# Looking to make a fursuit of my raptorsona (NoName)...



## NoNamethirteen13 (Jul 5, 2011)

So, my mother and I have been looking into fabrics and materials used to make fursuits (My first time building; she's my "assistant" and supports me in what I do). We have most of what we need an are getting ready to buy, but can't find the needed modeling clay to sculpt the base(s) from (we'll be making resin blanks and work from there) or the needed material to sculpt raptor claws and teeth from. Also, after nearly two days of searching, I've come up dry in my quest to find faux white feather-fur. 

Here's the basic "blueprint", based off of my character's reference sheet (both were drawn by me):

http://sapphire-essence.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d3f1pp7 -Character reference-
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5566839/ -(Outdated) Fursuit Blueprint-

One last thing:

I'm not entirely sure on how to attach resin hinges. Help would be appreciated. 
Can anyone help? Feedback and tips are greatly appreciated.


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## Jesie (Jul 5, 2011)

First, I want you to understand it's impossible to get the shape you're looking for in costume form.

You may get close, Or with some clever (expensive) puppetry.

The first will give you a backache and the second will cost you a pretty penny.


Also, did I hear that correctly? This will be your *FIRST* suit?
You might as well hang up the glue-gun because your first projects always look like shit and nothing will turn you off from suit making like a expert level project like this.

I'ma be honest with you. This is a hard to tackle subject even for more experienced suit makers. I would start off with a simple character, not something like this.
Allow me to point a a few flaws in your project design:

1: Tails can't defy gravity. Metal springs in a tail would make it heavy, thus sag. How many suiters have you seen with upright tails? How many with _Long_ upright tails? You don't because it's near impossible to do.
I'm sorry to say this but you'll have to go back on that one and think it out better.

2: The elastic 'skin' ideal on the mouth is a good Looking one, but not a practical one. Elastic that far out in the mouth would just keep the jaw closed. If you want to have aesthetic jaw muscles that's fine, but you're best bet is to try and keep the design or mechanism that controls the mouth movement as close to your own mouth as possible. The human mouth don't open very wide, even less so when speaking, so even the most sensitive mask often times can't detect speaking mouth movements. So don't have high expectations for realistic like jaw movement.

3: Your suit's toes are long. And skinny. I can see these getting broken or snapped off on a regular basis. Most feet you'll see have short blunt toes. This may not be as aesthetically pleasing, but they're like that for a reason.
You ever try and walk in swimming flippers? You look like a fucking idiotic duck. THAT'S the reason no one has long feet.
You'll find you have the same problem with your fingers. You wont be able to grab shit.

4: Have you ever seen digitigrade costume legs? Either they are large, because of all the foam you need, or painful, because you're wearing stilts.
Deo can tell you how unfun stilts are.
I can tell you even the smallest skinny person will have fat legs when you attempt to digitigrade them with foam.


Either redesign your character or start with something easier.

You can't learn to walk because you learn to crawl.


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## NoNamethirteen13 (Jul 5, 2011)

Jesie said:


> First, I want you to understand it's impossible to get the shape you're looking for in costume form.
> 
> You may get close, Or with some clever (expensive) puppetry.
> 
> ...



The feral one was the reference sheet for the actual character. The anthro one was the fursuit idea, which I've long-since modified, but haven't scanned to show the changed idea. The toes have been shortened, the tail's been changed, and there'll be padding, but not extensive to the point where they'll be big pillows attached to the interior of the suit. 

I'm aware of the possible outcome of the suit overall; I'm willing to keep trying until I get it right. I've been sculpting for a while, with modeling clay, but mostly small model dinosaurs for my friends. I'm willing to try sculpting masks to get into the feel of sculpting larger things.

The jaw's interior "skin" is still a small challenge for me. It's difficult to find a material that somehow makes the jaw seem more dinosaurian. I've been planning to use hinges for the actual jaw movement so the jaw would line up correctly each time I closed my mouth. The elastic (or some other material for the flesh on the mouth) is mostly for show to make it look more realistic.

I'm going to attempt to achieve the body shape using foam padding. Sure it won't be perfect, but it'll be (hopefully) close to what I aim for.

The fingers will be shorter, with only a tiny bit of padding to make the fingers a tiny bit longer.


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## Rhasp (Jul 6, 2011)

This looks like quite a challenge for every one, and specially if its youre first suit. My concern is that a standing up tail like that would be a lot off weight on youre back.

It might be easier to do this as a quadsuit, at least if you have done a couple off regular suits before since you can have the head above youre own and have better balance with the long upgoing tail.


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## Jesie (Jul 6, 2011)

Have you ever seen someone walk in a quad suit? I think I'd rather the stilts.

Even the better quadsuits don't look right. Humans don't walk on all fours.
It looks unnatural for starters, we have very short bodies in contrast to the length of our legs, You can't look straight ahead of yourself for any length of time or at all because our necks just are not long enough to do so not to mention the weight of the suit's head, the back is not meant to hold that posture for extended periods of time, and to say the lest, your hands and wrists are not meant to withstand the weight of all of your upper body when walking. You have to hold all that weight on stiff pegs *On Your Wrists* every step you take.
Plus you take all of that and add well over 10 pounds of equipment and piles of very hot fur that simply make up your costume.

Most quad suiters are not seen in a quad position for long, because of how taxing _just walking_ is.



I don't recommend it to beginners.
I don't recommend a quad suit to ANYONE.



Also, Why would they make a already bipedal raptor into a quadrupedal one?
_The fuck man?_


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## NoNamethirteen13 (Jul 6, 2011)

Rhasp said:


> This looks like quite a challenge for every one, and specially if its youre first suit. My concern is that a standing up tail like that would be a lot off weight on youre back.
> 
> It might be easier to do this as a quadsuit, at least if you have done a couple off regular suits before since you can have the head above youre own and have better balance with the long upgoing tail.



As I'd said to Jesie, the design's long since changed; The tail no longer stands upright.


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## NoNamethirteen13 (Jul 6, 2011)

Jesie said:


> Have you ever seen someone walk in a quad suit? I think I'd rather the stilts.
> 
> Even the better quadsuits don't look right. Humans don't walk on all fours.
> It looks unnatural for starters, we have very short bodies in contrast to the length of our legs, You can't look straight ahead of yourself for any length of time or at all because our necks just are not long enough to do so not to mention the weight of the suit's head, the back is not meant to hold that posture for extended periods of time, and to say the lest, your hands and wrists are not meant to withstand the weight of all of your upper body when walking. You have to hold all that weight on stiff pegs *On Your Wrists* every step you take.
> ...



I'm not a big fan of stilts because I can't walk in them for the life of me...

Quadsuits look cool, but I bet it hurts like hell to walk around in them for extended periods of time. Can you say broken wrists?


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