by Michæl W. Bard Text ©2005 Michæl W. Bard; each photograph © 2005 as credited below |
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Fursuits and fursuiting: One of the last bastions of pure furrydom
or, not really. Costuming has been around for a long time, and will continue to be. Fursuits are really just a subset of the greater wholeand, sadly, a very limited and repetitious subset in this modern age.
Some background first, so you can all get the tongues youre sticking out at me back in your mouths where they belong.
First, Ive been interested in transformations for decades, and what is costuming other than another form of transformation? Secondly, after years of playing with ideas, Ive finally found a way of making a proper digitigrade ungulate stance, a way that has been successfully done by others, and I am working on my own costume. I dont have any components complete yet, but I have invested cash approaching $300 (Canadian) into material so far.
In other words, Im not dissing the whole hobby.
Oh, and, as usual, the opinions are mine. Currently theyre based on my research into the hobby (whilst planning my own fursuit) which has included viewing thousands of pictures, video, and intense questioning of a small group of fursuiters. Your mileage may vary, et cetera.
My first, largest, and most horrifying observation is the almost tired look of the endless waves of near-identical fursuits in the parade. One after another you see a fox, a wolf, a raccoon, a fox, a wolf, a tigerand other than colouration, theyre all the same! A pair of loose pajamas covered with appropriate fur (with white for the chest generally), and a big round head carved out of foam. In all honesty, I find it sad.
As far as I can tell, there is one master pattern that everybody uses, and the only variation lies in the colour of the fur and how much hair on the ears. I wouldnt be surprised if the heads were identical except for the colour of fur.
Its depressing.
And then you watch a video of the parade at Anthrocon and you can see them marching, one after the other, like condemned sentients going to their executions!
Now, I do understand that many people have financial restrictions, or dont have the manual dexterity to work with their hands, or dont know how to use a sewing machine. Or they dont have the time. All fine and good. Most people can only afford the pajama look. Still fine and good.
But if youre going to put on a fursuit, hide your identity, and get in touch with your inner animal or whatever, then why stumble around like youre in a death march!?
Its almost enough to make me want to just not bother, except Im too much of an individual. And far too stubborn.
Fortunately, there are a few bright lights in the sea of mediocrity. There are some, like Jugular Jaguar, who have fun in their costume. They glory in it! Theyre fun to watch.
And then there are the odd, the few, the proud. The stand-out fursuits.
I admit, my opinion of a stand-out fursuit is my opinion. I like hyper-realism. So, as a test, I went to The Fursuit Archive; went through all 1699 fursuit pictures; and flagged the ones that werent of pajamas.
Now, my current plan is to use prosthetics to achieve the head, not a big fluffy foam ball. I have this funny belief in requiring good vision, both for safety and so I can enjoy whatever is around me. Because of this, Ive always paid attention to fursuits that use prosthetics and makeup, rather than just a big round head. Some work, some dont
And now for something completely different!
Consider these as things to aim for. Something that stands out above the rest, that draws the eye. Something to be proud of even outside of a furry convention.
And good luck! I know that I, at least, am going to need it!