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How I Make the Fursuits
14 years ago
General
Inspired by Beetlecat
I recently changed my style of suits, so I will focus on the new style. Basically I make everything from scratch with the exception of Latex pads for the feet, which are made by Running Wolf Productions and the fur, which I buy. Nothing wrong with outsourcing as long as you give credit. Running Wolf Productions is much better as slushing latex than I am and they already have the molds, so it makes sense. Time is money and for the price they charge, it's not that much more for them to make the latex pads.
Heads:
I sometimes do heads first or last, depending. I slush cast it in either resin or soft 2 part foam in a mold that I made from a sculpture I made myself. Once the head is cast and out gassed, I (well, that's Crocuta's job right now) Dremel out where the eyes will go, cut off the flashing and drill out the nostrils.
Next I paint the eyes which I cast, and then I put them into the head and seal the backs of the eyes. Then I hinge the jaw. Once the epoxy resin is cured, Crocuta cuts out the jaws, aome marked areas on the head and sands some more areas down. Then I put in the teeth. Once the teeth are cured, I put in the silicone tongue, Finally I add resistance to the jaw so it can move. I wait until everything is added in, so the jaw is neither too tight or too loose (mostly it would be too loose).
If the head is cast foam, same process really but you use a razor blade instead of a Dremel (can't make nostril holes though). Now I made ears, but I will be changing what I made ears out of soon to a more durable material. Ears are flexivle right now.
Now I put in a balaclava (used to buy these, but I like my sewn ones, MUCH cooler) and adhere some padding. Now I can tape the head to be patterned. Cut out patterns, cut out fur. Hand sew fur together, so it's like a skin. Add adhesive to the resin head and slowly worth the fur over it. Now ad the ear fur. I like to hand sew the fur onto the ears and not use glue.
Trim/shave fur on head (which takes a couple of hours, I go slow). Sew a neck on (usually hand sew) then airbrush some details/ shading/ highlights.
Head is done now.
Hand paws are sewn by hand around the fingers and machine sewn down the arm. Some paws are entirely hand sewn. Add claws and silicone paw pads (which are cast earlier or later). I like to get all my body suit and hansewing done first.
Feet are machine sewn from a pattern based off of the person's shoe size. I carve out toes. I like fur and pads on the bottom of my feet since you feel more and the foot is more flexible (I like walking on my toes in suit). Sandals can always be made/worm if you want to go outside if the area looks gross. Pads are put in before furring and claws are after. My older/toony style of feet were made much differently. New realistic feet are based off of socks or neoprene booties, old feet were based off of shoes.
Tail. Machine sew on a pattern. I make all my patterns for the tails on a individual basis out of cardboard so I can throw it away when I'm done. No two tails are alike. If there are spots, well, we hand sew those.
Body suits: I used to make it based off of a muslin pattern I would sew to fit the body, however I'm going to be trying a different way (again, needing a DTD). I hand sew my zippers as it tends to hide the seam better. I also hand sew any complex markings that is too hard to do on my machine. Any padding is made out of reticulated type of foam and it is sewn into the fursuit. Airbrush done if needed after body suit is finished.
Well that's how I make a fursuit. Usually i make the body suit and hands first. Or I'll sculpt the head first if I need to sculpt a head. Pigments in paint are custom blended from carbon based pigments and I blend my own silicone colors from different mineral pigments. Not much different than mixing pain colors.
I recently changed my style of suits, so I will focus on the new style. Basically I make everything from scratch with the exception of Latex pads for the feet, which are made by Running Wolf Productions and the fur, which I buy. Nothing wrong with outsourcing as long as you give credit. Running Wolf Productions is much better as slushing latex than I am and they already have the molds, so it makes sense. Time is money and for the price they charge, it's not that much more for them to make the latex pads.
Heads:
I sometimes do heads first or last, depending. I slush cast it in either resin or soft 2 part foam in a mold that I made from a sculpture I made myself. Once the head is cast and out gassed, I (well, that's Crocuta's job right now) Dremel out where the eyes will go, cut off the flashing and drill out the nostrils.
Next I paint the eyes which I cast, and then I put them into the head and seal the backs of the eyes. Then I hinge the jaw. Once the epoxy resin is cured, Crocuta cuts out the jaws, aome marked areas on the head and sands some more areas down. Then I put in the teeth. Once the teeth are cured, I put in the silicone tongue, Finally I add resistance to the jaw so it can move. I wait until everything is added in, so the jaw is neither too tight or too loose (mostly it would be too loose).
If the head is cast foam, same process really but you use a razor blade instead of a Dremel (can't make nostril holes though). Now I made ears, but I will be changing what I made ears out of soon to a more durable material. Ears are flexivle right now.
Now I put in a balaclava (used to buy these, but I like my sewn ones, MUCH cooler) and adhere some padding. Now I can tape the head to be patterned. Cut out patterns, cut out fur. Hand sew fur together, so it's like a skin. Add adhesive to the resin head and slowly worth the fur over it. Now ad the ear fur. I like to hand sew the fur onto the ears and not use glue.
Trim/shave fur on head (which takes a couple of hours, I go slow). Sew a neck on (usually hand sew) then airbrush some details/ shading/ highlights.
Head is done now.
Hand paws are sewn by hand around the fingers and machine sewn down the arm. Some paws are entirely hand sewn. Add claws and silicone paw pads (which are cast earlier or later). I like to get all my body suit and hansewing done first.
Feet are machine sewn from a pattern based off of the person's shoe size. I carve out toes. I like fur and pads on the bottom of my feet since you feel more and the foot is more flexible (I like walking on my toes in suit). Sandals can always be made/worm if you want to go outside if the area looks gross. Pads are put in before furring and claws are after. My older/toony style of feet were made much differently. New realistic feet are based off of socks or neoprene booties, old feet were based off of shoes.
Tail. Machine sew on a pattern. I make all my patterns for the tails on a individual basis out of cardboard so I can throw it away when I'm done. No two tails are alike. If there are spots, well, we hand sew those.
Body suits: I used to make it based off of a muslin pattern I would sew to fit the body, however I'm going to be trying a different way (again, needing a DTD). I hand sew my zippers as it tends to hide the seam better. I also hand sew any complex markings that is too hard to do on my machine. Any padding is made out of reticulated type of foam and it is sewn into the fursuit. Airbrush done if needed after body suit is finished.
Well that's how I make a fursuit. Usually i make the body suit and hands first. Or I'll sculpt the head first if I need to sculpt a head. Pigments in paint are custom blended from carbon based pigments and I blend my own silicone colors from different mineral pigments. Not much different than mixing pain colors.
