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On Tails
10 years ago
The other day I received an interesting question on Reddit. I typed up a decent answer and figured I'd post it here:
"Hey so I see that you have a red panda suit and I was wondering what you think a good tail length is. I'm getting ready to make mine and I was thinking around 4 1/2 feet but I'm wondering if that's too long for a first time suiter. Thanks!"
A good tail length is whatever you want it to be.
There are two main things to take into consideration when picking out your tail:
1. Does it drag on the ground? 4.5 feet will definitely drag on the ground, which brings about a host of problems. Generally, it means you have to babysit your tail whenever you're in suit, since it will pick up dirt, get kicked around by people, get stuck in furniture, etc.
My tail is 6 feet long, which means about 3 feet of it drags on the ground. It's a major part of the character, but it's also a major hindrance. I generally carry the tail in my hands whenever I can to avoid getting it dirty - I drop it at times to pose for pictures or if I plan to be stationary for a while and I know the floor is relatively clean.
Having a huge tail is both a blessing and a curse. It's an instant prop - you can use it to act out, offer it to people, bash others in the head with it, dance with it, wrap it around your neck like a feather boa, etc. It's hugely popular - people will love to point at and play with your giant tail. If you speak french, where "tail" is slang for "penis", it's also a wonderful source of innuendo.
But a huge tail is also a logistics nightmare. You can't just wear your tail and forget about it - you have to constantly give it some part of your attention. You have to monitor it at all times, which is another thing to keep track of while you suit. At least one of your hands is always busy, which can severely restrict your acting. If you're partial suiting, you'll probably forego your tail - I know I leave the tail home if I'm looking to just casually suit up.
2. Carrying/storing the tail. Fursuiting means travel, and this means carrying your suit to various events. The larger your tail, the more trouble this will give you.
Bunnies and huskies have an easy time - their tails are small chunks of fur which can easily be stored in a small suitcase. My own tail has to be folded in half and compressed to fit inside the largest suitcase I own - and even then, the tail takes up 90% of the suitcase by itself.
A huge tail means an extra checked bag at the airport, meaning an extra ~50$ every time you fly to and from a convention.
Just keeping the tail at home can be troublesome. A shorter tail can be hung like a shirt or pair of pants - a 6' tail is unlikely to fit in any of your closets, and mine needed an improvised rack to hang off.
Go with whatever length you want, but know that the longer your tail, the more problems you're creating for yourself.
Some days I curse my huge tail and wish I had gotten something more reasonable - but then people fall in love with the tail and hug it. I use it as a skipping rope on the dance floor. At this point, it's an indispensable part of the character, and I can't really imagine fursuiting without it.
Good luck!
"Hey so I see that you have a red panda suit and I was wondering what you think a good tail length is. I'm getting ready to make mine and I was thinking around 4 1/2 feet but I'm wondering if that's too long for a first time suiter. Thanks!"
A good tail length is whatever you want it to be.
There are two main things to take into consideration when picking out your tail:
1. Does it drag on the ground? 4.5 feet will definitely drag on the ground, which brings about a host of problems. Generally, it means you have to babysit your tail whenever you're in suit, since it will pick up dirt, get kicked around by people, get stuck in furniture, etc.
My tail is 6 feet long, which means about 3 feet of it drags on the ground. It's a major part of the character, but it's also a major hindrance. I generally carry the tail in my hands whenever I can to avoid getting it dirty - I drop it at times to pose for pictures or if I plan to be stationary for a while and I know the floor is relatively clean.
Having a huge tail is both a blessing and a curse. It's an instant prop - you can use it to act out, offer it to people, bash others in the head with it, dance with it, wrap it around your neck like a feather boa, etc. It's hugely popular - people will love to point at and play with your giant tail. If you speak french, where "tail" is slang for "penis", it's also a wonderful source of innuendo.
But a huge tail is also a logistics nightmare. You can't just wear your tail and forget about it - you have to constantly give it some part of your attention. You have to monitor it at all times, which is another thing to keep track of while you suit. At least one of your hands is always busy, which can severely restrict your acting. If you're partial suiting, you'll probably forego your tail - I know I leave the tail home if I'm looking to just casually suit up.
2. Carrying/storing the tail. Fursuiting means travel, and this means carrying your suit to various events. The larger your tail, the more trouble this will give you.
Bunnies and huskies have an easy time - their tails are small chunks of fur which can easily be stored in a small suitcase. My own tail has to be folded in half and compressed to fit inside the largest suitcase I own - and even then, the tail takes up 90% of the suitcase by itself.
A huge tail means an extra checked bag at the airport, meaning an extra ~50$ every time you fly to and from a convention.
Just keeping the tail at home can be troublesome. A shorter tail can be hung like a shirt or pair of pants - a 6' tail is unlikely to fit in any of your closets, and mine needed an improvised rack to hang off.
Go with whatever length you want, but know that the longer your tail, the more problems you're creating for yourself.
Some days I curse my huge tail and wish I had gotten something more reasonable - but then people fall in love with the tail and hug it. I use it as a skipping rope on the dance floor. At this point, it's an indispensable part of the character, and I can't really imagine fursuiting without it.
Good luck!
lmao
Also great journal post, interesting thanks!