Dante
Garetto
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Fursuit Head (first attempt)

January 2023

After trying on a friend's fursuit head a few months prior, deciding I wanted one for myself, and realizing I did not have the income or savings to commission one, I decided to make one myself. The overall process has 3 major steps: creating the base, usually some kind of foam (upholstery/EVA); making the 'skin' by creating a pattern from the base and sewing the faux fur together; and applying the 'skin' to the head and shaving it. Beyond the standard features, I embedded magnets just above the eyes for removable/swappable eyelids, attached wires to the ears for posability, and added some little horns for fun. The wires broke over time and exposed sharp ends that poked through the fur; I removed those, chopped the tops of the ears off of the base, and added some weights for a more authentic floppy ear effect.

  1. A black foam head base on a drying rack, its panels labelled in gold marker, with white blank eyes and two large mint-green ear blanks standing up behind.
    1/22Starting with a head base pattern off Etsy, I cut and glued together EVA foam to create the base shape, adding in a modified 'bucket-head' to make it wearable and cutting out holes for a set of 3D printed eye blanks I also bought off Etsy
  2. The character's reference art overlaid on the same photo: a grey and purple canine face with red-brown eyes, dark purple ear backs and a shaggy purple fringe.
    2/22I used Adobe Photoshop to create a quick 'draw-over' for the design for reference and to establish an end goal; fearing that I would mess up on my first attempt, I opted to give myself some creative freedom regarding character design instead of trying to replicate an existing character of mine
  3. The foam base in profile, showing the layered muzzle, the panel codes written across the skull and one green-irised eye set into its white blank.
    3/22Side view of the head base during this elementary stage
  4. The foam base from the front on a table, now with a mint-green foam nose glued on and both blank eyes in place.
    4/22Carved and added a nose from upholstery foam, which is the same material used to raise the edges of the ears
  5. Mirror selfie wearing the unfinished foam base, showing how the head sits on a person and where the patterned eyes fall.
    5/22Handpainted white plastic mesh and glued those to the eyeblanks, giving me a 'skin-less' but wearable product
  6. The head half covered in masking tape: the right side is bare black foam, the left is taped and drawn over in red and black — the pattern being traced on one side only.
    6/22Front view of the taped head, with plenty of markings for fur direction, fur color, and seam alignment
  7. The fully taped head in profile on a stand, its whole surface mapped in red seam lines and small black arrows showing which way the fur pile runs.
    7/22Besides documentation, these photos also served as valuable visual guides to double check how I was attaching each piece together and where it fit in the overall form
  8. The back of the head on its stand, one ear still taped in pattern paper and the other stripped back to black foam with its green foam core showing.
    8/22The exposed side on the back view is where you can see the modified bucket-head top that extends down to my cheeks and chin in the front
  9. The taped pattern seen from above, the crown, brow and neck panels drawn in red with the mint nose visible at the front.
    9/22Taping only half of the head not only saves time and materials, but ensures the 'skin' is symmetrical across sides
  10. The black foam head on its stand by a snowy window, with the cut-apart paper pattern pieces laid out in order across the carpet in front of it.
    10/22These are the tape pattern pieces laid out, applied to paper and given a generous seam allowance (which I learned was unnecessary for handsewing)
  11. The paper pattern pieces pinned back onto the head to check the fit, each numbered and marked AP or PL for which fur they belong to.
    11/22I also pinned the pattern pieces to the head and took a photo as another visual reference/guide
  12. A folded length of pale fur laid face down on carpet, the pattern traced onto its backing in red pen ready to cut, with a red-and-blue pencil beside it.
    12/22Each pattern piece was traced onto the back of faux fur, with the direction of each piece intentionally positioned for the fur to all flow the same way once sewn together
  13. The head part-furred, seen from above: lavender and dark purple fur laid over the crown and brow with the bare foam nose still showing through.
    13/22Pre-shave application of the 'skin' to the head, with certain seams left unsewn to ensure each piece was glued properly
  14. The finished head from the front on a stand in a workroom — lavender and purple fur, dark purple brow markings, a grey nose and two rounded ears.
    14/22Post-shave, with magnetic eyelids and posable ears
  15. Close view of one finished eye: a purple mesh iris with a pale marking, set behind a white eyelid blank, with paper eyelash pattern pieces pinned above it.
    15/22Was not a fan of the empty space between the ears and wanted to stay closer to my original design, so I started patterning out tufts of hair
  16. The finished head in three-quarter profile on a stand, showing the grey mane between the ears, the two small white horns and the shaved muzzle.
    16/22I opted for two-colored hair and added white horns to bring in some grey tones, pulling the fur through the back of the hair tuft pieces with a rough bristle brush to make the edge pieces double sided with fur
  17. The finished head straight on, both eyes and the grey nose centred, the purple brow markings and white horns clearly visible.
    17/22Front view of the finished head
  18. The finished head turned to the side in daylight, showing the depth of the fur on the cheek ruff and the shaping of the muzzle.
    18/22I ended up adding some pieces of dark purple fleece around the eyes for eyeliner to hide the seam, which was done at a much later date
  19. Wearing the head outdoors, crouching beside a white car with bronze wheels under a deep blue sky, a purple tail at their back.
    19/22I've now had this fursuit for several years and have created a set of paws and a tail to go with it as well; a photo of me with my suit posing next to a Toyota Chaser
  20. A spun-blur photograph of the suit worn indoors, arms folded, the lights streaking in a circle around the head.
    20/22I often go on trips and party with friends who have their own fursuits, which always make for fun photoshoots
  21. Wearing the head on a hillside trail, in a white t-shirt, with dry golden grass and wooded ridges behind.
    21/22Posing for a photo on the Monte Bello Trail
  22. Wearing the head at an outdoor table on a terrace above a city street, downtown towers rising on both sides.
    22/22It's always nice to have friends who love photography and photo editing, which convinced me to start messing around with Adobe Lightroom. This was from a casual photoshoot my friends and I did in San Francisco

Skills

  • Fabrication
  • Patterning
  • Sewing
  • Painting