Hey everyone, I just finished a cheerful little black and white husky, and would like people's opinions! I'm intending to sell it, but would like some advice on pricing...
Hey guys! To make a long story short, I was lucky enough to find nearly the exact colors I wanted for my suit at a JoAnn's, I was however, UNfortunate enough to not buy enough and run out. In retrospect I don't mind because it was mostly an impulse buy and the fur is much less quality and too short a pile than I'd prefer to use anyways. Here's what I used (don't mind the sloppy pinning job). DF's Grey should be fine for the lighter grey but I haven't been able to find a darker grey I really like. Monterey Mill's Slate Seal is pretty close to the color I'm aiming for but I don't want seal/short pile (or to pay for 14 yards I don't need).
I guess the point of all this is, does anyone know of a decent solid dark grey? All I've found in longer piles is light grey and black. Nothing in between.
Happy to answer questions, queries or show you things about my suit and style of making! I might be a bit shy, not done this before, come and support me :D
Thanks for all your great comments. Limited computer time here so making replies this way.
First, we need more horseys (fursuits).
I plan on taking photos next Spring on my bike (old, stripped-down Goldwing) and also on my horse (Tonka) in suit.
Like the idea of a biker bandanna on my head. Tried and tried to come up with a way for any hat (biker, cowboy) to work and fit down over the top of my fursuit head and have places (holes maybe) for ears but no luck so far. I know Brokken made his wonderful Clyde fursuit a cowboy hat that looks good so it is doable.
Hooves. Took a pair of cheap Walmart loafers (Earth Shoe it says inside) and bandsawed the heels about half-way flatwise so only the bottoms came off. Added wooden blocks to raise the heels about two inches and cemented the original heel cut-offs to the bottoms of the wooden blocks which are cemented to the remaining heels on the shoes. Thus high-heeled loafers. Then used spray foam (Great Stuff) in layers over the fronts of the loafers and let each layer set firm before adding the next. Built up to the rough shape but oversize, of hooves. Then sanded and sanded to shape for hind hooves (sort of a diamond shape whereas front hooves are round).
I had purchased a set of number 7 hinds horse shoes with toe clips and used them as a pattern for the bottom and thus the face shapes of the hooves to sand to. Then layers of fiberglass cloth and rosin to make fiberglass shells about 1/4 inch thick over the face of the hooves. Of course I allowed for the 1/4 inch increase in size when sanding the foam so the final product fit the shoes nicely. Polished the shoes and coated with coats of clear spray (Rust-oleum crystal clear enamel - very tough and good for this I also used in for my eyes).
Sanded the bottoms of the hooves flat on a big belt sander but it could be done by hand and epoxy and nailed them on exactly as a horse hoof trimmer (farrier) would have done with horse shoe nails. Heh... I wanted a proper job. Dense foam rubber then cemented in the center of the horse shoe that slightly raises the shoe off the floor. The shoes click on hard floors slightly, which I and most folks like. Was a lot of work but worth it. The left one rubs my big toe too much so buying a set of shoe-stretchers in hopes that will help. Next time I would press crumpled newspapers into the loafers prior to putting the foam layers over the fronts to keep the shape and prevent it pushing in anywhere. Painted the hooves with grey spray primer and then with acrylics by hand. I wanted the 'grain' of the hooves to show and checked out many photos as well as my own horse's white hooves to get the coloring right. Heh, I get more comments about the hooves than anything else.
The next furson who asks me "Why the long face?" is gonna get kicked.
Yes the mouth opens and closes with teeth and tongue inside. Tongue is carved from a piece of balsa and painted with acrylics. I have to fit my chin into a chinstrap that has foam padding and is part of the jaw with springs to close. So when I open my mouth and lower my chin the horse jaw opens.
The ears are meant to be moveable from front perked to flat back but they are a retrofit. The bearings are not at the right angle so really needs to be incorperated into a new head during construction to be effective. For now they are spring-loaded to the perk position.
The photos were taken by Tivo, the Clydesdale librarian, at his farm in Illinois.
From your comments I feel encouraged to continue. How about a gunslinger or cowboy outfit for riding my horse?
Hey ya'll I made another critter. I had tree days off in a row, so, I managed to crank this Leopard out. ( A picture )
This is in what I call the "magnifying glass, and tweezers" stage. I still have a few things to do that will make it look cleaner. Though, it will not look vastly different from the picture.
I know I'd be able to do the body and the eyes and the tail, but the head is going to bother me. Should I carve out a teeny fursuit head and fur it? I was just going to sew and stuff the rest of it.
Any help on this matter. It's not fursuit, but it's related.
i decided to do some work live tonight :D I'll be on mic, answering questions ect, furring a german shepard head on a balaclava and foam base :)
http://www.livestream.com/shadowsdoodles
I'm working on my feet at the moment and my method of using cheap car floormats for parade soles and foamies for pawpads do no work nor look good. XD I need a better way!
What kind of material do you put on the bottoms of your feet? Specifically to endure indoor and outdoor romps. Can it be bought online? Is it lightweight? How long does it generally last?
And..
What do you use for making pawpads for feet? Is there a way to protect them so that they don't get dirty, break, or get scuffed away?
A new Puppy we finished up recently. :) Tried a few new things on this suit we haven't done before, such as larger toonier style eyes to add to the puppyish and happy expression. She also sports an extra curly foam core tail which curls over the top.
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