The making of Cause.

[cause the rat]

This first post will be updated with pictures or links to finished pieces.

[cause the rat]

The making of Cause.
Human Rat hybrid.

Welcome to what’s going to be a continues, long, drawn out, full of open journal of the making of my fursonal. Cause.
Human Rat hybrid.

8 part suit.
Head
Hands
Feet
Pants. legs to lower torso.
Body.
Tale

How it all comes together.

The head.
Still working his face out. Every time I think I have it I change it again. I can get a great looking front view then not be able to make the side profile work out. Shying away from the toony look as well. Taking my time with this.

Body.
Much like a long sleeve sweater separating the body from the lower torso. For me this is not an option. It has to be done this way. I realize there are a lot of problems with this. Don’t want to end up looking like a plushy that’s been cut in half. The naked Cause will be the hardest to make look right. If this proves to be impossible I’ll do without. The other three looks planned will have a shirt sewn in as part of the jacket worn. This will look right sliding over the lower torso and legs.



Hands and feet.
Hands will be white cotton gloves dyed mauve pink with fur added to the back. These will be attached to elbow length sleeves of fur.

Feet will be cotton dyed at the same time the hands are to make sure the color matches. The toes and fur will be shaped over pull over shoes.

Legs and lower torso.
Made like sweatpants. They will be held in place by both elastic and the wide velcro belt that will hold the tail in place.

What does mean?
I’m an experimenter. I’m the “what if” guy. I see something and wonder if it’s been tried a different way. My first what if challenge is the fursuiter’s head. Everything from hygiene to cooling.

Hygiene. an under layer of the foam structure incased in a polyester/lycra material that can be easily separated from the head and cleaned. This would fit over a balaclava so both can be washed. Still working on this.

Heat. Hanging a cage made of sturdy plastic strips off of a baseball cap like band for the top of the head. Then creating the sides, back and face to allow for air flow. Creating holes in the top of the head’s fur to allow the hot air to escape. Doing this in a way that wont take away from the overall look  or structure of the head. Still working on this.

If anyone has tried either of these ideas please let me know. Be cool to bounce ideas back and forth. Be really cool to work together to help improve the health of our fellow furrys

What this thread will be.

Everything. Every success, failure and try I make. What I’m doing, supplies I’m getting, working with or planning. What works or doesn’t work. A full documentary of what I end up with and how I got there. If your following along with materials in hand please don’t. I’m real good at “well that wasn’t a good idea”. Scrapping it and starting over. This is NOT a how to or instructions for anything. If I try something that works and is something that would help others I’ll make a separate thread for that.

When I do get finished pieces I’ll update the fist post with pictures or links to them.

[cause the rat]

I know, these are double posts. Sorry, thought this would be better than typing in a short novel for a single post.

The four looks for Cause the Rat.

Naked.
As stated above this may not be possible with the way I have to construct this fursona.

Jazz and Blues Rat.
This will be the easiest of the three coats to make. A suit coat and shirt combo modified for Cause. Meant to be worn wile playing the guitar.

This coat is still in the planning stage. Plans as of now are to have a dark colored suit coat with slime green fur on the collar. Both arms shortened to just below elbow length and edges with the same fur. May add more to the design to pimp the look a bit more.

No materials for this body yet.

Electric Gypsy.
A Jimi Hendrix inspired coat. Not an exact replica of his famous military marching coat. But along those lines. With the addition of long fringe along the sleeves and base of the coat.  Peace and Free love baby!

Materials so far.
One light colored suit coat I still need to dye a dark green.
15 yard of gold gimp. Will need more.
100 15mm brass colored studs to use as buttons

Black fake leather and studded coat.
Think Rob Halford from Judas Priest. A long style overcoat with mantle covered in studs.

Materials so far.
I've got 3000 studs coming and know I'll need more. Estimate there will be over 520 12mm pyramid studs lining the front opening of the coat alone. That's just three rows on each side from the neckline to the bottom of the coat.  ( 44 inches equals two studs an inch. = 88 studs X 3 for one side. = 264. then add the second side = 528. ) Then there's around five more yards to cover! METAL GOD!

I  have some material picked out. Going to first wash a chunk of it to get rid of the sizing and let it shrink. Then I'm going cover it with studs and rewash. Want to see how well it will hold together before committing. Also going to sew some of it up as fringe. Wash this as well to do the same test. If this was a heavy cotton material  or suede I wouldn't be concerned. Being a polyester I'm not sure how it'll handle multiple puncturing. Would hate to have it fray apart the first time it gets worn or washed.

The coat pattern is Simplicity 2517. I contacted someone today to make this for me. She'll have to get back to me. I'll make the fringe so all she'll have to do is sew it in place when putting the sleeves together.

Notes on the back of the coat. Need to have an opening for the tail. At first I thought a hole in the right place would work. Then I thought  what that would look like if I was just wearing the coat without the fursona. Not a good idea. LOL Settled on a slit from the lower back to the bottom of the coat. This will rock with or without the tale.

Decided against a Classical Cause the Rat. Imagine 200+ pounds of petroleum jelly wearing tights. Not a pretty sight...... LOL

[cause the rat]

Choosing a different material for the fake leather coat. The material I chose has a great look but really bad properties. Tends to hold onto wrinkles and misshapes easily. Hate shopping. But I'll have to take more time and look for a polyester/lycra or spandex blend. Something that will hang well and not take to wrinkling. Glad I have a 50% off coupon.

[cause the rat]

It's a habit of mine. I do it more often that not. Over thinking or making something overly difficult. The fursuit will be a partial. The body will be open to what ever combination of jacket/shirt I choose to wear. As much as I would have liked to always have a plushy torso it's not going to be possible. Not to make it look right with the suit coming apart at the waist .

Good news! The person I've contacted about making my fake leather coat as called back. She's a real pro. Has done work for period re enactment products and some work for TV and Movies. Kinda playing phone tag at the moment. Hopefully have more good news by Sat.

Thoughts on the head construction. I wear a hard hat at work. For those who've never worn one I'll try to explain how sit on your head. Inside the hat there's an adjustable band that is suspended from the sides of the hat by flexible plastic ribs. The band also has strips of nylon material that rest on top of your head. Your head never touches the hat. If you go to Ebay and type in hard hat you can get a better idea how all this goes together. With that said,

The idea I have to the top of the fursuit head is to do about the same thing as the hard hat. Start out with a band from a baseball cap. Attach plastic that has been bent into a C with the arch going up to the band. Then attach a crown cap made of plastic strips ( like tote plastic or something as sturdy ) to the the plastic 'C's on the band. The idea would be to have a half inch or more between you and the fur. The rest of the head would have to be constructed in a way to allow air flow to this empty chamber. Holes would also have to be put into the fur around the crown of the head to allow air flow. This may be visible in some or most suits. However if this works or proves to be a good start I think it should be considered. A fursuiter's health should take more priority that total esthetics.  Besides, how many people actually pay attention to the top of your head?

If you have any ideas or knowledge of something like this please share it. 

[cause the rat]

After playing phone tag for a few days I was finally able to talk the the person who'll be making the coat for me. She's working on a large project right now so she wont be able to start on this till the end of next month. The only down side is, as of now, we can't come up with a fabric that isn't plastic and would look and drape like leather. Still tossing ideas around.

[cause the rat]

Not an update. I'll be busy with another project that has to be shipped in three weeks.  It will take half that time for the paper mache to dry. I'll have to put this on hold till then. I'll still be emailing back and forth with the person making the long coat for me. So in three weeks I'll have plenty to post! I'm STOKED! This black coat is going to ROCK!

[cause the rat]

Just a quick update to what I've been up to.

3000 of the studs have been delivered.
1000 12mm nickel pyramid
1000 10mm nickel round
1000 6mm nickel round.

Ordered 1000 12mm nickel triangle today.

I did a mock up of the planned coat design. The amount of studs needed is phenomenal. But it's going to ROCK! And it's going to be heavy. Was talking to friends at work about it. One suggested I buy sheet metal and wear that instead. :3

I'm on the third rendition of Cause's head. Each time I'm getting closer to what I see Cause as. As soon as I get a design I'm happy with I'm slapping clay together to work out the 3D. Then on to the foam!!!! Not really able to put to much time into this now . Still working on the stuff that has to go out in a few weeks. Already know it'll be late. They know too. Sent an email today. Can't be helped. Knew it was going to almost impossible to do in that short of time.

[cause the rat]

As stated I haven't been able to work on this as much as I'd like to.  But  sneaking in to work on Cause when I can. Think I have the final head design. Still working on the venting and internal structure idea. Also need to figure out how to support a full beard.  That or give up the idea of having a moving jaw.

Still have a lot to do on the art that will be late. But once that's done the making of Cause will be in full swing! I'm STOKED!!

[Scarlegs]

This sounds cool! Can't wait to see it! <3

[cause the rat]

Thanks Scarlegs! Having a blast working out the details.

Because black material isn't always as black as you'd like it to be I've ordered single yards of material. Seems the places that do sell swatches don't sell the material I need. Getting 8 to 10 oz canvas ducking. Heavier than that and you get into the dry clean only stuff. I want to be able to hose this coat down when needed.

I've bought a second suit coat from a thrift store. This one is a dark blue. Looking to use the new coat for the Hendrix takeoff jacket. Be easier than trying to hand dye the light brown one. The light brown one wont go to waste. Got plans for it as well. If I don't us it I can always re donate it to the thrift shop.

[cause the rat]

The yard of black ducking came in. I think 10 oz is going to work! Hoping to get measured up this weekend so Chris will be able to start on the coat. Because I'm having it made it'll have all the extras I want. Plenty of pockets on the inside for a wallet, water bottles, snacks and what ever else I'll need at the time. Also going to see if I can have the mantle part, (not really sure what it's called) removable. Going to have red added to the upper part of the mantle and on the opening in the front. As well as up the sides, on the cuffs and the back slit. Speaking of the back slit, it'll be high enough for Cause's tail.

I've run into a snag with one of the choices of metal studs. There isn't enough of this size on Ebay right now for me. Been to online stores that sell them. But it'd cost a small fortune to buy them in packages. Big difference in price between buying in bulk or already in packages. Bulk is costing me between 0.012 to 0.024 a stud. Way better than 0.04 to 0.06. To give an idea of how many I need. I still need 1800 of the size I'm looking for.

I know it sounds weird talking about a coat when discussing making a fursuit. Think of this coat as the body of the character. Rock and Roll Rodent. Heavy Metal Riffin Rat!

[Kobuk]

This thread would be better with pictures. 

[cause the rat]

Your right, typing face noises is boring.  As of right now I don't have much to share.  My work load has dramatically increased. (I work in a custom shop.) Hopefully by the mid of Sep I'll be going full swing on this. What I can share.

Pics of blue jean vest I did and wore years ago wile in a rock band.







A preview of the patter I plan on covering the coat with.


What 3500 studs look like in bags. Give or take the few I used in the pattern. And the coat patter still in it's package


I know, nothing to get excited about. All three coats I have planned are the body section of Cause. Legs will be like sweat pants out of fake fur. These coats as well as  the body movements I've been practicing are the personality of Cause. Each one just as important to me as any full suit would be to a fursuiter.

I bought another 6300 studs. I know this sounds excessive. If you count them there are 118 studs  in that roughly 8x8 inch piece of back canvas. There's over 800 studs in the back of that blue jean vest. it takes a lot of these little studs to make something look good.

[cause the rat]

It's getting frustrating. I still haven't been able to get in tough with Chris to get the coat started. I've got the main bunch of studs off of Ebay coming in and nothing to do with them. This coat is going to take a long time to get done. I'd like to have it at least presentable by Dec. Be going to my first Con!

Got the final design for the head. I only see out of one eye so Cause will have a large faked eye patch on the left side. The eye I see out of. This will allow me to have better overall vision.  I can see out of my right eye. But I fear limiting what vision I do have would put me at a real disadvantage. The shape of the head will be  conical to better resemble a rat. Not going for a happy toony look. More like a toony villain. Not everyone can be a good guy. The overall size wont be much larger than my actual head. Don't plan on using a lot of foam. The top of the head will be a white cosplay wig with no foam underneath. Still looking to support all this with a band like you'd have in a base ball hat. May end up using a mask with elastic banding to help support the weight of the muzzle and bottom jaw. Hoping the ears wont be to heavy. And speaking of ears....

I'm looking to find as many how to's on making ears as I can find. Cause's ears will be a grayish pink color with no hair. The overall detailing will have to be sewn in. Plan on dyeing the material for the ears, tail and feet along with the white cotton gloves all at the same time.

This is all coming together! It's really frustrating knowing the part that's going to take the longest to make is taking the longest to get started. 

[Scarlegs]

I like the coats! I love the last one(s)!

[Ickyrus]

For the ears, what about papermache for the base, with whatever fabric glued or covering it or paint? It'd be easier to get more detail that way.

[cause the rat]

Thanks Scarlegs! I really want to get this coat started.  I've got a full size mock up of a front panel of the coat started. I'm guessing the chest size by using measurements from a t shirt. Going to print out full size gears and cut them out. Place these on the mock up front panel to get a good overall design. Be doing that with both left and right. Want both sides to be different. This will give me a master design to work from. Plus I'll know exactly how many studs I'll need. I'll have to do the back as well.

Saloonka, paper mache is easy to work with. I work with a home made paper pulp clay. However paper mache is not a good idea. Despite the fact that it is farther away from your skin there still is the chance that sweat can seep in. And it would be impossible to clean without damage. I have seen experiments using Marine Varnish on paper mache. Keeping it completely moister free for over a year outdoors. ( in England of all places ).  However for pure safety reasons I'd stay away from using it.

UPDATE!!!  added to post.
Got an email from Chris! As soon as the black canvas material choice is decided ( her choice because I have NO clue ) this project will be on the way!!!!!!!!  She has a few ends to finish up and then she's all MINE!!

[cause the rat]

First off I'd like to say WOW!? How did I get so many views with absolutely nothing to show? lol

Working 12 hour days and weekends has made progress a bit slow. With all that here's what I've got so far. Again it's all typing because, other than drawings and plans, I have nothing physical to show.

The hard hat harness idea is dropped. I was hoping to use this to increase air flow within the head. Keeping the foam away from the sides and back. This would end up making a really large head. Not something I want. Still going with a baseball cap like head band with a harness instead of foam on top. If i wasn't going to use a cosplay wig I could make a skull cap out of fur to fit my head.

There are a lot of great vids out there for making movable jaws. Best advice is out there! Most say to start the opening a good three inches behind your eye. This creates a more sensitive jaw. Weather your using foam, fun foam, plastic or fiberglass. Cause has a long narrow jaw and the weight of a full beard. I'll have to experiment with different mediums to find what will work best for this and still work as a movable jaw.

Ears will also be an issue. Worried about support. This wont be a large toony head. Foam will only be used to shape the face as close to mine as possible.  What foam is used on the sides will only be there as part of the over all look of the face. This leaves the area under the ears open. Thinking about making the face over material sewn together as a mask that fits my face. This mask  will be held in place by elastic in the back under the cosplay wig. I'll be wearing a balaclava under all this. Want to be able to wash it.

It's been over a week now and I haven't heard from Chris. I know she's busy and has a family so I'm not going to be pain in the backside. Worth the wait. Still pullin my hair out....

With all the material estimates I've ordered more studs. Got a few more orders in.

Wish I had something to show for all this. Hopefully when all my ducks are in a row this will all come together quickly. And I'll finally have pictures! 

[cause the rat]

YEEEESSSSSS!!!! Just got off the phone with Chris. I"ll be going over to get a duct tape double on the 12th!!!! We discussed some needed modifications, like a lot of pockets on the inside, and the over all look. Also talked about the 18 inch by half inch wide fringe. Looks like I'll have to go with black leather for the fringe. It's the only material that wont fray and hold it's shape derring wear and tare. She's also talking about internal structuring  to help support the weight of all the metal that will be going onto the coat. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if this coat's total weight is over 15 pounds.

The plan so far is for her to make the outer shell of the coat. I'll do the stud work. Bring it back to her and she'll finish up the inside lining. This means this particular coat may not be finished for the F3 con in Dec. Going to have to push myself hard to get things done by then. Hoping to have the head, hands and tail done.

an experiment I tried with the studs. Wanted to find a way keep unfastened studs in place. A way to set up an area instead of one stud at a time. Found if I dip the prongs in Elmer's glue the studs stay in place wile the material is moved. This will greatly increase the finished coverage I can get done each night. Plus the small amount of white glue is easily cleaned away.

Be ordering the fur, cosplay wig, white gloves and material very soon! Finalized the head design. It's almost as simple as a real rat's head. Cone like in shape with the large fake patch over my left eye. Rally happy with it!  I drew all the plans over pink and white pictures of my head. Because I wanted to make everything fit. Eyes and jaw line.

[cause the rat]

Got the packet with the coat design and material samples delivered to where Chris works. She's not there on Sat. so she'll get them Monday. Got 7 yards of fur ordered from Fabric.com. One 28 inch white cosplay wig from Ebay on the way. Want to see the quality of this wig before buying a second one. If I need to I'll get a second 28 inch wig to fill out the head hair. If  this one wig will do I'll buy a cheaper and shorter hair one to cut apart for the full beard and mustache. 

Next on the list is the white cotton material for the ears feet and tail. Plus several pair of good quality white cotton gloves. These will all be dyed at the same time.  Going to use a good pair of street worthy slip on shoes as the base for the feet. No fancy fury foot pads. At my age I'm more concerned about traction than I am attraction. 

[cause the rat]

Is it a double post if it's almost four hours apart?

5000 more studs came in today!!! 2000 12mm pyromids, 2000 10mm round and 1000 6mm round. Also pictured are 300 12mm frame studs that came in last week.



Also wanted to share a link to the white cosplay wig I'm getting from Ebay,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/28-inch-Heat-Resistant-All-Colors-Bangless-Long-Cosplay-Wigs-/181136892248?pt=US_CSA_MWA_Wigs_Extensions&var=480235893606&hash=item2a2c99a158

[cause the rat]

7 yards of fur and a few more studs came in last night!  Be able to get started on the partial. Got a bit more fur than I need.   Was thinking of making a two piece body suit. Just in case I get tired of lugging around a 50 lb coat. The studs I have now weigh more than 7 yards of long pile fur. Talk about a full metal jacket.  The coat has been set back a few days. Chris had a family crisis. Looks like next week.

[cause the rat]

Still working on how to keep the furry pants up. Looking at putting in loops and using a standard belt. This will all be hidden under any shirt  worn. Years ago I had a really heavy pair of canvas and leather work pants. As heavy as they were a belt held them in place. Despite the fur being slightly heavier I'm hoping a single belt will work. Suspenders are out of the question. I'm already going to have a good 30 lbs of canvas, leather and metal hanging off of my shoulders.

After a few set backs I'm finally going to get fitted for the coat tomorrow night! Be using an old flannel shirt because she's going to need my arms as well. I'm not a small guy. I'll have to finalize some drawings for the leather parts tonight so Chris will be able to finish the cuffs and sleeves.

White gloves came in! Got twelve pair. Still have to get the cotton material that will be used for the ears and tail. Was thinking of a heavier cotton for the ears and white canvas ducking for the tail. Really hoping when they all get dyed together they'll be close enough in color.

And speaking of the tail. I had read that some people have problems with the stuffing settling or bunching.  To try to prevent this I'm going to quilt the batting. I'll try it first without material on one side to see if it'll hold together. If this doesn't work I'll quilt material to one side. Then roll it up as needed to stuff the tail. My rat tail will be long, thin and without fur. Don't want it to become lumpy. Also plan on having only one hem on the tail. Going to use darting to add curves. I'll try this on scrap material before committing.

Second coat in the making. This is my Jimi Hendrix inspired one. I'll be cutting up a blue suit coat I got for $4.50 and adding paisley material, gold trim, gold fringe and large brass studs for fake buttons.

here's the paisley material I'm looking at,

http://www.housefabric.com/Grand-Paisley-Jewel-P3082C2291.aspx


It has a horizontal repeat of 14.5 inches so the pattern is big. This is once choice out of hundreds I've looked at. Still looking so this may change. The price per yard has limited some of my choices. Can't see spending $50+ for a yard of material. No matter how cool it looks.

I've got 15 yards of this old gold gimp trim,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390586526231?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D390586526231%26_rdc%3D1

and one hundred of these 15mm five prong studs

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161099960488?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D161099960488%26_rdc%3D1


the gold trim I'm looking at,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271247030842?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D271247030842%26_rdc%3D1


This will be Hedrix inspired. Not a copy of any of his coats.

[cause the rat]

Man did I have a blast tonight! Got everything done to get the coat started. Turns out both Chris and her daughter are con goers. They both enjoy different cons and both are sellers. However neither have gone to a furry convention. They both know furries. Just never been to a furcon. Spent most of the night talking about roll playing games. Happens when you get geeks together... .

So here's what's happening. Chris will make a mock up half jacket to make sure the upper torso and arms are well fitted. Once that's done and all the supplies come in the coat will come together quickly. Got the 5 yards of 10 oz black canvas duck ordered. Chris's daughter will be ordering the leather. She's a professional leather worker and gets a discount from places for ordering tons of leather from them. Talk about some great looking leather works!

Now that the hardest part is started I can concentrate more on the head, hands, feet and tail. I know that's where everyone but me usually starts a fursuit. I needed to start with the body. It's going to be the hardest and take the longest to do. Worth every minute. Because the coat will be center of the character I want to portray as Cause the rat. Each coat will help portray different aspects of Cause the rat. I hope to make each one memorable and fun to be and be around.