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Channel: How DO you make those Animal Costumes? (Fursuits)
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Design Advice- A "Plush" Character with patches? (Edit-- and fur questions!!)

March 19, 2014, 6:21 pm
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Hi guys! I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with my second foam head, and I have an idea but I don't know how...doable it is. Here is the idea:

She would have DF light blue and white but she is a "plushie" character. Would it be possible to sew on patches of different fabric...over the fur? I only say over because the patterns I wanted I could only find in thin cotton fabrics i found at Joann's,

inspir3

seen here.
Then, she would have buttons in various places on her body to emphasize the "toyness" of her body. My questions is....is this possible? Have you ever put "patches" on a character of a different fabric? Should I try and find a fabric thicker than this and sew it as I would any other fur piece (not over the fur or anything else, but a piece on it's own)? Are buttons easily attached to shaved long pile fur?

I'm worried that the patches may end up looking weird, but I don't want to do patches of just another DF fur because then it would just look like markings, I want to achieve the plushie affect...somehow >~< I appreciate any feedback you guys have!

EDIT: Also, so I don't take up two posts. Has anyone ever worked with this fur before? http://www.fabricempire.com/faux-fur-long-pile-polar-bear-aqua-fabric-52-w-sold-by-the-yard.aspx Aqua polar bear? Is it of DF quality and thickness? It's under "Animal Solid Fur" so I'm not sure what that means...
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Cheefox WIP

March 19, 2014, 9:18 pm
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That's right folks, it is not just part cheetah part fox... but part kitsune fox! meaning its gotta have more than one tail!

These tails as requested are huge! So huge we had to take an unconventional approach to stuffing them after finding even the most loosely packed pillow stuffing too heavy.... so each is 80% styrofoam packing peanuts. The results sound a bit rustly (like plastic bags or crunchy leaves) and the tails are a bit firm and not all pillowy... but they are so very very light weight now!!! And the customer is more than okay with the flaws the packing peanuts have, she is just so happy to have 3 tails that won't break her back lol.

The three are all rigged together as a unit on 3 extra wide nylon straps each 2 inches wide, that is 6 inches of strap coverage so the weight is spread out.

I spoke with the customer about making the center tail is larger and darker to add some variety to the mix, it also allows the center to be more visible from the side, I love the results (the back will have a marking on it to tie in the center tail color, which is also the color of the bridge of her nose)

Them spots took ages to do and I did as many of them as I could to match the pre-printed fur, and I tried to copy the meandering pattern seen in the fur (which also has some small unspotted gaps) the spots are larger than the pre-printed fur but that is because if I made them smaller they would look like tiny vertical stripes not spots XP
At first we were going to airbrush them but DF fur just does not take paint well, it takes more brushing and more coats with this texture of fur to get the color laid on, and there is no way I could have gotten the spots this solid with airbrush work, in the end despite the extra work I am glad we did not do airbrushed spots!
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foam head critique

March 20, 2014, 8:43 am
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So as some of you may know from my recent posts I'm working on a Boston Terrier suit in a toony style. This is the progress I've made so far.

http://s32.photobucket.com/user/Lucerenative/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps5a04f094.jpg.html

http://s32.photobucket.com/user/Lucerenative/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps4848797f.jpg.html

Overall? I'm pretty happy with what I have going. I still need to glue stuff down and blend my shapes together a little better. I'm going to have a pretty busy weekend and as much as I'd love to work on it -- this will force me to let it sit a couple of days --- so I thought it'd be good to have other people look at it as well and get some feedback if I could!

I feel like I'm getting closer to the right "look" however I'd be thrilled to make it look even more like a Boston Terrier -- and make any general improvements possible. If anyone would be kind enough to offer critique/redlines (or let me know I'm headed in the right direction) would be awesome!

Thanks! :)

Also -- if making a breed of animal with thinner ears (like a boston terrier) what would be a good insert material? I feel even half inch foam will be too thick. Maybe foamies? Or plastic mesh? I was considering plastic mesh with like this "fancy stiff felt" I found at Michael's over it for additional support. I'd like something that will stand up but be able to bounce back from a little squishing if need be.
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Tips?

March 20, 2014, 11:13 am
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So I have mainly put everything together for this mask. Any critique is helpful thanks!

2014-03-20_11-24-42_171
2014-03-20_11-24-59_778
2014-03-20_11-25-15_673
2014-03-20_11-25-24_12
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Puffy paws without foam?

March 21, 2014, 2:33 pm
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I've been trying to match chibi kyuubi's badge paws to pass the time. Did some researching and found http://dia.critter.net/bingo/construction/paws/paws.htm and http://dia.critter.net/rsmb/construction/paws/paws.htm very helpful with laying pattern work, so I went ahead and tried using similar shapes to get what I wanted.
Proto paw 1 started as a trace from the paws kyuubi came with but then escalated to an over sized pattern along with 3 1/4 1in sphere shapes, resulting in giant paws. I like the thought of it but can't get used to how far it spreads my hand out.protopaw
Proto paw 2 is closer together and much more comfortable but still not what I'm looking for. but it's still a step in the right direction. Started with a trace of the back of my hand, then cutting the fingers into different pieces, then tracing the spheres and fingers together to get that almost puffed up look as proto paw 1 but still not round enough for my taste I think.
Any advice that could help me achieve the puffy but comfortable look w/o using foam would be awesome:3

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Bodysuit fitting

March 23, 2014, 1:29 am
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Hi fursuit,

I'm having trouble with a bodysuit I'm making for someone. This was a previous post I made on the same subject: http://fursuit.livejournal.com/5986457.html

This is for a plantigrade suit with no padding, and the recipient wants it to fit nicely and not be baggy. However, he also wants to have a large range of motion, like, a climbing-trees and squatting to the floor sort of range. I'm using a pattern made from a duct tape dummy, and trying to decide how much extra material to add to each panel. (I'm using Temperance's method as shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1zo8mPSFXs )

Test fittings haven't worked very well for us, as it seems every mockup and every adjustment I've made so far have been too tight for his liking, even though I based them off measurements of non-stretch clothing that fit him. I'd like to know if just adding an inch or two of extra fabric to each body panel will fix this problem, now that I have a dummy to work off of. I don't want to resort to making a gunny-sack body >.<
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Questions about approaching my suit

March 23, 2014, 4:15 pm
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Hello! (Incoming a huge wall of text, I apologize)
Although I don't know whether I'd consider my costume a 'fursuit', it definitely involves fursuiting aspects.
First of all, I am creating this suit out of EVA foam fatigue mats (the ones that interlock like puzzle pieces), a hot glue gun, craft foam/EVA foam, acrylic paint, perhaps some wooden dowels for leg support, and faux fur.
I've already started on the EVA foam mat base which already seems like a challenge since I'm really iffy on how this will turn out.

Concept is Zinogre from Monster Hunter.


This is what I have so far..


As for the way I'd walk in this, I think it would turn out somewhat like a quadsuit more than anything (but would require some more upper body strength on my part and lacks stilts). Do you have any suggestions how I could approach the legs of this costume? I know for sure my forearms are too short for the beast itself so I'd need some form of extension on my arms. The back legs are also very short compared to my legs. I was thinking I could just layer the EVA foam mats on top of each other to get the elevation I need? And for the back legs perhaps bulk it up somehow or not have my legs fully extended outside the suit? Judging by the design, I doubt my back feet would be physically touching the ground. They would be placed somewhere in the upper portion of the muscle connecting the knee and lower leg. Would it be wise to have a wooden dowel placed on my foot and some type of grip at the end of it so I can move my back feet? Movement wise, I think it would be fairly stiff. I was thinking of have the leg muscles detached from the base of the suit and be able to move in a swivel-like motion so I can at least take a step forward. Within the leg would have a stiff, wooden dowel running down the length of it to support it.

I wanted to go with a moving mouth for this suit. So I was thinking perhaps using an arduino/servos to move it? I havent calculated how heavy the head alone would be or whether the servos would be strong enough to even open the jaw. Or would you recommend using a manual way of opening the mouth? My head placement would be somewhere near the front legs/chest area so there is no way I can look up or even reach the head. Another thought I had was to have some sort of string tied to a dowl going through the jaw so if I moved a limb the mouth would open or something.

I calculated this suit is going to be about 6+ feet fully extended from head to tail. But for con purposes, I intend to have the tail somewhat rolled up to prevent it being a tripping hazard.

As for the feet, would it be wise to still use the EVA foam mats for the sole touching the ground or would that be far too slippery? The downstairs part of the con is tile flooring. Upstairs is carpet but I doubt I will be able to even climb stairs in this. It would be a fairly stationery day.

What would you recommend for the neck to head base? Would it be wise to use the foam mats again and just make base rings within it or would that be too flimsy?

Since this suit requires fur on its arms, back, neck, and tail, I have looked into some faux fur from Joanns. The two that look fairly good are:
http://www.joann.com/9-x-12-inch-black-craft-fur-long-pile/zprd_4919189a.html
http://www.joann.com/2-x-30-inch-fur-trim-black/zprd_4919296a.html#prefn1=isProject&start=25&q=fur&sz=18&prefv1=false
Would it be more fitting to have the fur that looks more shaggy, or the one that looks more soft? Has anyone used these products before? How much fur do you estimate I should get for this suit?

Thank you for what ever suggestions you have!
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Searching for Teal Minky

March 24, 2014, 3:27 pm
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I'm looking for a darker teal minky. I ordered a swatch from the Cuddle 3 collection on Fabric.com, but it's lighter than what I'd prefer (the picture is very close to what I need, but not what the actual minky looks like). None of my cameras seem to be able to accurately grab the color, but here is a WIP of the head. The far eyebrow spot closer to the proper color. I've looked through several sites selling minky, but they all seem to be from the same source.
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Plastic eye material????

March 24, 2014, 6:57 pm
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So i am in the search for different colored eye material that Mixedcandy, Lacy, and Sunnyvalley uses for their eyes. Can anyone tell me where i can purchase it????

Here's an example of what im looking for, but in a lot of different colors :3
rIMG_1074
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Pink Sphynx!

March 24, 2014, 9:05 pm
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I thought I might post a little something I've been working on, and some of you may have already saw it from the fb fursuit building group.

previewspyhnx

They'll be available on furbuy within the next week or so!

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digigrade padding

March 24, 2014, 9:22 pm
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So, um opinions on it? Is there padding in certain places that you guys think look best? What's the best for moving around in? I'm trying to decide what would look best for a toony Boston Terrier (I'm thinking I'd like a little bit of butt padding and maybe thigh padding too) but want something that will still let me be mobile. I want to be able to run around as unhindered as I can (while still being in a fullsuit with digi padding) so yeah. Any opinions on this would be great!

I kind of like the dropped crotch look in bodysuits but I think I've only seen it in Corgi suits -- would this be an unfitting choice for my breed of canine?

Lastly, and first time digi tutorials would be great.I'll admit I've never sewn even a basic bodysuit so doing one with padding as well is a little intimidating. I think I've heard of people attaching their foam pieces directly to a "skin" and I've also heard about people making them removable like pillows? So many questions. >< If it helps I want more of a form fitting bodysuit as well.
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A Head and a Question!

March 26, 2014, 1:56 pm
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I dun went and dun did a head for the first time in a couple of years!
I've been out of the building game for a while, so decided last year to get back into it and take my time (which I certainly did).





She's a bit wonky, somewhat scruffy and a bit of a test subject, but I'm pleased to say I've finally made Spree's head after what, 5 years? I've tried a lot of new things on her, some which worked (all foam ears for example, used to use plastic mesh), some stuff that didn't and some stuff that I can't comment on until she's been worn for any proper length of time!
Really, my main goal for this head was for her to be comfortable to wear. There is memoryfoam strip padding inside the head and on the moving jaw to help cushion things and help the head sit right (I had mattress topper hanging around, might as well use it ahah). The eyes are adjusted to suit me and the jaw unhinges pretty wide should I need it to so I can drink, get a bit of air and so on.

"Lookit my tiny little teeth!"
I kept the eyes quite close to the centre to be more in line with my eyes. My previous suits had the annoying knack of having the eyeholes end up higher then my line of sight, giving me headaches and eyestrain, so one of my main goals on this head was for eyesight to line up.


Moving jaw, I tried something new on the neck which I'm not sure about yet, but I'll have the chance to try her out properly soon.


Hair! The big ol' hairpoof is MM Fox on a carved form base. Hollowed the base out a little bit to keep it light. I cut the fur so that the grains clashed against each other to encourage it to spike upwards. I also cut the strip on the neck so that the grain goes upwards, to avoid it smoothing out flat and looking strange.


Bonus suave-ass cat.




And a quick question for you all!
I'm planning to make a bodysuit for this, but I cannot do a DTD. I simply cannot handle the heat, and my last DTD a few years back ended with me passing out aha.
I was thinking instead, I could get some cheap clothing which doesn't have any stretch to it, pop it on and pin it to my bodyshape, then stitch along the pins and then stuff it (hence the non-stretchy fabric to avoid the dtd deforming whilst stuffing).

Would this actually work, or does anyone have any suggestions for alternative methods of doing this? I do own the McCalls Animal Costumes pattern, but if I'm honest, proper patterns confuse the bejeezus out of me xD
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Gray DF--light or dark?

March 26, 2014, 3:15 pm
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Has anyone ordered gray from either DF or fabric.com lately? It's been a good while since I've had to order any, so I was curious if they were still sending out the lighter version, or if it was back to its normal darker gray color. I'd get swatches but I've heard of people getting swatches that were inaccurate anyway. Thanks!
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Bodysuit concept model (free to use)

March 27, 2014, 6:55 am
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--copy/pasted from my FA account--

Who needs anatomy?!



A long while back I searched and searched for a free base I could use to draw my ideas for the Distracted bodysuit on so I've been drawing my own for what I assumed would be a one-time, personal use thing. But now that I think about it more, someone else out there might need this too.

This is for anyone's use, I don't care what you do with it. I would love to have credit and maybe see how you used it though its not necessary. <3

I may add a hand bit at a later date, btw!




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short/medium pile pink and tan furs?

March 27, 2014, 10:00 am
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I'm having trouble finding the perfect furs to make a suit of my bulldog fursona

Every fur I come across is either too saturated (hot pink) or too light (baby pink) and almost all of them are way too long.

I thought I had found the perfect fur here but lucky me it's currently out of stock

As for the cream/tan color I've yet to really find anything besides ivory furs.


slowbro ref
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Toony paws

March 27, 2014, 12:48 pm
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I'm trying to make a set for my suit -- I'm trying to find a good balance between getting a cute nubby look while having at least decent dexterity. I've tried a few patterns now but haven't been able to come up with something I really like. I was wondering if someone might know of a pattern that's free to use ( I was considering trying to modify matrices paw pattern) or might be willing to help me in drafting one? It'd be a huge help!
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Foaming awaaay!

March 27, 2014, 1:10 pm
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Hey there guys! I'm making my first fursuit! I have the foam and everything and have been kinda chipping away at it.


The character is Exyena. He's a Spotted Hyena I fashioned after the Gundam Exia




Exyena, Meet Exia! haha get the pun?

So far I've been foaming up using Matrice's tutorial using all foam, but I accidentally bought 1 inch foam as opposed to 1/2 :S here's what I have so far



I'd really love some critique and suggestions on how to improve. Especially the dome head. And should the muzzle be shorter...since hyena muzzles aren't that long?

Look forward to hearing from you guys :D!
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First fursuit!

March 27, 2014, 2:39 pm
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Sorry for posting twice in one day but I want to show off my first attempt at suit making, Kitsumaru the guardian fox.



(white great dane head by westwindhowling)

I know he has a ton of flaws like his foaming and shaving being uneven and some of his all-glued seems are visible and i ran out of time before fwa so his nose was rushed (i might replace with a silicone one and also get his paws some pads) but at the con he got a lot of compliments i was surprised!
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fursuit cheek help

March 27, 2014, 4:44 pm
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hey! i need some help again! im doing a moving jaw, but i don't know how i can get the cheeks to look right.
suit help
(yes i know the jaw's crooked. i just quickly put on the head and took the pic without adjusting anything.) lol it's gonna be a husky :P thanks in advance!
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Standing a Duck Tape Dummy

March 27, 2014, 4:50 pm
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Yay! Another DTD question, yet this one is a bit more unconventional. How does one go about rigging a duck tape dummy to stand? I've seen someone use a tripod and somehow make it stand and another hand the dummy from a ceiling hook by hanger. Has anyone come up with a method of standing a duck tape dummy for an ease of access when creating fursuits? If so, please share your methods! I would greatly appreciate it!
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