My chosen topic that I will discuss and explore within this essay is the furry fandom. To put it simply the furry community is a group of people who have an interest in anthropomorphic animals. The fandom allows people to create their own characters, create art, build costumes and much more, it is overall a very accepting community as I will explain and show more thoroughly throughout this essay. This topic links heavily to my essay as it shows where my project idea came from and how my project links directly into the community itself.

 

 

This topic is very relevant within my work in many ways, a first way would be in relation to the idea for my project. My overall plan for my FMP is to create a costume based off of a character I have designed myself. This links heavily into the furry fandom as the community itself is what has inspired me over the past year to design and create characters in both a 2D and 3D setting. As this is a hobby I have enjoyed for the past year outside of college I felt that being able to bring this into a college environment would give me a chance to further my skill and try to push myself to complete a bigger challenge to help improve on my abilities. Having this outside inspiration has really helped me to create an idea that I feel will help me to achieve a higher grade within the course, but will also help me to achieve my personal goals along side that.

A second way in which this topic links heavily into my work is within the techniques I will be using to create my project. The techniques I will be using such as sewing and patterning are all things that I have picked up and learned from being a part of the furry community. Some of these things I have learned from youtube tutorials made by others in the fandom and others I have learned from trial and error during my own time within the community. Some of these skills, including patterning, are things I may never have picked up if I had not joined the furry community. This has been a big part of my FMP planning and making as I have needed to create a pattern to be able to create a character costume that will fit perfectly to my body size and shape, making it easy and comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. I have learnt techniques such as creating darts for curved patterns and a basic way of fitting a pattern to a shape all from tutorial made from people within the fandom.

 

A final way in which this topic links heavily into my final major project is in relation to the target audience of the community. The furry community itself is a very open and welcoming environment for everyone of all ages and backgrounds, anyone is able to take part in the community. Much like how I aim to produce my final project for an audience of mainly anyone to enjoy. It is true that the main audience may be younger people as it can be very exciting for them to see an otherwise fantasty character suddenly become something real and able to interact with them, much like the rest of the fandom. In having this wide target audience, like in the furry community as a whole, it leaves the possibility of different idea very open and flexible for thse who wish to take part. This also reflects into my project as it shows that many different people are able to interact with my project in different ways, such as taking photos and videos of the costume being worn, whereas others may prefer to just stand back and see my project in an exhibit space as a ‘walking fantasy’ may seem a little daunting to them in person compared to when the characters are still 2D and do not come to life and move around in an environment.

 

When choosing my FMP topic I did extensive research into what kind of final project I might like to produce, some of these ideas included creating multiple character concepts and designs, creating a character costume or ‘fursuit’ as they are called in the fandom. I then settled on the idea of creating a character bodysuit as it was something I had not done before and was able to link in with my previous two projects. To begin planning and brainstorming for this idea I did expensive research into many different artists and creators within the community to see their quality of work and how the overall finished look of their projects is so that I can have an idea of the sort of quality I would like to aim for within my own work. One artist that I have looked at consistently throughout the entire course is ‘Art by Neffertity’. this artist creates beautiful quality work and products for both them self and for customers and others within the fandom. This artist also creates many very useful and easy to follow tutorials to help those who are in or may want to join the fandom, they create tutorials for things such as different stitch types and how to correctly shape a body or tail of a character. I have used this artist many times throughout my work as they have helped me a lot with my own learning process both before and throughout my time at college by uploading the basics of suit making to help me start my learning process. Without these tutorials I feel that my FMP would be a lot more difficult and would also use a significantly longer period of time due to the fact that I would have had to learn each technique from scratch during the project process.

Another creator within the fandom I have looked at a lot throughout my research is a maker by the name of ‘koshkafursuits’. While this artist does not create tutorials or other resources, they have been a huge inspiration for me when planning my FMP as I really enjoy the quality and style of the suits and costumes they make, this has inspired me to push myself further and exceed my own expectations with this project. This artist contributes greatly to the fandom by showing their work and creating suits for those in the fandom who do not have the time and materials to create their own. The artists website displays a large array of their work and shows a very good example of a finished product at a professional level, much like I hope to achieve someday.

A third artist that I have looked at a few times is ‘stuffed tails fursuits’. I enjoy looking at this artists work and researching further into how they work as they are able to create really beautiful and professional looking final results in all of their projects. This inspires me to look closer into my own work to spot flaws and notice things that I may otherwise have overlooked if I had not seen them in comparison to a professional maker. While this does not directly compare as the maker has many more years of experience than myself, it gives me a good idea of techniques and ideas that I can use to help my own work be finished up to a more professional standard. This artist also produces small but very useful tips and tricks in regards to fursuit making which are very useful to see how the smaller ideas and techniques can be just as important as the larger scale things. The artists webiste shows a very large gallery of previous and current works that they have produced, both for themself and for their customers. The suits that I find particularly interesting within this artists work is their own personal suits as they show a remade version of their first suit 2 years on from the original to be able to show and present their progress within the field of making. That is another very large inspiration for me as it helps me to remember that progress isn't always easy to spot when you are continuously moving forward with work and that it is sometimes a good idea to revisit older projects to show a comparison in the progress I have personally made within my work. This is something I am already beginning to do within my FMP and planning how I will continue to do this as I move forward with the project.

 

 

Historically speaking, the Furry fandom has been around since the 19oo’s, although the way that the community expressed this was slightly different to the way the fandom works in our more modern day. The original community was still formed due to an appreciation of anthropomorphic animals, this was expressed in interests such as ‘the white lion’ 1965 or Disneys ‘robin hood’ 1973. The specific term “Furry fandom” did not begin to emerge until around 1983, although the name has stuck ever since. However, it wasn’t until around the 1980s that the fandom began to properly communicate with each other and begin planning social meetings to bring the community together, they then when on to begin planning the first furry convention in 1987. The invention of the internet also played a huge role in pulling the fandom and community together as it allowed people to be able to communicate much easier and quicker to find others with the same interests. The fandom is also historically and in modern day, a very welcoming and inclusive community, everyone is welcome from adults, children, LGBTQ+ and many more. The acceptance within the fandom has helped many people, past and present, including myself to become a lot more comfortable and happy with themselves and their lives as everyone is very welcoming and supportive no matter your background or who you are as a person.

 

 

When working on my FMP I will be continually analysing and critiquing my work as I move forward with it. In doing this I will check things such as the stitching strength, how well the pattering has worked to create a fitted shape and many other things. I feel that it is important to check these as I move forward as it allows me to see the quality of my work and improve on my techniques and practices as I go along to help improve the overall finished product at the end of the project. To test these I will pull at the seams and test fit the fur pieces onto the body of my duct tape dummy to ensure that the quality and sizing is correct and does not need to be fixed or edited in any way.

Another form of critique I will be using within my work is going back to look at previous work that I have completed for a similar style of work and looking at ways that I have been able to improve on and increase the quality of my craft. By doing this it will allow me to see how much progress I have already been able to achieve on this course whilst also looking at things that I may need to change or improve on while looking at my final major project. I will also continue to look at my project as I progress further forward with it to show things that may still need improving on in the future after I have completed my FMP whilst also seeing what I am able to do to fix these mistakes while continuing with the project. For example, a problem that I have already found within my work is creating the shaping for the legs of my suit, this has been a small problem however I have been able to look back at my older work and see what techniques I may be able to carry forward and incorporate into this project to improve the overall quality of it, showing how the critique of my work has already begun from the very start of the making process.

 

 

When presenting my project in different formats I will mainly be showing sketches, photographs and a final costume piece. My sketches will be made up of my initial consent designs for the character and the suit it will be made into as this will show my progress and where my ideas had come from  when planning the project. When showing photographs, these will consist of pictures I take during the making process of the costume, such as cutting out fur, sewing seams and creating my patterns. I may also choose to include a few short videos to show my working process for some aspects of the project such as sewing seams and cutting out the fur to show how the process takes place. I will also be including photos of my final piece completed by the end of the course, these photos will also serve as an overview of the quality of my final piece to help with my evaluation. Finally, I will be presenting my final piece by wearing the costume myself, this is because the measurements have been custom fitted to fit me as the maker so that I am able to model and present eh project without help. I will also include videos of me wearing the completed product as it will serve to help me within my evaluation by being able to present the quality of the finished product for things such as mobility and tidiness of the pattern placement and trimming to make them visible on the suit.

Each of these different presentation formats will be used to help me complete a final evaluation of my project as they will each show the different aspects of the suit and the design process, allowing me to pick out small individual details that may need improving on when making costumes in the future after the course.

 

 

Overall, when looking into this topic at a deeper layer I have learnt a lot more about where this community came from and what aspects of it where able to bring everyone together to form the community that is very present and welcoming in the modern day. I have also found it interesting to see the development of skills across the years in how the original ‘fursuits’ where crafted and designed, to the way in which this is done now within the fandom. To recap, I feel that this topic is very heavily related to my FMP in the fact that my entire design and creation process has stemmed from an already existing hobby of mine within the fandom, and therefore this topic has really helped me with improving my own skills and also in seeing how I am able to further my progress within the FMP itself. The main points I have learnt from my chosen topic is the history of the work I am trying to produce and better, more professional techniques that I can use to achieve a high grade overall at the end of the project.

 

 

 

furry fandom. 2021. history. [online] Available at: <https://furries.weebly.com/history.html?c=mkt_w_chnl:aff_geo:all_prtnr:sas_subprtnr:742098_camp:brand_adtype:txtlnk_ag:weebly_lptype:hp_var:358504&sscid=51k5_1pm2h> [Accessed 3 May 2021].

 

Youtu.be. 2021. History of the furry fandom. [online] Available at: <https://youtu.be/e88yQ-nXOzk> [Accessed 3 May 2021].

 

 

Youtu.be. 2021. How to do a ladder stitch. [online] Available at: <https://youtu.be/c2B_fgEGMlM> [Accessed 3 May 2021].

 

 

Youtu.be. 2021. How to do a blanket stitch. [online] Available at: <https://youtu.be/S9zegUYdPmg> [Accessed 3 May 2021].

 

 

Youtu.be. 2021. How to pattern a fursuit. [online] Available at: <https://youtu.be/8VREIeCKO9Y> [Accessed 3 May 2021].

 

 

Winter, Y., 2021. Koshka Fursuits. [online] Koshkafursuits.com. Available at: <https://www.koshkafursuits.com/> [Accessed 3 May 2021].

 

 

Art by Neffertity. 2021. Art by Neffertity. [online] Available at: <https://www.artbyneffertity.com/> [Accessed 3 May 2021].