Introduction: Why I Gutted a Teddy Bear: a Don't Starve Beefalo Cosplay

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About: I'm a 41 year old theatrical designer and educator. I have boundless curiosity, chimerical aesthetic, and Sisyphean perseverance. The results of my whimsical adventures can be found here and on my instagram.

What do you get when you combine an almost obsessive love for a video game, a big beard, a 3d printer, a 53 inch teddy bear, and a two dollar thrift store hoodie? You get an amazing beefalo costume. Come with me if you will on a journey that started with the desire to make a beefalo costume that was almost quashed by the high price of faux fur at the fabric store. Only to be rise again thanks to a really good deal on a giant teddy bear.

Step 1: What You Will Need

If you wish to follow in my footsteps on this wacky adventure here is what you will need.

Tools

  • Seam Ripper
  • Scissors
  • Sewing needle
  • Thread
  • 3d printer
  • computer
  • AutoDesk's Meshmixer
  • AutoDesk's Fusion 360

Materials

  • 53 inch teddy bear or other giant stuffed animal
  • a hooded sweatshirt aka hoodie(It would have been better to get a beige one but hindsight is 20/20)
  • thread
  • PLA fillament
  • Grey filler primer spray paint (I used Rustolium Filler Primmer)
  • Ivory spray paint.
  • super glue

Step 2: Be Inspired, Model, Print, and Finish Your Horns

After looking at a lot of Beefalo pictures and my Beefalo plushies it was time to dive into Meshmixer. If you just want to skip to the printing I am including the STL files I created for printing.

Meshmixer is a program by Autodesk that lets you mash up meshes as well as sculpt in the 3d space. I'm not going to go into detail on the sculpting process because I pretty much just read this article by Autodesk and smashed my head into my screen until I was happy with the way the horn looked. On the bright side that means that this is an achievable beginner project because I am a beginner! The tip I will share is that I found starting with an imported plane worked best for me.

Once I had my 3d model looking the way I wanted it was time to import it into Autodesk's Fusion360 program. Now that my awesome horn mesh was in Fusion360 I had to change it to a BRep to make it editable. Again I turned to an article on Autodesk's website. Now that my horn was editable it was time to get to work. I was going to be attaching these horns to fabric and the easiest way I could think of was to sew them on. To make the sewing work I placed a hole in the base of the horn. Then using the revolve and offset commands I made a series of evenly spaced holes around the base of the horn. I was good to go...or was I.

Sadly I dream bigger than my 3d printer but not to worry that is what super glue is for. Using Fusion360 I split the model into two halves and added a peg so I could make sure I lined them up properly when I was gluing the two halves together. Now that I had one happy print ready horn design I duplicated and mirrored it to make the other horn.

With the stl files it was time to get printing. Many hours latter it was time to put everything together. I followed the priming and sanding section of BrittLiv's Instuctable on How to smooth PLA. I finished off the horns with some Ivory spray paint and I was good to go horns wise.

Attachments

Step 3: Disemboweling a Giant Teddy Bear

The first step is to put your victim...I mean donor at ease. Then when they least expect it attack them with the seam ripper. I started with the mouth as that was the gateway to the rest of the seams I would need to rip. Once the mouth was off I stopped and took the time to pose for a creepy picture.(I promises I am not a serial killer.) I tried to pry off the backing of the eyes but was unsuccessful so I got out some beefy yard scissors and cut it off. With the eyes out of the way I removed the ears leaving the perfect holes for the horns! It was time to pull out the stuffing and make room for a human to wear this teddy bear pelt. With the stuffing out use the seam ripper to rip down the stomach of the teddy bear pelt. Finally remove the paws to make arm and leg holes,

Step 4: Adding the Hoodie and the Horns!

Adding the horns was easy I stuck them through the holes left by the ears and sewed them in place using my planned holes in the printed horns. From there it was time to stitch in the hoodie. The first thing I did with the hoodie is to sew it's bottom zipper together I didn't want it coming open and exposing me to the risk of splitting the seams of the costume while I was wearing it. Then I hand sewed the hoodie into the opening I had made in the bear pelt. Make sure to leave a little bit not sewed so you can still adjust the stuffing for a final fit. I also sewed the sleeves of the hoodie to the arms where the paws used to be. Once the horns were sitting right I sewed up the last little bit. One of my herd hopped in and tried it on.

Step 5: Rock Out With Your Herd and Write an Instructable

Now that you have a beefalo costume you will never need to fear the winter. I went on a romp with the herd and my partner in crime for a fun Beefalo photo shoot. If you want to you can check out this Ridiculous Beefalo Gif I hope you enjoyed coming on this cosplay adventure with me. This costume was inspired by Don't Starve made by Klei Entertainment. If you make your own beefalo costume I'd love to see it.

P.S. I have entered this instructable in the Fandom contest so if you feel so inclined please vote for it.

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