# Fursuit in progress: WIP, critic wanted!



## Nae (Feb 4, 2011)

*Fursuit in progress: WIP 2, critique wanted!*

So, I started on my suit a while ago. It's supposed to be a toony (in a cutesy way, think a little touch of my little pony) horse (my fursona Nae).

Ref picture head
Ref picture body, side view
Ref picture body, front and back

As you can see I rarely draw humans/anthro's, so my apologies for the disformed bodies. I know the patterns will be complex, but I think with patience and paying attention it should be doable. I'm not sure about the hairstyle I'll do yet, maybe someone has a nice idea?

Now, I made this head, foam on balaclava. It has no eyes yet, I'm still looking for the right material (I guess here in The Netherlands buckram is non existant -.- ). She'll get follow me eyes and already has a working moving jaw, made with elastics.

I'd love ANY form of critic. I don't care how harsh it is, just say it bluntly, I don't mind at all (it's not personal anyways). Think it's crap? Please say so!  I don't care this is my first time making a head, I want to make it a GOOD first time so please post everything you see wrong with it, I don't care what it is and how long it will take to fix.

Thank you for the input!

Click for WIP


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## Kerrflakes (Feb 4, 2011)

I wont be much of a good critic only making a fursuit for the second time in the next few weeks, but id say thats pretty darn good. 
I mean its different, and i recon it can be pulled off well


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## dinosaurdammit (Feb 4, 2011)

I did really easy follow me eyes using halloween costume fabric for the pupils. Plastic white cups and foamies make great easy follow-me-eyes. You could also print out a chart with colored contact lenses if you want to have the look of a real eye. Some are large enough that when you resize them they look legit when laminated. Then just cut a hole out of the white pupil they have and glue they meshy fabric on the back.


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## Nekomimi (Feb 4, 2011)

Wow!  The head has a really nice shape!  I love your fursona, too.  Though one thing, the muzzle on your fursona seems much shorter than the more realistic muzzle on your foam head.  Keep us updated on the finished version, please!^.^


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## Nae (Feb 5, 2011)

Nekomimi said:


> Wow!  The head has a really nice shape!  I love your fursona, too.  Though one thing, the muzzle on your fursona seems much shorter than the more realistic muzzle on your foam head.  Keep us updated on the finished version, please!^.^


 
Thank you! Yes, and the nose off the head was originally shorter too, but it didn't look right because it looked more like a cow or something (if I shifted the ears to the side it really was a cow, lol XD) so I had to add a bit.

Thanks for the compliment, Kerrnflakes. ^w^

And hmm that might work too for the eyes, but then I think I'd have to buy a whole "Halloween" (we don't celebrate Halloween here, so it'd be officially a party mask or something) mask instead of just a piece of mesh or fabric.

Thanks for the input. ^^ I hope to receive some critics.


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## dinosaurdammit (Feb 5, 2011)

Nae said:


> Thank you! Yes, and the nose off the head was originally shorter too, but it didn't look right because it looked more like a cow or something (if I shifted the ears to the side it really was a cow, lol XD) so I had to add a bit.
> 
> Thanks for the compliment, Kerrnflakes. ^w^
> 
> ...


 
You can order a sample of buckram or costume fabric off the internet for less than a dollar and to be honest you don't need much. It might be cheeper to order a sample than to buy it in a store.


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## Nae (Feb 6, 2011)

Hey, good idea. o.o


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## dinosaurdammit (Feb 6, 2011)

Nae said:


> Hey, good idea. o.o


 
It is rare but once in a blue moon I can maintain the ability to squeeze out a good idea. My grandmother suggested that you try to order samples off of different fabric stores to get the ideal one rather than ordering from just one.


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## Nae (Feb 12, 2011)

I'd love some more critic on the head. Are the eyes too deep? Or maybe they're too deep in the head (or the surroundings around the eyes need trimming instead?) I'm not sure about the front view, but I think she has a really cute expression now from the sides (but that may just be because I've spend serveral days and made over 10 misformed/wrong eyes so I guess I'll be biased. D: That's why I need objective points of view). I'll work a bit on her smile too I think.

She'll get black outer eyelines so her eyes still look a little plain, but I think I should do that after furring? o.o Or maybe a layer black before and a layer black after furring?

I noticed the cheeks are uneven, too. And boxy.

Video link

Front view pic
Sidish view
Rawr
Neigh! o3o

*waits for facepalm comments about the Tokio Hotel poster in the background* :duh: I can't help it, the singer is too cute. XD


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## Tango (Feb 12, 2011)

From the concept art, looks like it's going to be damned good!


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## dinosaurdammit (Feb 12, 2011)

Personally I like the style- I wouldn't change anything on it. If you keep trying to fix something to make it perfect you will end up fucking it up entirely.


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## Prey101 (Feb 12, 2011)

I love the concept for this suit and am so pleased to see that you're doing such a good job of putting it together so far. The marking on the bodysuit are beautiful too, and I'm glad to see from your first post that you plan on sticking to these.

As I just said I think that you're doing a really good job so far. It looks great. You've managed to capture a great expression, and I think the eyes have come out really well. But anyway, as you asked for some critique there are a few points that I've noticed which might help you:
* From the front view it doesn't look like the muzzle is entirely symmetrical. Perhaps raised a bit on the left side (that is the left side from the front-on view, not the wearer's left side). It might also be a little bit more 'carved in' on the left side as well.
* From the front view again, it looks as if the ears might not be the same distance from the mid-point of the head
* I'm reluctant to mention this one because I think it looks good at the moment but the mouth and nose are a different shape to the concept drawing. In the concept the mouth is more pronounced than the nose at the end of the muzzle, but on the foam head it's the other way around. As I said though, it does look good as it is, so whether you alter that to fit the concept or not it'll still look good. In fact, you could argue that it might look worse if you change it.

I also wanted to mention that it might be a good idea to post for advice here:
http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/
looks like a very helpful, and highly experienced community

Keep at it. Good luck!


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## Nae (Feb 12, 2011)

dinosaurdammit said:


> Personally I like the style- I wouldn't change anything on it. If you keep trying to fix something to make it perfect you will end up fucking it up entirely.


 
That's where I'm affraid off, but on the other hand when I've applied the fur and go 'eeeww...boxy cheeks' it'll be too late to fix and I'll be stuck with it forever, which I think is worse. D: I'm trimming the cheeks veeeery carfully now, inch by inch, checking after each cut.



Prey101 said:


> I love the concept for this suit and am so pleased to see that you're doing such a good job of putting it together so far. The marking on the bodysuit are beautiful too, and I'm glad to see from your first post that you plan on sticking to these.
> 
> As I just said I think that you're doing a really good job so far. It looks great. You've managed to capture a great expression, and I think the eyes have come out really well. But anyway, as you asked for some critique there are a few points that I've noticed which might help you:
> * From the front view it doesn't look like the muzzle is entirely symmetrical. Perhaps raised a bit on the left side (that is the left side from the front-on view, not the wearer's left side). It might also be a little bit more 'carved in' on the left side as well.
> ...


 
Thanks so much for the input, I really appriciate. it. ^^ And that's a great tip to post at LJ. : D

Before I put the eyes on I had the feeling something wasn't right with the symmetry. I worked on the cheeks but it didn't help. Now that the eyes are in (I still need to glue them down, but I'll probably make another version of one of the eyes, as one eye is sliiiigtly smaller) I see the nose is uneven, as well as one cheek and the lower jaw. I'm currently attempting to fix it. ^^

About the ear; hmmm...Yeah you're right. I didn't notice it before. But I don't know if it's because the nose and cheeks are off or because the top of the head is uneven. I'll try to make the head symmetrical first and see if it still looks off.

Yes, the nose on the concept is much shorter. I started out with a much shorter nose, but she looked a bit like a cow/dragonish so I made the nose longer to make it more clear it's a horse (so people who see the suit don't go 'awwwww cute cow o3o'). I hope to get the head a bit closer to the concept art by working on the smile maybe adding some foam over the jaw so the muzzle looks shorter or something.

Heheh yes I'll be sticking with the hard pattern. All I need is a lot of patience, sewing skills, clearly marking everything, and paying lots of attention and I should be fine I hope.

Thanks a lot for the input everyone!


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