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FAQ! *******************************************************
11 years ago
Sorta like an FAQ? but I haven't gotten any questions really yet that I could think would apply to a list like this.
Question:
Answer:
Ordering
Question:Hey, I want to send my deposit straight to you to order things! Why can't I?
Answer:Since I'm just starting out, I don't want anyone to think I'm just taking their money. Also, this gives people the ability to see JUST HOW EXPENSIVE the basic materials for making something like this are from a starting point and to know exactly what materials I'll be working with :3 It also lets me keep the money to come as a positive goal to work towards instead of having a big thing of money sitting right there with no reward for a completed job well done at the end *NODS*. I'm a really reward driven person, and I CRAVE positive feedback on finished projects, so having that goal to work towards and knowing I'll be able to FEEL rewarded as well as see the commissioners excitement at the end is a real driving force behind my work :3
Question:Where do you get your fur from?
Answer:My prefered place to order fur from is Fabric.com for their Luxury Fur (DF/Shannon Fabrics style). I also like to order from Distinctive Fabrics.com, Mendels.com, I'm Stuffed Furs for seal furs, FursuitSupplies.com, and occasinally other locations like E-Bay, Amazon, and other independent fabric seller sites.
Question:What about other materials?
Answer:Majority of the other materials will be ordered from Joanns.com. OTHER other things like fursuit pieces by other makers (Claws, hooves, horns etc) can be ordered from Dream Vision Creations(one of the most common/popular) or other makers. At the moment I have not worked with resin bases or realistic styled fursuits, though it is something I may consider doing in the future!
Head Construction
Question:In general, how are your heads built?
Answer:So far, I used a light cotton balaclava base with a sort of foam 'helmet' that covers around the face, over the ears, and around the crown of the head, but it doesn't cover the very top of your neck (where the back of the head starts to slope back inward past the crown). For now I use hot glue to keep everything together.
Question:How do you do head measurements?
Answer:UHHH... good question! Right now, I don't have any super special measuring thing, and I don't really know hoooow to measure those things on a face and translate it to a foam head, since I've only ever made heads intended for myself (and by heads, I mean a few shitty bases and this final one, Saiki, that's my first finished head).
For now, I'm going to start with a basic 'around the head' measurement and shoot for a pretty basic 'one face fits all' thing until I get better at figuring out placement for eyes/mouth/nose 'pocket' and all that. I MAY ask for a front on photo of peoples faces (+ a ruler across your forehead so I can get a good measuring guide) so I can better place where the holes for eyes and mouth should go, but this would be optional!
Question:What about fur? And the nose/mouth! How do you do that?
Answer:Duct-tape the head, cut the pattern, carefully glue each piece into place one at a time. I'll be offering both straight up glued fur and stitched and glued fur for an additional cost. Doing Saiki, there's only ONE place where I was a little bit derp where the fur edges lined up, but other than that, I'm really happy with how their face seams look with just hot glue, but I know some people swear by sewn seams, so they will be + $100-$200 based on pattern and shape dificulty(number of seams, basically).
The nose was hand stitched vinyl, but I'd really have prefered to machine sew it... but... I didn't have my machine here at the time, and who wants to wait :D
The mouth was a little bit fudgy. all the black trim on the face is actually a butchered T-SHIRT I'd had laying around for making my own shirts with printable transfer sheets (which ended up being really fucky, so I just had a bag of cheap jo-anns black shirts laying around, unworn :P). I may stick with a light cotton as the inner mouth fabric, or switch over to fleece... or both sometimes? idk, I just like how cotton doesn't pill like fleece. I've worked with it before, and after a while it always just looked crappy to me on whichever project I used it for.
Question:And eyes? What will you be doing for eyes?
Answer:Lol, no idea. I use a simple plastic base, default white, and for Saiki, I painted it with acrylic and gave it a few sprays with a resin/acrylic clear coat to seal it. The pupil will be a plastic mesh, also painted and sealed. I definitely like doing toony eyes, and my default so far (only) is sort of a hybrid of toony and following. They follow from the front angles, and from the far side, but the middle ground lets the suit still 'look' forward instead of always watching everyonelike the NSA.
Body time!
Question:Do you hand sew your bodies?
Answer:LOL oh hell no! Maybe some spots here or there, or tiny markings, but majority of the body is machine sewn.
I do hand stitch some of the edges together when I'm cutting/assembling the pieces to A) Keep the pattern together how it's supposed to go, and B) Make machine sewing easier, because all my ends will already be lined up, instead of having to use pins that just get really bulky and in the way when sewing.
Question:I noticed that the hands and feet were attached on your suit! Will you do that with all suits?
Answer:Nope! Only if A)The design calls for it, and/or B)Thats what the commissioner wants! I did them attached on Saiki because I wanted big blunt doofy paws, and I wasn't sure if the sleeves/legs would stay where they were supposed to be if I didn't attach them. For more normal, non-doofy arms/legs detached handpaws and feetpaws would work fine, and have at least a 5 inch, finished fur cuff.
Foot times!
Question:How will you be doing feet?
Answer:Feet will be built either on a shoe PROVIDED BY YOU so I know it will fit right (if it's a used shoe, please pre-wash it and put a dryer sheet and some baby powder/talcum powder on the inside of each shoe to kill any foot stank >_< that's just gross. I'll still be using an anti-bacterial disinfectant spray on the inside as well when I get it just to be sure,), and also, please pre-tie any tie shoes to where you can easily slip your foot in and out of, but done not so loose that the shoe will just fly off. I WILL BE HOT-GLUING THE SHIT OUT OF THAT KNOT.
If you don't provide a shoe for me I will need a measurement of your foot from heel to toe, and I'll be making big poofy paw-slippers that'll have at least a 2 inch foam padding on the bottom side of the foot.
For starters, I'm only going to be doing simple indoor style bottoms (All fur, no paw pads). I may add more styles in the future.
Bits and Pieces!
Question:Hey, I wanna get JUST hand paws, or JUST feetpaws! Can I do that?
Answer:Possibly! Handpaw sets are gonna start at $75, but footpaws will start at $200. Why? Because I've tried making footpaws before and I just HATE working with feet. Handpaws are no problem, but feet are so nitty gritty and just... bleh.
Question:What about a body suit?
Answer:I'll consider bodysuits on a case by case basis! Bodysuits are also the only cases where I will accept fur shipped from the commissioner and only fur that's visible on the adjoining parts (head, hands, tail, feet)! If there's gonna be a color on the body not on the other parts, it will have to be ordered from the source and shipped to me. ALL BODY SUITS REQUIRE A DUCT TAPED DUMMY that has been RE-TAPPED TOGETHER and your SIDE CENTERLINES, and FRONT AND BACK CENTERLINES (as well as BELT LINE) CLEARLY MARKED ON THE DTD.
again MARK YOUR BELT LINE PLEASE! I tried to figure out where my own tail was supposed to go on the DTD but it just turns into a floppy mess with no definition off of a human body, so unless you want your tail coming out your butt or the middle of your shoulders, MARK YOUR BELT LINE!
Question:
Answer:
Ordering
Question:Hey, I want to send my deposit straight to you to order things! Why can't I?
Answer:Since I'm just starting out, I don't want anyone to think I'm just taking their money. Also, this gives people the ability to see JUST HOW EXPENSIVE the basic materials for making something like this are from a starting point and to know exactly what materials I'll be working with :3 It also lets me keep the money to come as a positive goal to work towards instead of having a big thing of money sitting right there with no reward for a completed job well done at the end *NODS*. I'm a really reward driven person, and I CRAVE positive feedback on finished projects, so having that goal to work towards and knowing I'll be able to FEEL rewarded as well as see the commissioners excitement at the end is a real driving force behind my work :3
Question:Where do you get your fur from?
Answer:My prefered place to order fur from is Fabric.com for their Luxury Fur (DF/Shannon Fabrics style). I also like to order from Distinctive Fabrics.com, Mendels.com, I'm Stuffed Furs for seal furs, FursuitSupplies.com, and occasinally other locations like E-Bay, Amazon, and other independent fabric seller sites.
Question:What about other materials?
Answer:Majority of the other materials will be ordered from Joanns.com. OTHER other things like fursuit pieces by other makers (Claws, hooves, horns etc) can be ordered from Dream Vision Creations(one of the most common/popular) or other makers. At the moment I have not worked with resin bases or realistic styled fursuits, though it is something I may consider doing in the future!
Head Construction
Question:In general, how are your heads built?
Answer:So far, I used a light cotton balaclava base with a sort of foam 'helmet' that covers around the face, over the ears, and around the crown of the head, but it doesn't cover the very top of your neck (where the back of the head starts to slope back inward past the crown). For now I use hot glue to keep everything together.
Question:How do you do head measurements?
Answer:UHHH... good question! Right now, I don't have any super special measuring thing, and I don't really know hoooow to measure those things on a face and translate it to a foam head, since I've only ever made heads intended for myself (and by heads, I mean a few shitty bases and this final one, Saiki, that's my first finished head).
For now, I'm going to start with a basic 'around the head' measurement and shoot for a pretty basic 'one face fits all' thing until I get better at figuring out placement for eyes/mouth/nose 'pocket' and all that. I MAY ask for a front on photo of peoples faces (+ a ruler across your forehead so I can get a good measuring guide) so I can better place where the holes for eyes and mouth should go, but this would be optional!
Question:What about fur? And the nose/mouth! How do you do that?
Answer:Duct-tape the head, cut the pattern, carefully glue each piece into place one at a time. I'll be offering both straight up glued fur and stitched and glued fur for an additional cost. Doing Saiki, there's only ONE place where I was a little bit derp where the fur edges lined up, but other than that, I'm really happy with how their face seams look with just hot glue, but I know some people swear by sewn seams, so they will be + $100-$200 based on pattern and shape dificulty(number of seams, basically).
The nose was hand stitched vinyl, but I'd really have prefered to machine sew it... but... I didn't have my machine here at the time, and who wants to wait :D
The mouth was a little bit fudgy. all the black trim on the face is actually a butchered T-SHIRT I'd had laying around for making my own shirts with printable transfer sheets (which ended up being really fucky, so I just had a bag of cheap jo-anns black shirts laying around, unworn :P). I may stick with a light cotton as the inner mouth fabric, or switch over to fleece... or both sometimes? idk, I just like how cotton doesn't pill like fleece. I've worked with it before, and after a while it always just looked crappy to me on whichever project I used it for.
Question:And eyes? What will you be doing for eyes?
Answer:Lol, no idea. I use a simple plastic base, default white, and for Saiki, I painted it with acrylic and gave it a few sprays with a resin/acrylic clear coat to seal it. The pupil will be a plastic mesh, also painted and sealed. I definitely like doing toony eyes, and my default so far (only) is sort of a hybrid of toony and following. They follow from the front angles, and from the far side, but the middle ground lets the suit still 'look' forward instead of always watching everyone
Body time!
Question:Do you hand sew your bodies?
Answer:LOL oh hell no! Maybe some spots here or there, or tiny markings, but majority of the body is machine sewn.
I do hand stitch some of the edges together when I'm cutting/assembling the pieces to A) Keep the pattern together how it's supposed to go, and B) Make machine sewing easier, because all my ends will already be lined up, instead of having to use pins that just get really bulky and in the way when sewing.
Question:I noticed that the hands and feet were attached on your suit! Will you do that with all suits?
Answer:Nope! Only if A)The design calls for it, and/or B)Thats what the commissioner wants! I did them attached on Saiki because I wanted big blunt doofy paws, and I wasn't sure if the sleeves/legs would stay where they were supposed to be if I didn't attach them. For more normal, non-doofy arms/legs detached handpaws and feetpaws would work fine, and have at least a 5 inch, finished fur cuff.
Foot times!
Question:How will you be doing feet?
Answer:Feet will be built either on a shoe PROVIDED BY YOU so I know it will fit right (if it's a used shoe, please pre-wash it and put a dryer sheet and some baby powder/talcum powder on the inside of each shoe to kill any foot stank >_< that's just gross. I'll still be using an anti-bacterial disinfectant spray on the inside as well when I get it just to be sure,), and also, please pre-tie any tie shoes to where you can easily slip your foot in and out of, but done not so loose that the shoe will just fly off. I WILL BE HOT-GLUING THE SHIT OUT OF THAT KNOT.
If you don't provide a shoe for me I will need a measurement of your foot from heel to toe, and I'll be making big poofy paw-slippers that'll have at least a 2 inch foam padding on the bottom side of the foot.
For starters, I'm only going to be doing simple indoor style bottoms (All fur, no paw pads). I may add more styles in the future.
Bits and Pieces!
Question:Hey, I wanna get JUST hand paws, or JUST feetpaws! Can I do that?
Answer:Possibly! Handpaw sets are gonna start at $75, but footpaws will start at $200. Why? Because I've tried making footpaws before and I just HATE working with feet. Handpaws are no problem, but feet are so nitty gritty and just... bleh.
Question:What about a body suit?
Answer:I'll consider bodysuits on a case by case basis! Bodysuits are also the only cases where I will accept fur shipped from the commissioner and only fur that's visible on the adjoining parts (head, hands, tail, feet)! If there's gonna be a color on the body not on the other parts, it will have to be ordered from the source and shipped to me. ALL BODY SUITS REQUIRE A DUCT TAPED DUMMY that has been RE-TAPPED TOGETHER and your SIDE CENTERLINES, and FRONT AND BACK CENTERLINES (as well as BELT LINE) CLEARLY MARKED ON THE DTD.
again MARK YOUR BELT LINE PLEASE! I tried to figure out where my own tail was supposed to go on the DTD but it just turns into a floppy mess with no definition off of a human body, so unless you want your tail coming out your butt or the middle of your shoulders, MARK YOUR BELT LINE!
Standard partials have Head, Handpaws, Foopaws, and a Tail :3 (Shoes need to be mailed to me to work off of, also, or I'll just build them around a foam base you can slide a shoe into to wear. OR I can make sockpaws, but I'd still need a DTD of your foot :3 )
Haha thanks for explaining it c: