First Fursuit~

[Riley]

After reading some accounts on fursuiting, techniques, performance guides and seeing some pictures, I decided, hey, wouldn't it be fun to try that out? And being on the budget that I am ( Middle School Budget ), I figure that, hey, I mit'as well build my own! ( And I have a lot of the expensive stuff already )

So, I decided that I'll post problems, Questions, tips, techniques, and pictures and all that stuff here.

Breakdown:

Head: The head will be wireframe, covered in Mesh or Stramin, with Faux fur hot glued on. I want the jaw to be able to open and close, though I need to brainstorm a way to do this. I don't know what I'd do for the ears ( Any suggestions? ) And for the eyes, I'd like something tooney and fun, any suggestions?I don't plan on putting incredible emphasization of the Tuffs.

Paws: I don't know how I'd do this, I don't have any real idea. I want 4 fingered, and relatively bulky for comedic purposes. I also plan on getting black leather for pawpads.

Arms: I would like to have my arms covered with fur, and popping out a t-shirt, my best idea on how to do this without sewing is to take a thin shirt and glue the fur on it,( Staple said thin shirt to the paw)   though it means I'd take the entire weight of it ( it=the fur ). Though it also helps because it's a instant fit, though, would I be able to remove it when I outgrow the base? Though, if I were to do that, would I be able to just make a full one? Full question at Question 3)


Legs: Basically the same as the Arms, the opposite of Digitigrade ( What's the other one, plantigrade or something? Where it's on flat feet ) I'd plan on wearing shorts.

Hind Paws: Using a good pair of shoes as  a base, take foam, carve it to the right shape and make hind paws around that. Make sure to have Paw pads on the bottom of the paw. ( making sure to cover the bottom so the sole isn't showing)

Tail: Dunno how I'd describe it, so I'll just quote where I got the idea for the tail from, (http://www.tigress.com/tani/fursuit/lioness/04hscria.htm )"The tail is fixed to the body with a belt on the hips, so that it moves like part of the body. There is a little piece of wire in the beginning of the tail - so that it doesn't hang down like a dead thing but "stands" a little (not too much or it will look like a monkey / or unnatural)."

Accesories: Nothing to overboard, maybe a collar with a watch around it, and that's all I can think of.

Features: I'd like to be able to get a whole in the top of the head covered lightly for hot air to rise out of. Again, a open and closable Jaw, and maybe some type of hidden pocket, probably in the underarm.

In and out: If I do have a partial, I'd just be able to pull the clothes off, if it's the full made onto the clothing, then I'd still be able to pull them off. I have no idea for the head, do you have any idea that may work well?





Note: This is my first time making one, and I have no sewing ability what-so-ever, hence my reasoning using premade bases.

( Question: If there is clear problems with my Moms idea, ( Question three ) of using the premade clothing, is there a different way without sewing in order to get arms and legs? )

( Question 2: Does anyone have/know a good tutorial on how to make a jaw that will open and close? If you can tell me, it'd be appreciated! )

(Question 3: My Mother suggested that I take a thin Shirt and Pajamas I already have and use the fake fur, and glue it on those ( clothing )  and use them as a base, (and/or stapling) or do something to make it stick, and use that. What do you think of the idea, would it work, any percussions I should know of if I try to do this ( that way I guess I could get a full one!), and if carrying around all the weight of a fur would be a burden.)

(Question 4: Do you get more of a reaction out of a crowd in a full suit? Will you get a significantly lower reaction in a partial, is there a huge, noticeable difference in reactions? Which one is recommended for a kid on a budget( using the technique stated in 'Question 3' ), is the reaction worth the extra money?)


Other: I plan on having lightly covered wholes in the top of the head to allow hot air to flow out.

Material Checklist:

# Long and short fur -Need
# Stramin/Mesh, -Need
# Leather for the paw pads-Need
# Something for eyes -Need
# Foam-May possibly have.
# Belt, shoes -Have
# FIMO, colors- Need
# Wire-Have
# Felt-Have
# Velcro® fastener- Need
# Hot Glue (pistol)-Have
#Elastics ( For Jaw, I have a minor understanding of how it may work) -Have
#Luck and Patience- May possibly have (-grins-)
( List, partially modified from: http://www.tigress.com/tani/fursuit/lioness/03hmatea.htm)


(Simplified theory:

If you take Pajamas that fit you kind've snugly. Glue fur on the Sleeves and pant legs. Make everything else. Use those sleeves and pants under clothing to make furred apendiges.

Layers:

Skin

Clothing under the suit

The furred clothing

The unfurred clothing over the furred clothing)

Thanks for your time, ~Grey

( Edited for corrections and more thoroughnesses)

[Morgan]

Faux fur is fine - stay FAR away from fun fur.  I got one piece just to see if it's as bad as everybody says, and it is pretty well unusable.

Hot glue construction - I know some people who do this, but have no personal experience.  Using hot glue for foam attachment, my worry would be both strength, and stiffness.  The joints won't be very strong, and they will be stiff, and probably scratchy against naked skin underneath.  With a full you pretty well have to wear some kind of underclothing (dive skin, under armour, etc.) but for a partial and arms/legs you don't -- but that leaves you that problem.

1. Attaching to Clothing: This can work.  It might work better if you use a lycra dancesuit as a base -- tighter fitting -- but harder to deal with the stretchyness when attaching.  It might actually be easier to just use the fur by itself -- good faux fur is more than strong enough and the backings are nice and soft.  Another thing to be aware of with the whole clothing-over clothing option is pulls and appearance.  If you want to attach the arms to a shirt, for example, you need to make then longer, and attach them to the seams.  Fur is *HEAVY* and otherwise it pulls and distorts the shirt.  If you have a shirt holding the arms underneath, with another shirt overtop, then it's not as much of an issue. But, if you are glueing the fur to the underneath of a shirt, then you have to be careful.   You want it to look natural, not like fur glued to a shirt. 

I think you'd be better off making the hands/sleeves as separate items (just take an old long-sleeved shirt and pull it apart at the seams to get a pattern) and hold the two arms up by long elastics (the kind you use in clothing) that goes across your back.  Then you can wear any shirt you want overtop.  Same idea with the legs, though the pattern is more complex, and you need suspenders to hold them up.

2. I know there are some in the memories of the LJ "Fursuit" group.  Don't have the links handy though.

3. See #1 above.

4. I had a partial at MFF last year, and I felt incomplete and slightly embarassed.  Now, that's just me, so your mileage may vary.  It depends on what you want to do.  You can also do the rest later -- my current full suit has all the components I used in the partial last year with just add ons.  And, it is designed to be used in any combination desired.

Good luck!

[Riley]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind, though. . . It's going to have to be post-poned for a while. . . Until I aqcuire my own residence, sadly. . . Turns out my Mother was joking with the ideas and gave me a: " Are you serious? " So, not gonna happen. . . I'll save a copy of your answers, though. Thanks. ( Though by then I may take sewing lessons for the sole purpose of costume design)

~Grey