Hey everyone, I have been reading up here and have gathered alot of useful information.  I have a few questions though and thought maybe someone might be able to help.

1) I am making a fursuit with foam to enhance the muscle form.  Most of the foam will be added in the shoulder, chest and back area.  I was wondering what would be a good foam firmness to use to simulate muscles.  In addition, on top of this suit I will be wearing armor that weighs quite a bit. (~30 lbs)  I have read up on ILD and would like some input from the community before purchasing some foam.  My line of thinking is to get the firmest I can get to minimize the deformation under the weigh of the armor, but I don't want it so firm I can't move.  Any suggestions?

2) I found some foam at JoAnn's Fabric, but it was $70 for a 5"x24"x36" piece.  Does anyone know any location or website that sells it cheaper than that?  Or is JoAnn's about the right price?  I need something pretty firm I think.

Thank you for you time!

Hey all! ^^ I'm a total noob to fursuit making so I've been perusing this place and getting lots of tips and ideas for when I finally jump into making my first suit! However, I haven't been able to find much about one particular thing...so here I am asking it! What do you guys use for long hair on a fursuit, and where can you get it? The reason I ask is...this is the character I'm looking to make a suit of! Her bangs are the only thing I'm really unsure of how to do as far as what kind of materials to use. I've heard horsehair is sometimes used for longer manes/tails, or longer pile furs, but can you find fake hair in certain colors, or do you usually dye it yourself? Is it better to weft hair like this into the fur (a thing I have no idea how to do...) or what? Any info or help I can get is much appreciated. XD

grotle's head foamed and ready to be fleeced. finished in under 8 hours, split into 2 days of working. built on a bike helmet from Target. possible moving jaw if i choose so later. more photos of the head here: http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e255/Shaggy_Griffon/grotle%20quad/
next is the trunkish feet and to cover the PVC pipe leg extensions!EDIT: fleeced over, yet to add eyes and screen.

working on a head, critique wanted. feel free to point out anything that should be improved.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4294/sany0555k.jpg

While I know there are several tutorials out there on how to make a DTD, I have a special situation I don't think they have ever covered. I am planning on making a female suit similar to roxikat but not in spandex and she will be an equine. I am wondering how I should make the Dummy, or should I make two different dummies, one with and one without the boobs. If you wish to leave a reply you can post it( Here ) Thank you in advance for your assistance, also any advice on material for horse hide would be appreciated too.

I have at least 3 yards of this fur, and every bit of it is so awful.
I guess from being rolled on the bolt the fibers are just a mess, going in every direction and flattened in weird patterns.
I've got a picture of it next to a piece of the same fur that is nice and smooth and pretty!
Is there anything I can do to save it? I certainly can't use it like this :[
I tried brushing but that doesn't help at all.

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So I just got my mom's 1987, Kenmore model# 385.1884180 sewing machine. I haven't touched this thing since 4-H in grade school, so it's pretty much new to me again. I just ordered the manual online because my mom couldn't find it, but so far my mom's been able to get me set up so I know how to get started doing a basic straight stitch. I've tested it out on some of Distinctive Fabric's notoriously-thick-and-difficult-to-work-with 2" pile fur and so far it's plowing through it like it's butter.

I was just curious if anyone has had any experience with this model (because I can't seem to find anything online so far), or has any newbie sewing machine advice to keep me in line while I wait for my manual to come in the mail.

Okay so i thought i was done doing the foam work on Faye's body suit but it turns out that it needs hips and a bit of more booty lol. However, i have no idea how i should carve these pieces.....ugh. Does anyone have any examples of their foaming stage when adding hips or booty? This will really help me out a lot! Thank you ^_^

Working on a project for FC. Redesinging Muddle for Muddle Designs.

Long poofy tail, no species, just a lot of colors and poof.
Main color is blue.
Hooves, digi-legs.
Normal paws.
Goat ears.
Beak.

He's... in pieces. I have the paws, but they have no fur. The tail needs to be combed out into fur, the hat that'll be his head needs the other ear and the fur. And then there's the pants... which are slowly getting yarned up to be combed out for fur.

But here's the beak!

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I just sculpted it out of clay. I am waiting until it's mostly dry so I can smooth out the cracks that formed as it dried. Then I'll cover it in latex according to this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illlheX-uO4

Sorry for the poor-quality pictures, it's just a work in progress. Anyone know where to get liquid latex this time of year? Party City doesn't have it. I tried to get it from Ben Nye, but a $3.50 bottle would take two or more weeks to ship and would cost $20 to ship. I'm not paying almost seven times the price of the object to ship it. I didn't look any higher. Shipping shocked me out of the site.

Southern California, anyone have a bottle they are looking to sell/get rid of or know a place that sells it year around? Also, how's the beak look? It's on a Styrofoam head that has a natural tilt to it.