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Some thoughts on fursuit making and the future.
6 years ago
Related to my post yesterday about Henbane's makeover:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/32359789/
You know... I said I wanted to remake Henbane entirely, and granted, it would be cool to bring that to life someday- but the more I think about it, the biggest problems I have with wearing him right now are all things that can be addressed without building an entirely new fursuit. (Also, p. much all of the furs I bought for him in 2015 are either discontinued now or were limited local finds, so what I have left is dear, and it's not enough for a whole new suit. So there's that.)
Since the impromptu glow up his vision is a lot better, and I also took the opportunity to adjust the angle of his muzzle so his mouth stays more open for better ventilation. He aint that bad for a balaclava-based head at all.
Honestly, watching him from another perspective in the IBFC fursuit parade (about 0:17 to 0:23), I'm still so proud and happy with how he looks as a whole, even 4+ years later! Yeah, if I was making him from scratch today there are things I would do differently but I think he's got plenty of life left in him still. And now that I've had some experience with ripping his head apart to make upgrades I'm not afraid to tackle further revamps.
That said, there are two big things I need to do to make him not totally suck to wear:
-I need to change the waistband of the bottom portion. Right now the fox pants ride kind of low because I only made a DTD of my lower body and it ended up a little short. They're held up with suspenders which dig into my shoulders after a day of suiting, so I'll swap those out for belt loops.
-I need to make him a real neck. I didn't get shoulders for my dummy head until my second suit so Henbane's neck is very ??? It's tight, stiff, and messy. This does not help the sore neck/shoulders problem at all and that's my biggest issue right now.
And there are some minor things:
-I'd like to introduce some longer rusty fur on his tail, neck, and shoulders, and expand the armsleeves into more of a crop top/shrug so I can wear tank tops over him without my skin showing.
-Wanna replace his sculpey nose; I don't make rock hard noses anymore! These days I use rubberized fleece and foam- that's what I've got on my shrike beak, porcupine, and (REDACTED WIP).
-His paws and feet need to be remade or at least modified. The feet are snug and kind of a hassle to put on; same with the hands. They're serviceable but I know I can do better!
-I need to either expand his thighs, or take them in. He was designed for a very thin layer of padding but it's not significant enough to bother with... so his legs end up a little baggy when I'm just wearing shorts underneath. Go big or go home, I guess!
-I need to make a real stuffed pillow to go inside the tail so I can stop putting half-inflated beach balls and wads of grocery bags in there lmao
What this ultimately means for the future is that I can put more time and effort into making NEW critters instead of trying to fix what isn't really broken! All things considered, I'm glad I didn't end up having to sell Henbane last year because he'll never be 100% commission quality- no matter how much I pick at him, he'll always be my first suit and there's a certain learning curve that goes with that. But it's not time to retire him by a long shot. He just needs a little extra TLC.
But enough about babby's first fursuit. In no particular order, here is a list of other critters I've been contemplating or actively collecting supplies for:
-fossa
-classical chimera (lion/goat/serpent mix)
-coyote
-alphyn
-hyena
-kingfisher
-pine marten
-tortoise.......
-(REDACTED WIP) (you will see who this is soon enough...)
Any particular species you would like to see?
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/32359789/
You know... I said I wanted to remake Henbane entirely, and granted, it would be cool to bring that to life someday- but the more I think about it, the biggest problems I have with wearing him right now are all things that can be addressed without building an entirely new fursuit. (Also, p. much all of the furs I bought for him in 2015 are either discontinued now or were limited local finds, so what I have left is dear, and it's not enough for a whole new suit. So there's that.)
Since the impromptu glow up his vision is a lot better, and I also took the opportunity to adjust the angle of his muzzle so his mouth stays more open for better ventilation. He aint that bad for a balaclava-based head at all.
Honestly, watching him from another perspective in the IBFC fursuit parade (about 0:17 to 0:23), I'm still so proud and happy with how he looks as a whole, even 4+ years later! Yeah, if I was making him from scratch today there are things I would do differently but I think he's got plenty of life left in him still. And now that I've had some experience with ripping his head apart to make upgrades I'm not afraid to tackle further revamps.
That said, there are two big things I need to do to make him not totally suck to wear:
-I need to change the waistband of the bottom portion. Right now the fox pants ride kind of low because I only made a DTD of my lower body and it ended up a little short. They're held up with suspenders which dig into my shoulders after a day of suiting, so I'll swap those out for belt loops.
-I need to make him a real neck. I didn't get shoulders for my dummy head until my second suit so Henbane's neck is very ??? It's tight, stiff, and messy. This does not help the sore neck/shoulders problem at all and that's my biggest issue right now.
And there are some minor things:
-I'd like to introduce some longer rusty fur on his tail, neck, and shoulders, and expand the armsleeves into more of a crop top/shrug so I can wear tank tops over him without my skin showing.
-Wanna replace his sculpey nose; I don't make rock hard noses anymore! These days I use rubberized fleece and foam- that's what I've got on my shrike beak, porcupine, and (REDACTED WIP).
-His paws and feet need to be remade or at least modified. The feet are snug and kind of a hassle to put on; same with the hands. They're serviceable but I know I can do better!
-I need to either expand his thighs, or take them in. He was designed for a very thin layer of padding but it's not significant enough to bother with... so his legs end up a little baggy when I'm just wearing shorts underneath. Go big or go home, I guess!
-I need to make a real stuffed pillow to go inside the tail so I can stop putting half-inflated beach balls and wads of grocery bags in there lmao
What this ultimately means for the future is that I can put more time and effort into making NEW critters instead of trying to fix what isn't really broken! All things considered, I'm glad I didn't end up having to sell Henbane last year because he'll never be 100% commission quality- no matter how much I pick at him, he'll always be my first suit and there's a certain learning curve that goes with that. But it's not time to retire him by a long shot. He just needs a little extra TLC.
But enough about babby's first fursuit. In no particular order, here is a list of other critters I've been contemplating or actively collecting supplies for:
-fossa
-classical chimera (lion/goat/serpent mix)
-coyote
-alphyn
-hyena
-kingfisher
-pine marten
-tortoise.......
-(REDACTED WIP) (you will see who this is soon enough...)
Any particular species you would like to see?
oh my god what would a crab fursuit even look like
ONE OF US. ONE OF US. Tell me, which book is your favorite so far? (Henbane's not my Redwall fancharacter, Rogan is- but if I was ever going to do a canon character suit I'd make Slagar, and there are a few rad suits of him already!!)