# Dragon fursuit help



## Code Red (Oct 14, 2010)

Yeah, It's about that time.

You see, I would like to create a furdragon form of Red, so that I could create a full body costume.  Problem is, I can't seem to find anything to help with design.

Please post anything here that might help.  (ref pics, tutorials, the works)

(Also, I read the newb guide and I looked at the sites that were already posted.  This suit is a long term project.  I can start tormenting people when the tail is done, but I don't plan on wearing this anytime soon.)


----------



## Fay V (Oct 14, 2010)

Okay I am not entirely sure what you are asking. Right now you have a character (red) that you want to change the design of so that it is fuzzier and can be made into a fursuit? 
So you're looking for help in the design and refs?


----------



## Code Red (Oct 14, 2010)

No, design will be the same.  It's just instead of scales, it's fur.

The mask is the one thing I'll need the most help on.  It what way should I shape the foam?  How will the mesh be set up? Stuff like that, you know?


----------



## Deo (Oct 14, 2010)

READ THE STICKIES.


----------



## Trpdwarf (Oct 14, 2010)

What exactly is a "Fur dragon?"

Care to be a little more explanatory?

EDIT: For what it is worth I think I know where you are going with this  and I'll go off of that. If you seek to make a dragon costume completely  made out of fur...you will find yourself with a costume that doesn't  look exactly like a dragon. That's how they usually turn out because the  fur throws people off. Now for some dragons a little bit of fluff is  good. Like an eastern variety.

Western dragon archetype plus fur = ??? to a lot of people. If that's  what you want to go with that's not my business. However, remember when  you were a kid and you were given paper and crayons? You would scribble  some mess of a picture because your artistic ability was on par with a  monkey on crack. Then you would go "Mommy, look I drew a picture of you"  and in your mind it looked like her. She only saw a mess of scribbles.  The point of this is that when you make something, it pays to make it  something others can recognize too.

So the best place to start with making a good dragon costume is start with a solid reference. Not all pictures translate into a good costume.

Find a good basic archetype for dragons by digging into their mythos.  Really it comes down to a "East versus West". Western dragons tend to be  bulkier, have heavier jaws, thicker bodies, their horns are usually  shaped similar to many African critters. Such as the Impala, Rhebuck,  and Springbuck. They can also be Ram horn shaped.
The Eastern ones horns are often more deer like. Although they can be similar to a Rhebuck but with a pronged end.

Western dragons tend to have non visible ears. Meaning they have inner  ears, with a hole on either side similar to a reptile. Eastern dragons  tend to have smaller petite outside ears similar to that of a deer/doe.  It's stuff like that that you want to look at. Learn their diverse  anatomy so that as you expand your own fantasy creation of a dragon, you  are still holding to a good solid base. I know, I know, I know that dragons are not real. But again, if you want people to pick up on what it is, it pays to start with a solid base that people can pull recognition from.

Translate that into the head. One of the things to watch out for is that  you shouldn't have a dragon's cheeks inflated and infected looking. Yes  dragons tend to have short and narrow, or long and narrow snouts that  are partially wedge shaped...but that doesn't mean the cheeks need to  look like you can pop them and pus will come out. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't turn out perfect the first time. Don't be afraid to expirement a little with different material. Most people go for fur when making a dragon, it doesn't mean you have to alter your concept because of that.

My first one I ever did was made mostly out of fleece:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfKk0fGQBNw and while a lot of people  liked it, I saw it as a work in progress. I ran out time so a few things  were way off. The nose is off. The horns and the ears are not properly  positioned in relation to each other. However the shortness of the snout  worked because I am a short person. So proportions were great.

However the second go around insisted on a longer snout and it looked  goofy because I'm not tall enough for the head, and so it looked badly  disproportionate. I don't have a picture of me wearing it but:  http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4015485 is how it looked early on.

As you can see I've used fleece, and now suede. I found that fun foam is  a good material for doing things a plated approach as you see there. In  fact when I did a slight tweak to my old dragon head I did a similar  approach: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3284719/
I'm taking a break from making Y'Knosos and pushing V3 aside to do a little bit of extra practice on reptile heads in general with a Anthropomorphic Warpstalker concept...it pays to get better and the whole reptilian head made by fleece combo.

Hot glue plus fun foam = awesomeness on reptile heads if you know how to  layer and use it correctly. The smaller the horns the better if made  out of a clay like material (such as ultra-light sculptey), but some  people make stuffed horns out of suede or some other material. My big  caution though is don't go over board with spikes and stuff. Keep the  head practical.

I've seen people kind of mess a dragon head up because they want to add  in all these extra spike like things, similar to jutting horns here and  there. The problem is what might look great on a fantasy poster isn't  always intelligent. What use does a dragon have for those extra things?  None. So why bother wasting the time? It'll end up looking like a lizard-man and not a dragon in the end anyway.


----------



## sunandshadow (Oct 14, 2010)

This is a fanart of Chibisuke from Dragon Drive, he's a furry dragon so perhaps he would be a useful example.  He's quite bird-like in my opinion.  If you will note, his fur is a very short nap except for the places a dog would have extra long/thick fur or a bird would have extra fluffy feathers - cheeks/ears, center of chest, elbows and knees, wingelbows.


----------



## Fay V (Oct 14, 2010)

If you are going for a more toony look you can use a short pile or fleece. I've seen this on toon dragons and dinosaurs like RaptorRed. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3524837/


----------

