How make fursuit head

How to Make a Robot/synth Style Costume/ Fursuit Head

Introduction: How to Make a Robot/synth Style Costume/ Fursuit Head

This is a tutorial on how to make a fursuit head (specifically of protogen or other synth styles).

This tutorial was created to help those with limited budgets unable to commission other artists to make them a fursuit head. This is not the typical way that fursuit heads are built, however it works well for more inorganic head shapes. I have seen this technique used for both realistic and toony Canine heads and other species, so it can definitely be used for other types if you are creative enough. This instructable however is only going to cover how to make a protogen or synth-like fursuit head (as that is what my character is). These same techniques can be used to make mascot costumes as well.

Supplies

Step 1: Character Creation and Simplification

The first step is to figure out what character you want to make. This has to be done first so that the fabric colors can be chosen. For my design, I wanted an insect like creature with raptor feet and armor. Usually, when one is making a fursuit they would need what is called a reference sheet, but since this is only for the head, that is not necessary. It is important to keep in mind the number of colors used because each color is another type of fur, adding on to the price.

After the design has been sketched out, it needs to be simplified. Gradients and complex patterns are the first to be removed (unless the one making the head/suit is skillful at intricate sewing or airbrushing). Gradients can usually be simplified to two or three colors. There are some artists who make fursuit ref sheets specifically if you have trouble creating your own.

It is easiest to simplify in stages, and part of this simplification process can be seen in the second image (the headshot). All of the gradients have been removed and simplified down to four colors. These will be simplified even further before the actual making of the head.

Step 2: Cardboard Prototyping (OPTIONAL)

I did not do this step for my head as it was simple enough to skip this.

WARNING Cardboard is not to be used in the final head design as it molds easily from the moisture that builds up in the head.

Step 3: Foam Cutting/Gluing

Make sure to be safe when cutting foam.

Foam cutting can be done with a variety of tools. For my project I used both scissors and a utility knife. The utility knife will give smoother edges but it is harder to cut tight curves into the thick foam. The scissors will leave a jagged edge but are easier to use for cutting curves. Of course if there are other tools that the maker is more comfortable with, they can be used. When cutting, follow the patterns made either from sketches and measurements or from the cardboard prototyping step. To ensure that the head is symmetrical, make a pattern for one half and then flip it for the other side.

With all of the pieces cut out of the foam, they can be glued together. Depending on the thickness of the foam, it will need to be cut at an angle to fit together properly. I used hot glue for this step but other glues can be used.

There are a few ways this can be done:

A) When initially cutting out the foam, use a utility knife and hold it at the correct angle. This method works well for right angles, but it is harder to do with more specific angles that would require measuring and tweaking first.

B) cut the foam out straight initially, and then use scissors to trim the edges to the correct angle. This method is useful for angles that change as the piece goes on, or for angles that require comparison with other pieces. The downside is that it leaves jagged edges that have to be cut down later.

Double check all seams to make sure they are securely attached.

After all of the foam is glued together, it should be cut down on the corners to ensure a smooth transition. This can be done with scissors, the utility knife (carefully), or a small handheld rotary tool with a sandpaper bit. For my head, I used scissors.

More information on gluing EVA foam and sanding it smooth can be found on cosplay tutorials.

It was during this step that I also made the antenna. They were pretty easy to make, and required a coat hanger as an armature, craft foam, and fleece. I drew the shape that I wanted onto a sheet of craft foam and then traced that shape onto the fabric for the antenna. Once I had the parts traced onto the foam and fabric, I cut out all of the pieces. Make sure to leave a hole big enough at the base of the antenna to allow the foam to be inserted once they are sewn closed. Insert the foam into the antenna and position it to lay flat, then sew a line down the middle to add detail and secure the foam. I added more stitching to imply the feather like texture of moth antenna.

Step 4: Light Installation (OPTIONAL)

I ended up scrapping this, but it might be useful for others who want their head to have lights. A simple circuit that works for this can be seen as made in TinkerCad. In my head, I secured the breadboard using two elastic straps so that it was easily removable and then secured the components in place using easily removable electric tape.

Step 5: Furring

This is where the whole project starts to come together.

Eyes should be added before this part. Make sure to test different mesh fabrics for eyes. One example of a fabric that would work for eyes would be a light, loose knit muslin. Make sure you can see through it. When painting the eyes it is a good idea to paint the back side with black paint. This will make it easier to see out of than if it were a different color.

Before any fur is purchased it is important to decide what kind of effect you want the fur to have. For the visor portion of my head I decided on dark blue anti-pill fleece. Other fabrics such as minky would work too. For items that are supposed to be smooth use short pile fabrics (furs that don’t really have lots of long hair) instead of faux fur. As previously mentioned, minky and fleece are good options for this. one thing to keep in mind is price and skill level. Fleece is usually cheaper than minky and is easier to work with. The only issues are that since it doesn’t have any actual «fur» the seams are extremely visible, and fleece has a tendency to pill. When buying fur it is important to make sure its high quality. Fabric stores usually do not have a good selection of high quality (and inexpensive) furs. There are many online retailers that sell faux fur of good quality, but make sure to read some reviews. (I will update with a list)

NEVER make fursuit parts out of real fur. It is harder to clean/maintain and the fur is often gathered in inhumane ways. Also people really do not like it when someone walks in wearing an endangered wolf pelt.

For the actual furring, most people recommend covering the heads with tape to use as a pattern, but if you already made a pattern for the foam this doesn’t have to be done. For my head all that really needed to be sewn out of fur was a cowl to go around the back of the head and connect to the jaw, a fleece part to cover the visor, and the antennae. For the jaw I used the pattern I had made for the foam and added a seam allowance of one inch. When cutting out the fur its a good idea to transfer the pattern onto the back of the fabric and to mark the direction of the fur. Try to make the fur go as realistically as possible.

REMEMBER: It is easier to take away fabric than to add it on.

To attach the fur, sew all connecting parts of the fur together. If you made a duct tape pattern, it would be a good idea to add reference lines (hash marks across cut lines) to ensure the fur matches up. It’s ok to use hot glue if that is all that’s available, but it doesn’t look as neat and is not as durable as sewing.
Once the fur is sewn together, lay the fur over the head to make sure it fits. Make any adjustments to fit in this stage. One of the biggest differences in a good looking head and a bad looking head is upholstery quality. Pay close attention to the eyes, making sure they line up correctly. Once the fur fits well, gently brush out the seams using a fine tooth hair brush to make sure it there is a seamless transition from piece to piece. Hand sewing can be useful to make sure the seams don’t end up with fur stuck in them. To attach the fur to the head, start from the middle points such as the middle of the forehead between the eyes, or in my case, the top front panel and nose panel. Use hot glue to attach the fur skin to the foam, smoothing down as you go and making sure to not get hot glue on the fur.
Scrap/ Extra fur can be saved for other projects, such as tails, paws, or feet.

Step 6: Making the Mouth

The mouth was very simple and consisted of five parts.

The flaps of fleece that add an extra effect (similar to the ones seen on dinosaurs.
I did true mouth after the rest of the fur because I had initially used a raptor head as a base. I removed the raptor head as I wanted more room and to be able to customize it more.
All of these pieces were sewn with right sides facing together and then flipped right side out after sewing.
The first part that I made was the bottom of the mouth under the tongue. I did this because I wanted a reference of how crowded the mouth would be so that I wouldn’t add too many teeth or too big of a tongue. To do this, insert paper into the space saved for the mouth and trace the shape of the inside of the mouth. Add a few inches depending on how deep the jaw is (I added two or so extra inches of fabric, it’s better to have a bigger piece as it can be either altered or fit snugly into place). The shape I ended up with for my mouth was a filled parabola like shape. I cut this shape out of fleece and stuffed it. After stuffing I sewed a line down the middle and lines off of the middle line to the edge at a 45 degree angle (somewhat like a leaf) to add some extra texture to the mouth. Make sure to leave an open space for stuffing.
The tongue was the next part to be added. To make the tongue, draw the shape that you want on a piece of paper. Make sure to make it slightly longer than you think you need it so that it can lay relaxed instead of sticking up (unless that’s the wanted effect). After drawing the shape, transfer it to the fabric and sew it. I again sewed a line down the middle of the tongue long ways to add a nice divide. The tongue doesn’t need to be stuffed.
The skin flaps on the inside of the mouth get made next. To do these, draw a triangle with a convex or straight base on a piece of paper. Make sure the triangle is larger than the space that you want it to fill. Transfer the pattern to the fabric as was done for the previous steps and sew it together. Sew some lines parallel with the base once the piece is right side out.
To assemble, attach the tongue to the bottom of the mouth, the skin pieces to the corners of the mouth, and the teeth to wherever you prefer them to be (mine are on the top half of the mouth, on the sides). Secure them firmly using hot glue, but be careful to not get glue on the fabric. Once those pieces are secured, the lip lining can be added if needed. To make this piece, measure a half of an inch down on both sides of the lip, or however wide you would prefer the lip. take a piece of fabric (I used navy anti pill fleece) and cut it to the length of the jaws and twice as wide as the preferred width. Fold it in half so that the width is what was measured, and then sew along the long edge. Turn right side out and then sew the ends closed. Attach the lip lining from the middle first and work outwards.

Step 7: Cleaning Up

This step is really just adding finishing touches such as fur shaving and removing threads that might have been missed. The first photo shows a good seam while the second photo shows a seam that needs cleaned up. Of course, this is not a big issue and mistakes are often made when one is learning. Make sure to remove all threads and glue strings for a neat and finished look.

Step 8: Painting Details (Optional)

This step might be one of my favorites, as it takes the flat boring fleece parts to a whole new level with just one step. To do this, all you need is fabric or acrylic paint of a color a bit darker than the fleece used. On my creation, I used this on the mouth crevices and the antenna to add depth. Examples of the final product can be seen in previous steps showing the mouth or antenna.
Take some paint on the brush and get most of it off. This will be using dry brushing for the initial layer. Brush the paint into the crevices gently, carefully avoiding streaks. If too much paint is added, it can be easily removed with water and a towel, however not all of the paint will come off. Blend the paint into the plain fabric using water, painting it onto the edges. Once this is done allow the paint to dry.
NOTE: Painted pieces should only be spot cleaned when necessary, as to avoid removing the paint. This depends on the type of paint used so keep that in mind.

Making an Animal Mascot Head (Fursuit)

Introduction: Making an Animal Mascot Head (Fursuit)

All about how I made an animal mascot head, in the shape of a black and white cat. Features taxidermy eyes and re-rooted hair.

Step 1: Step 1: Materials Needed

To make your furry mascot head, you will need:

A silk balaclava; strong duct tape; masking tape; upholstery foam; spray glue; a cool melt glue gun with lots of extra glue sticks; a Prismacolor marker; chalks; a pen; lots of scrap paper; one pair of general purpose scissors; one pair of small sharp scissors; calico, canvas or buckram; a pair of large taxidermy eyes (at least 32mm); Fimo; white acrylic paint; fleshtone acrylic paint; nail polish remover; fleece material; a sewing kit; long pile fur, (the most expensive you can afford); a lint roller.

A razor knife; pet hair clippers; hair extensions/wig hair/horse hair; nylon wire; (fake) leather.

A mannequin head (you can buy these from Amazon)

Some «electrician’s tape» (also sold as «bondage tape»); plastic carrier bags/newspaper/both; a secure tube/vase.

Step 2: Preparation and Early Foaming

You will need: Mannequin head OR Bondage tape + carrier bags/newspaper + secure base like a vase; duct tape; foam; spray glue; sharp scissors; balaclava; reference pictures of your character and the animal it’s based on; marker pen

Optional: Plastic canvas

1. Making a head model [If you have a mannequin head, you can skip this step and move straight onto step 2.]

— It really, really helps to have a willing friend around for this step. I’ll assume you do for clarity’s sake.
— Get your friend to take a reel of electrician’s tape (it’s the kind that sticks to itself but nothing else) and carefully wind it around your head from the forehead downwards. Keep going until your head is covered. Then take strips of tape and cover the top of your head.
— Very slowly, get the sharp scissors and cut yourself out of the electrician’s tape head. Only cut until you can slide your head out. Then patch up the cut with duct tape.
— Stuff your head with anything, really. I use newspaper and carrier bags. Anything that keeps the shape.
— Push your head onto the secure base. I used a handy glass vase. Then duct tape the head in position so it won’t move when you’re making the head.

2. Put your balaclava over your head model.

3. Take your time isolating the kinds of shapes you’ll need to make the skull of your animal. Remember you’re only building it up from the face so you don’t have to worry about the back of the head. If you can, take a picture of yourself wearing your balaclava and try to draw the face of your character over the top of it. This will help you get an idea of the right dimensions to use.

5. In order to make sure I didn’t build my mask so that it crushed my nose, I stuck a strip of plastic canvas where my nose would go on the balaclava, for reference.

Step 3: More Foaming and Eyes

You will need: Foam; plastic canvas; taxidermy eyes; spray glue; canvas/buckram; (fake) leather; electrician’s tape; cool melt glue gun.

2. Installing the taxidermy eyes.

— First, prepare the eyes by cutting out a small piece of foam to make the backs of them straight (usually they’re concave at the back). Glue the foam onto the eyes.
— Cut a thin strip of electrician’s tape and wind it around the outside of the eyes to make a seal between the sides of the taxidermy eyes and the foam.
— Use (fake) leather to make eyelids. You can change the expression of the eyes by making the eyelids different shapes. Fold a piece of (fake) leather over and stick them onto the eyes with a glue gun.
— Make the tear ducts by cutting them out of canvas/buckram and colouring the material black with a Prismacolor marker (or similar artist’s marker). These should be oversized and run under the eyes as well as to the side of them because they will be the source of your vision. Stick them to the eyes using a small amount of glue.
— Install the eyes by sticking them to the underside of the eyebrow ridge with the glue gun. Symmetry is very important here, a squinting mask isn’t such a great idea. Try to install them so their point of focus is a few feet in front of the mask’s face.

3. Foaming the muzzle

— This is very much like the cheeks and eyebrow ridges, only more difficult. Remember to make it smaller and more angular than you want your finished mask to be. Leave a hole in the front for the nose to sit.
— If you make the lower jaw separately from the upper jaw, you can also leave a slit between the two and use it for ventilation. Cut your balaclava so that this is possible. I can even have a drink in mine!

— Make ears either out of foam or plastic canvas. I covered mine in a pinkish velvet material.

Step 4: Duct Tape

You will need: Sharp scissors; nail polish remover; duct tape

1. Check and double check your symmetry by holding your mask up to a mirror, or taking a picture of it and looking on a computer. You can make symmetry adjustments on your photograph first, and then implement them on your mask.

2. Cover your entire foamed mask in strips of duct tape. This is to hold everything together and to help with gluing the fur to the mask. Glue gun glue tends to not work so well with foam.

3. If your scissors get gummed up with duct tape, use nail polish remover to clean them.

You will need: Masking tape; duct tape; sharp scissors; nail polish remover; chalk; fur; razor knife/scalpel; marker pen; scrap paper.

— First, refer to your picture of your finished character in order to check where different colours of the fur are supposed to be.
— Take some pieces of masking tape and cover up a section of your mask. Again, I’d suggest starting with one of the cheeks. Use duct tape to reinforce the masking tape.
— Peel the whole thing off and cut darts so that it will lay flat onto some scrap paper.
— Draw around your shape and cut it out of the paper.
— Lay the paper pattern onto the back of your fur and draw around it with chalk.
— Using your razor knife, carefully cut out the pattern, making sure to have the your fur laying in the right direction.
— Repeat until you have the right amount of pieces of fur to cover your entire head.

Step 6: Furring the Mask Optional Steps.

Fur, cut into pattern shapes; Cool melt glue gun.

Nylon wire and/or Hair extensions/wig hair/horse hair.

1. [Optional step] Whiskers

2. [Optional step] Hair

— This is actually very similar to whiskers. It’s easiest to have all the hair on one piece of fur, and then faintly mark with chalk where each strand is going to go. Keep in mind what kind of parting it is to have and how much of an area of hair you want.
— Take a clump of hair and seal it together with hot glue. Shake it so there are no loose hairs.
— Cut a small hole in your fur and thread the hair through.
— Seal it in place with more glue.
— Repeat until you’ve got a head of hair
— Cut and style the hair as you like it. Make sure to leave this til it’s all in place on the head.

Step 7: Furring the Mask Continued

You will need: Fur, cut into pattern shapes; cool melt glue gun.

Optional: sewing kit.

1. Glue your fur pieces into place on your head.

2. Sew the seams shut if you like.

Step 8: Shaping the Fur

This is a very important step for the overall look of the mask.

Pet hair clippers; sharp scissors.

1. Look at your reference pictures and take note of where the fur on your character is short. This is usually around the face and the ears.

2. Cut the longest parts of the fur off with scissors before using the clippers. Make sure the hair is out of the way (if you have any). And your hair too!

3. Taking it very, very slowly, use the clippers on your fur just a couple of millimetres at a time. You can use this part of the process to add more shape to some parts of your head, like the eyebrows. It’s best to use hairdressing scissors around the whiskers if you have any, to avoid cutting them accidentally.

Step 9: Last Steps

You will need: some FIMO/Sculpey; white paint; nose-coloured paint (black or fleshtone); paintbrush; cool melt glue gun; fur; a lint roller.

1. Making the nose.

— Mould some FIMO into your desired nose shape, plus some extra at the back. This can be toony or realistic.
— Paint the baked and cooled FIMO with some white acrylic paint as an undercoat.
— Leave it to dry and then paint over it with a couple of coats of your nose coloured paint.
— If you want to make the nose look wet, cover it with a coat of clear varnish.
— Glue the nose into place on the muzzle.

2. Thoroughly go over your mask head with the lint roller, to clean it up.

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How to build a creature cosplay/mascot/fursuit head with Varaform

I was contacted by CosplaySupplies, they wanted to sponsor me building a head with a material called Varaform and make a tutorial of the process. They supplied the Varaform and I had freedom to choose anything I’d like to build and I’ll show you every step of how I’m building it. I chose to make a Female Worgen from the world of warcraft, but these same steps could be used to make just about any furred animal head. Let’s make some monsters!

What is Varaform?

“Varaform is a lightweight thermoplastic mesh. It has been used in the medical community as an alternative to plaster bandages for casts, and it’s been used for stage costuming for years to create large, lightweight costume pieces, especially under-structures for mascots and monsters.”

Start planning your build:

As with every build I like to start with a concept sculpt. For a female worgen, I wanted to give her a more fierce werewolf look with some feminine features. I tried to stay true to the feeling of warcraft rather than copy them from the game (especially since they look chihuahua like in the game.) After gathering some inspiration from around the internet and drawing a few sketches, I mocked up the face in small scale in clay. I sculpted it on top of a ¼ scale bust that I cast out of resin, but you can do it at any scale you’d like. I like to do this to help as a firm visual roadmap as well as have a fast way to test different shapes I could use. Here is my final clay concept sketch:

Building the Buck

First thing to do for the build is to make a buck. This will be the shape that we will use to form the Varaform to give it the shape we want. A buck can be made out of a few different materials, like wood or air dry clay, but I decided to go with Styrofoam. You can find this in big sheets at home improvement stores and can be used in a variety of cosplay projects so it’s something many of you could already have on hand. I figured from my 1/4 scale clay sculpt and from measuring my own head that the base needed to be 8 inches wide, 11 inches long and 10 inches tall. I cut out four pieces of foam with at least 1 inch extra in each dimension to glue together. Then I used good old PVA glue and an old card to spread it around evenly, I glue each piece together. I weighted it down and let it sit for 24 hours before carving on it.

Note: As I was carving, I did notice that the inside wan’t all the way dry, but if wasn’t too aggressive in carving it didn’t slip. And I had taken away more material on the outside the inside was able to dry faster. Layers that had a thin even coat of glue stayed together the best.

Forming the Varaform base

I was finally happy with the buck I had carved for my worgen, so it was then time to form the Varaform. It is a very sticky material when heated, so I knew I needed some way to release it from the buck after it had cooled. I decided to use aluminum foil because it’s good at holding its shape and won’t be affected by heat.

Learning how to form this stuff was tricky! I actually formed it twice while trying to get over my learning curve. Don’t be afraid to just start over when learning a new material, it’s much less frustrating even though you feel like you’re wasting money. Plan for some degree of failure when you’re budgeting out a cosplay that uses a new material.

Varaform is very sticky when it is heated up and can get all over your hands if you’re not careful. The easy solutions is to keep a cup of water nearby that you can dip your fingers into. If you keep your hands moist it will not stick to your skin.

The best way I found to heat up the Varaform is with a heat gun on top of a silicon baking mat. The mat lets me heat it up completely while not worrying about it sticking. It also helps to have a dedicated craft cookie sheet. The one I use was ruined in the dishwasher, so it’s not the prettiest thing, but does a great job while I’m heating thermoplastics.

I found that working with smaller pieces worked best for me. It was mostly due to the fact that I couldn’t use the heatgun much while it was on the form – the Styrofoam melted if I held it on it too long. If I were to do this process again, I would make my buck out of a water based clay that I can let dry and firm up before putting the varaform on. Adam savage used a taxidermy form to form the Varaform base of his Bear build: it’s a good option, if you have the extra cash for a taxidermy form.

I did make the styrofoam work, I was able to form the Varaform without causing too much heat damage to the styrofoam buck. I ended up doing two large pieces on each half, split down the middle. It was difficult to handle large pieces of this material. I would recommend working with Varaform in small chunks, not much bigger than 5×5 inches, working each piece into position before getting the next one. I would overlap it by at least an inch and really smash it together for best results.

I didn’t start adding another layer until later in my build, but I recommend you add it here at this stage. When I wanted to add a piece to the Varaform that had been placed and cooled on the buck, I heated up the piece to be added all the way (so it was completely flexible) then when I heated the Varaform up that was on the styrofoam, I barely kissed it with the heat until it became a little shiney. Then when I added the next form I made sure to smash it very well.

You can also do this when you have the Varaform shape off of the styrofoam buck too just remember it is very important to work slowly. If you heat up the varaform completely, it will relax and try to lay flat again. It’s really hard to try and hold it in the right position with your hands. So completely heat up the piece you want to add, then barely heat up the Varaform structure you want to add it to. It’ll become a little shiney. (Again be careful as it heats up really fast) Then carefully place and smash the varaform together with your hands on both sides.

A note about scraps: I found the really small scraps to be useless, but anything above 3-4 square inches came in handy. Some scrap pieces cool all crumpled and folded, but when you heat it completely, the mesh relaxes and becomes flat again.
I removed my Varaform from the styrofoam form and cut eye and mouth holes

*I didn’t add the 2nd layer of reinforcing at this stage, but I wish that I had. I was worried about added too much weight or blocking the ventilation holes, which was silly of me. It was still incredibly light and there are plenty of holes for ventilation after adding a second layer, Learn from my mistake and add it before this stage.

Making the Varaform base comfy to wear
Now that we have the basic shape of a worgen face, we need to make it wearable and comfy (no one likes to wear uncomfortable costumes) I started with a large pad for my forehead, I simply took some upholstery foam and glued spandex around (raw foam on your skin is uncomfortable, but spandex or fleece feels nice) I just used hot glue to glue things in, but be aware that Hot glue will make your varaform relax and lose shape if it is on the h, especially if set at high temp. It helps to have something you can press from the other side with, like the silicone baking mat. Hot glue goes through the holes of the varaform and will burn you, so be extra careful as you glue things in.

Teeth, Eyes Ears and Nose

Teeth:

Now comes the fun part of every build, starting to build up details. I started with the teeth, I used the molds I had made for my Genn Greymane cosplay build and cast up a bunch of teeth. I ‘kit bashed’ the front teeth, meaning I cut off the canines from the casts I made for greymane because they were far too big for a female worgen. It’s nice to have molds lying around to cast extra teeth out of, but if you don’t have that sculpting these teeth with a polymer clay is a nice option. Polymer clay can be baked hard in the oven and will take paint easily.

I used strips of EVA foam to create a ‘gum’ area, or a base to be able to glue the teeth to. Hot glue works great for all these steps- make sure to rough up the bottom of your teeth with sandpaper to make sure the hot glue will really bite into the tooth and hold it secure (eh, get it? because they’re teeth!)

For the gums of the teeth I decided to use the same method I used on Hogger. I used super flex creature cast rubber in the ‘white’ color and added just a bit of red paint. Don’t add too much paint, the creature cast goes yellow-y clear-ish when it’s dried and the gums will darken significantly- do some tests to get your color just right. If you get the base color close to what you want, you can paint after it’s dried to get even more detail and color. The process to make the lips is to take the cotton balls, pull them apart, take the shreds and saturate it with rubber and then place it where you want it. Make sure to wrap it around each tooth and cover all the areas that will be visible in the final head.

Then I painted the cleaned teeth to be gross and yellow stained with a buildup of tartar around the gums. I started with an off white base coat, then did a wash of sickly greenish brown, and then some dry brushing on the tips of the teeth with white. I also took some time to paint the inside of the Varaform black. It’s helps to have the inside of a head like this black to keep light from bouncing around on the inside. It helps you to be able to better see out of the head better.

I decided that I wanted My female worgen to be a death Knight, so I needed some blue glowy eyes. I used dragon skin 10 and the a small amount of blue and white sil pig pigments to get this color. Only use a very small amount of pigment because you still need it to be translucent if you want the LED to be seen. I used my a clear plastic globe ornaments and just poured the silicone right in. after waiting about 10 mintues I placed some black felt on the back. It will block the light from going back in the head and give me a surface I can easily glue stuff too for mounting it in the head.

I had my Husband wire me a simple LEDs setup, two LEDs connected to a battery pack with an on off switch. It was easy to cut a slit through the felt and silicone to slip the LED inside. I like to place the LED in deeper to create a little hot spot that will help read as a pupil. Pictures have a hard time capturing how nicely the LED light diffuses through the silicone eye, which is the reason I decided to use silicone in the first place.

Ears

My go to material for ears is Fosshape. It’s a thermoplastic fabric, it’s has the texture of felt before it’s heated up and will set to varying degrees of rigidity depending on how long you heat it. It’s fun to have ears that have a slight about of flex to them. I use paper to create the pattern and then transferred that to the Fosshape.

It’s very easy to shape Fosshape, the material shrinks and hardens as you apply heat. I just hold the desired curve with my hand and use a heat gun on alternating side of the fabric until I get the shape and stiffness that I like.

To give the inside of the ears some shape and interest I like to add fleece. Cut out a piece of fleece larger than the area you want to cover. You can take a pet brush to the fleece to make the texture more smooth. I used hot glue to slowly start gluing the fleece down, but I pinched certain areas to create some ear folds. Look up some photo reference of animal ears to get an idea of where the fold should go. It’s a quick way to add some detail to your head.

Nose

For the nose I decided to carve some Eva foam. I made a paper pattern and beveled the middle seam to it would have a more nose like shape. Then I used the sanding drums of my Dremel to carve its shape. After shaping and heat sealing and I used more Creature cast rubber to seal the nose (you can also use plastidip!) and painted it. I stippled the rubber on the nose with some reticulated foam so that it would have a rough texture. The nose can be glued into place after the fur is glued to the face.

Adding fur

Using masking tape, I covered half the face in tape. Now if you’re not confident if your symmetry you can tape the whole thing. I chose to tape half and flip the pattern.
you start first with the markings- any color or fur changes you want to make. Then when you take the fur off and cut those lines for the markings your goal is to make the pattern lay flat by cutting darts. I like to place cuts where there would be natural seams, like down muzzle from eye to nose, down the middle of the head. I knew I needed a cut around the eye because I had a sharp edge there. I had already decided to make this head out of all black fur, but I was going to use a shorter fur for the face and longer fur for the mane. Make sure when you have the tape on the head to carefully mark which piece is what and what the fur direction and type for each piece.
The neck I choose to drape. I take some muslin and use safety pins to find a good shape, Then test it out by sewing it together. doing a fabric pattern like this lets me try it on and move around to make sure it fits like I want it to.
Here’s what the tape pattern looks like after taking it off the head.

I like to use a clover chalk pen and a scalpel to mark and cut my fur. Remember to leave a seam allowance and to copy all registration marks. When cutting be sure to only cut the backing and not the pile!

Here’s the face sewn together. On critters like this I like to leave the nose open as a place that I can cinch and pull stuff in and easily trim off excess.

I sewed the neck pattern all sewn together, I added a zipper in the back to help get on and off and to more easily access the inside of the head if needed. I also cut and sewed the long fur with the direction going the wrong way on purpose. It’s a trick that I like to use to help the fur have more volume and look more wild, a perfect look for a worgen!

More details: Lips and Eyelids

Next I needed to sculpt the lips. I used apoxie sculpt to do this, it’s a two part clay that you mix together, after 24 hours it cure solid and it can stick to pretty much anything. It comes in other colors, but I like black for dog lips. Use gloves when mixing it and be careful with how you place it, you can easily get black smudges over your nice teeth work if you’re not careful.

I mixed enough Apoxie sculpt to make the whole lower lip at once, you can do it in smaller batches if you don’t feel confident enough in your work. Practice will help you get the hang of it! I put a snake of it all around the lower lips and smashed it in good. It wasn’t sticking very well in some places, so I used a little super glue on those parts to hold it in place.

It’s important to have looked at some reference, from google or in real life at what dogs lips look like so you can get some ideas about how you want them to look. At this stage you can smooth the surface of the Apoxie with some water and your finger, though don’t be afraid to leave some of it’s awesome natural texture there, it looks really cool!

I started in the front and worked my way backward, using my tools to create a series of vertical lines. try to vary the width and depth to bring variety.

Sometimes dogs have these jagged structures called flews (seen here) so to start sculpting those I rolled up little balls of clay. you then smash around the edges with your sculpting tool and go to town added texture.

These are the tools I used in sculpting the lips. from left to right: rubber tipped clay Shaper (good at making soft indents) a metal spatula (good for deeper, sharper lines) a toothbrush (good for adding tons of really fine lines and evening out shapes) and on bottom is a (an old) beard stipple sponge (adds lots of random lines and neat texture when pressed in)

and here is the finished look of the lips!

I made a quick tongue out of the same color fleece as the ears and quickly made an easy tongue. Sew the outside ‘U’ shape first, flip it inside out and then sew a line down the middle. Then simply glue in!

For the eyelids I sculpted them out of worbla. I like it because I take just the eyelids off the eye and rework them if I need to. Apoxie sculpt would be a little unwieldy here, especially since the eyes are silicone and it wouldn’t stick to them anyways. I didn’t have as clear of guidelines as the lips, so I appreciate the ability to reheat the worbla to make adjustments. The last step is to paint them black and glue them in, I used hot glue on the outside edge(the edge that contacts the fur) I will be getting some black worbla to do this step in the future, I only had the regular brown on hand!

Airbrushing, The Final Touch

The last step is airbrushing. Painting adds a layer of depth and defines shapes. Cosplayers paint shadows and highlights into armor and put on makeup and contour to do the same thing, you can think of airbrushing as monster makeup.

I do my airbrushing in stages, starting with the lightest colors and then going darker. On the ears I built up the shades with black, and added a little mottling to break up the flatter areas.

I also did some airbrushing on the face, but how do you add shadows to black? This was my first time trying it, but really happy with the results! I airbrushed white onto the black fur. I usually think of painting with an airbrush in terms of shadows, but to paint the face, I had to think in terms of highlights instead.

And with that, the head is complete!

You can also see videos of the durability and flexibility of the head and Varaform in general.

Now that the Female Worgen Death Knight head is complete and I’ve had a chance to wear her around, I want to take a moment to compile my thoughts and give my overall opinion of Varaform.

First off I want to again thank CosplaySupplies for approaching me with this project and for providing me with the Varaform to build it with! It’s been a great experience working with them to make my tutorial.

Now let me talk about wearing the finished head. The final weight of the head is 1 lb 12 oz. It’s very lightweight and comfortable. There is a *ton* of airflow through this mask, a large part of that is because of the big open snarly mask, but there is a remarkable amount of airflow through the Varaform. My husband and I did tests, were we covered the open areas of the mask as well as held up a personal neck fan to the face. Anyone who has worn a fursuit will tell you that fans are a Godsent, airflow right through fur and will cool you off very quickly. I could feel the air flowing through the fur and the varaform parts of the face, even when the personal neck fan was held a foot away from the head. That right there is what I feel is the number one advantage of this material. It was the first thing that popped in my head when I first heard of the material, and I couldn’t be happier that it works so well for that.

Next I need to acknowledge that this what my very first time working with this material. While I did my best learning how to work with it, I know there is still plenty to figure out about this material. I don’t have all the answers, I’m positive there are better techniques that can be used to work with Varaform that I haven’t figured out yet. The head has some flaws as a result, there’s some crookedness, and asymmetry, but instead of becoming frustrated and giving up, I decided to embrace those flaws as a feature and make her a Death Knight. A battle hardened warrior raised from the dead would not have a perfect face. In fact I may just go back and add some facial scarring or add some damage to her ear to further that idea. The lesson that I want to pass on from that is to never underestimate the value of finishing a project. There are critical lessons to be learned in those final steps of actually finishing a piece that you don’t learn anytime else. It’ll always come out better than you think it will.

So I talked about the advantages, that being the weight and the airflow, those are two big ones as comfort while wearing a cosplay greatly enhances the experience for everyone involved. Now let’s talk about the material’s shortcomings. Personally I found Varaform to be very tricky to work with, my learning curve with it was difficult to overcome. I actually built two headforms out of varaform, I decided the first one I built wasn’t good enough to use. There are times when it is better to start over than finish, I decided I wasn’t far enough in and that finishing my first failed headbase would be more headache than to take the lessons learned and forming a new base. I’m glad that I was more or less obligated to make it work, else I probably would have given up. I’m glad because I am happy with the results I got, and I see a ton of potential in the material, it just took a long while to ‘click’ with me. I still feel that I can find a better way to form it, so if you decide to give this material a try, don’t get frustrated, work through your personal learning curve and I think this will be a rewarding material for you

When I was ask to directly compare Varaform to a resin base: It’s lighter, more flexible and much more breathable than resin. It’s cheaper to fabricate with varaform. The advantage of resin is that while it’s more expensive to set up (the clay, the silicone mold etc) you can easily make many copies. Resin is also a better material for making a moving jaw, varaform has too much give to make it effective.

One big mistake I made on this build was the lips. One feature about varaform is that it is slightly flexible, it has a springy quality to it. I can squeeze and compress the head slightly and it will pop right back. In my opinion, this is a pro to the material because it’ll absorb the shock if dropped instead of cracking or breaking. But you can see how it would be a problem to sculpt with apoxie sculpt- which sets completely rigid. I already have a crack in the back part of the lip because the understructure flexed and the thin part of the lip had too much stress on it. I didn’t even think about that until after the lips had cured. It was an ‘oh crap’ moment for sure. The Apoxie sculpt technique is a good technique to use with a resin base head where the understructure is solid, but it’s a bad idea for any slightly flexible base, like a Varaform one. Learn from my mistake! It would have been far better to make lips similar to how I did the gums (and exactly how I did on Hogger) with the cotton ball and neoprene. Additionally, the Apoxie sculpt was one of the heaviest parts of this build, so I imagine the head would be around 1 lbs if I had chosen neoprene instead.

So I really hope that you all enjoyed watching this build! And I hope you were able to learn something from it as well. If you do decide to give Varaform a try, please let Cosplay Supplies know that you heard about it from me, it will help more opportunities like this come up in the future!

How to Buy a Fursuit: Guide Series

(This is part 1 of a 5 part series originally published on Artists Beware)

A fursuit is an animal-themed costume that partially or wholly covers the body. The headpiece (mask), completely covers the entire face, with few exceptions. Often, fursuits are “real life” representations of a person’s fursona or animal-themed (furry) original character. They can be any non-human species. Fursuits are the most visible part of the furry fandom, but they are not required to own – or even be liked – to participate in the furry community.

This guide lists the most common types, styles, and padding used in fursuits. It is not a comprehensive list.

Types of Fursuits

Fullsuit

A “fullsuit” is short for “full-body fursuit” and is used to identify fursuits which cover the entire body. There is no human skin showing while wearing a fullsuit.

Partial

“Partial” is short for “partial fursuit,” and is the most common type of fursuit. It has many variations, which each have their own specific names that fall under the umbrella term “partial.” If a fursuit is anything less than a fullsuit, then it can be called a partial.

The most common type of partial is one consisting of a head (mask), paws, and a tail. But partials can also consist of the following:

Full Partial (also called a 3/4 suit)

A full partial is typically a partial with a head, a tail, and both sets of paws, with sleeves. This type of partial does not cover the torso and typically does not cover the thighs. It is used as a way to wear less clothes while still not wearing a fullsuit.
It is especially useful for the wearer to be able to wear shorts and short-sleeved shirts without showing human skin. It rarely has padding.

Half Partial (also called a halfsuit)

A half partial is a fullsuit without the torso area. Or, thought of in another way, it is a halfsuit with the full legs. It typically gives the appearance of a fullsuit that is wearing a shirt. It is usually, but not always, used for digitigrade characters instead of a full partial.

Kigurumi (also called Kigu)

“Kigurumi” (着ぐるみ) is a Japanese term referring to a costumed character, but often refers specifically to a type of one-piece pajama with an animal theme. These adult-sized “onesies” gained popularity outside of Japan and the idea has been co-opted by fursuit makers as an alternative for heavier, hotter, more movement-restricting, and expensive fursuits. Today, there are some makers who make only custom kigurumi, and furries can commission a kigu of their own design. Some people wear them as they are, others pair kigus with other fursuit items, as a fursuit body stand-in or additional costume piece.
Kigurumi are technically not fursuits and are in their own category of furry fashion. But since they are so closely related to fursuits, somewhat common, and the process of purchasing one is very similar to that of a fursuit commission, they are also covered by this guide.

Quadsuit

“Quadsuit” is a short-hand term for “quadraped fursuit.”
While traditional fursuits always depict an anthropomorphized character who usually walks on two legs, the quadsuit is meant to completely mask the human wearer and depict a “feral” four-legged animal instead. Quadsuits are extremely rare to commission, and are frequently made by the person intending to wear them.

Styles and Padding of Fursuits

Listed below are the most well-known and most sought-after styles of fursuits at the time this guide was written.

Styles

Padding

(This is part 2 of a 5 part series originally published on Artists Beware)

A fursuit is a large animal costume that can partially or wholly cover the body. However, the head piece (mask) completely covers the face.

Vision is limited – you will only be able to see directly in front of you in most cases.
Ventilation is not great – you will be hot and sweating within seconds of putting most fursuit pieces on.
They can be incredibly claustrophobic, and many heads do not allow room for glasses.
Fursuits should be avoided if you are prone to overheating or you have issues with any of the above listed problems.

Fursuits involve a large time investment from you.
If you buy a pre-made, you can have your fursuit in less than three months. Otherwise, you need to contact a maker directly for your fursuit project, and it is common to wait a year or more (waiting in the queue + actual time to complete your project) to get a fullsuit.
This is assuming you actually get a spot to begin with- many makers only accept commissions a few times a year, and those slots are limited. A substantial amount of time can be spent simply waiting for the maker you want to open commissions, and then hoping you are selected. Makers rarely work on a “first come, first served” basis.

You must be eighteen (18) or older.
Many fursuits are one-of-a-kind and made to your size. Generally, your measurements will change as you grow, until you are about 18 years old. There is no sense in buying such an expensive item that likely won’t fit in a year or two. The vast majority of makers will not allow minors (people under 18) to commission them due to this and legalities involving contracts with minors.

Buying a custom fursuit carries a substantial risk.
While it is sad, it must be noted that most fursuit makers are simply people doing this as a hobby. Finding a maker that is actually registered as a business is rare (and those that are have higher prices to reflect this status).

Because most makers are hobbyists, there is an unfortunately high risk that your project won’t be completed in time, won’t be completed to your satisfaction, or simply won’t be finished at all. The stories of makers who ran with the money are sadly too common, as are the stories of people who had to wait over two years, or received their fursuit in unwearable condition.

Fursuit makers often live and die by their reputation alone, and this is partly why several “big name” makers have been recommended over and over again, but even these makers can still fail to deliver. People who are victims of these makers are often too afraid to come forward due to the backlash. FursuitReview submitters have requested their reviews be removed due to the maker abusing them in private over the posting more than once.

FursuitReview tries to persuade everyone to keep their reviews up so the community can be aware, but the possibility of a negative review backfiring is there, and it causes many people to fear coming forward with their bad experience. This makes finding negative information incredibly difficult, thus decreasing your defense against the possibility of a maker taking advantage of you.

Because FursuitReview does not allow reviews for fursuits that were never received, you should always check a maker on Artists Beware as well before committing yourself to buying from them. But be aware that abusive makers can often change their names and start a “new” business. FursuitReview and Artists Beware try to stay on top of this, but it is not fail-proof.

Proper maintenance can be time-consuming, sometimes difficult, and expensive.
Despite how much you pay for a fursuit, mishaps do occur and it is beneficial to learn proper sewing technique. Otherwise, you will have to rely on makers to fix your fursuit. Shipping back and forth can be costly, assuming the maker also doesn’t charge you for their time. There is also the additional time commitment as you wait for the repairs to be completed and the item(s) to be sent back.
This is not to mention proper storage and washing of a fursuit – washing in particular, even if some parts can be put in a machine – can be a multi-day exercise. Many people buy additional products to help keep their fursuits clean – expenses that pile on over time.

Of course, there are plenty of trustworthy makers out there, too! Buying a fursuit is not all doom and gloom, but it’s important that you protect yourself and be warned of the risk before you start.

As a final note:
Fursuits are NOT required to be a part of the furry fandom!
Fursuits are the most visible part of the furry community, but they are not mandatory to participate. It is easy to become pressured into feeling like you have to have a fursuit to have fun at cons or to be yourself. This is not the case. Do not buy a fursuit out of peer pressure or fear of missing out!

Tutorials

Welcome to the creative space! This is where you can find out how I create the projects that I enjoy and share tips on how you can make them too! Making things has been a passion of mine for most of my life, so this section of my site is dedicated to lots of tips, hints, as well as many examples on how I make my cute costumes and projects!

Search

I have a lot of content available on my tutorial site! Make good use of it by utilizing the «Search» tool and discover new guides or info that you maybe haven’t noticed before! This search also includes content that I may have reblogged from other artists, too! Enjoy!

Fursuit Building

Costuming, cosplay, dressing up, fursuiting, whatever you consider it to be. I think its really cute innocent fun, and I love maskmaking and creating costume items. It has been my hobby for well over 15 years now and I really enjoy seeing what others create too!

The process surrounding creating things such as fursuits is called prototyping, it is a perfectly natural part of the learning curve to learn to make new items by making rough versions and refining them as you gain skill and learn new techniques. Practice new techniques on scraps before applying to your final project, and most importantly don’t stop trying!! Even if something doesn’t work out as you expect, it is still a learning experience! It is for sure more fun to have a costume than it is to not have a costume, so have fun with what you make!

Resources

I have collected lists of many useful things that relate to fursuit and costume building, crafting, including supplies! I sincerely hope these resources help you in your craft endeavors! In the resources links you will find in this section include faux fur suppliers, foam suppliers, and links to other tutorials and guides by other artists.

Premium Guides and Patterns

A handful of tutorials that have been made available for sale in a printable format. Including highly specific and detailed information or patterns that you can follow.

Free Tutorials

I’m very proud to present all of the tutorials I have worked hard to make, the ones below are made free for the creative enjoyment of the community! If you enjoy the content I make, share credit that you learned it right here from Matrices.net! That way others can learn how with my guides, too! If you wish to contribute financially, consider becoming a sponsor or joining my Patreon!

Heads

Bodies

Paws

Detailing and Finishing

For Beginners

Fursuit Maintenance

You created or purchased an amazing costume, how do you keep it nice? Here is some information on that very topic! Testing gives us confidence, so I encourage everyone to use scraps of fur test these maintenance methods so you can see the results and compare for yourself! Check out my #fursuit-maintenance tag on tumblr.

There is a lot of hearsay when it comes to maintaining fursuits, you can find out what works and what doesn’t by using scientific method-style experiments to see results for yourself! Cut up a few swatches of scrap fur and save one piece aside as a «control» and test the remaining pieces to your heart’s content! What results do you get? Is it what you expected? Share your results!

Crafts

Fursuits aren’t the only thing I am a fan of creating, some guides on making some other goodies to enhance your furry experience!

Recipes

I love recipes and have decided to share some of my own! Some are edible, some are just useful things! Enjoy! Check out my #recipe tag on tumblr.

Articles

These are articles about fursuit-related topics without them specifically being a tutorial. My goal is to be informative or thought-provoking in the process. I hope these, and future articles, serve to be both good information to help folks think about the how’s and why’s of fursuit topics, but also offer a helpful or informative detail about the topic at hand (ok, ok, some how-to stuff might still be included). Check out my #articles tag on tumblr.

Community

Are you interested in or looking for a community to share your creative progress and stay inspired? I operate a dedicated-topic chat called The WIP Zone on a service called Telegram. The WIP Zone is a wonderful inspiring place with a dedicated theme of sharing WIPs and staying inspired. All kinds of safe for work artwork, fursuit, sewn, crafted or other projects are welcome to be shared there.