Getting started

[Ol Rab]

 I intend to get a scalysuit, and attend some kind of convention

 HOWEVER....

 I have absolutely no clue where to begin.


 And nobody say a job, because I'm working on that..

[Kobuk]

This doesn't exactly sound like a "life problem". 

As for the suit........Before you contact a fursuit maker or make it yourself, you need to sit down and think about how you want it designed and what it'll look like. Go through my commission tutorial link in my signature below and you'll find lots of advice that'll help you out.

As for the convention, Where do you live? What conventions do you want to go to?
See the pinned topics at the top of the convention forum here:
http://forums.furtopia.org/index.php?board=10.0

[Arc]

Like Kobuk said, this isn't really much of a life problem. But to answer your questions:

Honestly, just look into fursuit communities and find a style of suit you like. I know very little about scalies, but some more well known fursuit makers that pop into mind are:

Lacy - http://lacy.timduru.org/
LatinVixen - http://latinvixen.phpwebhosting.com/index/mixedcandy.html
Media - http://www.thecritterfactory.com/
Don't Hug Cacti - http://www.donthugcacti.com/

Among of course many others. You can email them without committing to anything, and just ask to see examples of any scaly work they've done before, or if they haven't done any, whether they'd be interested in trying it or not.

As far as conventions, a moment or two in Google would have found you this~

Cons in Florida are Megaplex, Elliot's Seasonal Gatherings (highly recommended from personal experience, especially the Spring one,) and Furloween. Furry Weekend Atlanta also happens up in Georgia and I've had a blast there every year I've gone. #shamelessplug Also, RCFM is in Huntsville, Alabama, which might be more or less of a drive than the others depending on where you are in Florida.

There's honestly not a lot of prep-work or anything to "begin" on you need to do for cons. For the suit, concept art or very detailed descriptions are really the biggest thing. Good luck with everything!

[Avan]

I think what he was saying is that he wants to first get the suit, and then attend cons once he has it.

Anyways, he also never specified if he was going to be commissioning it or making it >.>