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Ok, this thread needs more content so anyone with something to add please PM me your tutorial and I'll place it in this area. This section will be kept locked to allow the info to stay uncluttered but feel free to PM the author with any questions you may have.

NOTE: Due to Sporty Fox being gone from Furtopia, members who wish to comment on his plastic mesh head technique in this thread will need to contact him by email through his Profile or through his LJ link at the bottom, as he is no longer here to recieve PM's.

EDIT by Kobuk: Any tutorials relating to fursuit construction can be submitted here in this thread by members if they wish. Submitting tutorials here is easier as it provides ONE central location to look for tutorials rather than having to search through page after page of various fursuit threads in the Fursuit forum.
Members do not need to submit their tutorials to the staff for approval. But we will need to ask that you follow a few simple guidelines.

1.  Feel free to post your tutorial here in this thread if you wish. However.......Members who wish to comment on someone’s tutorial must do so through PM only as this thread will be used for tutorials only and will be kept unclogged of extraneous comments.
2.  All tutorial material in whatever form must follow all normal Furtopia Posting Rules and Guidelines in regards to language, adult content, pic sizes, etc., etc.
3.  Tutorials must be clearly written and understandable with easy to follow directions for the construction process you are describing.
4.  Tutorials may have a minimum of anywhere from 5-8 pictures per individual post. All pictures may not exceed 500 x 500 pixel dimensions. For example, if you had a tutorial that had 16 pics in it, you could write one post with 6 pics in it, then write the next post with 5 pics in it, then write the next post with the last 5 pics in it.
5.  If you are describing any construction techniques in a video, then videos can only be no more than 10 minutes long max. You can only put links to videos in your post, no embedding of vids. If your video is going to be excessively long, you may want to consider making it into smaller parts. For example: Part 1 is 10 minutes, then Part 2 is another 10 minute video, then Part 3 is the next 10 minutes, etc., etc. The reason video length needs to be kept short is that some members may still have dial-up and/or other slower connections and it is hard for them to download large files of stuff from time to time.
6.  When your tutorial is ready for it to be posted, please try to keep your tutorial somewhat short. Yes, we do want you to be as descriptive with your tutorial as possible and show how things are done, but please don’t make a huge tutorial that lasts for post after post after post after post after page after page after page, etc., etc.

If anyone has any further questions or comments about anything, please feel free to PM me (Kobuk) or the other staff and we’ll help you out in whatever way we can. Thank You.

Also.....

If anyone notices any broken links to pics in this thread, please contact me immediately so that they may be corrected if possible. I also ask that any pics belonging to other people be checked on your personal websites/galleries and make sure you used the correct linkage, etc. Thanks.

Building a Head using the Plastic Canvas method. Posted by Sporty Fox

For everyfur who has thought about building a fursuit, it seems the head is the scariest part to attempt. In actuality it's probably the easiest part of building your fursuit- it simply appears harder than it is. There are many different methods used in building a head, but the two most common are:
  1. Shaping the head from upholstery foam
  2. Sewing together a 'skull' out of plastic canvas.
  Some builders combine the two, making a form out of the plastic canvas and then glueing foam to it. We're going to concentrate on the plastic canvas method for this build.

  Ok, to get started we just need some basic supplies. You don't need the fur just yet, so if your short on cash don't worry. Just build the 'skull' first, then buy the fur when you have a little more spare cash. A few of the items you might already have around the house, if not you can pick everything up at WalMart or the like. The stuff you'll need is cheap, in fact you can buy everything including the tools for under $20- so you don't need to have a ton of money laying around to have that fursuit head!
  The list to start out with:
   1. The plastic canvas- this comes in different sizes; #5, #7, #10, etc. The number referes to the number of holes per inch, the more holes the smaller each hole is. I use #7 canvas for the simple reason that a 12 pack of 11 x 14 sheets is only $2.50.
   2. A gluegun and glue sticks- Buy a low/multi temp glue gun and sticks, the cooler temp won't melt the canvas or burn your fingers as bad as a high heat gun. Gluegun $2 , a pack of 100 gluesticks $3
   3. String or twine- This is what you will be using to sew everything together with, so you'll want a small diameter to be able to feed it thru the canvas. Try and find a strong and low stretch string, I get a 1000 foot ball from the hardware section for about $2.
   4. Scissors- for cutting the canvas and string
   5. Tape measure or ruler- for measuring, what else?
   6. A Sharpie or other sharp tipped magic marker
   7. A multi pack of Crayola Model Magic - for the nose, teeth, and inside jaw details. You can buy this in packs of white only and paint it when dry or it also comes in packs of assorted colors. I have only used the white so far, but will be buying the already colored in the future. A box of six packages $6
   8. One wire coathanger
  Thats about it! Anything else you need will come when you're ready to start laying on the fur.

Lets get started! The mask I'm doing here will be a wolf, semi-realistic with a moving mouth. You can use the begining steps for any head, and as we go on you'll see where to make changes for your particular species.
  First off we need two sheets of the canvas and your marker. Take the first sheet and lay it out as follows, just do not number the pieces as I have done in the photo. Any marks will only serve to confuse you later when you are marking your measurements later. If you feel the need to label them for convenience use a piece of tape and label it instead.



  When you cut each piece you will have to trim the nubs off of the cut so that you have a smooth edge on each piece.
 Pieces 1, 3, 4, and 6 are all 12 holes wide.
 Piece 2 is 13 holes wide.
 Pieces 5 and 7 (#7 is not shown) are each 4 holes wide.

 On the second sheet cut one more piece #6 ( it requires two pieces all together) and cut one more piece #5 (which will be used as piece #7)

 Once you have these basic pieces you're ready to start assembling them. Here's a picture of how each piece will go in relation to the others.



Part 1 is the top strap
Part 2 is the upper back strap
Part 3 is the lower back strap, you angle this piece so that it is two rows lower in the center than on the ends
Part 4 is the forward strap, you attach it to the lower back strap at a hieght that places the bottom of the strap level with the bottom of your upper lip. Make sure it's long enough to comfortably clear your mouth and chin, sometime you have to sew two pieces together to get a piece long enough.
Part 5 is the center line nose strap, you attach this piece in the center on top first then to the center of the forward strap, making sure it's a length that clears your nose and lip.
Part 6 is the the muzzle. You WILL have to use two pieces for this one and will shape it for the look you want.
Part 7 forms the shape for the top of the muzzle and also shapes Part 5 for the forehead

Parts 1, 2, and 3 should be long enough to reach to your ears.
Parts 4, 5, 6, and 7 are cut and attached as needed to fit your head. Stand in front of a mirror and look at the fit, you can mark things with a magic marker while holding it up to the mirror if it helps. I also find it helpful to find the exact centerline of each piece and count the holes outward from there to make sure that each side is even. It takes a little longer, but results in a symetrical appearing and better fitting head.




 I attach pieces 1 and 2 together with the forward edge flush and part 1 overlapping part 2 by 6 holes.  If after assembling the muzzle and jaw the head sits to low you can undo one side of the joint and shorten it as needed. If you do then be sure to trim the shortened side even with the other and loosen piece #5 and recenter it.

Now that you're assembling your basic frame here's a hint that I learned the hardway. When you sew the canvas with your string, make all of your knots on the inside of the mask whenever possible. This isn't as critical in areas that will be covered with long fur, but the knots may show under short napped fur. Make your knot as small as possible and inject hot glue into the knot- to do this I simply put the nozzle of the gun against the knot and squeeze the trigger. Before the glue cools take your finger, wet the tip, and then smooth the glue out over the knot. See, there was a reason I said not to buy the high heat gluegun!  This not only prevents the knot from coming undone at the worst time possible but it also makes the mask much more comfortable. Trust me on this- if you don't then that knot is guaranteed to sit right agaist your head and will hurt like heck after about 10 minutes.

  Now about piece(s) #6, the muzzle. How you attach this is going to depend on the species you're building, and wether you are after a realistic look or a 'toony one. For a realistic look, find a few pictures of the species you're doing and study relationship of the muzzle to the position of the eyes and it's size compared to the rest of the head (we'll get into this again when it comes time for the ears).
  Using my wolf head as the example, I used this formula: A wolfs muzzle from it's nose to the eye is 3/4's as long as it's head from the eye to the back of the skull.



   Note: This pic shows the head much farther along and shows that a wolfs ears are 3/4's the size of the muzzle, but we'll get back to that later. I'll admit it, I'm to lazy to photoshop another pic since I already had these pics from before.

  Anyway, back to the muzzle. At this point when you test fit the mask it will be contacting your nose and mouth, this is ok and we'll take care of that in just a bit. Squeeze the mask slightly to make it fit without hitting, you can put a slight bend in the center of piece #4 if that helps. If you attach the ends of piece(s) #6 to the head were the muzzle joins the skull first, you can then shape the pieces how you like and sew them together in the center.

Once you've attached the muzzle you'll add piece #7 to piece #5, attaching it at the point you want the muzzle to break from the forehead. Sew it on allowing for around 3/4's of an inch overlap, as this will give a more natural curve to the top of the muzzle. Leave the nose end an inch or two longer than the muzzle and do not attach it yet. As you can see in photo below  I attach a small strap across the muzzle to hold both piece #7 and to set the width of the muzzle.
  Now is also a good time to add a few marks to aid in locating the eyes later on. With the mask frame on your head, stand in front of a mirror and mark the top and bottom hight of your eyes onto piecs #7. Then take and mark the inside and outside edges of your eyes on piece #4- I recommend counting the holes from the center outward and making sure both sides are symetrical.
    At this point you should have something simular to this:



    Now you're ready to add the forehead to the mask. I'm not giving a pattern here, it will all be dependent on the species you're doing and the look you're trying to achieve. So you can get an idea of how to do this I'll show you the pictures of how I do mine. I start out by cutting out a piece that roughly fits, leaving it extra large so that I can trim it as needed. I attach it along the top of the muzzle:



   Then I'll begin attaching it to piece #7 working my way up the forehead. It's often necessary to notch the piece you're adding where it turns upwards from the muzzle to the forehead. You will have to experiment here, redoing your piece if you're not happy with the look.



  Once I have it attached along both sides I then attach it to piece #1 along the back. Again, it is often necessary to notch the piece to allow it to take the form you're seeking. You mearly sew the notch shut when one is needed.



    You should have something like this at this point.

In the previous picture I show the eyes cut out, so here we go. Using the reference marks made earlier, locate the top, bottom, and inner and outer edges on your forehead pieces Again, I count the holes on both sides and make sure that they are located evenly on both side. Once you have your marks, draw an outline onto the head approximating the eye shape you want to achieve. You can then put the head on and double check that the marks lines up with your line of site.
   Don't worry if you have small blindspots, as this is unavoidable- but if you have everything close you will have fairly decent vision in the end. Once your satisfied with the results you can go ahead and cut out the openings, do one side first and use the removed piece to double check the outline you drew for the otherside. If for some reason your not happy with the results you can always cut out the section a little larger, sew a patch back in, and start all over! That's the great thing about using the canvas- if you goof it's always fixable.

   Now to fully solve the problem of the mask resting against your nose and prepare for the jaws. To hold the mask in shape you add a brace across the back of the muzzle and sew it to the front of pieces #4 and #5 as shown below.

  Trim the side edges to shape the muzzle as desired and sew the sides onto the muzzle forward of the center joint so that the tension holds the front of the mask in place. This is the time where you have to decided on wether you want a moveable or a  fixed jaw.
   For a fixed jaw you have two basic choices, a closed or an open mouth. For a closed mouth you will start out by adding one or two braces across the inside of the muzzle, depending on the shape you're after. Leave these braces a little long to attach the lower jaw skin to, as you'll trim them as needed while attaching the jaw skin. Next cut a piece of canvas slightly larger than the bottom of the muzzle, center it, attach it to the crossbraces first and then trim it evenly on each side and sew it to the bottom of the muzzle.
    To build an open mouth fixed jaw you will need to follow the instructions below for a movable jaw, I'll mention the changes you'll make as we go along. Since you have to use the same construction for both a open fixed or a movable jaw why not just make it movable? Anyway, I'll tell you what to change.
    For a movable jaw you still have to brace the muzzle for shape, but you can achieve this with the pallet floor- better known as the roof of the mouth. Cut a piece of canvas to fit approx half way into the muzzle as such:



     You want this piece recessed inwards to allow room for the teeth on the lower jaw when the mouth closes. If you're not going to add teeth to either jaw then you can sew it flush with the lip area of the jaw.

Now onto the lower jaw! I start out by cut 4 L-shaped pieces of canvas out of the long edge of the sheet. I cut the long arm of the L 4 holes high and to form the short part I raise it to 12 holes high 8 holes from the end. Here's a close up to help clear the confusion that I just left you in. For a fixed open jaw you'll wabt to make the short end 12 holes by 12 holes.



    You'll need 4 of these pieces, as the U-shaped jaw needs to be double thickness for strength. To get started shaping the jaw take 2 of your L's and temporaraly attach them to the outside of the skull, one on each side, so that the upper and lower 'lips' meet evenly in the closed position. The exact point that you'll attach them to will vary depending on the species, but I prefere to attach them directly outward of my own jaw hinges so that the jaw moves fluidly with my own. For most canine/lupine/vulpine heads this will proportion the jaw correctly, a feline may require that you mount it farther forward it.
    Now take one side and bend it the around following the shape of the upper jaw, tho you will want the lower jaw around 1/4 to 3/8ths of an inch shorter than the upper. The piece you've just curved should reach about 2/3 the way around to the opposite side, if it's longer then cut the end so that it only come around halfway down the second side. Now hold the second jaw piece against the first, mark it where the first piece ends and cut it so that they will butt together forming one continuous piece.  The other two L's you cut out? Well, here's where they come in!
    On the side opposite of the one you started with- the one with the shortened L- take one of the remaining L's and attach it to the outside of the jaw you just formed. The idea is to have the butt joint of the inner two pieces on the opposite side of the outer two pieces, this will add much needed strength for a long lasting jaw hinge. Hint: The outer band will be one hole <i>longer</i> than the inner band due to the different radius of the curve! Sew the pieces together thru the centerline holes in the L, this will give you a smoother surface where the 'lip' will be on the jaw.
     To further reinforce the jaw and to lock it into shape take a piece of wire coathanger and bend it around the outside of the jaw. Take your time and bend the wire exactly how you want it, for this determines the final shape for the jaw. At the hinge ends bend the wire upwards for about an inch along the hinge- you can see this in the previous pic. Once you're happy with the shape of the wire sew it to the jaw just below the centerline.
     With the head upside down in your lap lay a piece of canvas on the jaw and trace the outline, stopping around the point that the jaw flairs outwards for the hinges. After you cut this piece out use it to mark a second adding an extra row to each side and cut off the section in the front where the jaw curves. Sew this piece (the larger of the two) flush on the bottom along one side of the jaw, and when you attach it to the opposite side it should form an outward bow rounding off the jaws bottom. The first, smaller piece gets sewn to the inside of the jaw formimg the inner mouth bottom. Every thing together should look something like this



Once your happy with the jaw you're ready to attach it to the skull. Take out your temporary knot on one side and in the center sew the jaw on making an X shaped, criss-cross knot in a box two holes x two holes



   Repeat for the other side.

   Now for the ears! I start out by cutting out a paper pattern and triming it until I'm satisfied with the shape and size. The finished ear will vary depending on wether you are going for realism, toony-ness, expression, the species, etc. A few starter points are that most species ears form an angle of around 80 degrees at the tip and they attach to the head with the top of the ear inline with the eye vertically and the bottom inline horizontally-as shown below



   How you shape the ears makes the expression that your head will carry; ears high look happy, up and forward are inquizative, low are furocious, etc. According to my nieces my fox head looks mean while the wolf I'm doing here looks happy and friendly, all due to the positioning of the ears. Play around with the paper patterns until you have the look you are after and when satisfied cut them from the canvas. Use the same pattern for both side to ensure that they are the same, and be sure to mark the pattern top, bottom, left, and right; then transfer those markings to the final piece of canvas, otherwise you will get confused later on!
   Sew the ears on at the top and bottom to piece #one, and next you'll begin filling in between the back of the head and ears. I do this in four pieces, two on each side, to allow for more flexability in shaping and strength once it's sewn together. I start by cutting a oversized piece of canvas and attaching it across the bottom then working my way upward in the center, trimming it as I go. Then I trim it to fit around the base of the ears so that when attached it will hold the ears in the proper position. For the opposite side I use the first side as a pattern, laying the piece upside down over the first cutting it out.
  Here's the results




At this point you should have something like this



You've probably been wearing the skull around the house now for days imagining what it will be like once it's finished- don't worry, I did it too. If you didn't you not only aren't excited enough about your new head but you need to so you can make sure it's comfortable to you. If any knots or edges need redoing you want to fing out and fix them before we go any farther because-At this point you're ready to start adding the fur!  By now you should have an exact idea of the coloring and pattern of the fur that you want to wind up with, if not you better decide quickly.

   Start with the ears (there's a reason you'll see later); do just one side at a time to avoid confusion and ruining a piece of fur! Make a paper pattern of the ear marking it top, bottom, and earside (the surface that will be glued), allowing for the fur to fold over the lip and into the ear about an 1/8th of an inch. Carefully lay the pattern on the backside of the fur <i>with the earside towards you</i> and trace the shape on to the fur. You can use a magic marker if you are using dark fur, or light or white fur use a fabric pencil so it doesn't bleed thru.
  To cut the fur you can use either a very good (Fiskar, for example) pair of scissors or a razor blade. I use both depending on the shape of the cut I'm making. If you use scissors be sure and work the lower cutting edge (the one in the fur, since it is upside down when you cut it) thru the nap so the you don't cut the fur itself. If you make very short cuts and use the point of the cutting edge to separate the fibers you can do this without cutting any of the fur itself. If you use a razor blade carefully hold it in your fingers and just let it cut the fabric under it's own wieght. If you have to press downwards then trash the blade and get a new one because you will not only have very little fine control of the cut but you risk snagging and ripping the fabric itself. Handy hint- I buy my razorblades at Lowes in boxes of 1,000 for about $6, so I'll grab a new one evry few minutes if need be. Razorblades are cheap versus the cost of fur!
   Once you have the piece cut out, test fit it and trim as needed then grab the gluegun and plug it in! While the gun warms up take your marker (or pencil) and mark the centerline of both the fur and the ear, this will keep everything lined up as you glue it down.  Apply a bead of glue to the ear, all glue goes on the plastic, not the fur - along the centerline mark you just made and carefully lay the backing on the fur into the glue. I wet my finger and then use it to smooth out the glue from the bottom side of the canvas as I go along but warning! The glue is HOT- even the low-temp- and you can burn yourself if you're not careful. Once the glue begins to set apply beads of glue every 1/4 or so at work the fur into the glue. When you have the fur across the entire ear apply a bead along the edge to fold the extra that you allowed over to cover the plastic. Now repeat it all for the other ear!
  Next is the inside of the ear; again make a paper pattern for each side and cut out the fur and glue it in place. It should look something like this



And for the eagle-eyed amoung you, yes, that's a pic of a different head! This is my foxhead and you can see just how crude the skull was compared to the one I've been building here. You'll also notice that there isn't fur in the center of the ear but 'Foamie', a thin foam sheet that looked horrible and has been replaced with fur!

Is your head going to be all one color or have a pattern of multi colors to it? For a single color you need to cut your fur into a workable size- I drape the fur over the skull starting at the nose and allow a foot past the base of the skull for length and for width I allow it to drape over to the center of the neck with the grain of the fur flowing from the nose rearwards. This will point the fur in the proper directions as you apply it to the head. Cut out a square of the proper size and mark it down the centerline- making sure that it keeps the fur flowing parallel to your centerline! Mark the center line of the skull starting at the nose and then apply a bead of glue along the muzzle (stop at the eyes) and add the fur matching up the centerlines and fur direction. Carefully work the fur over the muzzle and forehead to see how it lays- don't glue it yet tho! I glue the fur down the centerline to just beyond the ears, then lay it across one ear at a time and cut it to fit around the ear. Once I have it cut around the ear I start glueing the fur outward from the muzzle towards the ear and jowl. You should have just enough give and stretch in the fur to get a smooth fit when you glue it down. If this sounds confusing don't worry, when you are actually doing it you'll understand the process.

To post a tutorial in this section please contact staff.

As the maintainer of the Fursuit Forum, I am now going to leave this thread open for the future in case any members wish to add their own fursuit construction tutorials. HOWEVER........this thread will be used for tutorials only. If you wish to comment on someone's tutorial, you must do so by PM only. Also, please see the above guidelines at the very start of this thread for posting your own tutorials.

Make eyes like these!






[/quote]

The following was posted by Savaaha long ago, and I thought I'd move it here to this tutorial thread as it's better suited here.

EAR PATTERN, Posted by Savaaha, This pattern and instructions are by Aurrin.

Step 1: Cut out a big, lopsided piece out of the corner of the canvas (roughly as shown).  Bend it like a taco and trim as needed until you get it in the shape you want.  Then, keeping it bent, trace out a bottom piece to match (blue line to blue line) and cut that out too.  If you like the way it turns out, then make a second one to match.

Step 2: Trace out these pieces onto the fabric (remember to do it on both pieces, both colors, for a total of 4 red pieces and 4 white pieces)  Trace a second line around each of the pieces, giving yourself room to sew it later.  Cut out around the outer line.

Step 3:  Ummm.... oops... I forgot to number one of them step 3.  Oh well, in keeping with the pic, on to...

Step 4: Now sew your ear-frames together in the back.  See those blue lines in step 1?  Those should be together to make a concave, 3D ear.  This may take a couple of tries, because this plastic stuff isn't the easiest junk to work with.

Step 5: Okay, now go back to the cloth.  Sew the matching big pieces together, along the inner lines that you drew.  Put the lines to the OUTSIDES when sewing it, so you can see them.  You may want to sew just a little to the inside on the white piece and a little on the outside of the red pieces' guide lines, so that the red will lap over the front edges when it's finished.

Step 6: Now add on the bottom pieces, again with the traced lines to the outside so you can see them.  Do that for the red and for the white, both ears.  (In the diagram I left it slightly unfinished so you can see what I'm doing.)  Don't worry that it won't lay flat, it's not supposed to.

Step 7: This is the tricky part.  Take that 'sock' you've sewn and turn it inside out.  Now, all the seams and all the trace lines are on the INSIDE, and hidden from view.  CAREFULLY push the ear-frame inside the sock.  It helps to poof the sock out completely and then punch the white part inward once it's completely inside.  You should have two flaps on the front bottom edge, tuck these inside either above or below the bottom of the ear-frame, and sew it closed. (thread shown in blue)  These stitches will be more visible, but it shouldn't be very noticable if you match the thread color to the inside color.  Also, make one stitch in the very back to keep the inside fabric pulled to the inside of the ear.

Step 8:  Now, you should have two ears.  Go look in a mirror and put on the head band.  Position the ears like you want them, and note where that makes them fall on the headband.  Now go take them and sew (thread shown in blue) them onto the head-band.  If you did like I told you and got a band with the little teeth on the inside, the teeth will catch the thread and keep the ear from slipping side to side.  Tie it off, and you're done!

Sporty Fox's plastic canvas head tutorial is now back up! Yay! Sorry for the long downtime, folks. It took a long time to get the pics back and I'm also not that well versed in comp coding.