Fursuit Thread

[KittyCatKita]

Woo Blue Harbor Mascots has agreed to give me a quote for a bodysuit. Let's hope it's not too much; I am very broke right now. XD

If their quote is too high, you could always make it yourself. Make a DTD, attach foam in the shapes you like (digitigrade/stompy feet/shaping), use cheap scotch tape to cover what you've made, tear it off and make a pattern, and from there you just copy your pattern. For me to make a bodysuit in raw costs (what I spend, minus labor), you're looking at something like
-10 USD in duct tape
-5 USD in scotch tape
-5 USD in upholstery foam (20 for the whole roll, but I don't use it all)
-8 USD in light cotton fabric
-5 USD in polyfill/ cotton fluff/bean bag pellets (Pellets are 20 a sack, but we don't need it all)
-100 USD in great quality fur. (4-5 yards for an healthy, average adult. Less for skinny/short, more for tall/fat)

Personally I save costs making padding into "pillows", and I can buy in serious bulk being a maker and all. I excluded some costs either because they are extra, or I always have them lying around so I don't know what they cost. Like claws, I cast them myself in resin. I buy industrial size, 5-gallon containers (and the 2oz catalyst, which is a lot btw). If you want claws, you'd either have to make them out of a scrap of pvc/stuffing, or something. Or buy claws, there's that.

If you want a more in-depth tutorial, I can try to help. You have to ask specific questions, though. I could talk for years on this stuff.

Problem with saying to just do it yourself is that sometimes people have trouble doing this kind of stuff or due to family/spacial issues they are unable to build one for themselves. My friend is like that, she really wanted to build a suit but just isn't able to make it the way she wants it to look so she gave up and wants to get one done for her instead. She finds it really hard to figure out how to make the foam look to shape it right, not everyone is able to do this lol not that she hasn't tried or anything, she just found it too hard and got upset with herself over it, not having a good time like you are supposed to when building these things

It was a nice explanation though lol sounds about how I did mine.

[dragonsapphic]

If BHM comes out too expensive, I'll probably try to make a bodysuit, yeah. I already have several rolls of duct tape and a yard or so of upholstery foam. I don't have a sewing machine though; I'd have to borrow one, and I've never used one before. I really don't want a hand-sewn bodysuit, either.

[Dethwolf547]

Do you guys think a bat fullsuit would need leg padding? If so, how? c:

[Folfelit]

Problem with saying to just do it yourself is that sometimes people have trouble doing this kind of stuff or due to family/spacial issues they are unable to build one for themselves. My friend is like that, she really wanted to build a suit but just isn't able to make it the way she wants it to look so she gave up and wants to get one done for her instead. She finds it really hard to figure out how to make the foam look to shape it right, not everyone is able to do this lol not that she hasn't tried or anything, she just found it too hard and got upset with herself over it, not having a good time like you are supposed to when building these things

It was a nice explanation though lol sounds about how I did mine.

You have a good point. As a grown adult and someone who lived on their own since age 14, my house has always been my house. I could do whatever I wanted. My living room/back yard/workspace could eat my house and no one could make me do otherwise.

However, about not being able to make it look right...Are you talking about the head? Because I was under the impression we were talking about the bodysuit. Heads take a lot of practice, technical skill, and supply/material knowledge. They can be difficult, depending on your abilities and what you're trying to accomplish. A bodysuit is much much easier, though. At its basics, it just has to fit over your body. Three cylinders of fabric is more than enough to be a bodysuit, though it won't look as good as someone with years of tailoring experience. Most people have friends/family who can sew who might give tips/pointers or even help. And children of about age five learn to sew where I live (so someone older should be able to as well).

I can understand being overwhelmed, or want a professional suit, or have special situations that prevent the building of these things. But being too hard? If you try, and seek critique often, anyone can do these things.

If BHM comes out too expensive, I'll probably try to make a bodysuit, yeah. I already have several rolls of duct tape and a yard or so of upholstery foam. I don't have a sewing machine though; I'd have to borrow one, and I've never used one before. I really don't want a hand-sewn bodysuit, either.

As a professional maker, I'm going to tell you right now. A good suit is always hand sewn. And you shouldn't stitch the seams too heavily, the fur is more likely to rip than the seam. As long as you use strong thread (I buy industrial thread, but upholstery thread is more available to the public and will do just fine) you'll rarely have problems. And it's better to have a seam pop and be a quick fix, than have the fur tear and the suit out of commission for the rest of your con/event, possibly forever if the fur is no longer available.

You can use a sewing machine, it's faster, but unless you know how to use it, and use it well, it will be more work and money than it's worth. Things like plate strike are common with fursuit machine sewing. You need a really good feeder foot (the piece that pulls the fabric under the needle). If your feeder foot is weak, or if the person sewing pushes the fur into the machine, the needle will be pulled and misaligned with its hole and strike the metal plate, breaking and sending a sharp shard of metal in a random direction. I've seen horror stories of them flying into eyes and cheeks, though that was with leather, not fursuits.

[dragonsapphic]

BHM wants $650 for a body, so... I'm going to try and make one myself.

First obstacle is trying to find fur that matches. I'll be ordering more than a few swatches in the near future. If anyone has ideas, do share.

I guess I'll hand sew, then. I have a disability in my fingers that makes me extremely uncoordinated, so this should be a laugh. I haven't sewn since a class in middle school, so I don't really know how to do that anymore either.

[Folfelit]

Do you guys think a bat fullsuit would need leg padding? If so, how? c:

Yes. Unless your design has really long legs and short wings, it would need padding. I recommend dropping crotch and padding out the ankle to get short, cute legs like a real bat. Are you making it yourself? I could give more advice if you have questions.

Overall, most suits can use some leg padding. At least some. Not digitigrade padding, because not all animals are digitigrade. Bats are technically a quadrupedal plantigrade, because when they walk on the ground the have full foot contact and full hand contact.

But to be politically correct, you never need padding. There are suit makers out there that always do straight-legs and normal crotch levels and their work looks fine. They stylize everything quite human, or sports-mascot like. I don't like that style personally, because it looks really contrasted with the big animal head. If you're going hyper realistic, you could get away with just dropping the crotch and no padding. Or if your bat looks like a human with an animal head plopped on, you could get away with no padding, but it's all down to style. I'd say focus on the proportions of your character.

BHM wants $650 for a body, so... I'm going to try and make one myself.

First obstacle is trying to find fur that matches. I'll be ordering more than a few swatches in the near future. If anyone has ideas, do share.

I guess I'll hand sew, then. I have a disability in my fingers that makes me extremely uncoordinated, so this should be a laugh. I haven't sewn since a class in middle school, so I don't really know how to do that anymore either.

Show me a picture of your character. I've got thousands of swatches, literally. I can't guarantee all the furs are in your price range, but if there's one thing you're willing to splurge on, it's the fur. The fur determines the final product so much more than nearly everything else. Of course I can tell you off hand a few reputable places. For cheaper fur of ok quality, distinctivefabric.com, anything in their long pile category. I personally find this fur very cartoony, and therefore unsuitable for my purposes, but the backing is strong and they have tons of colors available. Simple long is probably their biggest fursuit seller, and when brushed with a pet brush, it looks okay. For a better quality without too much more expense, try imstuffedfur.com. You have to pay per swatch, and you have to order via email, phone or paypal note rather than cart, but their quality is my favorite of the cheaper places. These furs are the go-to of a lot of suit makers. Famous maker Qarrezel uses some of these furs for sure.

And I'm sorry to hear about your disability. Is there anyone near you who can help? Mothers, Aunts, sisters, and the rare uncle might be happy to help.

[dragonsapphic]

I have no siblings and none of my more distant family members live anywhere near me. My mom knows very basic sewing, but she's too weak to really help; she's been in and out of the hospital.


There are three colors of fur used: a light yellow-ivory for the muzzle and neck, a medium brown for most of the face, and a darker brown for the ears and back of the head.

[cacticollie]

I've decided to make ears and a tail for each of my characters. Now to find someone who makes really cute badges. x n x

[dragonsapphic]

Has anyone ever padded pants to look digitigrade on a partial suit? Thoughts?

[Dethwolf547]

Do you guys think a bat fullsuit would need leg padding? If so, how? c:

Yes. Unless your design has really long legs and short wings, it would need padding. I recommend dropping crotch and padding out the ankle to get short, cute legs like a real bat. Are you making it yourself? I could give more advice if you have questions.

Overall, most suits can use some leg padding. At least some. Not digitigrade padding, because not all animals are digitigrade. Bats are technically a quadrupedal plantigrade, because when they walk on the ground the have full foot contact and full hand contact.

But to be politically correct, you never need padding. There are suit makers out there that always do straight-legs and normal crotch levels and their work looks fine. They stylize everything quite human, or sports-mascot like. I don't like that style personally, because it looks really contrasted with the big animal head. If you're going hyper realistic, you could get away with just dropping the crotch and no padding. Or if your bat looks like a human with an animal head plopped on, you could get away with no padding, but it's all down to style. I'd say focus on the proportions of your character.


Soo..do you think kinda like this? : https://www.furaffinity.net/view/9300747/