advice to those making a fursuit head - guide from a learner in the skill

i have not finished a head yet myself, but this is what i've learned so far.
i give this to you in the fond hope that it is of some use to you in your fursuit head project.

i sincerly wish you the best in the making of your head, good luck.

Books That Might Help: Design Your Own Stuffed Toys By Anne Dyer, Making Soft Toys For Children By Pamelea Peake
this may help if you are building heads without frame, i don't endorse any one book in particular, but if you find any of these helpful, if it works for you Great!

i feera fox, do care about the saftey of those using any of my texts, so i have covered saftey advice,
these are general saftey tips and of course may vary by country, also some glues might not be available
in some countries, due to local laws regarding glues and solvents, in these cases the person must be
that bit more resourceful, and find something else that will do the same job.

when choosing, materials for a fursuit head, try to keep the foam to a minimum, except for heads
that their main basis is foam, wire frame heads are a good idea for the strength of the head but
can tend to weigh a lot, can anybody say neck ache?, glues and chemicals used in head construction
can release very toxic fumes, so a well ventilated room is recommened and a mask that is suitable for
use with these chemicals, i learned the hard way, it made me very ill, so please safety first.

your saftey and protective equipment

a respirator, dust mask, towels for cleaning up fast, a first aid kit, and thick rubber gloves
a bowl of cold water nearby just in case you happen to burn yourself on the glue gun.

listed below are some of the glues and adhesives that you might use, check for saftey each one
before using these products, some of these are very toxic, so please take all precautions

glues and adhesives that might be useful for making a fursuit head
a hot glue gun, plenty of glue sticks for hot glue gun, super glue, foam rubber, epoxy resin glues
neoprene glue (very toxic fumes), E6000 glue, silicone adhesives, evo-stick (usage unknown)

papier mâche heads

first get a block of wood that looks like a top of a wig stand, now you get styro-foam slab cut them
to the desired shape, oncer you have taped them to the wood block, for the nose tape it to the side
of the styro-foam slabs at the sides, these come in electrical packaging, and other household
packaging now take Clingfilm, and wrap it around the head tightly, to for the basic shape you want.

Paste one side of the papier mâche, I use my fingers to do this, it can be a pain to remove when
you are finished, have a bath after using it, to make sure the paste all comes off and before starting
using the paste wear clothes you don’t mind getting covered in paste.

Now you can apply the papier mâche, the glue is wallpaper paste, buy good paste or you may find
it coming unstuck, after you have thickened the papier mâche layers add cotton strips to then head
make sure they are soaked in paste, then you apply it to the head, fill all the gaps in the cotton, now
you can leave it to set, but I’ve added 2 further papier mâche layers, on top of the cotton, leave for
a 5 days or a week to be sure it’s set, *** this project is still in progress ***,
I’m still learning the skill so I’ll add more as my knowledge increases in this skill.

foam heads

i am not a fan of foam heads as they can get really hot inside for the wearer, but buying 2nd hand
foam can be cheaper than new foam, you might need to stick quite a few foam cushions together
to make a foam block, draw the picture views front, sides, back, and top on the block then you
can carve from there, most artists use this method for carving designs, wood, stone, and foam as
well as a few more materials i can't name, now you can start carving with a basic electric bread
knife (buy 3 knives) as if the worst comes to the worst, you'll still have one to work with.
and always have zip ties on you as they can prove useful with some heads.

wire heads

this is one of the most difficult methods i have used, it takes loads of cable ties, and is not a method
i would use myself again , unless you have some skills in this area, avoid this method, i tried it but
it does not gel with me, but if it works for you go ahead, as we all have different ways of working.

plastic canvas heads

this method for me at the moment seems to be the most promising, for the framework of a fursuit head
it is a light material, you should not get a neck ache with this framework, here are pictures of my head
so far, it's done by trial and error, it's going to be a dragon head or i might change my mind and make
another creature with a equally long nose, i'll have to see what happens with it.

Latex heads or masks

latex as a material, does not last as long as some materials, so i've been told. the benefit of latex
is that you can add more detail with this, i'm wondering if painting over the clay bust of your head
would yield a good detailed latex mask, after which i'd try to add fur to it.

*** Warning ***
some people are allergic to latex, for those who are, i would advise that they do not use latex
in their masks fursuit or costume heads, or use it just where it does not come into contact with
the skin, but for those of you who are more allergic, my advice is avoid using it completely.

Fiberglass heads or masks

i have never worked with this material, so i'd welcome any info on how to use this for making a head
and also i would welcome a list of teaching books, so i can know what to buy and what not to buy.

eyes for your fursuit costume head

some costume heads use ping pong balls for eyes, they are fine but not easy to see through
unless you have the eyeholes to see through in the tear ducts, other methods that can be used
are plastic meshes, that your vision blots out when you look through the eyes, but nobody
can see in, some folks say use taxidermy eyes for their heads, some taxidermists will even
make custom eyes for your fursuit head, if you can afford to do it.

tips for making ears, right ear for you

two methods i know, cut out shape, cut two sides in faux fur sew them together, stuff them or leave it to just flop. cardboard from corflake packets, can be your best friend here for structure but clear varnish the card to seal it or they will go soggy when wet, varnish can be the costumers friend, if it does not release fumes when dry.

Fiberglass heads or masks (clay method)

sculpt in clay, keeping it damp so i does not dry out, as your masterpiece may take weeks to do
i don't know if this works, make it slighty smaller than what you need but enough room for your
head, measure your head to find the right size to make it, apply the Fiberglass resin, paint it thinly
then build it up on the bust until you have the right thickness of resin and that is strong enough,
you may need to slightly emphasise some features to account for the resin, then fur it once
dry, if anybody tries it, please let me know how you get on.

*** WARNING ***

FIBERGLASS RELEASES FUMES TOXIC, USE A MASK AND GLOVES AND
WORK OUTSIDE OR WELL VENTILATED SPACE, BUT ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES.

these are my heads that i have built, not very good but after all i'm still learning