myself being a furry, I still love the community and furries). And with all this, I feel that a dog - a domesticated wolf - represents me better now. And not just any dog - A Chinese crested dog - graceful soul with fancy looks. The perfect species to represent my "wolf past" as well as my current love for fancy cosplay dresses and extravagance. So... this is one reason I decided to go for this change. (You can still see Akela Taka in the form of a wolf though, because as I explained earlier, these forms coexist)

And another reason is quite practical, really. In furry fandom, wolves are extremely popular and over-represented, and a lot of other creators use this animal in logos. So I wanted something different, extraordinary, something that would stand out and could be more easily associated with my (our) creations.

It is however important to note that while I appear online as "Akela Taka's Fursuits and Cosplay", it's no longer just me. It's both me and my husband who run the business, but we are united under my name because many people already remember me from the times I was mostly drawing and painting images, and we wanted to connect to that history.