Author Topic: Common fursuiting questions/problems.  (Read 19088 times)

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Offline Kobuk

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Common fursuiting questions/problems.
« on: April 11, 2010, 02:31:29 pm »
For a very long time (7+ years), I've seen and heard a lot about fursuits and fursuiting all over the Internet. But there seems to be a "repetitiveness" (Repeating or Frequently Asked Questions) so to speak concerning certain questions or problems about fursuits and fursuiting that I've seen and I wanted to post a topic and offer what advice I can.

1. How much does a fursuit cost?

Honestly, there is no easy answer to this. The cost of a fursuit if you decide to commission from someone will depend on who you go with and the design of your suit. The more detailed and complex your fursuit, Then the higher the cost. For more information about costs and commissioning, Then see these links:
LINK: http://forums.furtopia.org/index.php/topic,24176.0.html
LINK: http://forums.furtopia.org/index.php?topic=40026.0

If, however, you decide to make your own fursuit by yourself, then the costs of building one will be significantly lower, Perhaps anywhere from $100 to $500 depending on the materials used and where you bought them from.

2. How much fur will I need to build my own fursuit?  

Again, there is no easy answer to this question. It all depends on whether you want a partial fursuit or a full fursuit, and how detailed you want to make your fursuit. The only advice I can offer is the following:

Quote
If you do buy your own fur, you’re probably wondering how much you’re going to need. Unfortuneately, there is no easy answer to this. It all depends on how detailed you want your suit to be and whether your suit is partial or a full suit. Generaly, the “average” amount TOTAL for a suit regardless of amount of colors is about 4-5 yards for a full suit, and 2-3 yards for a partial. This might seem too much to some people, but the excess fur you have leftover is good for keeping for emergency repairs and other alteration work, or you can use the excess fur to construct a second future fursuit or a second set of handpaws, etc., etc.  For my suit, I bought 5 yards of dark green at $20 per yard = $100 total. Add in a coupon for 40% off and my total cost was only $60! Taking advantage of coupons, sales, and discounts will greatly help in cutting down costs. Just make sure you check the quality of the fur before buying if possible. If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Check for softness, fur density, thickness, etc. Make sure to ask questions or ask for pics if buying over the Net. Also, if you do buy fur over the Internet, some fur suppliers can send small swatches (Usually 4 inch x 4 inch squares) of fur to you by mail if you ask for them so that you can see and feel the quality of the fur before buying it.

3. Where can I buy fur and other materials?  

There's a very nice link of supplies and suppliers that I have here:
LINK: http://forums.furtopia.org/index.php/topic,31257.0.html
However, I have decided NOT to list every available supply and supplier as I didn't want my list to be that long. What I have listed is a SAMPLE only. I leave it up to the individual to do their own research and be a savvy consumer shopper. ;)

4. I need a tutorial and/or The tutorials I see aren't good.  

No offense, but, no fursuit construction tutorial on the Internet will be perfect. Sometimes, the people who write those tutorials may be limited due to time constraints, other resources, or they only wanted to write and show selected items that they thought were important enough. If one website or tutorial doesn't have something, then you will have to keep searching for another that does. Do your research. Keep searching!

5. I want to have the perfect fursuit or I want it to look like......  

No matter how hard you try, no fursuit will ever be perfect. This is especially true for the people that are just starting out making their FIRST fursuit. I definately understand and sympathise with people who want a fursuit right away and want to make one and show it off. But as the old saying goes, "Practice makes perfect.". Don't try to emulate other fursuits and styles right away that you've seen, and most importantly, DON'T RUSH! If you're building a fursuit for the first time, then work carefully, go slowly, and do your research on how things are constructed. And most importantly, ASK QUESTIONS! If you rush your first fursuit, or second, etc., then you'll make mistakes. Trying to build something 2-3 weeks before Halloween, a convention, etc. is not good. Sure, maybe SOME people can do that. But those are the people who took their time, have the skills and experience, and have made other numerous fursuit parts before.
I've seen a lot of fursuits on the Internet, both good and bad. If you make a mistake, then all you can do is start over and LEARN from that mistake so that the next time you build something, you'll be better at it. For those people who are just starting out making fursuit items, I would suggest you start small. Start with things like tails, ear sets, handpaws, etc. to gain some sewing skills/experience. After you've made a few items of those and gotten practice for several weeks/months, then progress to the next step like a simple bodysuit or a simple head design. Start small, then work your way up. Don't try building more complex things like wings, digitigrade stilts, animatronics, etc. right away. Save the more complex stuff for much later when you have a lot of fursuit building experience several months or a year or two down the road. ;)
As I said, I understand the enthusiasm that some people have for fursuits. You see a fursuit and you immediately want to try it and you want to make one. But for those people out there in the fandom that are too enthusiastic, if you rush and don't take your time and learn how things are properly done, then YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES AND YOUR SUIT WILL NOT MATCH YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2012, 11:33:45 pm by Kobuk »

Offline charcoal

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Re: Common fursuiting questions/problems.
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2012, 07:19:03 pm »
hay koduk i  bought a new tail for 50bucks .someone left  chewed gum on the seat .do you know how to get out without damigeing it even more.
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