#fursuit tutorials

Alright now that we got the basic important stuff outta the way lets get into the heart of the construction of a fursuit!

There's a few different type of bodysuit shapes of fursuits:

Digitgrade: (walking on toes has padding on knees, butt, and hind legs)

Plantigrade: Flat legs no padding just regular plain anthro body

Unguligrade: walking on hooves (which is pretty close to MLP suits)

Once you figure out the "leg style" you like for a fursuit you can plan out the rest. I'd say any combination works well but you will need to space out enough room for feet/hand hooves.

Matrices.net is also a GREAT resource for fursuit making info and maintenance. Which i got most of the info from for this blog.

Getting your patterns together:

Getting your patterns together: I found several ways to go about making fursuit patterns even for ponies some have not known about.

In this case the following measurements are important:

Neck to knee: (So you know where the digi knee padding goes and help size the leg pattern)

neck to inseam:

neck to floor:

waist:

hips:

Foot size:

shoulder to finger tip: (possibly add a few inches so the hand hooves are comfortable)

MugiwaraCosplay on Etsy sells a digitgrade bodysuit pattern in PDF format! So if you got photoshop skills. you can resize the body to your measurements using the rulers and stretching it out and using the markings to line up the pieces.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/695122557/digital-digitigrade-bodysuit-pattern-for

So your pattern pieces should look more like this:

Duct Tape Dummy: Requires also a painters suit from the hardware store, a big roll of duct tape, and paper towel, and scissors. Its a 2 person job so you will need help from a friend. Use paper towels on the armpits and on the ankles as well. Basically you need to cut many pieces of duct tape to the painters suit and be sure to not tape up the zipper of the suit in case you need to take a break.

The tutorial for a bodysuit from matrices.net suggests using an animal costume here and pinning it to a test pattern so it matches up to your measurements. then for digi padding you would tape foam to your knees and lower back legs.

Digitgrade padding: The pillow inserts for the digi padding will look like this. And you can use spandex and velcro to set up the pockets

Zipper:

Sourced from: https://www.deviantart.com/voodoo-tiki/art/Pony-Mane-and-Tail-Tutorial-422375776 they also go way more in depth for the more complex mane and tail design

Pony Mane's and tails for fursuits tutorial: So far the only somewhat related info i could gather on mane's and tails would be for plushies, but i think we would still use examples from that since i think it definitely still applies. Just like this pic above you can draft out your heads mane patterns on paper and you can figure out how long you want the mane in front making sure its not going over your eyes too much so it won't block vision in suit. Also its important the fur is going the right grain direction when you cut it so it looks good when brushed.

If you want you can also photoshop and stretch out plush patterns from here like i did for my fursuit:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/250882437/diy-pony-plush-manetail-sewing-pattern

Once you got your Mane patterns figured out you can sew together the fur fabric pieces and hot glue gun them to the head

For Tails: Cut out 2 small holes in the back of suit for belt loops to feed through.

Here's a visual example: Measure from your tail bone to about a few inches above your ankles. As the Maximum you should make your tail length. The arrow pointing down means you should make sure the fur is going that direction as well. Draft out what you want the tail to look like on paper as well sizing it up like so.

Sew together your 2 pieces of fur fabric of your tail (or more if you have multiple colors). Leaving a spot in the back of the tail and on the top open so you can stuff it.

After you are done stuffing the tail. You'll need to cut out 2 pieces of nylon webbing (the material you find often on backpack or messenger bag straps) for your belt loops. And you can just sew up the top and then hot glue gun or hand sew the tail closed in back.

Starting with the Hand hooves:

To get the right measurements to draw the circles on foam. You'll need to measure the circumferences of the hoof sleeves and leg bottoms. For example my arm sleeve circumference on my new dashy bodysuit is 29.5 in.

How do I find the radius from the circumference?

https://www.piday.org/calculators/circumference-calculator/ This site here can calculate it quickly.

To find the radius from the circumference of a circle, you have to do the following: Divide the circumference by π, or 3.14 for an estimation. The result is the circle's diameter. So therefore the diameter is 9.39 in.

Cut out a piece of 1" foam that is 29.5 inches long (it may be different on your suit). And I made it a height of 6" but that's up to you how tall you want your hand hooves to be.

My original maker used 2" foam on the inside but i think if you trace out a 1" foam piece on the bottom it would sit nice and flat.

Hot glue gun the foam pieces together.

cut out a piece of fur using the circle pattern piece. and hot glue that on the hooves.

Feet Hooves:

Same thing as the hand hooves you would need to measure the circumference of your leg bottoms to get your diameter and draw out your circle. It would be a circle drawn around your shoe.

Cut out a piece of floor mat foam. (Usually sold as big puzzle piece shaped foam at walmart.) and a piece of 1" or 1/2" foam.

Using duct tape around both pieces of foam and over the front and back of the shoes.

Fursuit heads:

1. The popular pony styled head: (see derpy head pic as example): you might want fans for this head since the ventilation isn't the best because of the closed mouth. You'll need camping mat material and duct tape, plus glue gun to piece it together. The pattern here is free and easy to assemble. Cut out the pattern pieces on the camping mat. Hot glue them together.

2. Next you'll need the nose bridge piece taped down on the inside. Push it down into the nose bridge to make the nose shape, taping it down and that should complete the base.

3. Next, you'll need to make the head fit more firmly to your head. So I used 2" foam on the top and sides, carving it so it fits the shape of the head and glues in there. Using elastic straps to secure the head to my neck so it doesn't wobble around.

Other Fursuit head methods:

1. Fuzzbuttstudios.com has 3D printed head models with movable jaws. $130 and free shipping. There's options for adding a horn, buckram and eyes. They also can size it to your head.

2. Buckethead fursuit head method:

The more common with furry fursuits. A styrofoam mannequin head is required for this. You would also need the circumference of your head around the nose and jawline. And the measurement for your head height. Cut out 1" foam to those measurements. Then you'd need to cut out the mouth and eyes. Glue that piece to the balaclava base. And 1/2" foam on the top of the head. 2 pieces of 1 inch foam for the cheeks and carve it with scissors. And 2 Inch foam for the nose piece carved. And 1 inch foam for jaw piece.

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