# Help! Making my first fursuit!!!



## JadeFox334 (Feb 5, 2009)

Okay FurAffinity. I have begun the epic adventure. I have the concept design completed. On the 18 I shall begin shopping for the materials needed for the fursuit, 'cuz tha's when i get paid. I have a few questions, and any advice before I begin would be greatly apreciated.

1. What should I use to make the eyes, and where would I obtain such materials?

2. What is the best way to construct/attatch the tail?


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## Kranksty (Feb 5, 2009)

I am going to start my first fur suit here soon too.


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## Smexi Foxness (Feb 5, 2009)

The best material for eyes is carbon fiber. That's wat my eyes r made from.


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## Whiskeyfoxtrot (Feb 5, 2009)

Smexi, do you really have CF eyes?  Do you have a close up?

1)  Eyes can be printed out on a piece of paper and glued to cardboard to make easy eyes.
You you can find large plastic spoons and cut them up to make either 3d eyes or regular eyes.
or you can get a white bleach bottle and cut it apart and use the compounded curve area for eyes.
or you can "use you own eyes" if you head is small enough.
or you can just use Muslin or Buckram and draw directly on it with a sharpie to make eyes.

2) as for a tail... theres a few tutorials out there on how to make a tail. it depends on what style you want.  I used Lone wolf's process http://wolfden.critter.net/fursuits/constrctn/tail.htm to make a straight, unsupported tail. Most fursuiters use a belt around their waist to support the tail since the fursuit, itself, ususaly isnt strong enough to support the abuse and tugs that tails get.  its easier to repair a belt loop than it is to repair a ripped seem on the back of a fursuit.


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## Trpdwarf (Feb 5, 2009)

There is no real best way to do anything. It all comes down to the style you prefer, and what is available to you.

I have found that for good visibility using some form of mesh, such as buckram or plastic mesh, can work well for eyes. If you can paint on the eyes, that is even better.

This is an example of what is basically buckram/mesh eyes that have the actual eyes painted in/on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgysHTRnAjg

Those eyes have great visibility but are slightly toony. You can get a more realistic effect with taxidermy or glass eyes, but then you end up seeing through the tear duct area and it limits your vision.

As for tails, if you are making a partial (which is the best way to go when starting out), you can use elastic loops for attachment. I have found that sowing on at least two loops to the tip of the base and then bringing around and down the back of the tail and then sowing the two ends in, gives you a neat way to slide the tail onto a belt, and the whole thing is rather, invisible.

You can also just sow them as loops onto the tip, if you are doing a full body suit, and have a hole in the back where the loops go into so that they can slide into a belt that is inside the costume around your waist.


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## nedded (Feb 6, 2009)

For those really, really big eyes, if your head can accomodate them without looking odd, go for this option. JoAnn Fabrics (and just about every other craft store I know of) sells clear plastic Christmas ornaments that separate in half. Painting the inside of them gives you very glossy and cartoony eyes, although it does limit your vision to seeing out of the pupils, as opposed to the entire eye with buckram.


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## Whiskeyfoxtrot (Feb 6, 2009)

Be careful if you use a solid piece of transparent plastic (like sunglasses lens) for your eyes.  I tried this at FC09 and Itd look and work great for about 10 minutes until they fogged up. Then i was stumbling around half-blind to the headless lounge.


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## shebawolf145 (Feb 6, 2009)

oh! For eyes watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEl_ur6Jkhc


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## Willer951 (Feb 7, 2009)

That is god eyes when i make my suit that will be it.


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## DrakonicKnight (Feb 8, 2009)

http://drakonicknight.deviantart.com/art/follow-me-eye-tutorial-112117438
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1973576
 <eyes, i tried the paint pallet thing for my first suit and it looked.. well weird i recommend doing what i did in that tutorial, its just as easy and looks way better

-edit-
heres what those eyes look put into a head http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1970454

and heres the first head i did :< http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1706453/


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## DrakonicKnight (Feb 8, 2009)

oh forgot about the tail >.> well for fur i dont know if you already have it or not but http://www.distinctivefabric.com/ has nice fur

if you want to make a curved tail though thats my pattern if you want to use that as a reference


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## wolfbird (Feb 8, 2009)

I don't know what sort of tail you're making, so I can't really offer any pattern ideas on that. I will say however that there are a bunch of ways-- stuffed polyfill for limp tails that don't do anything (you could add a light chain inside if you want to add more life to it); tails with a skeleton that'll wag as you move around (some people use rigid cores like wire or delrin-- I don't know why, others use a foam tube like a pool noodle or a foam pipe insulator from a hardware store) and also tails made of carved foam (which are really the best if you want a static tail that will always hold a particular shape). Personally, I find the ones with a soft skeleton the best as they'll bounce around a lot but you can also sit on them. I use the foam insulators for pipes as they're not a seasonal item like pool noodles can be, plus they have a LOT more wiggle than pool noodles do. 

As for attaching it, I'd recommend going with a belt worn under the suit and leaving a hole above your butt to thread the belt through. You *can* just sew the tail directly on the suit, but unless it's a rabbit/bear/something else with a stub of a tail, people ARE going to pull on it and ruin it, or the weight of a larger tail will cause SCAS (Saggy Costume Ass Syndrome) and everyone will point and laugh.


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## JadeFox334 (Feb 9, 2009)

DrakonicKnight said:


> http://drakonicknight.deviantart.com/art/follow-me-eye-tutorial-112117438
> http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1973576
> <eyes, i tried the paint pallet thing for my first suit and it looked.. well weird i recommend doing what i did in that tutorial, its just as easy and looks way better
> 
> ...



you, madame, are a genius. *bows with respect* this is now my plan.


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