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Making An Animal Mascot Head (Fursuit)

All about how I made an animal mascot head, in the shape of a black and white cat. Features taxidermy eyes and re-rooted hair.

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Step 1Step 1: Materials Needed

To make your furry mascot head, you will need:

Definite:

A silk balaclava; strong duct tape; masking tape; upholstery foam; spray glue; a cool melt glue gun with lots of extra glue sticks; a Prismacolor marker; chalks; a pen; lots of scrap paper; one pair of general purpose scissors; one pair of small sharp scissors; calico, canvas or buckram; a pair of large taxidermy eyes (at least 32mm); Fimo; white acrylic paint; fleshtone acrylic paint; nail polish remover; fleece material; a sewing kit; long pile fur, (the most expensive you can afford); a lint roller.

Optional:

A razor knife; pet hair clippers; hair extensions/wig hair/horse hair; nylon wire; (fake) leather.

Either:

A mannequin head (you can buy these from Amazon)

Or:

Some "electrician's tape" (also sold as "bondage tape"); plastic carrier bags/newspaper/both; a secure tube/vase.

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30 comments

Oct 11, 2011. 5:13 PMmerasmus says:

Semi-experienced suit builder here - I do commissions and own three suits of my own. I just wanted to say, maybe installing the whiskers after clipping the fur would be a good idea. I take my muzzle pieces, lay them flat, and then shave the fur down, before installing whiskers and sewing the fur together.

My whiskers are glued directly into the muzzle foam, and then threaded through pre-made holes in the muzzle piece (which is all sewn together). Makes it a little harder for kids to rip 'em out ;)

May 22, 2011. 11:54 PMzack247 says:

thanks for the tutorial!

ive been looking to get into furries just for the fun of it, on a scale of 1-10, how hard would you say making the head is?

also, what do you think would be the cheapest i could build one for?
is there any alternate methods to having a baclava? (IE a helmet or something)

Sep 7, 2011. 5:33 PMShadow_Brisbane says:

there are multiple methods out there you can choose from. here is a link to two alternate types and their advantages and disadvantages:

http://www.nicodemus.org/fursuit/framehead.php

(side-note: if you go with a Plastic Canvas construction you can find packs of it at Walmart for a decent price)

difficulty level really depends on what you want the head to be capable of doing. some have jaws that can open and close to simulate talking, some have animatronics set up so that the eyes will blink, others have have "3D eyes" which will follow you wherever you look (think the Mona Lisa) as well as allow the person wearing it to look out the eyes and see where they're going. then there are ones which have wiring built in so they can have parts (eyes, ears, claws, etc.) that light up (these are great for raves)

as for how much it costs it really varies on a few things. I've known some people that can construct an entire half-suit (that's a head, hand-paws, foot-paws and tail w/ regular clothes making up the rest of the costume) for as little as $70 to $120. Full Suits (the ones that are the whole body suit and the head) can run anywhere from $150 to $300+. the cost really depends on how lucky you get with shopping around for fur and materials.

two pieces of advice i would like to offer:
1. consider wiring a small computer fan to a battery pack and installing it in the head because they can and will get very hot.
2. youtube is your friend. there are countless other video tutorials online that can give you a better idea of the add-ons and optional things you can do with your character.

hope that helps you a bit and good luck *wags tail* ^__^

Sep 7, 2011. 11:54 PMzack247 says:

ive actually started making the head already.
i got a 54" x 72" x 1" sheet of high density foam for $50, im not sure but for only using a 1/4 of the roll so far, it seems like it was a good deal.
its a all foam construction so ive yet to find a nice tutorial on a moving jaw thats easy to follow, but ive got some furiends who can help out.
a small fan seems necessary. especially around my area when it can go from 20 to 35 degrees in a hour.

that really helped out a bit!
thanks!

Sep 8, 2011. 12:14 AMShadow_Brisbane says:

cool :) and yeah that is a good deal.

i think you can find some tutorials online...

you may also wanna try this site: http://www.matrices.net/maskvideo.asp

glad i could help ^__^

Sep 10, 2011. 7:45 AMzack247 says:

thats actually what i was following XD
this is what ive got done, need thinner foam to finish the ears and fill out ares like the brows, between-ish the eyes, cheeks, etc.

Sep 10, 2011. 9:17 AMShadow_Brisbane says:

great job! it looks awesome so far :D *wags tail*

my girlfriend and I will be starting 2 characters in the next couple weeks ^__^

Sep 7, 2011. 5:35 PMShadow_Brisbane says:

great Instructable MurmurCat :D

Oct 12, 2010. 4:15 PMYetigunner says:

Hey, what's the general cost of this project?

Jan 23, 2011. 8:55 AMBloodyshadowwolf says:

When i Built it with all the supplies it was 100 dollars and good luck it was cheaper to buy foam from walmart

Jan 21, 2011. 9:56 AMSillyMogg says:

Hi I live in the UK too, and was wondering what dimensions you used from tw foam and what you put in the what foam will be used for box. Please reply, will show you the finished product when done if you like ^^

Nov 18, 2010. 8:50 PMonewinggirl says:

Where did you bought the eyes?

May 26, 2010. 10:55 PMxXRRAAWWRRXx says:

how are you supposed to see?

May 31, 2010. 10:01 AMMurmurCat (author) says:

Through the tear ducts! I can see pretty much perfectly, apart from a little loss of peripheral vision. The tear ducts are made of a black screen/canvas material that's a loose enough weave to be transparent when held close to your eyes.

Jul 9, 2010. 11:02 PMxXRRAAWWRRXx says:

thanks.

Jan 14, 2010. 4:39 PMmorchilla says:

Hi! I have a question.. where do you get your foam? And is there a specific kind I should be looking for? I'm not a furry or anything but I do like making costumes, A LOT. I attend Burning Man every year so I'll definitely be making something of the sort for this year.

BTW this is super sweet thanks for the tutorial!! :D

Jan 19, 2010. 12:31 PMMurmurCat (author) says:

I got mine from TW Foam in the UK. I dunno about US suppliers at all, sorry. Medium density foam is best since you can carve it with sharp scissors. Harder foam lets you be more precise but it is more difficult to shape.

Mar 2, 2010. 9:14 PMmorchilla says:

thank you so much :) very helpful

Aug 18, 2009. 7:07 PMwizerd 745 says:

If ya don't mind me asking why did you make this?

Aug 20, 2009. 4:02 AMMurmurCat (author) says:

Kills some time, doesn't it?

Aug 23, 2009. 4:48 PMwizerd 745 says:

anyone home?

Aug 27, 2009. 4:34 AMMurmurCat (author) says:

Uh, yeah. I don't spend my whole life hammering the refresh button hoping someone will comment on my thing. I just like making stuff, is all.

Aug 27, 2009. 5:53 PMwizerd 745 says:

I understand. Just curious I just became a furry not to long ago. Working on drawing my fursona, need to name him, and find some way to recreate it on a computer. Scanner doesn't work but might get a tablet for christmas.