(Sorry in advance for the wall of text below)

So my friend gave me this head to refurb so it could be a “community fursuit” for when our Agents of Mirth group does charity events. That way, someone without a suit can have one, entertain, and have fun for the event.

When I broke this bad boy open, whoo boy… First off, it’s supposed to be a bear. The face is extremely lop-sided when put on, the inside isn’t lined, the right eye fell right out, the mouth was glued together, around the eyes were patches of glued-on felt, there were holes in the corners of both eyes, the eyebrows are more like tiny shelves over the eyes, whatever kind of glue they used in some parts is still gooey/sticky. On the inside, the head sat way too high (can’t see out of the eyes, instead your eyes are at mouth-level), has little breathe-ability and a funky smell.

But what made me mad and really criticize the work is that there were PINS LEFT IN THE HEAD! 2 big ass pins I pulled out while dismantling the thing. Everything else I could forgive and brush it off to maybe the maker was new, and everybody makes mistakes. But pins being left in the head is inexcusable. NEVER leave pins in your works, especially if you sell them! Keep track of your pins for real though. It’ll be a bad day for you if a commissioner buys a suit and gets stuck by a pin left in it.

Look, I don’t like to tell anyone their work is bad. And in truth, it wasn’t terrible. It had flaws, but I’ve seen much worse. The pin thing just makes me mad.
I don’t know who the maker of this head was, but my advice to them:

You’re off to a decent start, but you need to work on a few areas before selling suits or taking commissions. I’d suggest focusing on symmetry for sure. Get yourself a realistically sized head-dummy to work off of when you can, and please use some kind of liner for future works. Get a feel for where eye-level is inside a fursuit head. I know most animal foreheads are shorter than humans and the eyes sit higher, but you have to take human shaping into account. There’s a larger forehead to account for and eyes are lower. Carve out enough room for airflow around the mouth and nose, as airflow is maaaajorly important in these costumes. Be sure to close off holes around the mouth and eyes. If it can be sewn, sew it. Sewing is a much better alternative to gluing everything together: looks better, feels better, and is more durable over time. Tutorials are your friend, even if it’s something you’ve done before, look at as many as you can. :) I’d work on the eyes as well. The irises in this suit were very oval, and the eyes were flat-plastic that popped out and made them look a bit awkward. Set the eyes further back, curve your plastic (or use completely buckram), and round out the irises and pupils. You and your clients will be much happier with it. And lastly, don’t leave pins. Go back over your seams for a pin-check, or even use a magnet to find any strays. Leaving pins in a suit is one of the worst things you can do with these things and could come back to bite you pretty hard.
But I have good points for you too! Firstly, the shaving job was done pretty well, which is a hard point for a lot of makers, especially on the newer side. The eyes were well-painted: even gradient, and no gooped-up spots in the buckram, evenly sized pupils. :3 The teeth and tongue were cute, and I like the nose size. The overall shape is pretty good, just lopsided, but that can be fixed over time with practice. I think you've got a great start for fursuit making, and in time you could be a really great maker! :D Keep at it, push yourself to improve. Don't settle for "good enough", settle only for you best.

My intention is not to be harsh or hurt any feelings, but rather to point out what needs improving. In fact, I would love to give any help or tips to the artist if they so desired! :D When I first started out making suits, they were a LOT like this guy here, but even worse. I had major problems that I could easily shred today. But this is how we learn and grow as artists. I personally would love to see this artist improve and move up the ranks of high-quality fursuit makers. c: They definitely have potential.

So to sum it up, points to work on:
- symmetry
- eyesight
- breathe-ability
- sewing rather than gluing
- checking your work for holes
- work on the eyes
- thoroughly check for stray pins


So this here will be my weekend project for a while between commissions, since I take weekends for personal work/to relax.