I think I can post this here. ^^;
One of my main 'sonas happens to be a bird. Blue & Yellow Macaw to be exact. I find it quite hard to get much info about birdie fursuiters or how to make wings, etc.
So, does anyone know any good avian fursuiters or some good tutorials relating to the subject?
I don't know of any tutorials myself, but I can point you in the direction of a few avian suits/suiters:
ManuKoa the cardinal : http://www.furaffinity.net/user/manukoasuit (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/manukoasuit)
Frysco, who owns Morse the magpie and and Kooteny the stellar's jay: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/frysco/ (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/frysco/)
Temperance's RJ Rooster: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8898338/ (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8898338/)
Kyreeth the crow: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8169340/ (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8169340/)
Carnival the macaw: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9796302/ (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9796302/) -- http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9713715/ (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9713715/)
SavageTurtleStudios has done several owl partials:
http://www.savageturtlestudios.com/_images/fursuit/partials/partial19.jpg (http://www.savageturtlestudios.com/_images/fursuit/partials/partial19.jpg)
http://www.savageturtlestudios.com/_images/fursuit/partials/partial21.jpg (http://www.savageturtlestudios.com/_images/fursuit/partials/partial21.jpg)
http://www.savageturtlestudios.com/_images/fursuit/partials/partial22.jpg (http://www.savageturtlestudios.com/_images/fursuit/partials/partial22.jpg)
Hope that helps and gives some inspiration!
I'm a bird fan myself, though my fursona is a dragon. I do have a tengu character that I'd love to have a costume/suit of one day.
Thanks o:
I've actually seen a few non-traditional birdsuits that were quite effective -- basically, they were birdlike masks with LED tubes around the eyes, and long draping wings made of fabric, paired with simple tight black clothing and some natural-looking black boots. They were incredibly impressive, which goes to show that you can do a LOT with a birdsuit in a lot of different directions and still have a really cool result.
A moving beak/mask made with harder materials (sealed paper mache, or cast resin perhaps) with some decorative head fabric or feathers could go pretty far.
There have also been wings made of overlapped semi-hard fabric such as fun-foam which hold shape and colour very well, and have the added bonus of being able to be painted.
Any ideas for what you want to do?
Here are a few links I thought were neat; doing a google image search for 'bird fursuit' comes up with a lot more. Images aren't mine.
A neat parrot suit in the 'January 2012' section at the top: http://stuffedpandastudios.com/gallery/fursuits/ (http://stuffedpandastudios.com/gallery/fursuits/)
A resin mask: http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=73&um=1&hl=en&biw=1745&bih=835&tbm=isch&tbnid=bb24GpYlviD8oM:&imgrefurl=http://indulgy.com/post/CV4SRpeoa1/tengu-bird-mask-by-missmonster-furries-furr&docid=uBZhCK5fa6Md4M&imgurl=http://cdn.indulgy.com/g6/VE/R7/219409813065913673EN0mRjlJc.jpg&w=553&h=727&ei=17KqUcLrLsOXigLw84GQDQ&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:100,i:4&iact=rc&dur=3347&page=3&tbnh=178&tbnw=165&ndsp=42&tx=106&ty=107 (http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=73&um=1&hl=en&biw=1745&bih=835&tbm=isch&tbnid=bb24GpYlviD8oM:&imgrefurl=http://indulgy.com/post/CV4SRpeoa1/tengu-bird-mask-by-missmonster-furries-furr&docid=uBZhCK5fa6Md4M&imgurl=http://cdn.indulgy.com/g6/VE/R7/219409813065913673EN0mRjlJc.jpg&w=553&h=727&ei=17KqUcLrLsOXigLw84GQDQ&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:100,i:4&iact=rc&dur=3347&page=3&tbnh=178&tbnw=165&ndsp=42&tx=106&ty=107)
And here's the one I own; not a bird but the beak is quite fun! A sealant-type plastic over a plastic mesh frame. Flexible but sturdy, and completely moveable. http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1745&bih=835&tbm=isch&tbnid=Q-Yl0tHQ1b9jWM:&imgrefurl=http://www.deviantart.com/morelikethis/37851356%3Fview_mode%3D2&docid=TYAQvVE_J3cqdM&imgurl=http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/152/e/8/Tan_Gryphon_Partial_by_Kiniro_Oniba.png&w=900&h=563&ei=87KqUfrQEsT6igLS0ICYCw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:0,i:78&iact=rc&dur=367&page=1&tbnh=177&tbnw=284&start=0&ndsp=32&tx=147&ty=72 (http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1745&bih=835&tbm=isch&tbnid=Q-Yl0tHQ1b9jWM:&imgrefurl=http://www.deviantart.com/morelikethis/37851356%3Fview_mode%3D2&docid=TYAQvVE_J3cqdM&imgurl=http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/152/e/8/Tan_Gryphon_Partial_by_Kiniro_Oniba.png&w=900&h=563&ei=87KqUfrQEsT6igLS0ICYCw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:0,i:78&iact=rc&dur=367&page=1&tbnh=177&tbnw=284&start=0&ndsp=32&tx=147&ty=72)
Cheers;
-LS
Coolio o:
I was actually planning on making something like StuffedPanda's Carnival Macaw but with a more eccentric tail and, of course, as my 'sona.
I just had no idea how to go about making the beak and wings.
Thanks for the ideas. ^^