# Toony VS Realistic



## kumakaze (Sep 29, 2008)

Are toony heads too simple for you? Do realistic eyes give you the willies? Digitigrade or plantigrade? Which do you prefer, and why?


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## Trpdwarf (Sep 29, 2008)

I personally do not care so much for toony heads. I don't know why, it just doesn't interest me. So when I make costume heads I strive to make it look semi realistic without crossing over into Uncanny Valley.

Everyone seems to have toony suits these days. They tend to be more expensive too. I don't understand why. It would seem more simple to make something toony, than something realistic. But hey, that is just my opinion, and I am entitled to it. I don't mind seeing toon suits, and I don't look down on them, they just happen to not be my style.


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## Lilfurbal (Sep 29, 2008)

I love the toony suits myself.  They look more ... fun.    Toony tends to really give a character personality, whereas realistic it's much more difficult to see any particularly type of emotion from it.  Just appears rather serious like, as if it wants to eat you~!

As far as art goes I like both realistic and toony.  Though fursuits I prefer toony much more.  And art of my fursona I prefer toony.


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## UKtehwhitewolf (Sep 29, 2008)

I like them Semi-realistic. Just to be awkward. xD
I like the look of the realistic heads but prefer the over-exagerrated facial expressions you can give toony ones.


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## Frasque (Sep 29, 2008)

I like suits that are more realistic, personally. But there are some artists like Beastcub who do very beautiful heads, I wouldn't describe them as toony exactly but they're more abstract.


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## TamaraRose (Sep 29, 2008)

realistic  to semi realistic for me...  toony one make my not silly  charicter  look silly tho i did see a pretty cute toony  thing i would like a badge done of her with


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## BlauShep (Sep 29, 2008)

realism all the way! they look oh-so much better, seriously. unless you've got a very, very well made toony suit.


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## kumakaze (Sep 29, 2008)

My own answer is that I prefer semi-realistic. Realistic heads look way to serious for me. I like semi-realistic because, while it doesn't give the appearance of a toon suit, you have so much more freedom with expression. With realistic suits, you can't really give an expression- it looks pretty dire no matter what. Semi-realistic gives me the feel of a nice, classy suit, but with personality.

Of course, some characters are just better one way or the other. Milkbone, for example, is a ham- I can't picture his suit as anything but toony. But the werewolf suit I'm making now would just look dumb if it wasn't more on the realistic side.


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## shebawolf145 (Sep 29, 2008)

I like realistic, mainly because i'm in this fandom for the animals not the cartoonish parts of it..thats why my character doesn't have a purple mohawk and pink claws...

I want a suit that makes people wonder if its a real wolf's body over mine..(obviously not though....i'm faux all the way!)


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## gust (Sep 29, 2008)

I kinda like the toony ones.
I personally think the realistic ones are... well... not realistic enough (i guess).  I dunno how to explain, I guess if they were realistic to the point that I thought i was looking at a real anthro, then I would prefer those.  Until then, toony ones are fun =)


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## kumakaze (Sep 30, 2008)

gust said:


> I kinda like the toony ones.
> I personally think the realistic ones are... well... not realistic enough (i guess). I dunno how to explain, I guess if they were realistic to the point that I thought i was looking at a real anthro, then I would prefer those. Until then, toony ones are fun =)


 
Wouldn't that be a little creepy though? xD

I agree, though, if you want fun, go toony (:


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## Midi Bear (Sep 30, 2008)

I prefer the cuteness of toony ones, but the epicness of realistic ones is fairly awesome too. I guess if I were to choose between the two it would be toony. Just too cute. X3


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## Stratelier (Sep 30, 2008)

Trpdwarf said:


> I personally do not care so much for toony heads. I don't know why, it just doesn't interest me. So when I make costume heads I strive to make it look semi realistic without crossing over into Uncanny Valley.


Opinion is a win for mentioning the Uncanny Valley


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## Rimbaum (Sep 30, 2008)

For me, it depends on the character and the use for the suit. My current suit, Rimmy, is meant to interact with children a lot, and has a fun and playful personality, so I made her toony. The other fursuit I'm planning, Bast, is meant to be a semi-realistic partial, just because... well, it's Bast. 

Overall, I do prefer a semi-realistic to slightly toony look on fursuits, but I highly admire the suits that are realistic.


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## Trpdwarf (Sep 30, 2008)

Stratadrake said:


> Opinion is a win for mentioning the Uncanny Valley



Yes, someone gets it!

Opinion is a win? What did I win?

I've only seen a few makers who cross into it and I'm not naming any names. I just think that if you are going to make a suit for the furrie fandom, you need to keep in mind that the public will be seeing it if you go out to cons with it, as will children.

People should keep that in mind when putting their costumes together. So some things should just not make it into a costume that is going to be seen outside the house. I'm not willing to create a flame-war though so I'll end that.


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## Kuhnio (Sep 30, 2008)

I personally like a fairly realistic interpretation.


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## CombatRaccoon (Oct 1, 2008)

I like nothing too toony... although I love the craft of matrices and her masks, it's not my personal taste. I like masks to be a bit in the middle--realistic structure but maybe with a toony expression.


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## Wile_E2005 (Oct 1, 2008)

For me, I like both. It just depends on the personality of the character you are portraying. My fursona Fred Wolfie is goofy so I'm gonna design a 'toony head for him. I might also do a realistic wolf at one point too.


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## Gavrill (Oct 1, 2008)

Both my characters are pretty serious, but toony all the way. (The heads are cheaper and easier to fit a fan in).


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## Tinge the Raccoon (Oct 2, 2008)

I do like the look of more toony suits but there's something that can't be beat with realism. Maybe semi-realistic for me ^_^
But I would personally perfur a realistic one for me. Dunno who, just feels better for me =3


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## Tapeworm (Oct 10, 2008)

I like the realistic ones.


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## Kittiara (Oct 11, 2008)

I like a mix of the two. :3 Enough of a toony look to give a distinct personality, but enough realism that it isn't over simplistic or mascot-ish (and often more 'refined' or 'classy' for it).  I think a mix of the two makes it easier to be both silly and more subdued.

Not that I suit.  It's just what I felt like at AC and such. :B Also the style I'd get if I had money to blow on it.


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## wettfox (Oct 11, 2008)

i dont know but at a point ya know when youre making fanart and or just the plain fursona you want the fursuit to look just like the artwork right ?
the anthro pics ive seen (and there a lott !!!) are all a destingt mixure of both real and human so what im trieng to say is a truely realistic suite for me is a suit that looks acsactly like the artwork 
thats real to me.
ps when its uncany vally its not anthro anymore in my opinion then youre just a stretcht version of the animal youre portraing 
(and its not meant bad dont worry(all you uncany vally crossers)


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## conejo (Oct 12, 2008)

i prefer toon style.
just more fun! 
the realistic ones are cool  and the suit im currently working on is gonna be realistic as best i can. But just to challenge myself and because i want it to have a more serious character. 
a few have mentioned already and i find it true. depending on the personality of the character then thats what you go with.
but i just love the toons


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## Kano (Oct 12, 2008)

I prefer toony, it gives the character more personality! I'm currently working on a toony head for my character ^^


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## Stratelier (Oct 12, 2008)

Kano said:


> I prefer toony, it gives the character more personality! I'm currently working on a toony head for my character ^^


It's not that it _gives_ the character anything, it's that toony is easier for other people to "read" than realistic. Frequently, the more realistic the style, the more people expect it to have the subtleties of the 'real' thing; the fact that a simple suit head doesn't have them becomes a flaw.


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## Digitalpotato (Oct 12, 2008)

I personally like toony realistic. I know how much detail goes into a realistic fursuit, but personally I think this "Realism" trend that's going on with all our art design lacks quite a few things other than colour.

Personality and character

I know how much character it has to show how much work someone invested into such a realistic tiger costume, but in order to contribute to the "realism" aspect they don't draw them smiling or with expressive eyes showing shock, rather make it like a taxidermy you see in a hunting lodge. In other words, rather blank eyes (or none at all because it's rather hard to see without eyeholes) and a face that has about as much emotion as a textbook on Microeconomics. 

not to mention some people come up with some pretty interesting colour schemes using a rather toony style, and that can make all the meerkats seem even more soft and huggable.


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## Pensive (Nov 4, 2008)

I like both, but greatly prefer realistic. This is partially due to the fact that I consider myself to be, in soul, canine rather than human...so a realistic fursuit would allow me to look more like how I see my true self to be (I actually have one that I commissioned to be completed within 2 months or so...I can't wait!). x3 I also plan to speak in suit, since the fursuit will literally be ME with fur. I won't have to worry about becoming a character...I'll just be me, how I truly see myself. I also love that you don't have to jump around and be insane, because people expect that more of toony suits. 

HOWEVER. I also like toony suits, since I do enjoy preforming sometimes (I just get tired really easily, so I have to pace myself). It's also much better for volunteer and charity work...after all, taxidermy eyes tend to scare kids a lot more often, as does talking in suit. xD


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