# Tips and Tricks



## sheila (Nov 5, 2010)

I started making my head to my suit not the long a ago and I just finished putting foam on my head. To me it looks OK,but I would like some help to see if I can fix it in anyway. Both the good and the bad are great help since both can tell me any improvements. 
























Sorry for all the photos. I do have a lower jaw but it's not attached to the head.


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## sheila (Nov 6, 2010)

Oh i see how it is!


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## Trpdwarf (Nov 6, 2010)

sheila said:


> Oh i see how it is!


 
Chill out, it takes time for responses to come in. The first thing I see right off the bat is that you need to put some foam in where the fore-head slopes to the snout. It's too steep. You need to even it out so it gently slopes down...it shouldn't be a steep cliff looking thing. The next thing is that you need to put some actual cheeks in on this thing. That can be done as a building up process, and make sure to round them out and try to make it look consistent on both sides. Those are two things to start with.

Another thing is when the lower jaw goes in the tip should not be even with the upper. It needs to be a little shorter to take into consideration that A: snouts don't work that way and B: when you put the head on your chin will cause the bottom part to jut forward a bit.


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## Jesie (Nov 6, 2010)

I just can't get over the billboard sign sized head.

And the eyes, It reminds me of the scream mask for whatever reason...


I can only recommend moving the snout upward. You may lose some vision, but it wont look like there should be a Cracker Barrel freeway AD on your forehead.


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## sheila (Nov 6, 2010)

Trpdwarf said:


> Chill out, it takes time for responses to come in.


I was just kidding lol. I got bored. 


So do you think i need to make my snout longer or keep it where it is?
How do I move my snout upward?
The cheeks I know I need to put in. I just didn't want to go that far without making some adjustments before I couldn't fix it.


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## Deo (Nov 7, 2010)

There are quite a few things that need some fixing. First if this is your fursona, a Golden Retriever, then it is off completely. Golden's have floppy lips with make their muzzles thick (see attatched pic) they have floppy ears too. You head also has a unicorn horn pointy forehead thing that I think  is just exess foam, that needs to go away. Round out the top of the head, add some foam for the brow bones, and a gentle slope from brow to the tip of the muzzle. Cheeks are also important for that characteristic Golden smile. Make sure to take your time and come back here for more redlines before you add fur.




Blue is the wrong agles. Red is the fixed angles, orand is how big and where the hole for your vision should be.


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## sheila (Nov 7, 2010)

Thanks a bunch! I can see where i need to improve at. When I first made this I wasn't really going for anything at all. How do you think I could make the ears flopy? Like do I just make it just fabric?


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## rainingdarkness (Nov 7, 2010)

I've never made a fursuit myself, but you could probably give it some kind of structure in the back of the ear where it visibly sticks out from the rest of the head (like in your avatar, the ears don't just lie flat against the side of the skull), and make the floppy part of the ear with cloth only.


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## sheila (Nov 7, 2010)

Do you think I should re-make the eyes?


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## Deo (Nov 7, 2010)

Yes, you do need to remake the eyes. You have giant holes there now, and without a base you can't add on any type of eye (follow-me, toony, realistic) because there's nothing for it to sit on. Remember, your vision holes need only to be very small.

Here's a good example of how small your vision holes should be, see the cut circular vision holes in the mesh?







As for the ears to make them floppy here's what you do...




Blue is the foam of the top of the head. Green is the ear foam. And red is the floppy part of the ear that is just empty faux fur. The green part ensures that your ears get a nice bounce as you move and are not completely hound dog floppy.


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## sheila (Nov 7, 2010)

Oh, I understand the eyes now. All of the ones picture and tutorials I have seen it was never like that, but it makes better sense that way.


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## Deo (Nov 7, 2010)

sheila said:


> Oh, I understand the eyes now. All of the ones picture and tutorials I have seen it was never like that, but it makes better sense that way.



Well, you'll be putting fake eyes ontop of yours. So those fursuit eyes will need a base to sit on. You have removed any foam that would be that base.


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## sheila (Nov 8, 2010)

Yea I understand, But I also see it as a waste to take out all that foam and make a whole set of new ones. Would it be better to just re-glue it the spot or just go ahead and make a new one?


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## Deo (Nov 8, 2010)

sheila said:


> Yea I understand, But I also see it as a waste to take out all that foam and make a whole set of new ones. Would it be better to just re-glue it the spot or just go ahead and make a new one?


What in the world are you talking about? Fill in the giant gaping vision holes you have now with foam. Cut out proper sized vision holes. Over those holes you attach the fursuit's "eyes" by gluing them down to the foam surrounding the vision holes. I have no idea where you got this idea of "new ones" (ones of what?). 

Also, remember the reshaping and lifting of that muzzle.


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## Trpdwarf (Nov 8, 2010)

sheila said:


> Yea I understand, But I also see it as a waste to take out all that foam and make a whole set of new ones. Would it be better to just re-glue it the spot or just go ahead and make a new one?


 Closing the eyes up can be an additive process. You don't have to tear apart the eye area, just build up to re-close them up a bit.
To give you an idea of how eye sockets on heads should look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wOatQjJobs and http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4384058/
The second link the eyes were actually closed up a little more, and the sockets themselves built up to give them more definition so a pair of follow me eyes could be put in: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4611113/

Here is another example of a foamed head and the eye sockets: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2344796/ with eyes already in. You can always go the mesh route and do the more cartoon style eyes but either way, they eye holes should not be as big as they currently are. What you end up doing is building up the eye socket area as you build up and adjust the for-head area for a more well defined slope.


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## sheila (Nov 8, 2010)

Yea i was going for a toony look. I just didn't really know if I was doing it right or not, so I posted on here to get some feed back on what I should or shouldn't do. Thanks a bunch.


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