Need feedback on head construction.
I started working on building an arctic wolf fursuit head about two weeks ago and I need some feedback.
Front view, lips look a bit off center. Going to fix that. The jaw isn't perminately affixed yet.
View of ears after being hollowed, also a strip of fur laid between the ears (not glued in)
Old pic. Overhead shot of the muzzle shape.
Side view with jaw placed underneath (Not perminately afixed)
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r230/alias_1029/123_0537.jpg
Side view of ears
Any feedback helps. Thanks.
When you fur the head, make sure you're aware of how the fur will lay on a real animal or it will look strange. See if you can dig up some close-up photos of wolves/dogs/foxes/whatever so see how the fur lies on various parts of the head and body.
bmp112 - The eyes might be from the angle of the photo or the way it's sitting. I'll take a closer look next time I work on it.
Tyrrlin - Yup, read up on making a head before I started. Not quite ready to fur just yet but I'll be sure to do that before.
Seems that - so far - you have made a very elegant head!
But allow me to point out something, which I heard as advice from a master costumer once;
Compare the picture of the forward shot, whole head, to the one with the fur swatch between the ears.
Many people have an idea of the shape that thay want, and then carve or layer up the base material for the head so that it fits that perfect shape, with just the foam base. They will sometimes forget that the fur itself is an extra layer, and what was a nice, sharp form becomes a bit bulky and a bit blunted, once the fur is added.
If you are satisfied with the general shape as it is now, take into account the bulk/thickness/fibre density and length, and consider shaving that much extra from around the head. This will make the head look "starved" from what you wanted, but the addition of the fur material will then bring it back to the proportion which you had originally envisioned.
DISCLAIMER: I have never actually built a fursuit myself. But people whom I trust have given out this advice at panels on the subject, and it makes logical sense to me. YMMV.
After all - the skulls of wolves and foxes only hint at what the final flesh-and-fur living creature actually looks like!
Vulpes Rex - Thanks. I think It might be too late to do some overall shaving down. Like I said earlier, most of what looks wrong might be from the angle I took the photo and the way the fur is put down. I'll take another look with a different scrap and see what it looks like.
Update 1/12/12:
Lots of changes since I last posted
New muzzle shape due to lots of feedback on FAF:
Began working on eyes. Here's a trial pair. Also working on narrowing down the eyes (hence teh foam pinned to the sides of the eye holes.)
With the jaw placed under (not attached...still.)
Looking much, much better, but the muzzle still looks a touch low for the eyes, maybe build up the bridge of the nose a bit? Although its clearly cartoony so realistic proportions aren't a must here.
Almost done; needs more fur around the eyes. The nose is just pinned in place right now and the fur around the mouth needs a bit of trimming. Also going to redo the eyes, they look kinda derpy atm.
Finished the head a few weeks ago. Turned out pretty good I'd say.
I've also been playing around with adding effects to my suit:
Head looks okay, although I would seriously reconsider using a piece of fabric for the nose. Just get a little bakable clay or buy a premade one if you doubt your sculpting skills. Since the nose is the first thing you see when you see a fursuit head-on, it can make or break how good a fursuit looks.
I agree there. I'm not too fond of the nose either. I'll be looking into that but it's not a number 1 priority at this moment.
I would agree with you - turned out pretty good, for a first effort!
Of course - the real value of this project is in what you have learned from making the first one; I bet you would do about a dozen things differently, refining the process, and willing to try out improvements and enhancements. You've also learned what not to do, and with the same amount of time could make a better one, or make one of about the same quality with significantly less time.
After some "Field Trials", you will know what you need to incorporate into the next one...and trust me, there will be a "next one"!
Congratulations!
Oh, there WILL be a next one. I want to do my actual 'sona which is a Coyote. Body suit included. I figured I'd start with a polar wolf since it would be cheaper and easier to work with two colors rather than 4 or 5.
I also get this feeling that each project brings about a dozen new ideas. XD
the right eye looks a bit forward and oval shaped, the muzzle needs to be shortened or widened in the back, but over all if this is your first attempt your doing prety darn good!
im the image fox.