Here Come - Silicon Web Costumers` Guild

Transcription

The Virtual Costumer
the costuming magazine of the
Silicon Web Costumers’ Guild
Here Come
The Furries!
The Virtual Costumer Volume 11, Issue 2
Copyright © 2013 Silicon Web Costumers’ Guild
-1ISSN 2153-9022
May 2013
Table of Contents
Silicon Web Costumers' Guild
President’s Message
From the Editor
Two Dreamcatcher Awards Given at Costume-Con 31
Member Entries in Costume-Con 31 Competitions
Spotlight Reviews
Critter Costuming: Making Mascots and Fabricating Fursuits
Upcoming
Calendar of Events
Ongoing Events
3
4
6
7
The Virtual Costumer (ISSN 2153-9022) is a publication of the Silicon Web
Costumers’ Guild (SiW), a non-profit, volunteer-run chapter of the International
Costumers' Guild (ICG)
11
Copyright © 2012 Silicon Web Costumers’ Guild. This work is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoncommercialNo Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Images, and
material related to novels, movies, exhibits, or otherwise owned by others, remain
the property of their respective copyright holders.
Two reviews of “the bible of fursuit making”
Fursuit Resources on the Web
14
Four websites with useful information on fursuit construction
Feature Articles
Fursuit Fun!
16
Authors with "*" beside their names are Silicon Valley Costumers' Guild members.
Learn the basics to create your own fursuit
Running an Animal Mascot Business
48
49
29
Thinking of setting up shop? Learn what it takes to succeed
Interviews
Everything You Wanted to Know About Furries...
34
A FurCon co-founder on fandom, costuming, and conventions
How-Tos
Digitigrade Legs Using the Pillow Method
39
An experiment creating legs for a digitigrade creature
Virtual Soapbox
Street Fursuiting: The Most Fun Furry Experience
44
Why appearing in public in a fursuit is so much fun
Short Subjects
Stop Motion Legend Takes His Final Bow
46
Visual effects icon passes away at age 92
The Art of Television Costuming Design
About the Cover
46
The Furry version of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian
Man (c.1490) was drawn by Adam Riggs around 1996. It
was one of a series of buttons for members of the original
fursuit mailing list, although he doesn't recall which
conventions they were used at. Eric's introductory article on
fursuit construction starts on page 16. Also see two reviews
of Eric's book, Critter Costuming, starting on page 11.
Costumes for the (not so) small screen at L.A.'s FIDM
Chaos to Couture at the Met
47
Costume Institute mounts exhibit of modern Punk costuming
Parting Shot
47
A photo that 's too good not to publish
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May 2013
Silicon Web Costumers' Guild
Silicon Web Staff
President:
Kevin Roche
Vice-President:
Dana MacDermott
Treasurer:
Bruce MacDermott
Secretary:
Deb Salisbury
Website Editor:
Kathe Gust
Virtual Costumer Editor
Philip Gust
President’s
Message
Kevin Roche*
First, a big thanks to the
VC editors for their forbearance and
patience in holding this issue for my
column. I promised I'd get it to them in time
for it to actually be a May issue, but it was
by the skin of my teeth.
The reason, of course, is the upcoming
Westercon 66, July 4-7, at the Hilton Arden
West in Sacramento, California. If you are a
new reader, or missed earlier
announcements, my husband Andy and I are
the co-chairs of this year's convention, the
oldest general SF convention in the North
American West. I believe a majority of our
staff are costumers (and many of those are
SiWeb members), including Phil and Kathe
Gust as Masquerade Directors, and Christine
Doyle as Program head, so you can be sure
costuming will be quite a visible part of the
conference. We've got John and Bjo Trimble
as Costuming Special Guests, one room
specifically set aside for make/costume
program items, and our special Music Friday
closes with the first ever convention
appearance of science fiction rockabilly
band The Phenomenauts. It's going to be an
AWESOME weekend; if you haven't joined
yet, why not? Find out more details at
http://www.westercon66.org.
I built my first fursuit, Torve the Trog,
in 1985 for Costume-Con 3, before I'd ever
even heard the terms "fursuit" or "furry."
Back in those days Ben Camacho and
Darren Bost were inspiring many of us all
with their impeccable work; search on their
names in the ICG Pat and Peggy Kennedy
archives for the evidence!
While I don't often build creature
costumes (the other two in my repertoire are
Conrad T Lizard and, arguably, the Tiki
Dalek), I am a regular and dedicated
member of Further Confusion, the San
Francisco Bay Area's January furry
convention. It's one of my must-go-to
conventions, and Andy and I always have a
blast there. It goes out of its way to be a
family-friendly experience, and watching
the fursuiters play with fans of all ages is
one of its charms (There is plenty of space
for grown-up weirdos like me, too, I'm
happy to say). Furry costuming and cosplay
Kevin Roche's excellent adventures in fursuiting: Torve the Trog” at Costume-Con 3 (photo: Linda Sweeting), Conrad
T. Lizard at Conzilla 2006 (photo: Andy Trembly), and the Tiki Dalek at Westercon 64 (photo: Andy Trembly).
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May 2013
offer it's own unique set of challenges, and
I'm really glad VC is featuring it this month.
Andy and I missed CC31 because we
had 5 other events that weekend, including
hosting hospitality for the Nebula Awards
one day, a Eurovision Song Contest viewing
another, and (the real deal-breaker), my
MCing the PenWAG ArtWear 2013 runway
show. At least we were able to send my Red
Chaps of Mars to represent us in our
absence! [See a photo of these amazing
chaps in the CC31 report later in this issue
– Ed]
Speaking of Costume-Con, I would be
remiss to not give a shout out to our new
Dreamcatcher award winners MariEllen
“Mea” Cottman (for her fantasy armor with
illuminated sword), and Justin "Lucky"
McQueede and his three teammates (for
their Darth Maul Cyborg). I wish I’d been at
CC31 to see them in person.
They, together with Eric Stevens
("Snap E. Tiger"), who has an article in this
issue on running a fursuit making business,
are the latest members of the Silicon Web
Costumers Guild. Welcome, Lucky, Mea and
Snap E.!
By the way, have you renewed your
membership lately? SiW elections are
coming up in June, so be sure that you
membership is current so that you can vote!
I hope to see you in July at Westercon,
or perhaps at WorldCon in San Antonio I'm
already 2/3 done with my masquerade entry
– how did that happen?
From the Editor
Philip Gust*
For many costumers,
the Furry fandom is a
mystery. Why would these people walk
around in animal suits when they could be
wearing “real” costumes? Is it really OK to
go to a Furry convention? And what's this
business with the hugs?
“Furry fandom” is the term that
describes those who are interested in
anthropomorphic animal characters with
human personalities and characteristics. It
falls most closely as a sub-genre of fantasy.
The fandom is interested in many aspects of
anthropomorphic characters, from culture
and literature to costuming.
Those in the fandom meet in local
groups or “gatherings”, and participate in
online communities. They also have
conventions with panels, tutorials, and
costuming parades and masquerades.
Surprisingly, only a small percentage
of the fandom owns fursuits. The reason is
simple: creating a fursuit requires advanced
costuming skills that many don't have, and a
commissioned fursuit can run thousands of
dollars. Despite the price, costumers who
accept commissions are in very high
demand, with waiting lists of several years.
The best of them are like rock stars within
the fandom.
Fursuits are some of the most
technically sophisticated – and expensive –
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costumes, and their presentations are some
of the most creative and appealing in any
costuming community. I was very happy
that so many in the fandom participated at
Costume-Con 31 recently, and to see fursuits
both in the sci-fi/fantasy masquerade and in
the halls during the convention. As usual,
the reception they received from costumers
and “civilians” alike was overwhelmingly
positive: people smile when Furries are
around. And that's where the hugs come in!
This issue of VC provides a gentle
introduction to the Furry fandom and fursuit
costuming. Some of the leading Furries and
fursuiters in the fandom have contributed.
Leading off this issue is news from
Costume-Con 31 in May. SiW presented two
Dreamcatcher awards in the sci-fi/ fantasy
masquerade and we have photos of the
recipients. SiW members also entered
competitions at CC-31. There was a strong
showing of costuming talent and we present
photos of those who entered along with
descriptions of their entries.
A big thanks to official CC-31
photographer Don Searle of Fantascenes
Photography and videographer Eric Cannon
of Rare Recorded Videos for covering all the
events, and for the care they took with the
photo and video shoots. A costumed
performance is ephemeral without the skill
and dedication of those who record it. Theirs
is a work of art and a labor of love. The
many attendees and participants in
competitions who purchased their photo and
video disks will treasure the memories they
May 2013
captured for many years to come. Special
thanks to Don for permission to use his
photos in this issue.
Our coverage of Furry fandom begins
with a review of the “fursuiter's bible,”
Critter Costuming: Making Mascots and
Fabricating Fursuits by Adam Riggs. A
book dealer and member of the fandom,
“Patch Packrat,” put out a call for reviews.
He selected two to present, by fursuit
builders Chris Czikra and Ray Stankewitz.
I present a “reporters notebook” of four
websites that helped me learn about the
fandom and furry costuming. There are
many other resources available, but these
four should get you well on your way.
Next is an article by Adam Riggs,
who shares his years of building fursuits
and teaching the craft of fursuit
making. In his article, Adam
covers the basics, and provides
useful tips that will help novice
builders get started.
Professional mascot
and fursuit builder Eric
Stevens tells us what it takes
to run a successful
costuming business. Whether
you plan to work with a fursuit
builder or go into it on your own,
Eric's article offers valuable
insight and advice.
Corey Strom, a co-founder
of Further Confusion, one of the
largest Furry conventions, tells
you “Everything You Wanted to Know
About Furries...” and answers the burning
questions about Furry culture, fursuit
costuming, and what a first-time attendee
can expect to see at a Furry convention.
Next, fursuit builder Courtney Rayle
shares the results of her experiment building
a pair of digitigrade legs using the “pillow
method.” She discusses the materials and the
steps she followed to create the animal legs
for a partial fursuit, and shows off the final
results of her entry in the Costume-Con 31
sci-fi/fantasy masqueraded. Her techniques
and the references she provides in the article
will enable you to do your own experiments
in this fascinating area of fursuit costuming.
Finally, “Patch Packrat” returns with a
“Virtual Soapbox” piece on why “street
fursuiting” is the most fun fursuit
experience. Many fursuiters attend
public events to entertain both
children and adults, and “Patch” tells
why he enjoys this form of hall
costuming outside a convention.
Before closing, I'd like to
mark the passing of stopmotion legend and special
effects wizard Ray Harryhausen.
An item in the “Short Subject” section
covers his career and his impact on scifi movies. The pantheon of fantastic
creatures that he brought to life over his
long career, such as the Cyclops (left),
also had a profound effect on young
people who took an interest in
animation and special effects,
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including me, and on members of the Furry
fandom who were eager to bring creatures
like those to life in another medium. I was
lucky enough to talk with Ray on several
occasions, and to tell him how much his
work meant to me. He will be greatly
missed.
Here is a quick preview of what is
upcoming in VC. The August 2013 issue
turns back the clock to the Georgian and
Regency periods, from George I in 1714 to
the death of George IV in 1830. Historical
movies and popular romantic literature are
set in this period, so it is fitting to feature the
costumes of the dashing heroes, dark
villains, and elegant ladies who inhabit this
world.
It's “Hats Off!” in the November 2013
issue as we celebrate the many forms of
hats, masks, and headgear. From historical
to fantasy and sci-fi, this issue will explore
things that costumers put on their heads and
the unique construction techniques that are
used to make them.
I'm pleased to announce that the
February 2014 issue will delve into the
iconic costuming for one of the most
popular sci-fi/fantasy series ever: Dr. Who!
With the upcoming Los Angeles Gallifrey
conference in February 2014, what better
way to kick off the new year? Cheers!
See the Upcoming Issues page of the
SiW website for details. Now is a great time
to start writing for VC, and share what you
know and love with your fellow costumers.
May 2013
Two Silicon Web Costumers'
Guild Dreamcatcher Awards
Given at Costume-Con 31
The Silicon Web Costumers Guild
presented two of its coveted Dreamcatcher
awards at the Costume-Con 31 Science
Fiction/ Fantasy Masquerade. The award is
presented for the innovative use of
technology and/or creative problem solving
in costume construction. This is the first
time two Dreamcatchers have been awarded
in a single masquerade.
The first award was presented to
MariEllen “Mea” Cottman's entry in the
Journeyman Division, "Capt. Steiner, A
Knight of Pluto" from Final Fantasy IX. The
costume featured an oversized sword with
electronics that gave the blade a blue glow
and EL wire throughout the costume.
The second award was presented to
Justin “Lucky” McQueede and a team of
three other builders for "Darth Maul
Cyborg" from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The entry included heavily modified
commercial digitigrade legs from Area51.
A team of SiW judges in the audience
made the selections, and the awards were
presented at half-time by Carole Parker. In
addition to a Dreamcatcher, each recipient
also comes with a year's membership in SiW
and the ICG.
Congratulations and welcome to
MaryEllen Cottman, and to Justin Queede
and his team, as SiW's newest members!
MariEllen Cottman -- "Capt. Steiner, A Knight of
Pluto." Journeyman Division. Photo by Don Searle
-6-
Justin McQueede and team -- "Darth Maul Cyborg."
Best in Novice Division. Photo by Don Searle.
May 2013
Silicon Web Costumers'
Guild Entries in CostumeCon 31 Competitions
•
•
•
•
•
Doll Costuming Content
Single Pattern Contest
Science Fiction/Fantasy Masquerade
Future Fashion Portfolio
Historical Masquerade
A recap of Silicon Web Costumers'
Guild members who entered competitions at
Costume-Con 31.
Doll Costuming Contest
There was an excellent turn-out by
Silicon Web Costumers' Guild members at
Costume-Con 31, held this year in Denver
Colorado from May 17-20. CC31 Chair
Michael Bruno (Denver Costume & Cosplay
Society President) did a wonderful job,
assisted by an incredibly talented and
vibrant Colorado costuming community.
The Doll Costuming Contest that ran
throughout CC31 in one of two exhibition
halls challenged costumers to create
costumes on a small scale. Contestants could
submit a human or alien doll, or a costumed
creature. There were separate judging
categories for purchased figures dressed by
the entrant, modified figures and entrantmade figures.
In addition to attending the many
panels and sessions, some SiW members
also entered the competitions put on by the
convention. The competitions this year
were:
Friday - Sunday
award went to Leah Watts for her creation,
“Bridezilla.”
Single Pattern Contest
Friday Evening
The Single Pattern contest provides
entrants with a small selection of
commercial patterns to construct and put
their own spin on the finished product.
This year's contest provided four
patterns to play with: one for ladies, one for
gentlemen, one unisex and an accessory.
Two are mainstream pattern companies
available at most fabric stores, two are
generally online only. The most expensive
pattern is $20.
In addition to formal judging, attendees
could also vote on their favorite entry for a
“Members' Choice” award. This year's
Editor's Note
The editor is grateful to Don Searle
of Fantascenes Photography for his kind
permission to use his images in VC. Don
was the official photographer for
Costume-Con 31, and covered all the
competitions and events. He is a
remarkable photographer and a joy to
work with. A CD of his images from CC31 is available for purchase by contacting
him at fantascenes@donsearlephoto.com.
Visit the Fantascenes website to see more
of Don's work.
1930's Kitchenette
Pajamas
Leah Watts – "Bridezilla". Members Choice Award.
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Messenger Bag
Lederhosen
Chaps
May 2013
recognizes creativity, workmanship and
stage presentation. Coincidentally, there
were 31 entries in the masquerade, exactly
matching the number of the convention.
Three of the entries were by SiW members.
Anne Davenport recreated “Tera
Sinube,” a Jedi Master from Star Wars: The
Clone Wars for her Masters Division entry.
The costume featured digitigrade legs of her
own construction.
Aurora Celeste and “Thing 2” entered
as Rosie and Samwise Gamgee in a
presentation entitled, “A Hobbit Family” in
the Masters Division. The costumes by
Aurora Celeste were inspired by The Lord of
the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings.
Kevin Roche – "Red Planet Mars" chaps. Judge's
Choice Award.
Although he could not attend CC-31,
Kevin Roche entered a pair of “Red Planet
Mars” chaps in the contest, and received the
Judges Choice Award.
Anne Davenport – "Master Tera Sinube from Star
Wars: The Clone Wars." Master Division.
Science Fiction / Fantasy
Masquerade
Saturday Evening
The Science Fiction/Fantasy
Masquerade offered contestants a chance to
let their imagination run wild on stage. It
Aurora Celeste and "Thing 2" -- " A Hobbit Family".
Masters Division.
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Philip Gust entered as “Bilbo
Baggins” in a costume that was made for
him by Kathe Gust. The costume was based
on the one worn by Ian Holm in the
Birthday Party scene in the Lord of the
Rings: Fellowship of the Rings Movie.
Kathe received Best in Masters Division
Workmanship for her efforts.
May 2013
Conference attendees can create designs
from the Future Fashion Folio to present on
the runway at the conference. Finished
garments are evaluated on how faithfully
they realize the original design.
Aurora Celeste created “Lady of the
Lanterns,” designed by Dawn McKechnie.
The lanterns are lighted by electronic votive
candles. Aurora was honored by the judges
for Excellence and Attention to Detail.
“On the completely forested planet of
La ForÍt the pioneers have invented elegant
solutions to the planets long nights and the
dark forest floor hundreds of feet below the
endless canopy. Among these are the
fashions of the Lantern Ladies, whom wear
glowing lanterns on their heads,
illuminating their beautiful garb and
making them seem like glowing angelic
creatures as they go about their business.
The elaborate headgear is not only fashion
statement but is useful in leaving their
hands free to go about their nightly tasks.”
Philip Gust -- "A Long Awaited Party." Created by
Kathe Gust. Best Workmanship in Master Division.
Future Fashion Portfolio
Sunday Afternoon
The Future Fashion event consist of
two parts: The Future Fashion Folio and the
Future Fashion Showcase. The design
portion takes place prior to the conference,
with designers submitting their designs by
mail or email. Winning designs are
published in the Future Fashion Folio
approximately 6 months in advance.
Aurora Celeste -- "Lady of the Lanterns." Designed by Dawn McKechnie -- “Lady of the Lanterns.” Illustration and
Dawn McKechnie. Excellence and Attention to Detail. description from the Future Fashion Folio.
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May 2013
Aurora Celeste also created “L'il
Pyro,” modeled by “Thing 2,” based on a
design by Nora Mai.
Thing 2 -- "L'il Pyro." Made by Aurora Celeste.
Designed by Nora Mai.
Historical Masquerade
Sunday Evening
In the Historical Masquerade, costumes
are evaluated both on construction and from
the audience as presented. Entries can be
categorized as Recreation, where precise
historical techniques and faithful
reproduction are valued, or Interpretation,
where a period design
or garment may just
be a jumping-off
point. There are three
separate competitions:
for historical
documentation,
workmanship, and
presentation. Two of
the entrants were SiW
members.
Leah Watts
recreated a period
Shaker woman's
costume in an entry
entitled “Simple
Gifts” in the
Journeyman Division.
The costume included
period-accurate
materials, and
construction
techniques. Leah was
honored in
documentation for
Best Research, and in
presentation for Most
Authentic.
Leah Watts -- "Simple Gifts." Best
Research for Documentation, Most
Authentic in Presentation.
Kathe Gust recreated a English man's
court costume c. 1780, on display in the
Kensington Palace Museum in England. The
costume used period-accurate materials and
construction techniques, with extensive
hand-died ribbon embroidery. The wig by
Philip Gust was hand-made of human hair
wefts. The costume featured actual 1780s
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Philip Gust -- "The Rehearsal, March 18,
1782." Costume by Kathe Gust, wig by Philip
Gust. Best Analysis of Source for
Documentation; Best in Show Workmanship;
Best Presentation in the Masters Division.
accessories including shoe buckles and a
quizzing glass. Kathe was honored in
documentation for Best Analysis of Source,
and received Best in Show Workmanship.
Philip received Best Presentation in the
Masters Division for his portrayal of
Revolutionary War Prime Minister
Fredrick, Lord North's resignation.
May 2013
Spotlight Review
Book Review:
Critter
Costuming
Presented by
“Patch Packrat”
A book dealer and member of the
Furry community presents two reviews of
the bible of fursuit making.
Introduction by “Patch Packrat”
Hello, Virtual Costumer readers. Editor
Philip Gust asked me to review the book
Fabricating Fursuits by Adam Riggs (ISBN
0-9678170-7-2), published by Ibexa Press.
He found me as a professional dealer who
helps distribute the book.
request to the Furry community for reviews
of the book. The two reviews included here
were the ones I selected to present.
My own observation is that the book
could use an update on newer techniques,
and innovations such as animatronics,
lighting, or improved formulas for glue.
Current information can be found by looking
up internet tutorials from active makers.
Some makers achieve original style using
techniques of their own that only come from
experience.
Editor's Note
The Editor is grateful to “Patch
Packrat” for generously reaching out to
the Furry community and asking fursuit
builders for reviews of this classic book.
Visit his FurAffinity journal post for
information on how to purchase the book,
and for other fursuit resources.
Reviewer: Chris Czikra
This book was a
long time coming. Within
it’s pages, you'll find
knowledge of nearly
every aspect of planning,
constructing, and
performing in a fur suit. I
stress “nearly”, which I’ll explain below.
That said, this book has enough detail to
give anyone the skill to step into this
inspired world of D.I.Y. costuming.
“Fur suit” is a buzzword given to
animal costumes, resembling mascots, that
are worn to entertain others or bring
personal enjoyment as your own character.
Don’t let the word throw you off, because
the suit is only an aid for immersive role
playing. This book places a wealth of
knowledge at the disposal of anyone willing
to tackle the challenge that fursuit creation
can pose.
For two years I’ve done events and
conventions every month, usually with my
fursuit as a Husky Dog. I don’t make
costumes, I just wear them, so I put out a
The book is a slow but stable seller in
my stock, and due to the niche quality of the
hobby, I expect it to remain a foundation
reference for many years before anyone sees
fit to make a new edition.
The first section presented in Critter
Costuming is character creation. Not many
tutorials I've found cover this in depth. It
provokes the reader to consider what the
character is, who it is, and it's traits. Some
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May 2013
characters I've seen fail this test, because
they answer questions about themselves
with a shrug, and reply 'I just wanted to'.
There is a place for improv, but a character
should avoid being two-dimensional.
By actively planning who your
character is, you can make them more
memorable. The broader view helps give an
underlying understanding to help you create
your own character, in a way that works for
you.
The bulk of this book does deal with
construction, as you might expect. It begins
with a lighter section to cover needed tools,
with an impressive amount of information in
a modest space. It explains needle types,
thread, foam, dye, fabric, and glue. It's a lot
to process, considering how online tutorials
can dive right into specific tools and
materials.
The last section covers another topic
that's harder to find online: acting. It
discusses behavior in suit, what to expect
from helpers, and even gimmicks to use in
performance. What kind of performance?
The advice is mainly geared for crowds and
venues. It is interesting, but may not be
essential. A lot of fursuiters perform in
public places, but not strictly in one
controlled spot, and they may have a casual
convention setting. This leads to cases
where the book's tips can differ from fan
fursuiter needs.
If you have an interest in costume and
performance, this book is perfect for
exploring the specialty of cartoon animal
costumes and fursuits. It covers much more
Construction is so varied that there's no
one set way to make a suit. I could nitpick
and go over methods I know that weren't in
the book, such as other ways to construct
and fur a head, but that doesn't devalue it.
Reviewer: Ray Stankewitz
The back cover
states; “Critter
Costuming: Making
Mascots and Fabricating
Fursuits is the first book
of its kind.” I believe it’s
the only book of its kind,
as far as I’m aware.
Mascot and Fursuit construction is one
of those niche hobbies that doesn’t have a
huge following. Adam Riggs’ manual takes
one through the necessary steps to create a
well-constructed costume from start to
finish. From personal experience, it sure
beats digging around on the Internet,
printing out numerous pages and trying to
keep them organized.
Critter Costuming has over 200 well
laid-out pages. It was originally published
with a spiral binding to lay it flat for
reference while you work, but the current
version in print is a perfect-bound softcover.
The illustrations are well-done to
compliment the text. It has six parts and a
resources section that cover each subject
carefully. There are profiles of twelve
notable costume creators throughout that are
practically worth the price alone.
The different selections, details, and
reasons behind jumpsuit construction
methods make this book worth every cent.
This is the section of the book where I really
started to get hints of it's broader purpose.
The section on makeup, ears, tails, and
accessories mentions more and more about
performance. That topic may not be the
reason why an aspiring maker would pick it
up, but it makes the book more accessible.
than just construction. If you supplement it
with online knowledge, you will be armed
with everything you need to make a fursuit
and perform as a character in public.
Whether your interest is professional or
personal, this book is worth picking up.
-12-
May 2013
Part I covers design and planning. I
can’t begin to tell you how important this is.
This will make or break your first suit if the
design is not well thought out. Too many
times an idea is put forth that has many
design flaws. Without a guide, too much
time is spent trying to bring a design to
fruition only to realize at some point, it can’t
be done. Adam recommends starting simple,
within your construction means and skills to
achieve success with your first suit.
Part II covers Tools and Materials.
Making a costume goes beyond scissors and
needle. Many suits fail due to poor
construction. That would include using hotglue for everything, over-use of spray
adhesive, or heaven forbid, the dreaded
duct-tape! There are appropriate times to use
hot glue, such as head fur seams, but the
only proper use of duct tape is creating a
“Duct Tape Dummy” of your body for
proper fitting. Adam Riggs takes you
through the supplies needed to properly
construct a costume that will stay together
from performance to performance.
Part III covers the various forms of
head construction. The head and particularly
the eyes are the soul of the suit. You are
guided through what might be the most
daunting part of construction. While Adam
only covers foam and wire framework
heads, these are fine for your first attempts.
After constructing a few heads in the
aforementioned styles, you will have basic
knowledge to pursue other, more
complicated systems such as slush-molded
resin, foam rubber/balaclava, or foam
latex/balaclava hybrids.
Part IV covers body construction.
Adam covers the art of taking a stock
bodysuit pattern and customizing it to your
needs, and other bodysuit methods, such as
using lycra/spandex unitards and partial
clothing. It also mentions zipper installation,
an often overlooked but vital part of fursuits.
Part V covers alternatives to using a
full head, namely face paint, makeup and
prosthetics. For some, a full head is not the
answer or possibly not a consideration. Tail
construction is also covered, along with
props and costumes.
Part VI covers getting to conventions
intact, performing, and eventually the need
to store your suit. The need for a ‘handler’ is
covered along with the suiters’
commandments and etiquette. There are
performance tips and suggestions to make
your performance stand out.
The last section covers resources and
reference, with a glossary to help newbies
with the vernacular of the genre.
This is an indispensable manual for a
“suiter.” It helped me prepare a trio of
-13-
costumes for ‘family suiting.’ Without this
manual, we were totally in the dark. It led us
to backtrack, regroup and get on the right
track.
Common advice says to create a “suit
zero” for practice, before starting a real one,
but I’m confident this manual will guide you
to a successful first suit. My hat is off to
Adam Riggs for putting such a useful
resource in print for the first time!
“Patch Packrat” is the Furry alter-ego
of a professional dealer who helps distribute
“Critter Costuming” at a low cost to help
spread the hobby. “Patch's” career includes
animating for Disney and having Steve Jobs
as a customer. He lives in a cave full of
treasure, and is most happy while biking,
having late night adventures, and dancing
with woodland creatures. Visit “Patch's”
journal post on FurAffinity for information
on purchasing this book and other furry
related items.
Chris Czikra (“Schrix”) is an Alaskan
born member of the Furry fandom living in
North Carolina. He's finishing an associates
in networking technology and has been a
part of the fandom for over a decade.
Ray Stankewitz (“Kellan Meig’h”) is
is a husband, father, and grandfather who
works as a communications technician for a
K-12 school district. His novel "Destiny's
Change” can be found through a number of
sources. He has been active (as his personal
life permits) in the furry fandom, from a
time before fursuiters were known as “furs.”
May 2013
Website Spotlight
Fursuit
Resources on
the Web
The post included before and after photos
showing the results.
Philip Gust*
Here are four websites that provide
resources and useful information on fursuit
construction materials and techniques.
Fursuit Livejournal
The Fursuit Livejournal is a forum for
fursuiters to post questions, discuss fursuit
construction techniques, and show finished
fursuits. Like all Livejournals, it is
organized chronologically, with the most
recent post first. You can access older posts
using the calendar feature in the sidebar.
There is also an index for accessing posts
that are tagged with a particular topic.
For example, under “airbrushing” is a
series of posts asking for advice about
techniques for airbrushing fur, with a
number of good suggestions from other
fursuiters. There are also several posts
showing results.
In one post a fursuiter showed the
results of reworking a wolf's head that had
been purchased and was unsatisfactory. The
writer described how they removed the fur,
reinforced and reworked the base form,
added new fur and completed airbrushing it.
The “digitigrade legs” topic includes
discussions of
techniques for
creating legs, and
members asking for
advice. One entry
showed an inprogress photo
creating fur pants
around a digitigrade
form made of
padding and duct
tape, and asking for advice on handling the
seam between the pants and the shoe.
Like most forums, the quality of the
content varies, but if you are looking for
specific information, this is a worthwhile
place to look.
Visit Fursuit Livejournal
-14ISSN 2153-9022
Kobuk's Fursuit Guides
Furtopia is a forum for the fandom to
discuss fursuit-related issues. Posting to this
forum requires signing up and being
approved, but anyone can read forum posts.
One of the more useful resources on
this site is a sub-forum
called “Kobuk's
Fursuit Guides.”
Kobuk's portrays an
Alaskan Malamute
(Husky) in the
fandom. His subforum is a repository for guides and tutorials
regarding fursuits and fursuiting.
Kobuk began writing these guids in
late April 2012 and continues adding new
topics. Some recent entries include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Traveling with a fursuit
Fursuit rices
A tutorial
How to commission a fursuit
Common fursuiting
questions/problems
Fursuit cleaning and care tutorial
Fursuit maintenance kit.
Each entry includes a complete
extended article on the topic with many
photos and illustrations. Readers who are
signed up with the forum can also post
comments on the article at the end.
May 2013
For example, here is the table of
contents for “Traveling with a fursuit:”
1. Transportation Rules, Regulations, &
Restrictions - The 3 "R's"
2. Modes of Transportation
3. Container Types
4. Packing a Fursuit
5. Shipping, Labeling, & What to Do If
Lost.
Like all the others, this tutorial is very
well written and covers almost every aspect
of traveling with a fursuit in a way that is
useful, providing practical advice about
what to do and what not to do. It includes
considerations for different modes of
transportations, and types of containers to
that are appropriate for each.
It also covers how to pack fursuits to
ensure that they arrive
safely and unharmed,
and what kinds of
containers to use and
some not to use. For
example it recommends against using
molded plastic tubs because they are not
sturdy and are easily broken.
This latest tutorial (last updated in
April 2013) is still under construction, and
will be even better once it is finished.
Visit Kobuk's Fursuit Guides.
Nicodemus' Fursuit Pages
Nicodemus' Fursuit Pages are written
by Adam Riggs, who also wrote the book
Fabricating Fursuits. [See Adam's article
on fursuit construction elsewhere in this
issue – Ed]
This site contains tutorials on many
aspects of fursuit construction, including
design, materials, and techniques. It also
includes pages on past project that Adam has
worked on, with notes about construction.
For example, in the “Design” section,
Adam covers such topics as:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Safety Tips
Sewing Basics
Carving Foam
Lifecasting
Vacuform Plastic
Zippers on Fursuits
Under “Carving Foam,” he discusses
the basics of foam
carving, and points to
other pages on his site
that cover foam heads,
foam carving tools,
and step-by-step foam
Rabbit head from
carving instructions.
"Carving Foam" page.
He recommends using
an electric carving knife, making major cuts
to rough out the overall shape; then adding
details and smaller contours. He also
suggests hollowing out the insides early to
you can see how it will sit on your head.
Adam writes clearly, and the site is
very well organized, with many helpful
photos and diagrams to guide both
newcomers and veteran fursuit builders.
WikiFur
WikiFur is a specialized wiki that
provides reference articles on topics related
to Furries and Furry fandom. Articles are
organized hierarchically by topic and
subtopic, and you can also access articles
directly by name. For example, the “Fursuit”
article is organize under Culture > Arts and
Crafts > Fursuiting > Fursuit.
This article discusses many aspects
including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
History
Types of fursuits
Styles
Reasons for fursuiting
Construction
Maintenance
Performance
As with most public wikis, pages are
built by the community, and are constantly
evolving. For example, the “Fursuit” article
is marked as needing to be cleaned up to
conform to style standards. Members of the
Furry fandom are welcome to contribute
new articles, and to improve existing ones.
Visit WikiFur.
Philip Gust enjoys sci-fi and fantasy
costuming, and has particular interests in
props, special effects, and prosthetic
makeup. He also costumes in historical
periods, including Georgian, Regency,
Victorian, and early 20th C.
Visit Nicodemus' Fursuit Pages.
-15-
May 2013
Feature
Fursuit Fun!
Adam Riggs
The author of the
most popular book on
fursuits provides an
introduction for
costumers who may
want to try their hand
at it.
Fursuits and Characters
What is a Fursuit Anyway?
Perhaps you've seen animal characters
wandering around sci-fi, fantasy, or anime
conventions. They look sort of like they
belong in a theme park except they're a bit
leaner and wilder. Sometimes they're
recognizable as commercial characters but
often they appear to be their own thing
entirely.
and animals that don't have fur, such as
dolphins.
Fursuits are the costuming aspect of
this interest. Many of the characters roaming
furry conventions are original creations and
specifically tied to that individual. They fit
comfortably alongside renderings of
characters from popular media and other
sources. From a costuming standpoint, the
techniques are the same and can be applied
to any animal character at conventions,
public events, or stage productions.
If that background leaves you
nonplussed, just think of a fursuit as being
that really awesome Halloween costume you
always wanted!
In this article I've chosen to focus on
some of the most common techniques and
styles. These are not rules for what a fursuit
"must" be. We embrace inventiveness and
you should choose the materials, designs,
and techniques which result you judge best.
Fursuits are for public performance,
convention hallway mingling, stage
presentation, charity work, kids' parties, and
more. Decide what the intended uses are for
your costume project. This affects choices
such as foot size and soles, flexibility and
grip in the paws, maneuverability vs padded
shaping in the body, whether you can get in
and out without assistance, ease of packing
and shipping, etc.
It's hard to define exactly what "furry"
is so I will fall back on a very general
categorization: it's about characters
combining human and animal attributes in
different ways. This also includes mythical
creatures, such as dragons and minotaurs,
Copyright © 2010 Silicon Web Costumers' Guild
Because it's a broad area of interest,
there is no canon around which furry
fandom is built. Some of the fandom draws
on media while some is self-defining. As
such, there is no metric by which to say
what is "right" for original characters. There
are no immutable rules for materials,
historical accuracy, presentation, or
performance.
Viewers and Venues
These are fursuits -- anthropomorphic
animal costumes. The term "fursuit" comes
out of furry fandom, the offshoot of sci-fi
for fans of animal characters.
Generalization Caveat
It's important to understand your
audience's expectations and how they will
Adam Riggs' alter-ego is “Nicodemus” in the fandom.
-16ISSN 2153-9022
May 2013
be viewing the costume. Is this going to be a
realistic character or cartoonish? Is this for a
polished performance or informal romparound fun? How close will your audience
be to the costume? A seated audience will
see shaping and detailing differently than
someone standing directly in front of you
who will see it differently from a young kid
coming up for a hug.
their personality. The performer is looking to
transform into what is both a different
character and yet also a portion of their own
sense of self. You can adopt this approach by
thinking about the character as embodying
an archetype or emotion. What comes to
mind when you think about creating an
animal character that embodies your notion
of "playful," "brave," "clumsy," or "cool?"
Building Fursuits
Use of species stereotypes draws on
traditions of myths and fairy tales. As you
consider your character's personality and
how they project to an audience, certain
animal species may spring to mind. You can
either build on or deliberately play against
these expectations (e.g. the cowardly lion);
either way, you should be cognizant of how
species selection plays into the design as
more than just exterior shape and color.
Pieces and Parts
Fursuits consist of a head, bodysuit,
hands, and feet. Generally the term "paws"
is used for the hands, even though animal
feet are also paws. For costume feet the
backformation "footpaws" has arisen though
"feet" is more common. (I'm not prescribing
how our language should work, I feel
obliged to mention, just documenting
observations.)
Pieces may be combined but it's often
more practical to have them separate. Tails
are one piece often sewn to the bodysuit. If
the tail is large or heavy then it should have
internal support and not just be connected to
the bodysuit lest the fur pull and distort
down the back of the suit. The tail can be
supported with a belt worn inside the
bodysuit and anchored to the tail's base.
You will also see suits that are
"partials" in that they're designed to be worn
with clothes. In this case, the costume is
only a head, paws, and tail. My rat character
shown on the previous page is built in this
style. I added fur sleeves to the gloves so
Character studies from “Critter Costuming.”
that the character can wear short sleeve
shirts. The tail is built into the pants in my
example but a great option for partials is to
add belt loops to the base of the tail. Then
you can thread it onto your belt and let a
shirt or blouse hang over the top of it.
Know Thyself
So what character do you want to
build? Perhaps a rendition of a character
from cartoons or manga? A fuzzy alien from
a sci-fi series? Something totally new?
A lot of furries create original
characters which embody some aspect of
-17-
What Are These Things Made Of?
Fur -- The fur is synthetic, typically
composed of either modacrylic or nylon
plastics. It's generically referred to as a
"long-pile" or "plush fabric" by distributors.
The fibers form the backing and the exposed
ends that form the pile. It has a knit backing
(non-fraying) and only a little stretch
(typically around 8-12%).
Note that there is an enormous range of
quality in fur fabrics. This is an area where
you generally get what you pay for. For a
fursuit you want something that has a fairly
dense pile and stands a half inch or more
above the backing.
May 2013
Thread -- For fursuits I recommend a
100% polyester thread and double stitching
areas that will be stressed. A zigzag stitch is
good for fur to spread tension across the knit
backing and create a studier seam. You can
use upholstery thread if you want areas to be
extra secure (e.g. anchoring a tail) but it's
not required.
Foam -- The most commonly used
foam is a firm open-cell polyurethane foam.
This is the same stuff that is used for making
cushions and upholstering. Fabric stores
carry it but a better price can be had if you
locate a dedicated foam distributor.
This type of foam works to build out
structure, either for body shaping or in the
head. For our purposes, it is easiest to work
with in 3/4" or 1" thick sheets. Shapes can
be cut from that and assembled, providing a
lightweight, soft, and durable structure.
Reticulated Foam -- Also called "filter
foam" or "evac foam," this material has
large open pores. It comes in black and
cream colors. The foam itself is more of a
lattice which means this material is
washable. This can be used in place of the
more common foam for structure, especially
if you need to permanently install the foam
inside the suit and thus require the
washability. The downside is that reticulated
foam usually doesn't compress as
comfortably and it's much more expensive.
One area where I particularly like to
use this is for eyes where the vision is
through the pupil. If you slice reticulated
foam thinly enough (around 1/4" for 20ppi
foam), you can see through it from inside a
darkened head but external environmental
light makes it hard for the audience to see in.
Open-cell polyurethane foam.
Plastic Canvas -- Cross-stitch canvas
sheets from the hobby store can be used for
quick and easy structure (see the heads
section below). Dense plastic canvas (Darice
plastic canvas #14 is one specific product)
can be used for irises. The pores are small
enough that it still reads as a "solid surface"
but from within you can get some vision.
When coloring you need to use a thin paint
or ink to ensure you avoid clogging the tiny
holes.
Anti-Pill Synthetic Fleece -- This
fabric is useful for detailing or parts of the
character that need to visually read as "skin"
or "fuzzy." On heads, fleece is often used for
color insets (e.g. insides of ears) or areas
where you want a close fabric that contrasts
with the fur pile (e.g. around the eyes). On
my Hazrat character, I used fleece for the
paws and tail since rats don't have fur there;
the fleece provides an irregular and fuzzy
surface which matches well with fur and
won't draw attention to material details such
as a visible weave.
Reticulated foam.
Plastic canvas.
Tips for Cutting and Sewing Fur
Working with fur is a little different
from other materials. In some ways, it can
be easier! If you have a shaggy fur, no one
will notice if your seam wobbles. On the
other hand, it can be a bear to force through
some sewing machines, especially if you get
Anti-pill synthetic fleece.
-18-
May 2013
to a place where multiple seams intersect. So
here are a few quick tips:
Cut from the Back -- Always cut fur
with the pile down and the backing up. You
can slice through the backing with a razor
blade or a pen knife (I like narrow-barrel XActo knives), which leaves the pile fibers
intact. This means less shedding and no
clipped patches from being trapped in
scissors. If you do prefer to use scissors,
develop a technique of sliding the blade of
the scissors through the pile, keeping the tip
against the backing. With the fur upside
down on a cutting table, you can lift the
fabric slightly and support it on the blade to
assist you in plowing through the pile.
Hand Sew Tight Curves -- Heavy
duty home sewing machines or industrial
machines should be able to go through fur.
But the resistance and awkward bulk of the
material can make it tricky to navigate
through tight curves and joints. Consider
sewing these parts by hand so you have
greater control. A simple blanket stitch
interspersed with knots will work fine.
When I'm building paws, for example, I'll
always hand stitch the finger seams to
reduce seam allowance bulk and get
accurate matching through the inner curves
between the fingers.
Pick your Seams -- When you sew
two pieces of fur together some of the pile
fibers will get caught in the seam. This
creates a "furrow" which is fairly visible.
You can use a straight pin or safety pin to go
along the seam and pick the fibers out. Slide
the pin underneath fibers which have looped
down into the seam and gently work them
out. Then use a pet slicker brush to comb
back and forth across the seam to help hide
and blend.
Seam Allowance Treatment -- The
reason you get caught fibers is because the
pile of the fur continues into the seam
allowance. An alternative is to shave or clip
away the area of the seam allowance, nearly
down to the knit backing. This allows the
fabric to come together more tightly in the
seam. It requires more careful preparation
and sewing, since sewing too far out means
a bald patch shows in the seam and sewing
too far inside catches pile in the seam and
undermines the whole effort. If done right, it
does produce flatter and more invisible
seams. Whether the time is worth it will
Although this particular pattern is no longer available,
there are a number of similar patterns available from
different companies. Look in their holiday or costume
section of the pattern catalog; there's usually a
"mascot" pattern.
depend on your personal preferences, the
costume's audience and intended use, and
your project's deadlines.
Body Construction
Jumpsuit Design
The body of the character is generally
assembled like a jumpsuit, as a single-piece
garment with a zipper up the front or back.
Placing the zipper along the spine allows for
better movement but is more awkward to get
into without assistance. I should note that
fursuits have moved away from the baggier
one-size-fits-all jumpsuit to a more tailored
Cut fur from back with X-Acto knives.
-19-
May 2013
approach to match the character to the
owner's body type.
Body patterns generally have four
panels to make the legs and torso. Seams run
along the front, back, left, and right
centerlines. The arms are two additional
pattern pieces, done as a raglan or inset
sleeves. The fur is extended to simple cuffs
on arms, legs, and neck. You can draft your
own pattern or modify a commercial
jumpsuit or mascot pattern.
Legs are sometimes separate pieces,
particularly if you want to introduce shaping
for a digitigrade stance. Digitigrade is the
term for animal legs structured so they have
a raised joint and are standing on the
human equivalent of their toes;
canines and felines are digitigrade,
for example. Humans (along with
bears and rats) are plantigrade,
having a heel. For fursuits, padding
can be added to the front and back
of the leg to create an illusion of
digitigrade stance. [Read about an
experiment creating digitigrade legs
for a fursuit elsewhere in this issue
– Ed.]
body at a circular seam running over the
hips and down through the crotch. The exact
shaping and placement will vary based on
the desired character shape.
When you have your pattern, create a
test version in a cheap, static fabric such as
muslin. This helps ensure the pattern fit is
good and allows for the desired range of
movement. Remember that synthetic fur has
minimal stretch to it. If you're making a
costume for active use, such as running
around with kids or as a sports mascot,
you'll want to ensure you have the needed
range of movement. Use your test garment
to go through some exercises and adjust any
areas that pull or bind.
Break out a fabric pen and start
drawing markings on your test garment. The
goal here is to be able to capture the right
color lines as they move around body
curves, which is difficult to do when just
looking at the pattern pieces laid out on a
sewing table. Take the marked item off and
cut it apart along the original seams. You can
lay this over the pattern and transfer the
color lines.
The pattern pieces then get cut
apart so that you have separate
pieces for each color. The concept is
that when you cut the fur and
assemble the different colors they
will add up to the original body
pattern shape. This can be tricky
with curving color lines; it's easy to
introduce distortions when sewing.
In this case, you need to adjust
Pattern broken into pieces by color markings.
the bodysuit pattern so the fur leg
Markings and Tape Patterns
extends forward and backward. The
bodysuit has seams down the sides; there
Most characters incorporate multiple
aren't seams on the front and back midlines
colors of fur. The placement of color
of the legs if they're extensions of the body.
boundary lines on the body influences how
Patterning the legs separately allows you to
the character "reads," both as species and
rotate the seams to where you need them to
personality. Complex markings like tiger
do the shaping. The legs then connect to the
stripes require a lot of care when sewing.
Markings are created by breaking
pattern pieces into color regions. You should
probably avoid layering the fur (e.g. surface
application of stripes on top of the base
color) because the pile of fur will cause the
markings to bulge and, frankly, the suits are
hot enough to wear without more layers!
-20-
Depending on the color
scheme of the critter, it may be
possible to simplify the pattern at
this point. Color panels may be one piece if
the body seam it crosses does not introduce
any curvature. This is not a necessary step
but if you're versed in patterns the
optimization should be apparent.
May 2013
Tape Patterns
Hand Paws
Some parts of the character, such as
feet built on a foam structure or the head,
may be harder to pattern. If the fur is going
on a foam base, you can piece and glue it
directly or make a sewn covering. To do a
covering of small or complex curves and
undercuts, employ masking tape. Cover the
surface with two layers of masking
tape to create a full tape "shell"
over it. If you have problems with
the masking tape sticking too
much, you can use a layer of
plastic wrap as a barrier.
If you need to create simple paws in a
hurry, the easiest thing to do is a two-piece
pattern. This is sometimes called a
"sandwich paw" because you're tracing the
same flat shape for both sides and
sandwiching your hand between them.
Label the tape shell liberally,
including arrows to show the nap
direction of the fur over that area.
Remove the tape and start
separating it into pieces. Your
cuts here define your seam lines.
As you cut, add alignment markings so
you can accurately reassemble it all later.
Break it down until you have transformed
your masking tape surface into (relatively)
flat pattern pieces.
To create the covering, use these pieces
as a guide for cutting and assembling the fur.
Two things to keep in mind: the tape pattern
pieces have no seam allowance, so add that
when you cut the fur; also, the outer/marked
surface of the tape is the side where the fur
pile should be, so when you put the pattern
onto the fur backing to trace it, the pattern
piece should be "face down." (I promise that
makes sense if you think about it.)
You can create the pattern by placing
your hand flat on a piece of paper,
fanning your fingers as wide as
possible, and tracing the shape straight
down onto the page. Then go around and
add about a third of an inch to all
sides of the fingers and about an
inch around the palm and wrist;
this extra material will account for
the height of the hand through the
different sections. Cut and sew the two
pieces together, adding further seam
allowance as needed.
Now if you're familiar with glovemaking or have even just examined a glove,
you'll realize this isn't a "proper" pattern and
doesn't really take into account the threedimensional nature of a hand. The truth is
that with a mid-length or shag fur you can
get away with a lot of cheats. If you made
the above pattern in flat fabric you'd find it
wrinkled and pulled awkwardly. Fur hides
this, though the paw will still not be fully
comfortable to wear.
Let's consider a straightforward
alteration which improves fit. Start the same
way, with a tracing of the hand. Add no
extra space around the fingers this time. Add
perhaps half an inch around the base of the
-21-
Glove pieces ready to be sewn.
thumb, outside of the palm, and the wrist
(note slender pieces in center picture).
That shape, cut from fur, represents the
face and top of the paw. Now we cut a third
piece of fur: a long ribbon about a half to
one inch across (plus seam allowance),
depending on the size of your hand. This is a
fillet sewn between the other two pieces,
Sewn glove.
May 2013
have large paws or rounded fingers which
require the introduction of extra shaping.
That's a bit beyond what I can cover in the
scope of this article but check out the
following notes on foot construction for
some ideas.
Tails
Does your character wag when they see
a friend? Do they lash their tail before
pouncing? Do they swing their tail for
balance as they walk past?
cross section of the tail, the top two thirds
are mirrored shapes in the body's darker
color with a seam along the topline. The
third panel is the underside in the body's
lighter color to fill out the shape.
I generally leave the top of the tail
open and use that to insert the fiberfill
stuffing. Remember that stuffing has to be
removed for washing. A fancier solution is
to create a closure along one of the tail
seams and reuse your pattern to create a
removable inner pillow in cotton or spandex.
While it can be hard to get such
movements in a costume, some clever
building techniques can still convey a sense
of motion that will make your performances
seem more complete.
Stuffed tails for a variety of critters.
holding our "sandwich" apart. If you want to
do a properly detailed job or have fur with a
strong nap, you will need to cut a number of
these pieces so that the width adjusts and the
fur is always flowing toward the fingertips.
This extra spacer provides the height
and extra dimension to accommodate the
hand. In particular, it allows you to
introduce fabric in between the fingers
which removes a lot of the binding. It still
does not feature a proper inset thumb but
will generally suffice for furry paws.
It's certainly possible to create more
elaborate patterns. One common reason is to
introduce more character shaping. The
above design is still fairly "flat" over the
human hand shape. Cartoony characters may
Quick: How can you tell a black
monkey from a ringtail lemur?
Audiences use the tail as an important
species cue. Markings on the tail and body
help tie the character together. If you're
creating an animal character that wears
clothes, I still recommend you modify the
clothes to allow the tail to be exposed.
Since the physiology of tails is so
widely varied, I can't prescribe a single
design which will cover everyone's needs.
Instead, let's consider three approaches
which can be combined in different ways.
Stuffed Tail -- The most
straightforward method is to create a simple
sewing pattern which captures the general
shape and curve. You can use two identical
panels though I prefer three. Considering the
-22-
Body suit with stuffed tail.
May 2013
Wire Tail -- If you need a tail showing
more movement, standing upright, or
carrying its weight away from the body then
you have to introduce more complex
structure. Wire armature inside the tail can
support it. It's important that the structure be
kept light since the tail acts as a lever and
the effect of weight further out is magnified.
You can use galvanized fencing wire found
at hardware stores. To smooth the shape of
the wire and distribute weight, put them
inside pipe-wrap insulation or pool noodles.
ice skating as soon as you step on a polished
stone floor.
You need a rubber sole for grip. You
can get this by creating custom-cast rubber
pieces, purchasing the material from a
cobbler supply outlet, or by using soles
already attached to shoes. Though all three
approaches are used for fursuits, by far the
easiest is to build the paws on top of existing
shoes. You can use a pair of sneakers or
soled slippers.
You will need to create a base mount
where the tail rests on the performer's body
so that structure will be anchored. I like to
do this by creating a wide brace that mounts
to a support belt worn inside the bodysuit.
You want to spread the tail's weight across
the belt line since a small attachment point
can flex and fail. Additionally, extending out
toward the hips helps accurately translate
movements.
Foam Tail -- Finally, you can create
foam structure in the shape of the tail. This
is then covered in a fur skin, similar to feet
or a head. Again, remember that the fur must
have a closure so the foam can be removed
when it's time to wash the suit.
Feet
Feet can be tricky, with special
requirements around soles, shaping, and
securing. Unlike the other surfaces of your
fursuit, feet can't be entirely fur. Well
technically they can have furry soles but
they'll get dirty amazingly fast and you'll go
Foam feet over slippers, covered with fur.
Next, figure out the shape of the
character's feet. Anthropomorphic animals
will often have large feet with emphasized
toes. Cut shapes from foam and glue them
directly to the shoes. Note that common
polyurethane cushion foam does not handle
water well so if you need feet you can wear
outdoors in inclement weather, choose
closed-cell or reticulated foam. Foam is
generally added to the front, tops, and sides
to create the necessary spread and size for
cartoon or monster feet.
-23-
Where you have foam pieces that need
to extend "to the ground," don't actually
bring them down flush with the shoe sole.
Keep in mind that you will need to glue fur
onto the foam which, even after you clip the
pile down (recommended) will add a quarter
inch. One of the advantages of the shoe sole
is that it should be the only part to touch the
ground and get dirty.
Now I did mention gluing the fur. You
can pattern and sew the fur outer covering
for the feet if you choose. This will give you
more durable and lighter feet. But piecing
and gluing the fur directly onto the foam
structure may be faster and easier, especially
considering the feet are generally not the
star part of a character costume.
Finally, you have to worry about
securing the feet while you wear them. If
you built them on shoes, you can simply tie
the laces securely when donning the
costume. However, this also means you need
to be able to reach down into the costume
foot and have enough maneuvering space to
tie shoes underneath that fur layer.
Depending on the shape of the foot and the
placement of foam padding, this might be a
design challenge.
If the fur extends off the foot and up
the ankle to a raised cuff that tucks inside
the fur leg -- a common design -- the best
approach is to install a closure on the back
of the ankle. This may be a zipper running
up from the heel to the foot cuff, typically
halfway between the ankle and the curve of
the calf.
May 2013
Head Construction
Approaches to Heads
The head is where the audience looks
first; it's the primary tool you have for
engaging with them.
For the purposes of this article, I'm
going to focus on fully-enclosed character
heads and two methods of building them.
Many other masks, hoods, and variations are
out there and are just as valid. Note that
fursuit heads have some shaping but trend
away from the oversized shell-structures
used for sports mascots and theme park
characters. Instead, they are close-fitting and
kept in proportion to the body.
For the design, consider the shape of
your character's head and how that aligns
with a human head. Assemble reference art
and sketches so you get a good feel for the
shapes and amount of buildup required.
Practice also helps since, like any other
aspect of costuming, this is a skill to be
developed and refined in your own style.
The flipside is that you may have skills with
particular materials that you could apply
here. Leverage what you know, dive in, and
experiment!
Heads, the "Simple" Way
The first technique is specifically
geared toward low-cost heads -- great if
you're just getting started or the costume
will only be worn a few times and then
recycled. The material is plastic canvas, the
sort used for cross-stitch and sold in sheets
at hobby stores. It's cheap, readily available,
and nontoxic. You can cut it to shape with
heavy scissors.
The trick is to convert it from a flat,
wobbly sheet into a solid shape. Think in
terms of lamination. You want the major
curves and surface to be two sheets thick.
When the layers are bound together with
glue, they stiffen.
The easiest way to connect plastic
canvas is with hot glue. Be aware, though,
that the canvas is also made from a plastic
(generally low-density polyethylene) with a
low melting point. If you let the glue gun
heat up fully your blob of glue can melt
straight through the plastic. So keep your
glue just warm enough to be fully melted.
Create a headband, then build up shape.
Start by creating a headband. This
establishes where the head sits and acts as a
foundation. Next, cut a piece which runs
down your nose and represents the profile of
the character's nose or muzzle. Install some
fleece or dense foam on the inside of the
headband and the place where the profile
piece rests against your nose.
The next piece I like to apply is the
top-view outline of the cheeks and muzzle;
this is a horizontal plane which defines the
outermost curves of the cheeks and the sides
of the muzzle. Depending on the alignment
of features, cheeks and muzzle may need to
be in separate planes. Finally, to give the
cheek plate something to anchor to, drop a
vertical fin down the side of the head from
the headband to the top of the cheek piece;
-24-
this establishes the face-on profile for the
side of the head and the transition into the
cheek.
May 2013
for most of the heads. This is similar to the
previous approach except that foam creates
the structure. This is the commonly
available open-cell cushion foam.
Construction is generally done with 1" or
3/4" sheets. A firm density is preferred since
you don't want your head to be too squishy
or floppy. Yet the slight give and resiliency
of the foam grants costume heads durability
and comfort.
With those pieces in place -- granted, it
may take a little juggling to get them all
glued together -- you have a foundation on
which to build. These have established the
three planes that cut through the head. Now
you need to build the outer surface which
connects those. Here is where you deal with
complex curves and the need for lamination
to hold the intended shape.
Proceed all the way around the head
surface. Be sure to leave the back of the
head open below the midline so that you can
easily get it on and off. Be thoughtful about
any structure built below the wearer's chin
line since this may interfere with neck
movement while performing. I recommend
using only fabric in these areas.
Heads, the "Proper" Way
While there is no defined proper way
to build heads, one technique is the most
widespread within the fandom and accounts
after a performance; I recommend getting a
small room fan and sitting the head on top of
it so air is blown through the interior spaces.
Heads must be surface cleaned since you
cannot immerse them in liquid.
The foam sheet pieces are glued
together. The best adhesive I've found for
this purpose is FastBond 100, a specialized
water-based urethane glue made by 3M.
However, it is hard to find. (Try industrial
suppliers.) The next most effective option is
toluene-based glues such as Goop or Barge.
These are toxic and require outgassing time;
make your own judgement about whether
you want to use them. You can go with
rubber cements, such as Elmer's, that are
less effective on foam but will be safer.
Finally, you can rely on good old hot glue. It
will be a bit heavy and messy, since the
foam tries to soak it in, but it works.
Built-up foam coyote head.
The caveat to using this sort of foam is
that it does have a limited lifespan. Exposure
to moisture and UV light will weaken it over
time until it begins to crumble. For the
lifetime of a fursuit, this isn't usually a major
concern. The primary thing to keep in mind
is that you don't want the foam to become
saturated with sweat. Always dry your head
-25-
May 2013
Build the shape of the head similar to
what I described for plastic canvas,
establishing the major profiles and planes.
Instead of a headband, I like to use a
balaclava (spandex hood) for the inside of
the head. You can glue foam to this for
mount points and support. Some people
prefer to keep the balaclava separate so they
can pull it out and wash it -- also a virtue.
duplicate to increase recognizability. Look
closely at eyebrow position, eyelids, colors
around the eyes (e.g. black rims for contrast
or light color patches to open the orbital
space).
Glue foam pieces together at the cut
edges. Use a blade to make smooth cuts
which will provide the best surface contact
for the adhesive. You can use an X-Acto
knife, snap-blade disposable knife, or bare
razor blades.
Foam sheets can also be more easily
bent into curves to follow the shape of the
head. The end result should be a foam
"skull" to be covered by the fur. Keep in
mind that the fur will add bulk proportional
to its pile. Keep a scrap of your head fur(s)
handy and drape them over the foam to test
how that changes the apparent shape.
Your choice of expression will have
implications for how you perform the
costume. We are used to reacting and
conveying emotion with our faces. In a
fursuit, you always radiate the expression
built into the head. The more neutral that
expression, the easier it is for other aspects
of your performance (e.g. stance, energy,
head position) to override it and convey a
more specific mood to your audience.
Furring the Head
Adding fur to the two styles of heads shown earlier.
Next, fur needs to cover the head
structure. You want the understructure to
define the outer surface so there aren't too
many gaps the fabric must bridge. The fur
also forms a drape around the neck to allow
movement and act as the transition to the
body.
You can pattern the fur "skin" using the
tape patterning technique mentioned above.
Cut and sew the pieces together, preferably
using a hand stitch to minimize seam bulk.
Sew it most of the way and then stretch it
onto the head form and do the last few
seams. This keeps the head as light and
flexible as possible but is definitely more
time consuming.
Expressions
Consider facial expressions as you're
designing the shape of the head. Some
comic and cartoon characters have quite
exaggerated expressions which change their
whole facial structure.
You need to select a single expression
for your head to become the permanent
appearance. If you're working from a
reference of an existing character, there may
be an iconic expression which you want to
If you're working on an original
character, I recommend a more moderate
expression. A "slightly happy" or "neutral"
expression is most versatile.
An easier approach, which I confess I
often use, is to piece the fur directly onto the
head and glue it in place as you go. For this,
-26-
May 2013
start at the back of the head and work
toward the nose -- the opposite of the nap
pattern in the fur. Put a piece of fur down
and glue one edge. Then smooth the fur
forward over the head shape, noting where
you reach curves or edges where the fur
would wrinkle. Cut the fur to fit, right there
on the head, and glue the remaining edges
down. Then pick up the next piece of fur and
glue the back edge so it abuts the one just
attached. If you line up the backing edges
there will be no visible seam in the finished
head. The reason to work against the nap of
the fur is simply that positioning the
overlapping edge is easier in that direction.
This can be a pretty quick process if
you're using hot glue. The downside is that
the head is heavier and less flexible because
of that same glue. In most cases, the
efficiency of furring is more valuable to me
than the downside.
Detailing
Fur Clipping -- Trim the fur pile in the
facial areas to bring out the character and
expression. Consider clipping at least around
the eyes and mouth edges. Trimming can be
done with a comfortable pair of thread
scissors or a pet grooming clipper. Note that
some multicolor synthetic furs have an
undercoat and guard hairs so trimming it
will also lend a color effect.
Coloring -- Synthetic fur, being
plastic, does not respond well to common
fabric dyes. You can add color tints,
highlights, and lowlights with an airbrush or
thin acrylic paints once the head is furred.
For an airbrush, use alcohol-based leather
dyes and very low pressure to get sharp
color effects. For those of us without
airbrushes, you can get some pretty good
effects through brushing acrylic inks or
paints. Use a disposable brush and quickly
Painted "mascot" eyes.
follow with a slicker brush to separate the
fibers of the fur and maintain the texture.
Neck -- Fur is generally extended
down from the head into a sewn tube which
covers the neck. You can disguise the
transition by turning this into a mane or ruff
of fur on the chest. Alternately, you can
create a head without a drape and ensure the
bodysuit's neck extends up high enough to
tuck into the bottom of the head.
Noses -- Fabric constructions are the
simplest approach. You can use spandex for
a smooth nose or fleece for something a bit
fuzzy. Taxidermy, sculpted, and oversize
teddy bear noses also work.
Mouths -- I don't generally put a lot of
detail inside mouths, preferring an
unobtrusive black interior and indications of
teeth. Teeth can be created from fabric, such
as spandex or felt, for a cartoonish look.
Another way to create teeth is to shape them
from white Sculpey and drybrush them with
acrylic color for tone.
Before and after clipping and coloring.
-27-
May 2013
"Mascot" Eyes -- Character
costumes traditionally have eyes which
are a large, curved plastic surface. Most
of the eye is white, there's a bright iris
forward, and a black pupil with specular
highlight. This is a direct adaptation of
the cartoon representation of eyes. It's
also fairly straightforward to build. The
curved surface of the eye can be a found
item (check for plastic bowls at the
dollar store), sculpted, or vacu-formed. I
create the pupils with reticulated foam
and line them up so you can see through
the character's eyes.
indistinguishable from a stuffed
animal.
Think about how the character
would walk -- how do you project
personality by choosing your gait and
posture? Even when standing "still,"
have a series of movements and sways
to lend your character a little bit of
unobtrusive "animation" to keep them
alive.
"Perspective" Eyes -- One design "Nicodemus" has “perspective” eyes.
that's very popular within the fandom is
Bringing a Character to Life
the use of "follow me" eyes. This uses a
perspective illusion based on mounting the
A Costume is Only Part of a
pupil and "surface" of the eye behind the
Character
plane of the face to create the impression
that the character is always looking at you!
If you've followed the advice here, you
This can be a lot of fun and generally looks
now have... a messy workshop with scraps
good in photos; from a performance
of fur everywhere. Hopefully you also have
standpoint, it does make it harder to "direct
a fursuit!
your focus" since the character never looks
But do you have a character? You've
at objects, only the viewer.
thought about personality and emotion
"Realistic" Eyes -- You can purchase
during the design. You've considered
eyes from taxidermy suppliers or create your
expression when constructing the facial
own. (The coyote shown above has carousel
structure. Now you need to create the
horse eyes with added leather eyelids.)
missing piece to complete that character:
These are opaque objects which are mounted
your performance.
to the head; as a performer, you must find
Too often I see fursuits treated just as
another way to see out of the costume. The
clothes being worn. If you don't add
common solution is to use the dark angled
movement to it, the costume will appear
patch in front of the eye, which lends this
"dead." Remember that the face is fixed so if
the nickname "tear duct vision."
you stand still your performance is
-28-
Practice your movements, ideally
with a mirror or video camera. You'll
realize that you need to exaggerate
movements since fur "hides" anything
small. Mime performance skills will
definitely prove valuable.
Above all, always have fun! Enjoy
being a character and share that with your
audience. To me, this is the real magic of
costumes. Happiness is not a limited
commodity. With a well-timed wave or hug,
you can conjure up happiness from nothing
more than fur, fabric, and foam.
Adam Riggs, who goes by the moniker
“Nicodemus” in the fandom, has been
teaching furry costuming since around
1996. He wrote the book “Critter
Costuming” and has appeared as
convention Guest of Honor at RainFurrest.
He currently lives outside Seattle with his
wife and kids. Feel free to reach out with
questions and comments to
nicodemustherat@gmail.com.
May 2013
Feature
Running an
Animal Mascot
Business
Eric Stevens*
Building a fursuit takes special skills,
and many in the Furry fandom work with a
fursuit maker rather than building their
own. A professional mascot builder talks
about what it takes to run a successful
business creating mascots and fursuits.
Ever since joining with the Furry
fandom in 1999, I'd thought of making a
living in costuming. Thirteen years later, my
dream became a reality.
Early on in my experience with
science-fiction fandom, I admired the
fantasy aspect and those who could
create their own fictional characters
based on their admiration of other’s
works and life experiences. Furry fans
aren’t so very different from general
science fiction fans.
Instead of obsessing around
“Star Trek”, “Star Wars” or the works
of J. R. R. Tolkien, we create
characters based on humanized or
anthropomorphic animals. Examples
of anthropomorphic attributes include
exhibiting human intelligence and
We create stories and art around these
characters and gather together to share our
passion. The Furry fandom is made up of
some extremely creative people. Artists,
writers, photographers, filkers and
costumers make up about 75% of all
members.
It was in 2000 that I attended my first
Furry gathering in St. Louis (below). There
were 20-25 of us at the picnic including 4-5
costumers. Given an opportunity to try on a
tiger costume, or fursuit as we call them, I
found it to be a very freeing experience. It
was an opportunity to escape life, release
inhibitions and perform for others.
Immediately, I was hooked.
At that time, out of all ‘Furry’ fans, 1012% of those attending gatherings and
conventions had full costumes. Those
numbers are determined from a ‘Fursuit
Parade’ where folks line up and parade
through the halls of the hotel and then are
counted. Now in 2013, the number has
jumped to 20-25% of attendees wearing
costumes. In 2012, Anthrocon, the largest of
all Furry conventions counted 5179
attendees with 1044 participating in the
fursuit parade. At an average of 5 yards of
faux fur material used per full costume,
that’s about 4200 yards of fur material in
one area. We are definitely helping out the
textile business.
Upon returning home from that first
picnic, I found a costume maker in
California who would make my first
custom costume for me. It was a
black tiger and cost me all of
$450.00. I wore it to gatherings and a
convention or two and desired a
second costume.
St. Louis Furry Campout – Picture used with permission “Raccoon Photography”
Copyright © 2010 Silicon Web Costumers' Guild
facial expressions, the ability to speak, walk
on two legs, and wear clothing.
-29ISSN 2153-9022
Money being tight, in 2001 I
decided to attempt creating a costume
on my own. Never having sewn
before, I found the internet to be full
of tutorials created by other Furry
fans and costumers. I bought a used
sewing machine and turned a section
of my apartment into a work area
(next page).
May 2013
Above: My first work area in 2001; Below: Velkrotiger”.
Photos by Eric Stevens.
“Tsumi” a partial fursuit – Photo by Eric Stevens.
In designing a white tiger with black
Velcro stripes, so I could add and remove
striping in various colors and materials, I
ordered some fur and started on my
experiment. After much trial and error, and
breaking two sewing machines, within four
months “Velcrotiger” was born (left).
Making fursuits became a hobby for
me. Fursuits can be full costumes or
‘partials’ which consist of a head, hands,
feet and tail (above). The partials are easier
to wear and do not overheat the wearer as
quickly. People often wear an additional
costume with the fursuit partial, like Jedi
-30-
robes, dresses or fighting armor. Costumes I
made in that time were learning tools, each
one better than the last. In hindsight, a
sewing class would have been extremely
helpful but tripping over my own feet
seemed to work.
Years went by, then in 2009 I started
making custom costumes for others.
Because my main focus was cats, I
registered the name and website
ByCats4Cats.com. At the time I was at
PayPal.com working in their seller fraud
division and making 3-4 costumes a year.
May 2013
Because the furry fandom has a
plethora of talented artists, those wanting a
fursuit would have art commissions made of
their character. Most of the art features a
front, side and back pose (below). From the
art, I would research faux fur materials and
formulate a price quote. At that time, I
charged $1000.00 for a full costume. Each
costume took anywhere from 90-115 hours
to complete. It was definitely a labor of love
because after materials, I was lucky to make
$6 an hour.
The majority of costumes I
make are fitted to the wearer as they
are usually the only ones wearing it.
Most body pieces are nothing more
than a standard jumpsuit pattern.
Some costumes have more of a
detailed shape where a standard
pattern can’t be used. When a deposit
is made on a full costume, needing
measurements, the customer has two
choices: they can provide
measurements from a list I give them,
or make a duct tape dummy of
themselves.
My second work area – Photo by Eric Stevens
For the most part, measurements are all
I need. As long as the customer has a buddy
that can help them out accurately, they can
get a well fitted body suit. With ‘Pattern
Master’ from Wild Ginger Software, I can
plug measurements into my computer and
print out a custom pattern. I then hand draw
the markings and design onto the pattern and
am good to go.
“Catstomizer” reference sheet – Used with permission, Art
template created by “Electrocat Artworks, South Africa”
Chanelle Snyman for use by ByCats4Cats.com.
On-the-side costume making continued
until March of 2012 when I went part-time
at PayPal so I could begin the journey to
making costuming my full time business. I
removed the bed from the main bedroom of
my apartment, placed it in the dining room
and set up shop (above, right). Getting fur
fibers out of the carpet in there was not a
chore I’d wish on anyone.
When beginning to work full time, my
costumes had a base price of $1200.00 and
two per month were being completed. I was
putting in 40-50 hours a week and took as
many days off at PayPal as I could. In
August of 2012, I left PayPal and moved to
Minneapolis, MN into a small Rambler style
house. Its 950 sq. ft. basement is my work
area. Having laminate wood floors down
there after dealing with carpet for four years
Body design can also include
muscle or leg padding to stray away
from the general human body shape.
For this a duct tape dummy from
ankles to neck comes in very handy.
In stuffing the dummy with polyfill,
you then have the customer’s shape
laying on the table. Foam can be
glued to the dummy then a pattern
can be made from it. It also doubles
as a cool way to display the finished
project.
My third work area – Photo by Eric Stevens.
-31-
May 2013
was like heaven! Now I have a separate area
for cutting fur, airbrushing highlights,
cutting foam, a wash basin and tons of
storage. Scratch and dent doors from the
hardware store make for the best worktops.
Three of them and $3 later my work area
was taking shape.
Its amazing how the Furry fandom has
grown. I blame the internet for this. As
technology became more and more
obtainable in the mid to late 1990’s an influx
of new fans came out of the woodwork.
Newly assimilated fans were seeking others
to share their passion and met with whoever
they could find. Furry conventions usually
start out as smaller local gatherings.
As attendance grows, local groups may
decide to host a convention, where there are
educational panels, dealers to purchase items
from, artists who take on-the-spot
commissions for character art, and writing
workshops. There are also larger events like
masquerade contests, and a variety show and
dances (below).
Because conventions are so
popular and numbers of costumers
are increasing, the market for those
wanting and making costumes has
exploded. People are picking up
costume creation for the first time.
There are so many tutorials in text
and video form out there on the
internet. Those with motivation can
easily learn skills, where to get
materials and ask for help to make
their very own fursuit.
Faux fur is made of acrylic
fibers woven into a cotton backing. It My current work area – Photo by Eric Stevens.
then goes through an ‘electrofying’
less dense the fibers are. If you hold the fur
process that polishes the fibers by combing
up to the light and it can be seen through,
the fabric with a heated, grooved cylinder in
that material may not be a good choice from
both directions. The fur is then coated with
which to complete a full costume. Looser
resins or silicone to give it a certain feel or
woven backings will fail and can tear over
sheen. Sometimes mistakes are made in the
time… no matter how well the seams are
production process where the heated
sewn. Fur comes in many lengths and
cylinder gets too hot thus ‘burning’ the
patterns. DistinctiveFabric.com is one of the
fibers. The fibers slightly melt under the
best suppliers.
heat causing a wavy or choppy effect in the
We are limited when looking for solid
material. Watch out for major
spectrum colors. ‘Fun fur’ comes in many
retailers selling the material at
colors in a .5” length and also a 3” length. At
a discount of 50% or more. I
$13-$18/yard I only use it if absolutely
spent $450 on a large order of
necessary. The backing is thin and the fibers
this discount fur, and it all
are not very dense. Solid colors are also
arrived ‘burnt’ and could not
available in a 1.5-2” pile height ranging
be returned.
from $21-$25/yard. The backing is very
Fur quality is
durable, the fibers are dense, but they are
determined first by how
very thin and wispy causing the fur to
tightly the backing is woven
appear matted at times. Brushing the fur
then second by its denseness.
does straighten the fibers, but within 5
The looser the backing, the
minutes, its back to looking matted.
Cedar Rapids Furry Group, New Years Eve – Photo by Eric Stevens.
-32-
May 2013
Because of these limitations for solid
colors, the majority of fursuits needing
bright colors are made from the 2”. Now if
you need earth tone furs, you are in luck.
Some of the best earth tone furs come from
Monterey Mills out of Janesville, Wisconsin
They sell fur by the roll at 12-15 yards per
roll. The only major retailer who sells
Monterey Mills fur by the yard is CR’s
Crafts located in Leland, Iowa. There you
will find 1” ‘Teddy’ or ‘Cubby’ in white,
black and every shade of brown you can
imagine ranging from $14-$22/yard. They
also supply a Monterey Mills ‘Fox’ fur. At
$29/yard it’s the most dense white, black,
‘palamino’ and rust color you will find.
animals, some are more
mascot and cartoon-like.
Most of the time, when presented with
character art, the customer has to settle for
certain shades of material that do not match
their character only because of what we are
limited to. Fur can not be dyed because
although the cotton backing will, the dye
does not adhere to the acrylic fibers.
I complete 4-5 projects a month at 7080 hours worked per week. In saving every
pattern from every costume for even the
tiniest of foam and fur pieces, I've reduced
my work time from 90-115 hours to 50-80
hours each. My prices have increased as
well, ranging from $1800 to $2700. Tigers
(above) and leopards take the most time
because each stripe and spot is sewn in.
There are also businesses such as
DreamVisionCreations.org who focus on
making parts for fursuits. They make
everything from the noses
(right), claws and eyes, up to
full head structures that only
need the fur and details
added. Its amazing to see
people as young as 14 years
old creating and showing off
their works with pride.
Everyone has their own style.
Some make realistic looking
Because there are so
many up-and-coming
fursuit makers, you would
think competition would
be an issue: that is not the
case. Those with a refined
style can and will stay
busy. Some of the top
fursuit makers are treated
like rock stars, fetching
$3000 or more per
costume. Some of their
customers will wait over
two years.
Some people choose to airbrush the fur,
painting in whichever color
is needed which does not last
over time. In the future, I'd
like to hire someone part
time to at least complete the
body parts for me. Currently,
my costumes are found
worldwide including Japan,
Italy, Germany, Australia,
England and Canada. This
Noses by DreamVisionCreations.org.
“Mieze” Full tiger costume – Photo by Eric Stevens.
-33-
year I will attend eight conventions where I
meet old and new clients.
Watching people enjoy themselves in
my work never gets old. All in all, through
self-education, honing my skills and
learning to run a successful business, things
couldn’t be better. My desire to make
costumes a full time business has come to
fruition. With hard work and dedication,
dreams can come true.
Eric Stevens (“Snap E. Tiger”)
operates ByCats4Cats.com in White Bear
Lake Minnesota. His main focus is cat
costumes, but he will make other animals as
well. Eric has been making furry animal
costumes or ‘fursuits’ since 2001 and his
work is found all over the world. Being
ingrained with the Furry Fandom, he has
been seen on TLC (The Learning Channel),
Animal Planet, Omaha, NE news stations
and in various print articles.
May 2013
Interview
Everything You
Wanted to Know
About Furries...
Corey Strom
A co-founder of the “Further
Confusion” Furry convention and an avid
fursuiter talks with VC about Furry fandom,
fursuit costuming, and Furry conventions.
Furry Fandom
What is Furry Fandom?
The Furry Fandom is a collection of
fans, costumers, artists, writers and everyone
in between who has an appreciation for the
anthropomorphic arts. Anthropomorphism is
the assignment of human attributes to
otherwise nonhuman entities where animals
and fantasy creatures are specific to the
fandom.
Cartoon characters such as Bugs
Bunny, or Wile E. Coyote fall into this
category. Mascots provide an extra level of
realism and a great opportunity for those
into cosplay.
How did it get started, and how has it
changed since then?
The idea of furry or anthropomorphism
has been around since the cave man in early
art. A more obvious connection would be
our Egyptian ancestors with icons like
Anubis and Horus.
due to the fact that many social aspects of
the fandom are rooted in the internet and
computer technology.
For Furry, the popular answer is that
the fandom got its start from within the
Science Fiction community in the form of
anthropomorphic characters being portrayed
in the writings and art.
What kinds of events or
gatherings do those in the fandom
have together?
Online forums, mucks, talkers, and
other geeky ways to spread the word and
communicate became increasingly more
available and socially acceptable as the
years moved on. Technology made it easier
for people to organize, share ideas and meet
in person, which ultimately led to the
creation of the furry convention.
In the late 1980's the first furry
convention was born out of an idea and a
house party in Los Angeles, this
became known as ConFurence. While
that con no longer exists in its original
form, its legacy has brought us a global
community far greater than we could
have expected with around fifty
conventions worldwide today.
What is the age and gender mix
of people who participate?
The average age of a furry fan is
in their low to mid 20. The
predominant gender is male, but this is
rapidly changing. This is most likely
-34ISSN 2153-9022
Outside of conventions Furs are very
active. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area
we have a meet-up group where locals can
organize their own events such as bowling,
mini-golf, hiking, game nights, and movie
outings.
Some regular gatherings have stood the
test of time. A local chicken wing place near
Santa Clara State University has been a
meeting place for Furries every Thursday
night going on fifteen years.
Fursuiters hit the links (lynx?) at a miniature golf outing.
May 2013
Do they attend public functions in
costume as a group to promote the
artform?
Many fursuiters do go out together in
costume. For the most part it’s for fun and
self-promotion and more often than not
evolves into free entertainment for
onlookers. Getting photo souvenirs is very
popular amongst furry costumers. At a
recent event 30 of us rented limos on the Las
Vegas strip for such a cause.
How many people in the fandom
have their own fursuits? What
portion build vs. buy?
Fursuit Costuming
Being a maker myself, I would guess
about 5% of the suits being worn are
actually worn by people who created them.
This number is growing rapidly though with
the advent of the internet, books, focus
groups, and convention workshops.
[Adam Riggs' article, “Fursuit Fun” in
this issue, covers construction basics – Ed]
What is fursuit costuming? What are
the similarities and differences to
other kinds of costuming?
Fan costuming has been around longer
than the fandom. It became "fursuiting" only
when the first convention, ConFurence,
began in the late 1980s. Furry costuming is
an extension of anthropomorphic art and is a
means for creative expression in both
construction and performance.
Unlike most other types of costumes,
full fursuits generally cover the entire body
and are animal related. Thus faux fur is
commonly used. Accessories are very
popular. There are a good number of people
who not only have a fursuit costume, but a
costume for the costume. Many of the
conventions in the furry fandom are themed
each year. People enjoy theming their
costumes to the events making a whole
wardrobe for some of their characters.
The majority of fursuits are custommade to emulate a character developed by
the wearer. That said, about 15-20% (and
growing) of the convention attendees have at
least one fursuit. The ratio of purchase vs.
create is much higher. Most people wearing
fursuits at a convention purchase them from
makers within the fandom.
Where do costumers learn basic and
advanced fursuit construction?
I personally saw a costume that I liked
and asked the person if they could help me
design and construct my first costume. This
person later turned out to be a good friend
and roommate, and future author of Critter
Costuming, Adam Riggs.
Most people I have known tend to
learn from others in the community. Several
of us, me included, have costume nights
where others can come and learn while
building their own creations. There is also
an abundance of information on the net and
in books such that Adam wrote. Conventions
are a also great place to start. Many hold
workshops on all aspects of fursuit
construction.
How much do fursuits cost to build,
and where do costumers find their
materials?
Costumes vary greatly in price from
just a few hundred dollars to well over
$5,000. Depending on quality, detail, and
reputation of the creator, average prices can
range from $1,500 to $3,000 for a wellmade full fursuit. Other options such as
partial suits (head, tail and paws) are
available from most makers at a greatly
reduced price. More elaborate fursuits, such
as “quad suits”, can be had for around $6000
- $7000.
Fursuit seen at a recent Further Confusion. Photo by Beetlecat.
-35-
May 2013
How long on average does it take for
a costumer to build his or her first
fursuit?
Time to create a costume really
depends on aptitude and previous
experience. For people with pervious art
experience, sculpting, sewing, or 3D
rendering it will be easier to pick up as most
of the concepts to learn will be material
related. Folks starting from scratch can
expect to spend a good amount of time
building their first suit. What most new
creators need to embrace is perseverance. It
takes time, patience, and practice, but for
those who keep it up the rewards is simply
amazing.
What are some trends in materials,
construction techniques, and special
effects for fursuits?
Most furry costumes are made from a
few standard items. Faux fur, foam (similar
to what you might find in a couch cushion
but a bit more dense), and poly fill (the
stuffing found in most plush toys) round out
the majority of the standard materials. There
are several methods of constructing the
heads, the most popular being foam added
atop a balaclava (a spandex hood). Other
methods include fiberglass, metal frame,
plastic sheet, heat-molded plastic
(vacuform), and block foam (carved from a
solid block).
Furry costumes generally start off as a
concept. The wearer has an idea of what
they would like their costume character to
look like. If they are not an artist, they will
commonly commission an artist to render a
3D model sheet which most costume makers
can use as a reference. Some makers are also
2D artists making the process one level
simpler.
New materials, ideas and technology
are being integrated into fursuits all the time.
From onboard cameras, communication
devices, and cooling systems to blinking
eyes, wagging tails, twitching ears, and
lighting; fursuits are becoming much more
complex than ever before.
Corey Strom at a local weekly furry meet.
Furry Conventions
What are some of the main Furry
conventions that costumers can
attend, how large are they, and where
are they located?
Further Confusion in San Jose,
California is the world’s second largest
convention with an expected 2014
-36-
attendance of 3700. The largest furry
convention is Anthrocon in Pittsburgh, PA
with an attendance just over 5000.
There are around 50 furry conventions
and meets around the world in which
costumers are more than welcome to attend.
You co-founded Further Confusion.
How did it get started, and what
was/is your role in the convention?
It was more about being in the right
place at the right time. While I was walking
the halls of my first Furry Con (Confurence
9 in 1998), I happened upon a few guys
discussing the possibility of starting a new
convention in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Confurence was moving their date, which
left a gap for an event in January. I offered
my assistance as being a project coordinator
for IBM at the time. They thanked me and
moved on, not really knowing who I was.
As luck would have it, a month later I
became roommates with someone in the
know who re-introduced me to the team. At
that point, nine of us hashed out plans for
the convention. With a little luck and a
generous donation of funds we opened our
doors in January of 1999.
My first role was co-author of the
policies and procedures for our convention,
as well as the procedures for our first
dealers’ room. I went on to become
Chairman in 2003, and was elected to the
board in 2005, where I now hold the Media
and Public Relations Director role for
Anthropomorphic Arts and Education Inc.,
May 2013
the parent company of Further Confusion.
This year, I am Vice Chairman for the
convention.
How do you go about promoting
attendance to first-timers?
Comic stores and anime and science
fiction conventions are frequented by our
marketing staff in the form of room parties,
workshops, fan tables and flyer
distributions. Further Confusion has taken
the first big leap in the Furry fandom and
now promotes itself publicly via street
banners and promotional programs with
local vendors in the time around our
convention. We also work with other Furry
conventions in an effort to spread the word
amongst ourselves.
Is a convention like Further
Confusion family friendly?
Most of the major Furry conventions,
including Further Confusion, are family
Costume parades give fursuiters a chance to strut their stuff.
friendly. Further Confusion has many events
which support an all ages audience, our live
animal events and Critterlympics (Costume
Games) are amongst them.
How is a Furry convention organized
and what kinds of events take place
that costumers might enjoy
participating in?
Many furry conventions are organized
in a track format with tighter focus areas
such as costuming, writing, music, and art.
At a Furry convention much of the focus is
on anthropomorphic costumes or “Fursuits”.
Within our costuming track there is no
shortage of interactive activities. We have
the obligatory masquerade, a highly polished
talent show, costume parade, and an
amazing fursuit dance competition. In
addition we have several workshops and
talks where one can learn anything from the
basics to some of the most advanced
costuming and performance techniques. We
regularly have professionals in
the industry who coach on
costuming as a business or even
as a charity.
Are there costume parades
or masquerades? If so,
what are they like and how
are they judged?
We have both a judged
masquerade and variety show.
The masquerade is geared
towards the costume itself where
-37-
A young fan shows off at Further Confusion 2007.
Source: WikiNews.
the variety show, known as “FC Unleashed,”
is billed for the performance aspect of
costuming. The masquerade is judged
loosely on ICG rules with the intent to fully
embrace them this coming year. The variety
show is also judged, but from a performance
aspect with guest judges and audience
choice awards and a cash prize.
There is a “Fursuit Parade” held each
year which meanders its way around the
convention site. The parade is the one and
only opportunity for costume wearers to
receive a collectable tag unique to the event
and year for their costumes!
May 2013
building a suit. Some conventions, including
Further Confusion, have presented a series
of workshops where an attendee can leave
the convention with a creation of their own.
Most items are simple given the time, but
the resources and sharing nature of the
community make it much easier for the
everyday person to become a master at furry
costuming.
If a costumer doesn't have a fursuit,
is it still OK to attend a Furry
convention? What percentage of
attendees have their own and wear
them there?
Absolutely! Furry cons are about Furry
as a whole, not just the costumes. There is
so much more to see and enjoy at a
convention. There is an art show with fan
created art, where some pieces have sold in
upwards of $10,000. There is also a Dealers
Room where vendors sell anthropomorphic
related wares. Dance lessons, drawing
workshops, gaming rooms, voice acting,
performance, and species workshops add to
the over 100 individual events that make up
a weekend at Further Confusion.
Due to the bulky nature of the
materials most convention dealers do not
stock raw materials. Most raw materials are
available online or from your local sewing/
fabric store.
Corey “Chairo” Strom is the cofounder and current Vice-Chairman of
Further Confusion. He holds the director of
Media and Public relations role on the
board of directors for Anthropomorphic Arts
and Education. Corey is also an award
winning costume designer and performer. In
his spare time (if there were such a thing) he
enjoys traveling, and working with LED,
laser, and flame effect performance
technologies.
It’s not unheard of for people to bring
several fursuits to show off during the
course of the long weekend. I regularly
bring three of mine and in most cases an
entire set of repair tools. The percentage of
people who actually wear what they make is
pretty low. I’d say around 5% of the
costumes you see at a furry convention are
worn by their makers. The rest are loaned
out by friends or purchased from fandom
costume makers.
Can a costumer learn enough at a
convention to build a fursuit? Do
dealers sell material there?
It is possible to get enough information
to start a fursuit while at a convention. If one
takes good notes and asks plenty of
questions, they can be well on their way to
“Helix is a personal suit and my 4th raccoon. He was a
project in body patterning. There are no side seams in
this suit and all the swoops and curves have a flow from
one to the other. The black leg pattern matches the
body stripe which blends with the shoulder, the forearm,
and so on. His hair has changed to a more uniform
pattern since the picture was taken. The most difficult
part actually was the tail and keeping the white stripes
in line.” (not shown)
-38-
May 2013
How-To
Making
Digitigrade
Legs Using the
Pillow Method
will know what you want. Examine the legs
of animals that you wish to mimic (horse,
deer, dog, cat, etc.). Look at examples of
other costumers who have made that animal
or a pair of digitigrade legs that you like. If
Courtney Rayle
A costumer reports on her experiments
with a technique that uses pillows to create
digitigrade legs for her fursuit.
There are some great examples and tips
on the Fursuit Livejournal and Furaffinity.
In particular, I found the Fursuit Leg
Padding Diagrams by Blazetbw to be
helpful for narrowing down what animal to
use as my starting point. The Digitigrade leg
studies by kira animerawr were also
insightful when I started to plan where to
add padding.
I am in the middle of creating a pair of
digitigrade legs for a Ren Faire in June, so
let me share some of my experience so far,
just in case anyone out there wants to make
a pair of these as well.
There are many methods for building
digitigraded legs, and many great tutorials
available online (two of the instructions I
extensively studied before attempting my
pair of legs were by expert fursuit builders
Matrices and Komickrazi). I encourage
anyone interested the search the internet, as
well as look on the Fursuit Livejournal
community (who are an awesome group of
individuals ready to offer advice for any
variety of fursuit topics).
How did I ultimately go about
constructing my fursuit? Here’s the process.
1) Look at as many examples as you
can. As with any costume, the more
reference material you have, the better you
possible, try to find some “work in progress”
pictures so you can see what is really going
on, and not get discouraged when you are
working on it and it doesn’t seem to look
right. If necessary, email people about how
they constructed their legs/fursuits. Some
makers have spent years perfecting their art
and developing their own trade secrets, so if
they don’t want to share, don’t push.
Courtney Rayle at Costume-Con 31. Photo courtesy of
Don Searle, Fantascenes.
-39ISSN 2153-9022
2) Decide on how digitigraded you
want the legs to be. In other words, do you
want the animal to look realistic, cartoony,
or something else? There are many
examples out there, ranging the gamut from
barely any padding (mostly human-looking)
to extreme padding (the entire leg is nearly
covered with additional bulk). The more
padding you add, the more difficult and hot
the costume will be, so plan accordingly. Try
getting pics of yourself , or the person for
whom you are building, and draw padding
on top of those. Remember, less tends to be
better than more, so try to achieve the shape
you want with the fewest modifications.
May 2013
you wear them. Sometimes elastic just
doesn’t spring back and grip as much as
we’d like.
4) Wear the pants and use paper to
simulate the places where you will be
adding padding. This is as simple as just
taping some cut out paper shapes to the
pants like fold out flaps. This gives you a
starting point for when you add the padding.
add too much to the heel part (behind the
knee), or don’t have any padding above the
foot. This is why this visualization step is
important. It can help you catch any
mistakes before you start really cutting and
sewing and investing tons of time into the
project.
Below is an example (a WIP shot) of
lrdkazul’s kangaroo fursuit. This shows
extensive padding, and huge feet as well.
You can see the flaps taped to the person to
give an idea of what size padding will be
employed.
Examples of digitigrade legs from BeetleCat Originals
You can branch and try different
methods. What I did was to keep the
padding layer separate from the fur layer.
This is because I wanted the “muscle” and
“skin” to move more naturally. This method
means the next step is:
3) Make a stretchy pair of underpants,
or at least a comfortable pair of pants that
will move with you, nothing super tight or
baggy! While you can certainly just pin
padding to yourself or sew it onto the fur
when you get to that step, skin tends to glide
over muscle. This makes the effect of not
gluing/sewing the fur to the padding more
realistic. But you still need something to
attach the padding to. Old stretch pants or
something similar will be a good base. I
recommend adding a non-stretching belt to
the top of the pants, so they stay on when
Super toony but highly technical Lewis the Hare sports
dropped crotch. Photo by fursuit maker Arito.
Try and avoid putting too much
emphasis in any one place. For example, I
was very careful to try and keep the width of
the legs from a side view more or less the
same until mid-thigh. Many digitigrade legs
-40-
Taped on flaps give an idea of padding size. Photo from
lrdkazul’s Livejournal entry.
May 2013
5) Now its time to make the padding.
There are two methods that can be used. 1inch foam can be glued and carved to make
the padding pieces, or little pillows can be
stuffed and then sewn onto the pants. I chose
to do the later mostly because I had some
stuffing and have never been able to carve
matching sets of things out of foam.
the padding looked right (had my brother
help me by watching how it moved). From
his feedback I edited down the side/hip
padding considerably. So, try it on often, and
be prepared to make alterations. Getting the
right shape and feel is very difficult.
7) Once the padding is on and even
(left), stitch it down a few times. I went
around the borders twice on mine, since
digitigrades legs tend to get used harshly
when they are worn.
The best way I've found to make my
pillows for stuffing was to take the flaps
from the previous step and use them as a
pattern. I cut out fabric slightly bigger than
each flap by adding ¾ inch seam allowance,
and then make a base (the part that would be
lying flat against my leg). This meant there
were three pieces to be sewn together for
each pillow.
A word of advice: I used some cheap
fabric I had lying around that was given to
me by my neighbor, who got it from a friend
who didn’t want it any longer. This was a
mistake as the fabric frayed terribly, and I
had to adjust the pillows after I finished each
one because they turned out slightly bigger
in some areas than I wanted. I highly
suggest using a lightweight fabric (cotton or
muslin) that will not fray if you have to snip
off pieces of the pillows and re-sew them to
make them the right size.
6) After making the pillows, it’s time to
add the pillows on. Baste stitch first, so you
can make sure everything is in the correct
place and even on both sides. If you used
foam carvings instead of filled pillows, you
may want to make slip covers for the foam
so you can sew it onto the legs easier.
Author's legs with just the padding.
*Special step: In all the tutorials I read
about building padded fursuits/digitigrade
legs, there was always a word of warning
about trying to make the padding too
extreme, as that might cause discomfort. I
found that one of the best ways to make sure
this doesn’t happen is to test whatever
costume I’m making multiple times while
I’m making it.
After sewing the pillows on, I tried on
the legs and found the pillows on the back of
my calves to be very uncomfortable and
chafing me when I walked. I fixed this by
editing down the heel part of the padding
(behind the knee) and boosting the front
padding (on my shins) just a little. I also
walked around for a long time to make sure
-41-
8) Next, it is time to make a pattern for
the fur to go on top. There are many ways to
do this, but I like the duct tape method best.
Take strips of duct tape and put them on the
legs until one side is completely covered.
Since the legs are symmetrical, the pattern
can be doubled to give you the whole legs.
Go all the way up to the waistband and
make sure everywhere is covered by at least
two layers. If, like mine, you want to be able
to slide the legs off and on when dressing
using no clasps, make sure the tape on the
waistband is loose enough to do so.
If possible with the tape on, move
around and make sure your movement is
uninhibited. It is easy to stand and think you
have a good tape pattern, but suddenly
realize you cannot move well in it. I used a
duct tape dummy to help me fit my legs, so I
did not have the option of trying them on to
test my movement.
9) Draw the different colors you want
present on the legs with a Sharpie. It can be
anything, as long as you label where
everything goes. Add markings so you can
May 2013
stress that mock up.
Likewise, make sure there
are no extremely baggy
areas that don’t need to be
baggy and can be taken in.
The crotch/butt/knees are
high movement areas, so
expect there to be some
loose parts of the costume
near these areas. If the
mock up at any time rips
because an area does not
have enough give for the
Tutorial by TashiroYu show how to make major seams run down the fronts
range of motion you will be
and backs of the legs.
using while wearing the
costume, make a new mock
match these pattern pieces when they are cut
up
accounting
for
the rips and start over.
out. Also, try to make sure the major seams
are running down the front and backs of the
Because I used a duct tape dummy to
legs, as shown in a tutorial by TashiroYu
model my pants, there was not nearly
(above). It makes everything easier.
enough room in the lower butt and knee
areas. My mock up ripped widely in both
10) Carefully cut out the pieces without
places, and I went back to the pattern and
cutting your pants or padding! Add darts as
added more material. The second mock up I
needed to get the pieces to lay flat. Don’t
made was far too loose . I added too much
worry if they aren’t perfectly flat. Fur hides
room to those areas, so I used safety pins to
little mistakes very well.
get the mock up to fit as perfectly as it
11) Make a mock-up out of cheap
could.
fabric to make sure the pattern works. Fur is
expensive, and you don’t want to waste
either materials or money. Don’t forget to
add a seam allowance when you cut!
Gently put the mock up on over the
padded pants and wear them around for
about 15 minutes, to make sure there are no
places where the mock up is stressed.
Crouch down, sit on the floor, stand up,
jump, goose-step, whatever you can do to
12) Sew the fur layer. When pinning
the fur, make sure as much of it as possible
is brushed out of the seams. You should see
none while sewing it. Try to use the smallest
seam allowance possible, or trim your
seams, so they show as little as possible
when you turn the fur right side out.
Use the sewing machine for large
pieces. For small pieces, such as decorative
spots or shapes, just cut them out with no
seam allowance and hand sew them in. For
example, on my flanks are stars and geek
symbols that I just cut out of fur and sewed
by hand (below).
13) Pull the fur layer over the padded
pants. You can either leave these layers
separate, or attach them at a few key points
so it becomes one article of clothing. If there
are any baggy areas, you can use elastic
thread in a crosshatch pattern on the wrong
side of the fur to make “stretchy fur” that
will look nicer. Eewolf has a tutorial for
making stretch fur on the Fursuit Live
Journal. Two pictures on the next page show
his backside without the stretch thread and
with the stretch thread added in.
Flanks are stars and geek symbols that I just cut out of the fur and sewed by hand.
-42-
May 2013
15) Tails are optional, and
easily added. Making one that can
be attached via a belt or just
pinned on is easy. Add
shoes/paws/hooves/foot coverings
(plenty of tutorials on how to
make those available online) and
you’re done! You have a lovely
pair of digitigrade legs!
Below at left is the fur layer
atop the padded leg layer for my
digitigrade legs.
I still need to properly trim
the
seams,
brush the seams, and
Backside without the stretch thread and with the stretch thread added
sew
in
the
elastic
thread in places
in. Photo from Eewolf's tutorial on the Fursuit Live Journal.
(that butt is seriously sagging) to
finish these legs off, but they look
14) Brush out the seams so the fur
good so far. Perfect for the Geek-theme my
looks more natural. For this, it is best to use
friends and I are going to pull off at the Ren
a pet comb and to go very slow and gently.
Faire this year.
Remember, this is fake fur, and it won’t
grow back, so you don’t want to overdo it.
According to the Wikipedia article,
a digitigrade is an animal that stands or
walks on its digits, or toes. Digitigrades
include walking birds (what many assume
to be bird knees are actually ankles), cats,
dogs, and many other mammals, but not
plantigrades or unguligrades.
Humans usually walk with the soles
of their feet on the ground, in plantigrade
locomotion. In contrast, digitigrade
animals walk on their distal and
intermediate phalanges. Digitigrade
locomotion is responsible for the
distinctive hooked shape of dog legs.
Digitigrades generally move more
quickly and quietly than other mammals.
Thank you for reading, and happy
costuming!
Courtney Rayle
(“Killpurakat”) has been making
costumes for over a decade, but
only discovered her fellow
costumers recently, much to her
delight! When not imagining odd
new costumes to attempt making,
she tutors sciences and math at
the local community college, and
focuses on completing her second
Masters degree, in Chemical
Research.
Firsuit layer atop the padded leg layer of the authors digitigrade legs.
What is a Digitigrade?
-43-
Digitigrade vs. plantigrade legs. From Wikifur.
Fursuiters who portray digitigrades
try to achieve the same stance through the
use of various techniques, including stilts
and padding. Most create their own
devices, but there are several companies
such as Area 51 who produce high-end
digitigrade stilts for professionals and
serious hobbyists.
May 2013
Virtual Soapbox
Street
Fursuiting: The
Most Fun Furry
Experience
“Patch Packrat”
A book dealer and a member of the
Furry community tells us why “street
fursuiting” – going out to public events
in a fursuit – is so much fun.
The Furry convention scene is where
fursuiters may be most at home. Over the
past decade, attendance has grown at double
digit rates per year, with cons popping up
every month some place in the world.
Anthrocon is the largest, topping attendance
of 5,000.
Near Silicon Valley in Northern
California, where I live, is Further
Confusion, which gets several thousand. The
San Francisco Bay area is home to the
densest population of Furry fans, because of
their ties through internet culture.
Editor's Note
An earlier version of this article
appeared in a FurAffinity blog post by the
author titled, “Street fursuiting is arguably
the most fun furry experience there is.”
The beginning of fan fursuiting
(officially, in the 90’s) probably came from a
handful of devoted semi-pro’s who
appreciated mascot performance, and didn’t
have much published refere, just a will to
invent. The classic fursuit book Critter
Costuming: Making Mascots and
Fabricating Fursuits was published in 2004,
and includes some of those original makers.
Full suits generally go for near $2000
(all custom work), and sometimes even
higher at auction. There’s a tiny cottage
industry of professional makers and a few
small businesses offering services full time
to a fan base in, perhaps, the mid thousands.
[Read about a professional fursuit maker
elsewhere in this issue – Ed.] There are
many more personal hobby makers.
Me, I like to put on silver disco pants
and a Husky partial, and get on the subway
to go dance and hug random people, under
the influence of blasting techno music. They
become so entranced by a giant sparkly
talking dog, that they hand over their babies
for photos.
That actually happened several times
recently at a street faire in San Francisco. I
didn't know where those babies had been,
but I let them touch my paws anyway, even
more carefully than when I pick up my tiny
chihuahua (who gets super confused and
never knows whether to trust me when I
dress up.) As far as I can tell, everyone
loved the experience, even the astonished
babies. Those photos might provoke some
interesting questions when they grow up.
News media stories that cover furries
are likely to focus on fursuiters, and their
striking visual appeal. Fursuiters can't
represent the whole of furry fandom, when
"furry" is vague, and broadly defined as
anything related to anthropomorphic
characters; but I think fursuiters represent
the expressive, theatrical soul of furrydom.
There is an element of "ambassador"
role to their hobby. Without the 15-20% of
furries who wear fursuits for role-playing, it
would just be regular unglamorous nerds
saying "meow! I'm a cat".
That's what crazy people do.
-44ISSN 2153-9022
Left to right: Kitten, Meerk, Me, and Ty Cougar in background
May 2013
Taking the subway home made an extra
special conclusion to the day. It was myself
and Meerk on our own, after parting ways
with the group and handlers who stayed for
after-parties. When a husky and a meerkat
stepped on the car of the BART train, there
was a wave of laughter, raised cameras, and
incredulous questions from people who had
been settled in for a boring mass transit ride
in coats and ties. Several got up for photos
with us, sat down to post to Facebook, then
got back up to share how much fun they
were having.
This kind of casual street theater seems
to go over with overwhelmingly positive
response in San Francisco. Here, Furries are
an accepted part of the landscape. As a a
blogger said in “25 Things I wish I knew
before moving to San Francisco:”
But the best part was standing in the
doorway as the car pulled in to each station,
and watching commuters walk past the open
doors and do a cartoonish double-take. It
happened every time someone walked by.
Meerk said: "I love making people's day like
this... this is why I have a fursuit."
Even with the prevalence of outlandish
fashion in this city, fursuiters stand out as
Costumes are a way of life. “Is that a
costume, or is that how you always dress?”
is a legitimate question in San Francisco. I
can’t tell you the number of times I’ve
thought that question when I look at a fellow
passenger on the bus or a group of people
walking down the street.
Compared to furry conventions, there's
no expectation for a predictable furry
presence, and it creates a special kind of
surprise. I can't say enough about the
positivity of furry cons and their strong
growth in the past decade or so, as a real-life
social glue for a largely internet-based
fandom. But they are a safe and planned
space that can bring to mind criticism I've
heard about cliques and pre-fab experiences.
Street fursuiting can bring extra spontaneity
and surprise.
Unpredictability also brings a bit of
risk for fursuiters in the spotlight, especially
from overly friendly or even aggressively
drunk people. Good handlers are valuable.
That comes up in conversation on a
Furaffinity journal posted by Samoy Wolf,
another fursuiter who brought the magic
with us to How Weird Street Faire, and the
previous weeks outing to the Cherry
Blossom Festival.
I'll let you argue for your preferred
furry experience, but street fursuiting is
mine. I'm a shameless about exposing my
fursuit to surprised and delighted members
of the largely uninitiated public. It never
fails to arouse curiosity, turn heads, and
invite photos, dancing or hugs. Some may
yell out "Furries!" and a few may confuse it
with the word "Plushie" (a different species,
that I suspect is more of a dated media
creation than a self-applied label these
days). There will also be some "phwoooar!"
reactions, prurient interest, shock, or "I'lljust-pretend-that-didn't-walk-past" sour
expressions.
A young fan is fascinated by "Patch's" nose at the
Cherry Blossom Street Fair in San Francisco.
more glamorous and head-turning than most
any other sight. Street fairs are a perfect
occasion for them. There's an enthusiastic
audience of packed crowds looking for fun,
relaxed social rules, festival atmosphere, and
a progressive urban community that blocks
off streets to make a place for the energy.
-45-
“Patch Packrat” is the Furry alter-ego
of professional dealer Although he does not
build fursuits himself, he has attended
events and conventions every month for the
last several years, usually with his fursuit as
a Husky Dog. See his review of “Critter
Costuming” elsewhere in this issue.
May 2013
Short Subjects
Stop Motion Legend Takes
His Final Bow
Visual effects icon passes away at age 92.
Ray Harryhausen, the stop motion
legend and special effects master, whose
sword-fighting skeletons and other
fantastical creatures were adored by film
lovers and industry heavyweights, has died.
Harryhausen's method of using stop
motion was as old as the motion picture
itself, photographing his creatures one
frame at a time to create the illusion of
motion. Today's movies achieve such
effects on a computer.
He admired modern digital effects, but
still preferred the look that stop-motion
animation gave a film. "You don't want to
make it quite real. Stopmotion gives that added
value of a dream world," he
once said.
Harryhausen's
films including The
Beast From 20,000
Fathoms, Valley of the
Gwangi and The 7th
Harryhausen had been
Voyage of Sinbad,
so overwhelmed by King
featured impeccably
Kong that, at age 13, that he
costumed miniature
vowed to create creatures
Raymond Frederick "Ray" Harryhausen
creatures that he handlike that on film. He
June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013.
animated. Though his
borrowed a 16-mm camera,
name was unknown to the public, many
cut up an old fur coat of his mother's to
directors used Harryhausen's special effects
cover a bear model, and made a film about
techniques.
himself and his dog being menaced by a
bear. His parents were impressed, and he
According to George Lucas, "I had
avoided a spanking for destroying the coat.
seen some other fantasy films before, but
none of them had the kind of awe that Ray
Harryhausen's movies had."
Science fiction author Ray Bradbury, a
longtime friend and admirer, once remarked:
"Harryhausen stands alone as a technician,
as an artist and as a dreamer. ... He breathed
life into the mythological creatures that he
constructed with his own hands."
Perhaps his greatest legacy is the help
and encouragement he gave throughout his
life to aspiring film makers who wanted to
learn his techniques. He served as technical
consultant to many young adults in their first
stop-motion film projects. Harryhausen will
always be remembered as a giant, both for
his work and his unfailing generosity.
-46ISSN 2153-9022
The Art of Television
Costuming Design
Costumes designed for the (not so) small
screen at L.A.'s FIDM
The Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences and the
Fashion Institute of
Design and
Merchandising
(FIDM) celebrate
small-screen costumes
in the sixth annual
exhibit, "The Outstanding Art of Television
Costume Design." The exhibition features
the work of costume designers nominated
for this year's Primetime Emmys. Attendees
can see more than 75 costumes from 16
shows, movies, and mini-series.
The nominated series include
“Boardwalk Empire,” "Game of Thrones,"
“Once Upon a Time,” and "Downton
Abbey," while the nominated mini-series or
movies are “American Horror Story,” "Great
Expectations," and “Hemingway &
Gellhorn.”
The exhibit, which runs from July 31
through October 20, is free. The FIDM
Museum is located at 919 S. Grand Avenue,
Los Angeles (at the corner of Grand Avenue
& 9th Street), and hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.,
Tuesday through Saturday. Visit their
website for details.
May 2013
Chaos to Couture at the Met
Parting Shot
Costume Institute to mount exhibit of
modern Punk costuming
A photo that 's too good not to publish.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Costume Institute
2013 spring
exhibit, “PUNK:
Chaos to
Couture,” will
examine punk's
impact on
fashion from the
movement's birth
in the early 1970s through its continuing
influence today. Featuring over one hundred
designs for men and women, the exhibition
will include original punk garments and
recent fashion to illustrate how haute
couture and ready-to-wear borrow punk's
visual symbols.
Sometimes a story has a great leftover
photo that deserves to be used, but there's no
room or it's slightly off-topic and doesn't fit
in. “Everything You Wanted to Know About
Furries...” is a case in point.
In working with Corey Stom to locate
photos for his article, I ran across an image
of a group of Furries at Further Confusion
2013 that was just so very wrong, but I just
couldn't help coming back to it time and
again.
The photo in question, which first
appeared on the “Kotaku” website, is of a
group of Furries holding giant crayola
crayons. The really wrong thing about the
photo is that the color of each fursuit exactly
matched the color of the crayon held by the
character. Furthermore, they were lined up
in a way that was reminiscent of a rainbow.
Try as I might, I couldn't find a place in
Corey's article to include it, but the photo
was just too good let go. So here it is for
your viewing pleasure, a photo that I call
“The Fursuit Crayolas.”
Focusing on the relationship between
the punk concept of "do-it-yourself" and the
couture concept of "made-to-measure," the
seven galleries will be organized around the
materials, techniques, and embellishments
associated with the anti-establishment style.
Themes will include New York and London,
which will tell punk's origin story as a tale
of two cities, followed by Clothes for
Heroes and four manifestations of the D.I.Y.
aesthetic—Hardware, Bricolage, Graffiti
and Agitprop, and Destroy.
The exhibit at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City runs from
May 9th through August 14th. Visit the
exhibit website for details.
Fursuit Crayolas at FurtherConfusion 2013. Photo by Kasumi from Kotaku.com.
-47-
May 2013
Upcoming Events
Calendar of Events
Westercon 66
The catwalk style Masquerade is rivaled only by the
Hugo Award Ceremony. Costuming-related panels
and events. Theme honors Mercury space program.
July 4-7, 2013
Hilton Arden West Hotel
Sacramento, California USA
http://www.westercon66.org/
DragonCon
This venerable sci-fi convention features a
fullhttp://fancyclopedia.wikidot.com/albacon-2013
costume masquerade and numerous costumingrelated panels and tracks, and staged masquerades
and other costuming events. Features con chairs
Kevin Roche and Andy Trembley.
Multi-media popular culture convention on sci-fi,
fantasy, gaming, and comics. Features costuming
track, and a plethora of costuming contests.
Comic-Con International 2013
October 5–6 , 2013
#1 Gateway Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri USA
http://www.archonstl.org/37/
July 18-21, 2013
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California USA
http://www.comic-con.org/cci/
World’s largest comic book convention with over
125,00 attendees. Masquerade attracted over 10,000
people, 40+ entrants, and 150+ costumes, with
presentation, workmanship, and industry awards. If it
isn’t sold out yet, get your tickets and hotel now!
Costume College 2013
August 1-5, 2013
Warner Center Marriott
Woodland Hills, California USA
http://www.costumecollege.net/
Three-day educational conference on costuming and
clothing, produced by Costumer's Guild West. Didn’t
inherit tickets? Try anyway: you might get lucky!
Worldcon: Lone Star Con 3
August 29 – September 2, 2013
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
San Antonio, Texas USA
http://www.lonestarcon3.org/
August 30 – September 2, 2013
Atlanta, Georgia USA
http://www.dragoncon.org/
Archon 37
This sci-fi and fantasy convention returns to
Collinsville with a full costume masquerade and
costume related panels.
SteamCon IV
October 25-27, 2013
Hyatt Regency Bellevue
Bellevue Washington USA
http://www.steamcon.org/
A Victorian Monsters themed event is a nod to tthe
huge number of classic monsters from the Victorian
era, features costume events and a costume parade.
AlbaCon
October 18-21, 2013
Residence Inn Hotel
Saratoga Springs, New York USA
Weekend gathering of fans and creators of Fiction or
Fantasy. Includes hall costuming and a fantasy dance
and masquerade.
-48ISSN 2153-9022
FaerieCon
November 8-10, 2013
Baltimore Marriott Hunt Valley Inn
Hunt Valley, Maryland USA
http://www.faeriecon.com/
Celebrating the Magical Life, features the Good
Faeries & Bad Faeries Masquerade Ball with a
costume competition, hall costuming, and many
faerie related costuming panels.
Anime USA
November 13-15, 2013
Washington Marriott Wardman Park
Washington D.C. USA
http://www.animeusa.org/
Started by fans in 2004, this convention promotes
Japanese arts and popular culture. Includes a
Masquerade/cosplay competition, hall cosplay, and a
hall cosplay contest
Philcon 2013
November 8-10, 2013
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Cherry Hill, New Jersey USA
http://2013.philcon.org/
Hosted by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society,
features author Cory Dockorow and artist Boris
Vallejo, sci-fi costume panels, and a costume
masquerade.
Great Dickens Christmas Faire
November 23 – December 22, 2013
Cow Palace Exhibition Hall
San Francisco, California USA
http://www.dickensfair.com/
Living history re-creation of Christmas in Dickens’
1860’s London. See web site for costuming
opportunities. Runs 4 weekends.
May 2013
Further Confusion 2014
January 16-20 2013
San Jose Convention Center,
San Jose Marriott, and San Jose Hilton
San Jose, California USA
http://www.furtherconfusion.org/2014/
Further Confusion is one of the world's largest
anthropomorphic (or "furry") conventions. It features
eminent guests, educational panels, and world-class
costuming, including a masquerade.
Arisia 2014
Ongoing Events
Bay Area English Regency Society
(BAERS)
Various San Francisco Bay Area locations
Numerous dance parties – see their schedule
http://www.baers.org/
Early 19th c. English Regency with dances from
English Country tradition. Second-Friday dance
parties, and fancy-dress balls throughout the year.
Period dress admired but not required.
January 17-20 2014
Westin Waterfront Boston Hotel
Boston, Massachusetts USA
http://2014.arisia.org/
Gaskell Occasional Dance Society
New England’s largest and most diverse sci- fi and
fantasy convention. Many costuming events
including a Masquerade.
Victorian Ballroom dances with live music, and a
fancy Victorian dress ball. Semi-formal clothing
required. Period formal dress of the 19 th- 21st century
admired but not required.
Gallifrey One 2014
February 16-14, 2014
Marriott Los Angeles Airport
Los Angeles, California USA
http://www.gallifreyone.com/
All things Dr. Who are at this annual convention that
hosts stars from the series, along with many
costuming events including hall costuming and a
costume masquerade.
BeyondCon 2014
February 21-23, 2014
Inn at Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor, Washington USA
http://www.brcg.org/events/beyondcon
Sponsored by the Beyond Reality Costumers Guild,
BeyondCon is a costuming relaxacon event where
you can learn new costuming techniques, share
techniques you have developed, and hang out for the
weekend with other insane people costumers.
Scottish Rite Tempe
Oakland, California USA
http://www.gaskellball.com/
Greater Bay Area Costumers’ Guild
(GBACG)
Various San Francisco Bay locations
Many themed events – see their schedule
http://www.gbacg.org/
For recreational costumers in the SF Bay Area.
Activities include workshops, costume salons, a
costuming academy and many costumed events.
National Civil War Association
(NCWA)
Peninsula Wearable Arts Guild
(PenWAG)
Campbell Community Center
Campbell, California USA
Second Saturday of each month
http://www.penwag.org/
Members embellish garments with machine and hand
appliqué, patchwork, fabric painting and dyeing,
stenciling and stamping, machine and hand
embroidery, beading, and more.
Period Events and Entertainment
Society (PEERS)
Masonic Lodge of San Mateo,
San Mateo, California USA
Ongoing monthly period dance events
Sponsors events, classes, and living history
perforhttp://www.peers.org/mances. Activities
include historic dance, drama, music, literature and
costume. Period dress admired but not required
Tech Shop
120 Independence Drive
Menlo Park, CA, USA
Ongoing classes monthly
http://www.techshop.ws/
Classes on the shop’s computerized embroidery,
industrial, and conventional sewing machines, and
serger. Also molding, vaccuforming, cutting, and
machining classes.
Various Northern California locations
Many re-enactment and educational events – see their
schedule http://www.ncwa.org/
The NCWA presents living history for the public in
many forms, including military and civilian
encampments, battles, and lectures.
-49-
Editors Note
Send calendar or ongoing costume-related
events to vc@siwcostumers.org. Include event
name, location, dates, URL, and brief description
highlighting costume-related activities.
May 2013

Here Come - Silicon Web Costumers` Guild

Transcription

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