Getting started

[Sudan Red]

Long term project is to construct a fursuit head myself basically to give me a creative outlet & to make something fun that I won't be too "holy" about using. No real deadline, no real concrete ideas.

SOOOOO my question is this - I want to set up a work station for all my arts & crafts things. What would you guys who already have some experience in building populate this work station with? I have an old 6foot steel table that will likely be used as the base, but I was thinking of getting a 2nd hand dining table in future.

No item is too insignificant to list! GO!

[DRSgrievous]

Well, I hope you the best my fellow furr, being creative and using you're tallents are a excellent idea, I wish you the best and please do enjoy your self

[Galahad]

Leeward and YoteFox may be best suited to answer your questions.

[Cape_F0X]

Leeward and YoteFox may be best suited to answer your questions.

Good one!

[Sudan Red]

Oi with the puns... XD

[Leeward]

When it comes to workshop layout I'm not the best one to ask, but I can give a nice list of tools you will need. Let me give it some thought and type it out on my PC, my phone is a bitch to write with.

[Leeward]

All right, keyboard at the ready.

For fursuit making, the tools I use the most:

• Hot glue gun (with a switch and built-in stand, unless you hate yourself)
• Big and small pairs of sturdy rubber-grip craft scissors
• Retractable craft knife (aka Stanley knife)
• Electric carving knife (for foam)
• Sewing stuff
  • Heavy duty thread
  • Thread scissors
  • Curved needles (yes, curved, works like magic)
  • Sewing pins (like a bazillion of them, with big heads so you don't lose them in the fur, ouch!)
  • Fabric marker (alternatively, a permanent marker also works)

Materials you will almost certainly need:

• Faux fur of your choice (duh)
• Upholstery foam (hardware warehouse, re-upholstery service, or just sacrifice a foam-filled object)
• Gutter guard mesh (gardening shops stock this)
• Non-stretch semitransparent fabric (buckram is ideal, but alternatives also work)
• Depending on your needs: plastic bowl for eye socket, moulding clay for nose, various paints and lacquers

I won't go into the woodwork stuff because I assume you're not a masochist like me who makes biomechanically realistic digitigrade stilts just for shits and giggles.

If you need any more info or recommendations, just give me a shout.

[Sudan Red]

Gosh Lee - you are an ANGEL! That is a good comprehensive list - some items I have around already so WINNNN.

I'm also looking at a bunch of tutorials about construction/shaping. What method do you use? I'm guessing foam construction, but on a balaclava, straight foam or understructure (eg mesh frame)?

And you are absolutely insane on the stilts! ...but it must look freaking awesome! Do you have pics of your projects anywhere?

[Leeward]

Hell yeah I do! Right here.

I used a mesh frame as a base for the head because I hate the feeling of cheap synthetic fabric on my skin, so a balaclava would drive me insane. As for foam carving, that really depends on your character. A feline will have a much shorter muzzle than a canine, for example. I suggest perusing YouTube for walkthroughs and such, there are some really good ones out there already.

[YoteFox]

All right, keyboard at the ready.

For fursuit making, the tools I use the most:

• Hot glue gun (with a switch and built-in stand, unless you hate yourself)
• Big and small pairs of sturdy rubber-grip craft scissors
• Retractable craft knife (aka Stanley knife)
• Electric carving knife (for foam)
• Sewing stuff
  • Heavy duty thread
  • Thread scissors
  • Curved needles (yes, curved, works like magic)
  • Sewing pins (like a bazillion of them, with big heads so you don't lose them in the fur, ouch!)
  • Fabric marker (alternatively, a permanent marker also works)

Materials you will almost certainly need:

• Faux fur of your choice (duh)
• Upholstery foam (hardware warehouse, re-upholstery service, or just sacrifice a foam-filled object)
• Gutter guard mesh (gardening shops stock this)
• Non-stretch semitransparent fabric (buckram is ideal, but alternatives also work)
• Depending on your needs: plastic bowl for eye socket, moulding clay for nose, various paints and lacquers

I won't go into the woodwork stuff because I assume you're not a masochist like me who makes biomechanically realistic digitigrade stilts just for shits and giggles.

If you need any more info or recommendations, just give me a shout.

Leeward pretty much covered the most, just don't forget the sewing machine ^.^
I personally use a foam base or foam bucket head, I used the mesh base with my first head and it works well but what I have found is that the foam bucket head is much lighter and puts no strain on the neck as opposed to my first mesh based head. I also find the foam bucket head to be easier to work with once you have a good comprehension of what you can do with foam.

As far as a workshop or studio setup goes, the most important aspect is to give yourself enough space to do what you want to do and to make sure no one upsets your balance of how stuff are set out in the workshop.
Large table is of essence! Drawers and compartments and containers millions of them places to put away tools where it would make sense to put them away. Also for the raw materials a safe place to store them so they don't get damaged or lost ^.^

For the smaller work on the fursuits in general make sure you have a drawer for WIP storage. For incase you may need to suddenly leave(Which happens quite often to me) you can store away the WIP items and then return to them later.

I have a small container of all the things I use in conjunction with my sewing machine, thread, needles, extra machine needles, service kit for the machine, accessories for the machine.

Dustbin is so important, a studio/workshop gets filthy so damn fast you won't believe.

Also a few stuff I found essential for the workshop
-Pens
-Paper
-Tape
-Permanent markers
-Chalk for marking black or darker material
Allot of times when I have to do custom patterns I use basic stationary to make them

I also have a large pinboard in my workshop to pin up ref sheets of commissions.

Also for the retractable craft knife I have found that the Stanley Fatmax works very well for cutting fur, DO NOT CUT FUR WITH A SCISSOR!!! Use the stanley fatmax since the blade is sharp enough to cut the backing of fur without cutting the fibres of the fur

Also remember to get yourself a decent pair of clippers, trimmed fur looks amazing on the finished product and it just rounds it off so much better.

So for making the Foam bucket fursuit head
-Faux fur
-Upholstery foam(Specifically upholstery foam), I use 2 sheets a thicker sheet +- 3cm thick for the general head and 1cm thick for the ears, to give 'em a floppy look
-Glue for the glue gun(One pack of 50 sticks) should do, I think it is 50 sticks, I generally pay around R80-R90 for a pack and one pack lasts me one head.
-Lycra for the inner lining so the foam doesn't agitate you and it helps for cooling a bit
-Foam paper and white plastic or cardboard for the eyes
-Buckram for the Iris

Also a bit of a trick to use when furring up the head, when you remove the duct tape patterns tape them to a piece of paper, that way you can make them flat and get the shape just right.

Be prepared to clean and clean and clean and clean... Fur gets messy.
Glue gets messy as a note of safety please be careful when working with a glue gun, it gets very hot and you can give yourself very bad burns if you are careless.
Remember safety is your number one concern! Crafting knives are sharp, boxcutter knives are also very sharp. I have cut myself so many times trying to get that perfect shape, if you use 5 fingers you will cut five fingers haha.

Crafting advice, take breaks when you feel frustrated or annoyed with the shape or how it's looking, it's always good to put it down and return later. Also comparing it in the mirror or on your cellphone front camera really gives another view of the head.
Remember making a fursuit head is basically trial and error, you try something it doesn't work you change it.

Also get ready for extreme hand cramps if you are not use to carving foam with scissors.
That's about what I can think about right now, if there is anything you are unsure of feel free to PM me ^.^ I love helping out!!

[Sudan Red]

Really valuable & practical info - thanks bunches!!!

I actually wanted the table as a permanent place for my sewing machine so I didn't have to drag it from the bottom of a cupboard each time. Then it kind of evolved into an idea for a craft work station that I "wouldn't have to pack up" (as you mention too).

My next concern is where to get fur & what fur to get. I am planning a Rottweiler character, so that will be very short fur anyway. Do I need to buy long(er) fur & shave it down, or can I get away with teddy fur? Habby Hyper locally has only a very limited selection of fur/velvet available - so perhaps right length of fur but wrong colour or perfect colour/length but ridiculous price.

[Leeward]

Leeward pretty much covered the most, just don't forget the sewing machine ^.^

I personally prefer hand stitching, it allows for using thicker thread and more precise matching up of the edges without catching any stray fur fibres. It takes for-friggin-ever though.

I personally use a foam base or foam bucket head, I used the mesh base with my first head and it works well but what I have found is that the foam bucket head is much lighter and puts no strain on the neck as opposed to my first mesh based head. I also find the foam bucket head to be easier to work with once you have a good comprehension of what you can do with foam.

Now that you mention it, that does look like a much better method.

Dustbin is so important, a studio/workshop gets filthy so damn fast you won't believe.

Indeed, especially when scissor-carving details in the foam, you end up with literal foam snow all over your workspace.

Also for the retractable craft knife I have found that the Stanley Fatmax works very well for cutting fur, DO NOT CUT FUR WITH A SCISSOR!!! Use the stanley fatmax since the blade is sharp enough to cut the backing of fur without cutting the fibres of the fur

Yes, I forgot to mention this. I cringed when I saw the fabric shop employee struggle to cut my length of fur off the roll with a huge-ass pair of scissors. Flip it over and stroke the backing with a sharp blade, much easier and cleaner.

Also remember to get yourself a decent pair of clippers, trimmed fur looks amazing on the finished product and it just rounds it off so much better.

A beard trimmer works well for this, especially the wireless kind.

Also a bit of a trick to use when furring up the head, when you remove the duct tape patterns tape them to a piece of paper, that way you can make them flat and get the shape just right.

This also allows for re-use if you ever need to re-fur your head.

Also get ready for extreme hand cramps if you are not use to carving foam with scissors.

And a massive blister on your thumb knuckle. Do yourself a favour and put a plaster on it beforehand.

[YoteFox]

Leeward pretty much covered the most, just don't forget the sewing machine ^.^

I personally prefer hand stitching, it allows for using thicker thread and more precise matching up of the edges without catching any stray fur fibres. It takes for-friggin-ever though.

I use to also prefer hand stitching, then I started to use pins and precise patterns and the issue of precision on matching up two pieces went away. Also I stop and go the whole time to poke the fur back in. Using the machine cuts time in half and gets a much stronger tighter stitch ^.^
Just my preference though, everyone's preference is different