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furry arts discussion => fursuits, plushies, and costuming => Topic started by: Kobuk on August 19, 2008, 11:07:54 pm
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Something that I've noticed lately that has been slightly increasing within the fursuiting aspect of the fandom is the construction and performance of quadsuits. These are basically more feral-like fursuits where the performer is hunched over and uses his/her arms (and legs) to walk more like a animal in feral form. To give you an example of what I'm talking about, see this link: http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/2619958.html
So I was just curious: Anybody plan on making one in the future? What do you like or dislike about them? Could this be the next "trend" so to speak in the fandom, where more people want to try making them and performing in them? I must admit, I find quadsuits to be fascinating. :) I hope to see more at a fur con sometime in the future. :)
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I really love quad suits (those that are pulled off well). I'm planing to make one but will I ever get around to it...most likely not.
I could see this becoming a 'trend' like you said but I don't think it will be prominent at furry cons. The thing about quad suits is that they are HUGE. They often require extensive padding, stilts, and (sometimes) elongated necks. While this all makes a nice suit, transporting this is no fun, especially when you have to fly.
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Man if only these would become really popular! If I ever get very good at making suits and if I have a good amount of money to make a decent one of these I totally plan on it.
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:o Wow... I had no idea people were making suits like this.
At first glance it seems kind neat, a lot of work, but neat.
Don't think I'd ever wear one though. I'd like to meet some quad suiters though.
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I dunno, that one strikes me as creepy, very unnatural in its movements. Of course, I'm sure it will look better once it's finished and furred, and once the performer has had more time to practice moving in it. It seems like it would really restrict your movements, though. You couldn't run or jump (I suppose you could, but it would be really, really uncomfortable) and it doesn't look as expressive as a traditional cartoony, two-legged suit. While I'm sure it will look really cool to onlookers, I don't see this type of suit taking over traditional suits. It just seems too uncomfortable and impractical for the average fursuiter.
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They're a LOT more work than a "normal" suit, but they are pretty neat. I'm making my second one right now. :)
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They're a LOT more work than a "normal" suit, but they are pretty neat. I'm making my second one right now. :)
Good luck!
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I dunno, that one strikes me as creepy, very unnatural in its movements. Of course, I'm sure it will look better once it's finished and furred, and once the performer has had more time to practice moving in it. It seems like it would really restrict your movements, though. You couldn't run or jump (I suppose you could, but it would be really, really uncomfortable) and it doesn't look as expressive as a traditional cartoony, two-legged suit. While I'm sure it will look really cool to onlookers, I don't see this type of suit taking over traditional suits. It just seems too uncomfortable and impractical for the average fursuiter.
Nah, I highly doubt it would take over. But they are growing in popularity like crazy mad. I am curious to see what's going to happen from here.
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Here is an LJ community about quad suits that you can join/browse for more informations about them: http://community.livejournal.com/quadsuits/
Here is a video of my own WIP quad suit showing the movement possible - let me know what you think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cVThJnBroM
And here's a write up on the construction of my suit if you are intersted in more detailed information on them: http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=145587
Even at this early stage of work, I know this won't be the type of costume that I bring along to every convention - the head alone takes up a whole luggage container and when you add the padding and feet it becomes a great deal to drag around (and expensive to fly). So I think quads will continue to be scarce at cons, simply because it's so much easier to bring a conventional fursuit. This is the sort of costume I will take to only the largest conventions that go on for several days and many, many people attend.
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Now if you want to see something really jaw dropping, check out this entry by the famously talented Lance Ikegawa: :o :o :o
http://community.livejournal.com/quadsuits/17618.html
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If pulled off right, they look awesome. Ihaven't see many good quad suits.
I doubtI would ever make one...they just look so dreadfully uncomfortable.
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I love the one shown in the vid Kobuk linked to, suits like this are a ture testament to the great Jim Henson. We need more people to follow these examples, a full body puppet/quad suit can be an awesome sight when done right. Kudos to them. :D
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I find them fascinating, but I have back problems so me using one is probably not likely.
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Holy cow, the "Bruiser the Rag Dog" posted on the /quadsuit LJ comm was a costume that used to perform in my childhood. (I mean, he was a suit I ran into when I was a kid.) I'd been wondering if he continued the work. Clearly, he has!
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Now if you want to see something really jaw dropping, check out this entry by the famously talented Lance Ikegawa: :o :o :o
http://community.livejournal.com/quadsuits/17618.html
I have to say, he does really incredible work! The second photo of Okami Amaterasu looks very realistic in that pose.
I don't think this would be something I'd want to do though, I'd be really tired and sore into the next day!
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Ew.
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I have a zorilla quad suit in the plans, gotta save up for fur.
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First time I saw Santa Fox's Billy Goat I thought someone had some sort of animal with them. He did an amazing job on that suit, he even has the movable jaw on it and can "bahhh" fairly realistically. Must be tough to walk in though. I'd see him take five or six steps then have to sit.
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Here's a really awesome quad suit video I just saw in someone's LJ. Check it out. :)
http://tig-wolf.livejournal.com/38295.html
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Vid doesn't work for me. :'(
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Wow! That was just plain awesome and amazing!!! :D
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interesting, never seen this before. I don't think I'd ever wear one; it doesn't seem comfortable. :o
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I think the wolf quad is the guy from www.wolftronix.com
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That last video was amazing! The movement looks slightly awkward, but I'm sure there are ways of getting around that ...
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I think the wolf quad is the guy from www.wolftronix.com
Nope, it's not Wolftronix. ;) Nice try though.
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Here's another awesome vid of the wolf quad, but in daylight showing more details. :o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2vOjyKu1UE
It was Beastcub who made the suit. Here's her website:
http://www.beastcub.com/index.htm
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Yeah, seeing it with better light I can see the eyes are way different that wolftronix's suit. I guessed him because he has a wolf suit with very similar markings and I think he was going for a quad at some point...Maybe not though, I've been on soooo many websites. x_x
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that seems really un ergonomically sound. man that has to be bad for you back
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that seems really un ergonomically sound. man that has to be bad for you back
Kind of, but there are plenty of people out there that use back or neck braces while wearing them. Pretty sure beetlecat's super awesome suit uses one. Can't wait to see that one finished! :D
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A properly made one doesn't strain your back at all. If your back hurts, you did something wrong in the making or in the wearing.
(I can tell you how to demonstrate this to yourself. Find a coffee table or an ottoman or something else that's a bit below knee height. Bend over and hold your hands about an inch above it. Just stand there for a while like that. Note how your back muscles feel. An hour or two of that would REALLY hurt, wouldn't it? Now lower your hands to the surface and rest the weight of your upper body on them. Note how your back muscles feel now. You could do this for a while, couldn't you? If you're not particularly muscular, you may notice your upper arms and shoulders are feeling a little strain, but it's not nearly as bad as the back strain would be. So that's what "right" is, it's the arms fully and properly supporting your upper body, so that your back doesn't have to.)
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for the record i don't have a fursuit. i have a jedi costume. and id love to have a parshil suit to mix with my jedi costume.
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A properly made one doesn't strain your back at all. If your back hurts, you did something wrong in the making or in the wearing.
(I can tell you how to demonstrate this to yourself. Find a coffee table or an ottoman or something else that's a bit below knee height. Bend over and hold your hands about an inch above it. Just stand there for a while like that. Note how your back muscles feel. An hour or two of that would REALLY hurt, wouldn't it? Now lower your hands to the surface and rest the weight of your upper body on them. Note how your back muscles feel now. You could do this for a while, couldn't you? If you're not particularly muscular, you may notice your upper arms and shoulders are feeling a little strain, but it's not nearly as bad as the back strain would be. So that's what "right" is, it's the arms fully and properly supporting your upper body, so that your back doesn't have to.)
So does that mean that one shouldn't need a back or neck brace at all? Oh, and with the stance you describe with the weight on the front, does it still have any stress at all on your back or just less? I am insanely curious about these suit. I had back surgery last year so I'm wondering just how much strain it would all cause and if I should risk it some day. I'll definitely test this out when I find a good surface to try it on.
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I'm generally not that interested in fursuits, but that just looks really fun.
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So does that mean that one shouldn't need a back or neck brace at all? Oh, and with the stance you describe with the weight on the front, does it still have any stress at all on your back or just less? I am insanely curious about these suit. I had back surgery last year so I'm wondering just how much strain it would all cause and if I should risk it some day. I'll definitely test this out when I find a good surface to try it on.
Well, I really can't speak for somebody who's had back surgery, since I don't have any back problems myself. I would think that having a back brace probably can't hurt, if there's any chance of doing yourself real damage with back strain. I can say that I've worn my quad suit for about an hour, and didn't feel any back stress, soreness, or strain at all. My shoulders ached some, just muscle ache from the weight, since I don't have much upper body strength, and I was about to die of heat, (VERY hot in those things!) but no back troubles. I did have slight neck soreness though, just from the design of my particular suit, which has vision out the eyes, so I have to hold my neck up in order to see forward. I had some stiff foam bracing built into the neck to help with that, but there was some strain there. Not much though, and it would be possible to design a suit without that problem. I just found it easier to build that way, and I wanted a moving jaw, so seeing out the mouth wasn't an option.
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just a shout to everyone on this thread who's made a quad suit... every single vid or pic i've seen here is incredible, and i hope to see more!
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So does that mean that one shouldn't need a back or neck brace at all? Oh, and with the stance you describe with the weight on the front, does it still have any stress at all on your back or just less? I am insanely curious about these suit. I had back surgery last year so I'm wondering just how much strain it would all cause and if I should risk it some day. I'll definitely test this out when I find a good surface to try it on.
Well, I really can't speak for somebody who's had back surgery, since I don't have any back problems myself. I would think that having a back brace probably can't hurt, if there's any chance of doing yourself real damage with back strain. I can say that I've worn my quad suit for about an hour, and didn't feel any back stress, soreness, or strain at all. My shoulders ached some, just muscle ache from the weight, since I don't have much upper body strength, and I was about to die of heat, (VERY hot in those things!) but no back troubles. I did have slight neck soreness though, just from the design of my particular suit, which has vision out the eyes, so I have to hold my neck up in order to see forward. I had some stiff foam bracing built into the neck to help with that, but there was some strain there. Not much though, and it would be possible to design a suit without that problem. I just found it easier to build that way, and I wanted a moving jaw, so seeing out the mouth wasn't an option.
All right, thanks for the info! I think I'll ask around and see what everyone else's experience with back pain and quad suits is just to make sure. I suppose a back brace would be a good cautionary thing too.
I would imagine having to lift your head up to see would be painful after a while o.o And does that mean quad suits are hotter than a normal fursuit because it uses more foam or something?
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Yes. A human being is roughly shaped like an anthro furry, you might have a little padding here and there, but most of your body is only covered in fur, and fur fabric breathes fairly well, really. Foam breathes not at all, and pretty much my entire body was covered in foam in this quad suit. http://www.sparkcostumes.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=28&pos=14 shows the foam pretty well.
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darn it those look like a back doctors worst nightmare. dang i am gonna just stick with my jedi costume
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darn it those look like a back doctors worst nightmare. dang i am gonna just stick with my jedi costume
???
Apparently nobody believes me no matter how often I say that they don't have to strain the back. Seriously, they don't.
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I believe you. ;)
But I don't think it's something I'll go for, at least right now.
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darn it those look like a back doctors worst nightmare. dang i am gonna just stick with my jedi costume
???
Apparently nobody believes me no matter how often I say that they don't have to strain the back. Seriously, they don't.
Nah, I just think it appears that way. It looks painful to the back so it's hard to believe. But I'll take your word for it since I've never worn one myself.
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I wouldn't mind wearing a quad suit. I think I could have the staminia for it. ;)
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I say this in ignorance of the realities involved. But while wearing a fursuit sounds kind of appealing, wearing a quad fursuit sounds like something I'd seriously love to try sometime. Somehow with normal fursuits I find it very hard not to see them as costumed humans, but it's a lot easier to suspend disbelief watching the videos on this thread. Not to insult any of our resident, talented fursuit performers. ^.^
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I say this in ignorance of the realities involved. But while wearing a fursuit sounds kind of appealing, wearing a quad fursuit sounds like something I'd seriously love to try sometime. Somehow with normal fursuits I find it very hard not to see them as costumed humans, but it's a lot easier to suspend disbelief watching the videos on this thread. Not to insult any of our resident, talented fursuit performers. ^.^
I know what you mean, but a normal-anthro form would allow you to perform in a much different way (I believe). Especially if you were intending on mixing two costumes together, such as a TF2 medic, and fursuit. :)
I'm not sure if I'd go for it, right away at least. Since it's such a different aspect and sense of preforming that you do. But it definitely looks like it would be a lot of fun also.
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*resurrects thread*
Thought some of you might like to see this amazing quad lion suit that Primal Visions just made!
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2150304/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2150312/
Is that not incredible? :o
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:o :o :o :o :o :o :o
ShroudWolf wants.
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these suits all look great and now that i know it doesn't strain you back, i think i might look in to designing one. But I still prefer conventional fursuits to quads because the main reason i suit is to interact with others in a way i would be able to do as me normally because I'm very shy in my own skin. Im not saying that you coudn't interact with people and have fun, it just looks as if it would be hard to see anything, get around, and show emotion. Plus, Im too cheap! I gots no moneys! =P
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*resurrects thread*
Thought some of you might like to see this amazing quad lion suit that Primal Visions just made!
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2150304/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2150312/
Is that not incredible? :o
I really can't remember, but I'm pretty sure at least the paws were made by beastcub if this is the same suit: http://community.livejournal.com/fursuit/3044860.html#cutid1
It is an AMAZING suit either way. Absolutely fantastic, I hope to see a video of it :D
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I think the quad suits really can look awesome and give a whole different and interesting approach to fursuiting, but at the same time I can't get over the extremely flat/straight forelegs. It's just too static for me to completely enjoy, but I will admit it's a very nifty idea and can look really good for the most part!
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I think the quad suits really can look awesome and give a whole different and interesting approach to fursuiting, but at the same time I can't get over the extremely flat/straight forelegs. It's just too static for me to completely enjoy, but I will admit it's a very nifty idea and can look really good for the most part!
True, the stiff leg thing does seem to be an issue a lot. Not that I claim to have any knowledge on how to do it better! >< This one seemed to pull it off without that happening though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9xVHoreXlY
Although it seems like movement is tiring or just very slow for them.
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True, the stiff leg thing does seem to be an issue a lot. Not that I claim to have any knowledge on how to do it better! >< This one seemed to pull it off without that happening though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9xVHoreXlY
Although it seems like movement is tiring or just very slow for them.
From the video, that suit looks to be made where the wearer bends their legs and walks on their knees and hands. It is a good method for short, stocky animals - though what movement you gain in the forelegs you lose in the back since you have no knee joint and cannot bend your 'rear legs' except at the hips.
I thought about making a suit like that but in practicing it was very difficult on my knees to carry so much of my weight (and I suspect thinner thighs then mine are required for best effect (: ).
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This thread is relevant to my interests.. I'm working on a quad myself and it is almost finished. I've put up photos at my Deviant Art: http://beetlecat.deviantart.com/art/Unfinished-Quadsuit-Fursuit-118286825
And here is a video of the movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyLkRCXjMyY
The front legs articulate in the ankle, knee, and shoulder so I'm hoping they so not come off as 'stiff legged'. The rear seems stiff by comparison (since I do not have a joint at the hock) but no more than any other fake digitigrade and I should be able to lessen that with practice.
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This thread is relevant to my interests.. I'm working on a quad myself and it is almost finished. I've put up photos at my Deviant Art: http://beetlecat.deviantart.com/art/Unfinished-Quadsuit-Fursuit-118286825
And here is a video of the movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyLkRCXjMyY
The front legs articulate in the ankle, knee, and shoulder so I'm hoping they so not come off as 'stiff legged'. The rear seems stiff by comparison (since I do not have a joint at the hock) but no more than any other fake digitigrade and I should be able to lessen that with practice.
...If I come to a con dressed as a klingon, I'm stealing you and making you my pet XD
Yeah, your quad has been the one I've been looking forward to the most! I remember seeing a video a while back where you actually ran in the thing and it looked very realistic! The movement in yours always seems to be far less stiff. I also wonder though if that has to do with the choice in species? It seems to me that hooved creatures all around seem to come off better as quads. But that's just my opinion of course.
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*nods* That's largely why I picked a hoofer for my first, the front legs are more suited to this sort of thing as they have a big knee joint right in the best spot. Something big and shaggy like a mammoth or bear works well too. Since the fur and bulk hides the lack of articulation.
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still say they are a back doctors knightmare
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still say they are a back doctors knightmare
It's already been established a while back that this seems to not be the case.
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i don't care. they seem clunky and uncomfertable. and i am more partial to anthros
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i don't care. they seem clunky and uncomfertable. and i am more partial to anthros
Well everyone has their opinions. I just don't see how reiterating an idea you've already brought up adds to the topic really, but whatever works for you.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know what was the first quad suit ever in the fandom? I know the first one I saw was a gray goat which I sadly can't seem to find pictures of ):
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i don't care. they seem clunky and uncomfertable. and i am more partial to anthros
Well everyone has their opinions. I just don't see how reiterating an idea you've already brought up adds to the topic really, but whatever works for you.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know what was the first quad suit ever in the fandom? I know the first one I saw was a gray goat which I sadly can't seem to find pictures of ):
I'm pretty sure that's Santa Fox's goat. :D
http://jinglefox.com/info/fursuits.html (near the bottom)
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Out of curiosity, does anyone know what was the first quad suit ever in the fandom? I know the first one I saw was a gray goat which I sadly can't seem to find pictures of ):
I'm pretty sure that's Santa Fox's goat. :D
http://jinglefox.com/info/fursuits.html (near the bottom)
That's the one! Thanks so much for the link, I've been looking for that suit for forever! :D
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i have to say one thing. some quad fursuits look almost real. i mean i saw a video of a wolf one and it looked real. i mean spooky real
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Dl-QUJ9c8
(http://www.beetlecatoriginals.com/gallery/Beetle%27s%20Personal%20Suits%20(past%20and%20Present)/Toby%20the%20targ%20CCEE%205.jpg)
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Oooooooh! :o Awesome! *gives two paws up*
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SO FANTASTIC! *applauds* You did a wonderful job Beetlecat, the best quad suiot I've seen yet.
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wow, thats incedible :o
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SO I was stumbling around on google images when I found a link to a site that does suits for commercials and such, and one of them happens to be a very realistic looking quad suit so I just HAVE to share with you all =^.-=
Linkie! (http://www.animalmakers.com/Catalog/suits_pachyderms.php#5545)
EDIT: Not sure if you'd call it a quad suit, but I found a really snazzy walrus suit =^.^=
No buckit (http://www.animalmakers.com/Catalog/suits_mammals_marine.php#3564)
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Beetlecat, that is absolutely amazing. Nicely done!
Maybe some time in the future I'll think about getting one. It'd be uncomfortable and difficult, yeah, but it'd be completely worth it. :)