10.0 - Head Personalizing
===========================
Costume shop
Depending on how well-stocked your costume shop is, you may be able to
get teeth, claws, and others of varying qualities.
Taxidermy Supply - See section 99.12.
10.1 - Eyes
=========
Graphical examples of eyes.
From: Yippee
What I've done for eyes typically involves pieces of curved plastic.
Sterilite makes a set of 4 plastic bowls that are soft, softer than
tupperware, and they can be cut with scissors, if you're careful enough.
I'd seen these sold at like Target in a set of 4 stacked bowls with lids.
To make sure they're the right ones, you should be able to push in the
side of one pretty easily. They're white and have the right curvature.
There's a section taken out and covered from behind with black pantyhose
so I can see.
I'd also seen people use similar plastic products but the pieces were flat. A way you could likely test such a plastic in a store is to try bending it with your finger. The right plastic will bend fairly easily and return to shape.
Example of bowls used in eyes, found at Target - http://www.sterilite.com/Category.html?Section=Kitchenware&ProductCategory=71
(Maintainer's note: The above eyes are stock number 747 with blue covers. There is also stock number 752 with white covers. Both are the same thing.)
From: LatinVixen
As for eyes there are many ways to make them but I recomend yippee's
idea of the plastic bowls they work great. I have another way of doing
them and they are pretty easy too. I bought some plastic at home depot,
the kind they use to cover lights in class rooms, the long lights on the
ceiling. It is a white plastic that can be cut with scisors as well and it
comes in like 5 feet and its way cheap, so you can do eyes gallore. As for
the pupil I use mesh, this type of white fabric mesh I found and hancock
fabrics, it has lil holes and no one can see inside but great to see out
of. I paint it black so it looks like a pupil and add the sun spot. I
really dont know what the name of that mesh stuff is, but its bendable
and usually with the bridal stuff ;). Also you can use metalic canvas
found at michaels, bendable too and small holes so u can see out of and
paint on it and it doesnt look bad at all, I used that on my wolf costume.
Perro's tutorial on simple eye construction -
http://perromutt.com/simple_eye_construction.htm
Example of recessed eyes - http://www.purplewolf.org/eyes.html
Various methods of eyes by Growly - http://homepage.mac.com/growly/fursuiteyes.html
Chiffon and pantyhose if used right can be used to see out, but others can't see in. It's breathable.
If you can find plastic lens blanks, try using those with automotive tinting or colored tapes. You may be able to get them from eye doctors or surplus stores.
From: Nora
Just throwing in my two-cents worth on eyes. We did Tabbe and Fatima's
eyes so we could see through them. They were pieces of buckram (a
millinery supply) colored with permanent markers. I did the drawing
of the eyes including highlights and multicolored irises since I have
more of an art background. Also I blacked the inside of the buckram to
reduce glare. The eyes were sewn to the wire armature of the heads from
the inside. They're very easy to see through and others can't see in.
Works very well for comic or cartoon type characters.
From: TopFox
Shawn and I usually use white plastic bowls for the eyes. Gives a
shiny look and are somewhat curved for proper shape. Pupil can be
plain old screen gotten anyplace. Just remember, you must use some
form of black masking behind the screen. Black panty hose works fine.
Otherwise folks will be able to see 'you' inside the head.
From: Ron Orr
>"Hi! I'm making a mascot-style head," he says snipping away at the object
>looking suspeciously like a rabbit head sans ears, "and I was wondering
>about eyes. I have some ideas of my own, but I wanted to hear from the
>rest of the list. What material would be good for the whites of the
>mascot's eyes? What screen-like material would be good for the pupils
>(so that my player can see out the eye-holes with reasonable clarity)?"
I have (_very_ experimentally) tried 24-count needlepoint canvas. Painted black on the inside, I could see thru it moderately well as long as it was fairly close to my face.
From: Dondi Meerkat
> What do you consider the best thing to use for eyes? I have a couple
I make my own eyes, and they look great, almost taxidermist quality.
I sculpt the shape of the eye out of plastilina and I make sure to include a bulge to create the cornea. I then make a negative of the eye in ultracal 30, when dry I remove the plastilina and brush in a thin layer of clear casting resin (and catalyst), and allow it to harden, once dry, i paint in the pupil (in my case in feline shape) and then paint in the desired eye colours in translucent acrylics. once they are dry I fill in the rest of the mold with resin and allow it to harden, when done I pop out the eye and wash it with dishsoap and polish it with future floor wax, this is important as I have not found any other brand makes my eye look like it has cataracts, finally I use oil (castors, olive, baby) to bring the eye to life.
From: Steve Swope
> Thanks for the suggestions on how to tint glass and still have it remain
> transparent... One thing I'm wondering though is what I could use if I
> wanted to make a costume with something like beady round mouse eyes (or
> specifically... beady round opossum eyes). I'd need to start out with
> something spherical, hollow, and transparent... Any suggestions?
Go to your favorite craft supply store and get some of those hollow clear ornament shells that are intended to have cutesy little holiday things put inside them and then be hung on trees. They are also available in egg-like shapes. When I was building the Ultraman and Baltan for Winnipeg, I used a round set for the Baltan's eyes, and sections of an egg-shaped set for Ultraman's. (Of course, I was painting them to be translucent and backlighting them, but I could have left them clear had I wanted to).
As for coloring, Rit dye will stain the plastic. You have to be careful, though-- If you leave it in a hot dye bath for too long, the plastic will warp. I haven't tried a cold dye bath.
The best part about these is that they are fairly inexpensive; you can easily afford to get several sets and experiment with tinting, painting, and other coloration tactics. You might want to get several sets of the smallest size (and therefore cheapest) globes, do a run of various dyes, paints, etc., then do a properly sized set "for real" once you've found an effect you like.
From: Tippus Tailus
Never use a metal grille for the viewports of a fursuit head. Under
flash photography, a picture may be recorded which inadvertantly
reveals the fursuiter inside. This is vastly ineffective. A plastic
grille is an improvement. However, for best results, use synthetic
filter foam. It is available in black and is *diffuse*. Unfortunately,
being a sparse material it is hard to cut into sheets thinner than 1/2
inch. At this thickness, the sheeting reduces light by about 50%.
Thicker sheeting means less light, which could be a problem indoors.
Anti-Fog methods/materials
1. rub a bar of ivory soap on lenses then buff til clear
2. or use white unscented candle as above
3. or can use a windshield product called Raine-X
4. or SCUBA divers anti-fogging products
5. or anti-fogging products for glasses
All tried and true methods tested by a raccoon friend Daren Bost.
You can head to Walmart and look for window tinting in the automotive
department. Get the charcoal grey color, 35%. It comes in strips.
If you want to have your eyes light up when someone shines a light on them or uses flash photography, use reflective tape for the 'whites' of the eyes.
Splatter screen, regular screen door mesh, and 7 mesh plastic canvas if used alone will let others see 'you' behind the head's eyes if someone uses flash photography. Use something like black pantyhose behind it to keep that from happening.
Other design ideas
- backlit eyes
- clip-on sunglasses
- reflective tape
- oversize sunglasses
10.2 - Ears (on fursuit and human heads)
==============================
From: James Firmiss
Subject: Simple Ear Trick
This is really an e-mail segment commenting about a new costume I saw but it seemed relevant enough to post here... (especially for beginners)
One simple trick I learned for making ears a bit more realistic (even quickly made ones) is to make the base of the ears 'too wide' and the fold the base over itself .. Something like this:
____ ____
/ \ / \
| | | | The outer 'flap' should be on the
| | --> |\ /| side closest to the center of your
| | \ \/ / head. This would thus be a left ear.
|____| \_\/
This gives the ear a more 3-dimensional shape and is useful for a large variety of animal ears. Simple but effective.
I like to try to make the base of such ears 'triangular'. A top view would be something like this:
Top view of JUST the base of the ear.
/\
/ \ -- This bend helps keep the curvature of the inner
/ \ ear 'inward'.
/ _____|
'------- -- Overlapped material
I hope people can understand my limited ASCII graphics :-(
10.2.1 - Ears on fursuit heads
==============================
From: Adam Riggs/Nicodemus
Subject: Suggestion for Kerwin's Ear Dilemma
Kerwin "The Too Long Eared" Rabbitroo-
You mentioned problems supporting the ears on the head; the problem, it seems, stems from the fact that they must be detachable (a reasonable and practical requirement, I think). From your description, I picture the wire running through the ear in a "U" shape, with two ends protruding from the base of the ear.
Perhaps if you bent the bottom of those wires perpendicularly outwards and added a second piece of wire horizontally, you could form something resembling a chicken foot. Here's a (very) crude ASCII diagram:
##
#__#
#/##\#
#|##|# } Wire loops through ear
#|##|#
#|##|#
| |
_\| |/_ } Bent into "chicken feet" at base of support wire.
/ \ }
If you have three wires forming the horizontal surface (the "foot"), you would probably have better support. These wires could be inserted either between the fur layer and the foam (in which case, be sure to put some glue dots between the "toes" to add strength and stability) or into a horizontal cut in the foam.
To insert the ear, you can squeeze the wires together a bit, like a hand exerciser. If your wire is fairly high guage, it'll have pretty good shape memory, and should return to almost the original shape when you let go. A little pressure outwards on the wires could ensure the proper shape.
So, installed in a foam layer, the cutaway might be:
etc.
#|##|# } Ear
#|##|#
__________##|##|##________ } Fur layer
%%%%%%%%%%% | | %%%%%%%%%
%%%%%%% ====/ \==== %%%%% } Wire "feet" in horizontal foam cut
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% } Foam of internal head structure
etc.
Sorry for the bad graphics... I hope you get the general idea of what I'm suggesting (and if you do, it's likely it wasn't from the graphics :).
10.2.2 - Ears on human heads
==============================
Ears on a headband - http://sewing.about.com/library/weekly/aa092100a.htm
Cat and mouse ears - http://sewing.about.com/library/weekly/aa092100e.htm
Bunny ears - http://sewing.about.com/library/weekly/aa092100c.htm
Dog ears - http://sewing.about.com/library/weekly/aa092100d.htm
- hairclips
- barettes
10.3 - Teeth
============
Gallery of open-mouthed animals, great for teeth models? -
http://www.animalyawns.com
Mirror site of the above - http://www.gapingmaws.com
From: Spiked Punch, replying to Luis Antunez:
> Well, I at least know that teeth for snouts of costumes have been made
> from at least ceramic or dental acrylic, but that's about all I know there...
Sculpy, foam, rubber, plastic, felt, and using those "teeth necklaces" from a costume store are a few sources for making teeth.
From: John D. Autore
>Well, I at least know that teeth for snouts of costumes have been made
>from at least ceramic or dental acrylic, but that's about all I know there...
>
>... so would anyone be able to describe the method of creating teeth for
>the snouts of costumes and wouldn't mind having the answer placed on the
>FAQ? Materials, location of materials, preparation method?
With things that are available these days there really is no need to make teeth, unless you want custom ones like vampire fangs that my dental lab friend (Fangmasters, Phoenix, AZ) makes to fit in one's real human mouth.
I get my teeth, jaws, tongues, and eyeballs from Jonas Supply Company, a taxidermy supply place. Call them. They have a great free 200 page catalog of these items for all sizes to make your own real stuffed animal (That's my problem...no free time to make any new costumes with what I have already bought from them.) They also have foam bodies for the animal hides. I bought a standing raccoon and a standing ferret body so I could create own fantasy/sit on your shoulder animal in some exotic color and fur, but no time again. So call for a catalog, and you may also find a snarly mouth & wavy red tongue in your mailbox like I did.
10.4 - Tongue
=============
From: Tippus Tailus
Use a piece of red stretch fabric. Stuff it like a tail. Sew the seam
to the floor of the mouth. Additionally, the middle can be sewn to
flatten the tongue. However, unless the character has a very oversized
tongue, the feature can be omitted entirely. Consider the case where
the view from the fursuit head is through the mouth. It is preferable
to have the inside of the mouth completely black. Furthermore, if a
fursuiter is looking through the mouth then the top of the head is
likely to be seven foot high. Not being able to see a tongue is
consistant with a person of this stature. It doesn't matter that it
should be possible to see a tongue. It maintains an illusion consistant
with having a fursuit head.
10.5 - Lips
=========
From: Tippus Tailus
Use replacement car door seal. This is black and is therefore
especially suitable as canine lips. Alternatively, use strips of
leather. However, lips are usually omitted. The reason for this is
simple. Assume that fur near a mouth lays downward, like a moustashe.
The top lip will be partially covered with fur. If it is fully covered
then it can be safely omitted. If it is partially covered, a more
floofy coat can be simulated by a lack of top lip. Having only a bottom
lip would look odd and so this is also omitted.
So, it is easy to create fursuit lips. However, having fursuit lips is uncommon. Not having fursuit lips gives the impression of a more luxurious pelt. Having two upper fangs is sufficient detail inside a fursuit mouth.
10.6 * Whiskers
=============
From: Matt Brady/Mouse
>Ben Camacho (sp?) told me his technique for making whiskers:
>Buy a bunch of cheap kiddy paint brushes with black styrene (?) handles.
>Heat the center of the brush (over flame?) until you can stretch it out.
>Remove from heat and stretch until the whisker is thin/long enough.
>The resulting whisker is stiff and light.
To reiterate, every professional costume that I've seen with whiskers were of a plastic material similar to weed wacker line. For safety & durability, I strongly recommend this material. They'll not break (easily) nor will they poke out the eye of any humans who may get in the way of your muzzle.
- broom bristles
- supplies from a Native American store
10.7 - Noses
============
Graphical pattern detailing how to do a nose
From LatinVixen and Ryngs, on using
tooldip/plastidip on noses;
I found two online (though you can find it at Home Depot or Lowes):
http://www.plastidip.com/consumer/products.html
http://www.homaxproducts.com/catalog/rubberizeit.html
Colors: blue, red, yellow, green, black, white, and clear
Price: about $7-8 for a 14.5oz can.
Apparently, it's VERY easy to do:
1. Cut out foam to size/shape of nose/beak
2. OPEN WINDOWS, good ventilation for this stuff
3. Poor some dip into cheap plastic tupperware cup
4. Dip foam into liquid (or spray it on foam), let dry right side up.
(you can attach a piece of string/fishing wire to bottom for easy pull out
of the liquid)
5. Continue dipping/spraying until look/thickness is what you want (5 or 6 layers)
6. Attach to costume head
You might be able mix these to get different shades/colors, but if you get the correct type of spray paint, you can easily spray the black or white tool dipped nose any color you want.
10.8 - Muzzles/Snouts/Beaks
========================
10.9 - Feathers and scales
=====================
Sources for feathers - See section 99.11.
From: Tephra Adularia:
Now for how to do scales, this is an idea that has been done for
dresses actually. It involves knitting with spangles and is by far
easier to do if you own a knitting machine. If you cut your own scales
out of a semi rigid material you can make any scale shape and color you
want, however your scales can't get much smaller than about 1/4 inch
square *visible area* so it's not of much use on fingers and other
relatively thin areas. The scales are only anchored at one point so they
will flip up if brushed the wrong way.
For a suit with this technique you'll need to knit the pieces of the pattern and then sew them together for best effect. The scales only run one way so you'll need to work out from the neck, not just down from it, so no seam lays on the top of the shoulder but instead runs from neck to under arm. Sewn carefully the scales will cover the seam, if necessary additional scales can be sewn in by hand to fill in spots along seams.
To make the scaled fabric you'll need to know how to make a stockinette knit fabric (knit one row, purl one row) or get a knitting machine like The Incredible Sweater Machine (which Walmart was getting rid of some time ago). The scales are attached to the 'wrong' side of the stockinette fabric (the purl side) with the smooth (knit) side left next to your skin when finished.
Knit a swatch with the yarn you plan to use for your scale fabric, if hand knitting use a US size 6 needle (sorry, I don't know the metric for that off the top of my head), or a size that will leave you with a fabric that is not too loose but not stiflingly thick, you want it have some holes when you stretch it tight but not when the fabric is relaxed. For yarn a cotton fingering weight is probably best, the knitting itself will add stretch so having a stretchy yarn is not necessary, choose something smooth and comfortable for you to have against your skin. The lighter fingering weight will make the suit cooler than using a worsted weight. For best effect match the yarn color to the scale color or go slightly darker on the yarn.
For scales you'll need some spangles, which are like big sequins with off center holes. You'll need a hole about the size made by a standard paper punch placed close to the edge of the scale. Any semi rigid material will work for this, plastic, cereal box cardboard, thicker leathers, etc. You'll want it to be opaque (or highly prismatic and reflective) though, to hide the knitting under them.
Now take your swatch and pin it out wrong (rough, purl) side up and stretched slightly, like it will be when you wear the suit. Using a bunch of your scales, lay them out with the holes on the ridges of the fabric. The loops in the ridges that look like U's are the ones that will have scales when you knit the fabric. Play around with them until you get a pattern you like laid out in the center of your swatch. With a marker (or nail polish if you have a dark yarn) carefully dot inside the holes of the top row of scales then remove them carefully, dot inside the holes of the next row and continue until you have all the scales off the fabric. Now you need to count the stitches between the dots on each row and average them, you might have something like 2 stitches between each dot. Next count the rows between each row with dots and average that, you might have something like 3 rows. Note down the pattern of the scales, how much is the second row offset from the first? Is the third the same as the first or is it just offset from the second? Is the fourth the same as the second? The first? Offset from the third? You want to find out how many rows make up the pattern.
A typical pattern might look like this:
*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*
-----------------------------
--*---*---*---*---*---*---*--
-----------------------------
*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*
Where the * are the dots for the scales and the - are the loops of the ridges of the fabric. In this case your first row of scales is knitted "scale, 3 plain stitches" across and ends with a scale. Then a plain row is knitted and the third row is "2 stitches, scale, one stitch" across. A final plain row completes the pattern and you start the pattern over again at row one.
Now you can start actually making the fabric. I'm going to try to cover both hand knitting and machine knitting here though it's been years since I hand knit anything. You will be knitting your pieces from the bottom edge up.
Cast on the required number of stitches for your piece and work one row for a seam allowance, then one or two plain rows so you end up ready to work a row on the purlside (ridged) of the fabric. Now you start your scale pattern, for machine knitters take and place a scale on the hooks of your machine for each stitch that needs a scale and push the scale past the latch of the needle now slowly bring your shuttle across to knit the row, be careful not to pop the scales off. Hand knitters place a scale on the point of your working needle, work the stitch as normal, pulling the yarn through the stitch on the stationary needle and through the hole of the scale to make your stitch. Continue knitting in the pattern of your scales making decreases and increases as necessary to shape your fabric to your suit pattern. Always keep at least 2 stitches between your last scale and the edge of the fabric so you can sew the pieces together.
After you have completed all your pieces sew them together. When possible use weaving to join pieces end to end and a ladder stitch to join them side by side since these seaming methods make for invisible (weaving) or barely noticeable (ladder stitch, sometimes) seams with no (or very little) bulk.
If that's not clear enough I can try to explain it better.
Scales can be done using fun foam, though it will not be easy cutting
and attaching the individual pieces, as well as being time-consuming.
10.10 - Necks
=============
10.11 - Horns
=============
Grow your own! - http://www.phobe.com/horns/
