furry arts discussion > Kobuk's Fursuit Guides

How to Commission a Fursuit, Version 2.5

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Kobuk:
Excellent advice, SPark. :) Thanks for adding it in.

As the old economic saying goes folks, "Nothing ruins a business/contract/partnership, etc. faster than bad customer relations and/or communications or bad business practices."

So please make sure you give the fursuit maker all the info. they need and that you are very clear on what you want. Commissions will work out better if the customer and maker are "on the same page" so to speak. ;)

Kobuk:
FUTURE UPDATES AND EDITS:

6/6/2010  (Repairs/Alterations) -

If for any reason you need to return your fursuit to the fursuit maker, whether for repairs or some other alteration work, Then please make sure you give the fursuit maker as much information as possible about how you want things repaired or re-designed. Also, please pay attention to a fursuit maker's "Terms of Service" policies if they have them. Some fursuit makers may or may not be able to do repairs and alterations within a given timeframe. Also, they may choose not to repair/alter items if you used your fursuit in some sort of bad or neglectful way, or you did not care and properly disinfect/clean your fursuit.
Before shipping off your fursuit or fursuit parts for repairs, please take the time to make sure those parts are disinfected and/or cleaned. If you do not and you still send the costume to the fursuit maker, Then the fursuit maker may ship the items right back to you without doing any work on them. 


6/14/2010 - "Will your fursuit commission be accepted?"

At some point during the design phase of your fursuit or during the commission process, etc., You might be thinking to yourself the following question: Will my fursuit design/commission be accepted?
Just as there are numerous reasons why people join the furry fandom, So too is the varied reasons on if a fursuit is accepted for commission by the fursuit maker or not. If your design/commission is not accepted, It could be any of the following. This list can include, but is not limited to:

*  Some fursuit makers will only take designs/commissions that interest them. They may choose to do only certain styles, coloration patterns/markings, animal species, etc. of fursuits.
*  Some fursuit makers may or may not do "basic" styles and species of fursuits. After all, Wouldn't a "basic" brown fox get to be a bit boring and plain?
*  Some fursuit makers may be looking for unique designs that will expand and/or "test" their fursuit building capabilities. They may be looking for a unique head shape that they can make with new materials and construction techniques, etc., etc.
*  How will the costume look if the fursuit maker were to make it? Will it represent their style well?
*  Fursuit makers may choose not to accept a design/commission if you haven't provided all the necessary information for the design, Concept art and sketches, Duct tape dummy, The 30-50% down payment, and any other information or materials.

These are just a few sample reasons. There are many more that you will notice if you take the time to carefully read this entire thread/tutorial. ;)
And if for any reason your design/commission is not accepted, then don't fret. Just because a fursuit maker does not accept it does not mean they are being rude, mean spirited, or some other negative attribute. If your design is not accepted for any reason, Then try going "back to the drawing board" so to speak and tweek your design a bit by changing shapes, colors, markings, etc. so that the next time you submit your fursuit design to the fursuit maker, They'll look at it and say "Hey! That's a really great design. Let's discuss more about it." :)

Kobuk:
Fursuits and Children (Minors 18 years old and under.)

From time to time, I've read various posts here on Furtopia as well as elsewhere about minors (Under 18), especially those in the 13-16 age bracket, who wish they had fursuits. You see fursuits at furry conventions or in Internet picture galleries and you just fall in love with them because of the cuteness, fluffiness, etc. and you'd love to have one to represent your fursona. Well, I'm here to help give you a bit of advice about commissioning a fursuit for children. This advice isn't just meant for the child, but also the parent as well, since the parent has to be the one to handle contacting the fursuit maker, make the payments, etc.

Before a child goes and begs/wishes for a fursuit, There's a few "problems" both the child and the parent need to be aware of. ;)

1. Sizing - Children don't stay small for long. We all grow up. You have to take into consideration that a child will outgrow a fursuit or a fursuit part in a short matter of weeks, months, or years. The only way you could keep wearing a certain part that you've outgrown is if you had the fursuit maker construct the part a little bit larger than what you needed when you originally commissioned the fursuit item at the start of the commission process.

2. Commission - Sorry to have to say this, but children can not enter into a legally binding contract. And that's exactly what a fursuit commission is: A contract between the fursuit maker and the purchaser. A parent or other legal guardian must be the one to handle all communications as well as monetary $$$ transactions. It might be possible for a fursuit maker to work directly with a minor, but this will vary from maker to maker and what their "Terms of Service" policies are on their website. Most, but not necessarily all, fursuit makers will NOT make a fursuit or a fursuit part for children, not just because of sizing or monetary issues, but also because of possible City, State, or even Federal laws or other legal issues as well. Some fursuit makers might accept commissions from minors, but the fursuit maker wants to be sure that the commissioner is a responsible person who can handle monetary transactions, Be responsible about communicating with the fursuit maker, and follow all other commission advice listed throughout this tutorial. In short, It all comes down to maturity and responsibility. ;)

3. Heat/Health Issues - A full fursuit (Head, Hands, Feet, Tail, Bodysuit) would probably not be recommended for a child to commission and wear. Fursuits can get extremely hot.  :P It would be comparable to walking around on a hot summer day with layers of winter clothing on. If it's 85 degrees outside, Then it will get around 100 or more inside a full fursuit in a short time span.  :o Unless the minor is:
* Very physically fit.
* Can handle heat, stress, etc.
* Learns to take breaks and stay hydrated with water.
* And has adequate adult supervision such as a handler/spotter,
........Then wearing a full fursuit is not recommended. It is more preferable to start by wearing a partial fursuit (Head, Hands, Feet, and Tail) first as that does not require a bodysuit which would make the wearer hotter.

4. Care of a fursuit - A fursuit is not a toy. It's more like a wearable piece of art. It needs a lot of care to properly maintain it such as brushing the fur, Disinfecting it, Cleaning and washing, Storage, etc.  If you wear it in some sort of harsh environment or neglect your fursuit in some other manner, Then seams will pop, Claws will break, Fake fur will fall off or apart, etc.  A fursuit is not meant for a lot of extreme romping around in or abuse. It needs a lot of care. :)

5. Prices - Fursuits are very expensive. They can cost anywhere from hundreds of dollars to as much as thousands of dollars depending on who you commission from, the design of the suit, as well as various other factors. Even fursuit parts such as a tail or handpaws, etc. can be anywhere from $50 to as much as $200 or more.



What I have listed above is only a few sample problems a child or parent will need to consider when commissioning a fursuit for a child. There are likely many more problems to consider. But the best advice I can give is that if the child truly does want a fursuit, but is not able to commission one for whatever reason, Then your only option is to learn how to make your own. ;) Below is a sample link to fursuit making tutorials:  
LINK: http://www.matrices.net/fursuiting.asp

Sample links to further information regarding fursuits and children:
LINK: http://fursuit.livejournal.com/4353574.html
LINK: http://forums.furtopia.org/index.php?topic=40652.0
LINK: http://fursuitlounge.livejournal.com/763712.html

Kobuk:
Design Elements of a Fursuit

Adding to what SPark posted further above in her Post # 11 (as well as what Far Raptor mentioned in Post # 5), It makes sense to think about every little detail you may or may not want on a fursuit, Whether you get a fursuit commissioned or whether you make your own suit. You need to decide the following:
* Colors and markings of items
* Sizes of various items you want.
* How much quantity of an item you want to have on a fursuit.
* How you want the item constructed.
* What materials you want used to construct the item.
.........etc., etc.

Make a list and decide what is or is not important to you. ;)
Below is a sample list that can include, but is not limited to:

HEAD -
Hair
Whiskers
Eyebrows
Tongue
Shape/Style of jaw.
Teeth
Taxidermy jawset
Neck
Toony style eyes - Plastic bowl type, or 3D "Follow me" style, or something else?
Taxidermy realistic style glass eyes
LED/Glow in the dark light up eyes
Ears
Beaks
Nose
Scales
Airbrushed markings
Horns
Antlers

HANDPAWS -
Claws or talons?
Pawpads
How many fingers?
Species of hands such as hooved, feline, canine, etc.
Length of handpaws: Wrist length, Elbow length, etc.

FOOTPAWS -
Claws
Parade soles or pawpads?
How many toes?
Species/Style of feet: Hooved, Bird, Canine, etc.

TAILS -
Attached to bodysuit or not?
Foam core, or use of polyfil, or delrin rod, or other armature to give shape?
Do you want an articulated/moveable tail?
Species/Style of tail:  Rabbit, Feline, Canine, Dragon, etc.

Special Note About Tails: Here's another idea that I've heard about from various sources that people may wish to take advantage of when getting tails commissioned or constructed. For anyone that is currently in the process of either:
* Commissioning a fursuit.
* Commissioning a separate tail piece.
* Building their own tail. or
* Re-constructing an old tail.
.........You may wish to think about adding a zipper along the underside length of the tail. This would allow you to remove any padding, foam, animatronics (for a movable tail), etc. as needed for when you clean/wash/repair your tail, and then you can put everything back in when the tail is dry, Or for when you need to do maintenance on your tail and add more stuffing or fix the animatronics or other armature inside the tail.

BODYSUITS -
Length of arms/legs
Any special markings and colors?
Density, softness, fur pile length, etc. of fur fabric?
Do you want airbrushed markings and colors?
Loose fitting suit or form fitting suit?
Digitigrade or plantigrade style legs?
Suit entry: Buttons, velcro, snaps, or zipper? Front entry or back entry?

OTHER ITEMS -
Wings - Small or large? Removable or not? Articulated or not?
Animatronics and electronics: What do you want and where?
Padding/Muscles: How much and where?
Fur - Colors, Softness, pile length, etc.

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
Faux fur
Fleece
Foam
Polyfil batting
Styrofoam
Wood
Wire mesh
Plastic mesh
Metal rods, tubes, sheets, or other shapes.
Plastic rods, tubes, sheets, or other shapes.
Canvas
Rubber/Vinyl/Latex
Plaster
Resin
Clays
........etc., etc.

Kobuk:
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