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Are you ready for a WALL 'O TEXT?? Because I am ready to write one.
Introduction: I set out to imitate the animegao kigurumi style of costume that hasn't seen a lot of execution in the furry community. My biggest inspiration was this costume: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szvcKmW5_E4 What I like about this style is the option to wear whatever clothes you want over top of your suit. I like the "person that just happens to also be an animal" type of character, and the smaller head and slim bodysuit is perfect. This is my second shot at Mirepoix. You can see how far I got in my first attempt over here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9709834/ I just wasn't happy with how it was turning out and chose to start over. I'm glad I did! She isn't quiiiite finished and has a lot of room for improvement, but she was done enough to wear to the convention.
Bodysuit: Made from matte milliskin in ivory and shiny milliskin in white from the same website. The shiny stuff is a little bit thicker and seems more durable. I am having a little bit of pulling around the fingertips, so I am thinking of painting some plasti-dip on my pads to protect them and give an animal-ish look. I also had the seams pop a little on the very top of the sleeve seam, but it's nothing I can't fix. Zipper up the back.
I don't lose a lot of dexterity from the Sculpey claws, but I don't really like being trapped in the gloves. However the seamless, graceful wrist got a lot of compliments, so I will keep it that way.
The website that I made my leotard block from (patternschool.com) has been down for a while. I. Am. So. Mad about that. Lucky for me I made my pattern before the domain lapsed, but I am keeping my eye out for other resources. I learned how to make gloves and the hood from http://www.stretchy.org/
You need both a serger and a regular sewing machine to sew bodysuits like this. Need. No, a zigzag stitch isn't enough, you will pop seams every time you put the thing on. I have a Brother 1034D for a serger.
Mask: Sculpted in clay, molded and cast myself. All Smooth-On products. (Rebound and Smooth Cast 65D). The biggest issue I have with the resin is that it when you start sanding it, you reveal a lot of bubbles that need filling in. Nothing that fiberglass filler and automotive primer can't fix. The orange bits are epoxy clay. The ears are Worbla around styrofoam. The horns are permanently affixed with wood screws and epoxy glue. A little bit of epoxy clay fills in the gaps around the base.
On the lower left picture, you can see the elastic strapping and a hunk of foam to bulk out my crown. The padding on the inside followed this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvxocFXzuyM&list=UUbffkBuYqvplWZ9Ct0RI2BQ&feature=share&index=2 The whole mask is very heavy! Luckily it is all centered on the very top of my head, so it wasn't so bad.
Wig: I bought it from Cosplay.com's wig store a year ago along with a matching length of wefting. Man I'm just gonna say it: fuck wigs. I hate working with them. But! I am showing you how I attached this sucker just in case you are more patient than I am. This was a rush job, so the hairline is very plain. I wear a scarf to cover it up. You can see there how it snaps on. I had to make the wig larger, so I made some triangular gores to expand it around the crown. On the lower right picture you can see the result of poor planning: I ran out of wefting! She's got a couple of big 'ol bald spots, but you can't see them unless you look.
The wig snaps just behind my ears to the mask elastic. It was impossible to put the wig on myself with my clawed gloves, but my handler was very patient and helpful. Next time I will devise an easier system that I can do on my own. Maybe just sew the sucker on?
Paint: All of the green is Golden Fluid Acrylics mixed with the Golden Airbrushing Medium. Washfastness remains to be seen, but it hasn't rubbed off anywhere yet. I intended to use Jaquard dye-na-flow to paint my bodysuit, but that stuff doesn't adhere to non porous surfaces. I didn't have time to color match some acrylic paint, so I just used the Golden all over. The orange is some Createx mixed to match the orange vinyl. The vinyl is a redder shade of orange than I wanted, so I lightened it up a little. The eyebrows were super fun to paint.
Tail: Not much to say here. Carved foam that I covered in fleece, then spandex. The scales were hot glued on because I was low on time.
The future of this suit: There are a few little repairs to do, like touch up the horn tips and fix the popped sleeve seams. I did not have time to get to her arm or back scales in time for the convention, but I'll have those on eventually. I want to make some matching leggings for her so I can wear skirts and dresses with this suit. No plans for feet, but maybe some toe socks. I think sculpted feet would look very very silly considering how form fitting the suit is. I would also like to resolve the base of the tail. It just kinda flops around hanging off my belt right now. Perhaps belt it underneath my leotard, velcro it to my butt, then make clothing that accommodates for the tail?
Ok, all done. If anybody has any questions about my process, please don't hesitate to ask. I am still new at this, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. Always do your research! I am also open to critique and suggestions for improvement.
Introduction: I set out to imitate the animegao kigurumi style of costume that hasn't seen a lot of execution in the furry community. My biggest inspiration was this costume: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szvcKmW5_E4 What I like about this style is the option to wear whatever clothes you want over top of your suit. I like the "person that just happens to also be an animal" type of character, and the smaller head and slim bodysuit is perfect. This is my second shot at Mirepoix. You can see how far I got in my first attempt over here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9709834/ I just wasn't happy with how it was turning out and chose to start over. I'm glad I did! She isn't quiiiite finished and has a lot of room for improvement, but she was done enough to wear to the convention.
Bodysuit: Made from matte milliskin in ivory and shiny milliskin in white from the same website. The shiny stuff is a little bit thicker and seems more durable. I am having a little bit of pulling around the fingertips, so I am thinking of painting some plasti-dip on my pads to protect them and give an animal-ish look. I also had the seams pop a little on the very top of the sleeve seam, but it's nothing I can't fix. Zipper up the back.
I don't lose a lot of dexterity from the Sculpey claws, but I don't really like being trapped in the gloves. However the seamless, graceful wrist got a lot of compliments, so I will keep it that way.
The website that I made my leotard block from (patternschool.com) has been down for a while. I. Am. So. Mad about that. Lucky for me I made my pattern before the domain lapsed, but I am keeping my eye out for other resources. I learned how to make gloves and the hood from http://www.stretchy.org/
You need both a serger and a regular sewing machine to sew bodysuits like this. Need. No, a zigzag stitch isn't enough, you will pop seams every time you put the thing on. I have a Brother 1034D for a serger.
Mask: Sculpted in clay, molded and cast myself. All Smooth-On products. (Rebound and Smooth Cast 65D). The biggest issue I have with the resin is that it when you start sanding it, you reveal a lot of bubbles that need filling in. Nothing that fiberglass filler and automotive primer can't fix. The orange bits are epoxy clay. The ears are Worbla around styrofoam. The horns are permanently affixed with wood screws and epoxy glue. A little bit of epoxy clay fills in the gaps around the base.
On the lower left picture, you can see the elastic strapping and a hunk of foam to bulk out my crown. The padding on the inside followed this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvxocFXzuyM&list=UUbffkBuYqvplWZ9Ct0RI2BQ&feature=share&index=2 The whole mask is very heavy! Luckily it is all centered on the very top of my head, so it wasn't so bad.
Wig: I bought it from Cosplay.com's wig store a year ago along with a matching length of wefting. Man I'm just gonna say it: fuck wigs. I hate working with them. But! I am showing you how I attached this sucker just in case you are more patient than I am. This was a rush job, so the hairline is very plain. I wear a scarf to cover it up. You can see there how it snaps on. I had to make the wig larger, so I made some triangular gores to expand it around the crown. On the lower right picture you can see the result of poor planning: I ran out of wefting! She's got a couple of big 'ol bald spots, but you can't see them unless you look.
The wig snaps just behind my ears to the mask elastic. It was impossible to put the wig on myself with my clawed gloves, but my handler was very patient and helpful. Next time I will devise an easier system that I can do on my own. Maybe just sew the sucker on?
Paint: All of the green is Golden Fluid Acrylics mixed with the Golden Airbrushing Medium. Washfastness remains to be seen, but it hasn't rubbed off anywhere yet. I intended to use Jaquard dye-na-flow to paint my bodysuit, but that stuff doesn't adhere to non porous surfaces. I didn't have time to color match some acrylic paint, so I just used the Golden all over. The orange is some Createx mixed to match the orange vinyl. The vinyl is a redder shade of orange than I wanted, so I lightened it up a little. The eyebrows were super fun to paint.
Tail: Not much to say here. Carved foam that I covered in fleece, then spandex. The scales were hot glued on because I was low on time.
The future of this suit: There are a few little repairs to do, like touch up the horn tips and fix the popped sleeve seams. I did not have time to get to her arm or back scales in time for the convention, but I'll have those on eventually. I want to make some matching leggings for her so I can wear skirts and dresses with this suit. No plans for feet, but maybe some toe socks. I think sculpted feet would look very very silly considering how form fitting the suit is. I would also like to resolve the base of the tail. It just kinda flops around hanging off my belt right now. Perhaps belt it underneath my leotard, velcro it to my butt, then make clothing that accommodates for the tail?
Ok, all done. If anybody has any questions about my process, please don't hesitate to ask. I am still new at this, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. Always do your research! I am also open to critique and suggestions for improvement.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 800 x 1149px
File Size 403.2 kB
Listed in Folders
This is so flippin' awesome I am at awe. 8D
Seriously kudos! So much love and hard work went into this suit and it really shows!
I salute you for having to use spandex, it is not an easy material to work with when using it on a suit. ;A; I know cuz I made a robot raptor completely covered in spandex. |'D
Fabulous job hun!
Seriously kudos! So much love and hard work went into this suit and it really shows!
I salute you for having to use spandex, it is not an easy material to work with when using it on a suit. ;A; I know cuz I made a robot raptor completely covered in spandex. |'D
Fabulous job hun!
You're very welcome! ^_^
Lol he's not perfect but I made an account for him here: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/spineraptor/
Yes I love that spandex is so breathable! I'm curious, can you wash your spandex suit or is that a bad idea because of the airbrushing? Do you wear underarmor with it? =o
Lol he's not perfect but I made an account for him here: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/spineraptor/
Yes I love that spandex is so breathable! I'm curious, can you wash your spandex suit or is that a bad idea because of the airbrushing? Do you wear underarmor with it? =o
You know what, it's super embarrassing to admit this but I haven't washed it since the con ;_; I'm going to cross my fingers and gently hand wash it. I don't thiiiiink it will wash out, but I'll figure out another type of paint to use if it does. Nah, I don't wear any under armor.
Also holy guacamole that raptor is flipping awesome. Oh my gosh. O_O
Also holy guacamole that raptor is flipping awesome. Oh my gosh. O_O
That's ok there's nothing to be embarrassed about not washing it, I'll fill you in on somethin', I don't wash my werewolf suit. ^w^; It can't be done, there's just no way except maybe a water/rubbing alcohol mix in a spray bottle. I was wondering because people have asked about washing airbrushed heads and they've said to just spray it with said mixture and wipe it down I believe. I hope whatever you use to clean it will make it be a-ok. TuT
And aw shucks thank you so much! That means a lot really. ;u;
And aw shucks thank you so much! That means a lot really. ;u;
Hey that Mouse's name is Bridgett and she builds under the name "Rabbit in the moon" and I'm absolutely sure she would love to see this herself. Here is her facebook
https://www.facebook.com/rabbitinthemoon?fref=ts
http://vimeo.com/2223163
https://www.facebook.com/rabbitinthemoon?fref=ts
http://vimeo.com/2223163
Oh my gosh, I saw this in the con photos and immiediately fell in love. I always thought about if I ever had a costume made for my character, the typical fursuit just wouldn't work but this... is exactly what I thought about but have never seen it executed. You did an absolutely fabulous job!! I love love love it!
I keep coming back to your gallery to see the progress shots. So inspiring! :D
I could have sworn you used fiberglass for one of the horn molds, though, right? If so, ...what was used for the gel-coat? And would you recommend a two or three part fiberglass mold for a pull-over silicone mask (full head and neck) where as the face is a long, canine face?
I could have sworn you used fiberglass for one of the horn molds, though, right? If so, ...what was used for the gel-coat? And would you recommend a two or three part fiberglass mold for a pull-over silicone mask (full head and neck) where as the face is a long, canine face?
I did use fiberglass for one of my horn molds, yes. I used it to make the jacket mold after making a silicone mold out of Rebound 25. I was still pretty new to fiberglass at the time, so my initial coat was polyester resin thickened with silica microspheres. It worked OK. Not great, just OK. It took forever to set up and wasn't thixotropic, which means it would drip and sag. My last horn mold was jacketed with Plasti-paste. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9184091/ It was expensive and heavy, though :/
Kraken Kritters is doing a lot with fiberglass right now. http://strangercostume.blogspot.co.uk/ They used a mixture of Bondo and polyester resin as a gel coat! Then they filled in undercuts with a mixture of polyester resin and cab-o-sil, which is a silica powder that acts as a thickener. (I've heard you can also use cab-o-sil to thicken up silicone!) They told me they learned about fiberglass from this video: https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/t.....et-rods-cables You can sign up for a 3-day free trial to this website, but honestly I was so smitten by these videos that I got a monthly subscription XD
I don't know how well I can answer your question about mold parts... The biggest mold I made was for my Mirepoix mask, which only covers the face and was a fairly simple shape. I still consider myself a beginner at mold making! Will your sculpt include ears? If it doesn't have ears and is basically a teardrop shape with a neck, you could probably get away with a two-part mold. With ears, you may have to break it down into three parts: left, right, and back. You just have to make sure that you aren't capturing any under cuts.
Kraken Kritters is doing a lot with fiberglass right now. http://strangercostume.blogspot.co.uk/ They used a mixture of Bondo and polyester resin as a gel coat! Then they filled in undercuts with a mixture of polyester resin and cab-o-sil, which is a silica powder that acts as a thickener. (I've heard you can also use cab-o-sil to thicken up silicone!) They told me they learned about fiberglass from this video: https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/t.....et-rods-cables You can sign up for a 3-day free trial to this website, but honestly I was so smitten by these videos that I got a monthly subscription XD
I don't know how well I can answer your question about mold parts... The biggest mold I made was for my Mirepoix mask, which only covers the face and was a fairly simple shape. I still consider myself a beginner at mold making! Will your sculpt include ears? If it doesn't have ears and is basically a teardrop shape with a neck, you could probably get away with a two-part mold. With ears, you may have to break it down into three parts: left, right, and back. You just have to make sure that you aren't capturing any under cuts.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12925725/
^---That is/was the sculpt , long slender face. No ears. I just whipped up little clay ears to showcase it. I molded it in Ultra-cal 30, My issue was the mold locked at the nose, I didn't use release agent (durrr) weeks later and I am still trying to dig the resin nose out...not successful.
I was considering fiberglass as an alternative. I have a Neil Gorton DVD which illustrates the fiberglass method well, but, the material part and mixtures are what it doesn't explain so much, so I'm just asking around/checking out other fiberglassing video and so forth.
Thanks for the links, too! :D I'll have to stalk Kraken's blog, too.
^---That is/was the sculpt , long slender face. No ears. I just whipped up little clay ears to showcase it. I molded it in Ultra-cal 30, My issue was the mold locked at the nose, I didn't use release agent (durrr) weeks later and I am still trying to dig the resin nose out...not successful.
I was considering fiberglass as an alternative. I have a Neil Gorton DVD which illustrates the fiberglass method well, but, the material part and mixtures are what it doesn't explain so much, so I'm just asking around/checking out other fiberglassing video and so forth.
Thanks for the links, too! :D I'll have to stalk Kraken's blog, too.
Wow she's amazing. Are you going to give her legs so you can use shorts with her? I'm trying to make something similar but I'm not sure how to deal with a back spike. Any suggestions? https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/.....2Gardevoir.png
Is there a way I could improve this mask? I'm following this tutorial: http://www.instructables.com/id/Pok.....ardevoir-Mask/
Is there a way I could improve this mask? I'm following this tutorial: http://www.instructables.com/id/Pok.....ardevoir-Mask/
Honestly I haven't touched this project in three years. I hope someday to make more suits in this style, however.
The biggest issue I have with that mask build is they misunderstood what Gardevoir's head is supposed to look like. It's not a ball with spikes sticking straight out, the spikes should sweep backwards and into the hair helmet. https://twitter.com/KazulGFox/statu.....95195519205379 Check out how Kazul approached an EVA foam head. She sculpted a maquette, patterned it, then blew the pattern up to the right size. Find some screencaps of Gardevoir from Sun/Moon to get a better idea of how her head is shaped.
I don't have a lot of experience with EVA foam fabrication. Punished Props has a lot of excellent videos on the subject, so I highly recommend checking them out on Youtube. Also look up RinRin Kigurumi's Iris build to get a good idea of how to approach the eyes.
For the back spike, you could make it out of upholstery foam, cover it in fabric (like spandex or fleece,) and sew it to your costume. That way you can still sit in chairs!
The biggest issue I have with that mask build is they misunderstood what Gardevoir's head is supposed to look like. It's not a ball with spikes sticking straight out, the spikes should sweep backwards and into the hair helmet. https://twitter.com/KazulGFox/statu.....95195519205379 Check out how Kazul approached an EVA foam head. She sculpted a maquette, patterned it, then blew the pattern up to the right size. Find some screencaps of Gardevoir from Sun/Moon to get a better idea of how her head is shaped.
I don't have a lot of experience with EVA foam fabrication. Punished Props has a lot of excellent videos on the subject, so I highly recommend checking them out on Youtube. Also look up RinRin Kigurumi's Iris build to get a good idea of how to approach the eyes.
For the back spike, you could make it out of upholstery foam, cover it in fabric (like spandex or fleece,) and sew it to your costume. That way you can still sit in chairs!
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