Reviews: 'Critter Costuming: Making Mascots and Fabricating Fursuits', by Adam Riggs
Posted by Patch Packrat on Sat 8 Jun 2013 - 21:18 — Edited as of Thu 11 Dec 2014 - 10:48
Virtual Costumer magazine, published for members of The Silicon Web Costumers' Guild (SiW), has reviews of the fursuit-making manual Critter Costuming in its latest issue.
Phil asked me to review it. I don't make costumes, just wear them, so I put out a request to the Furry community for their reviews. I selected two to share, by Schrix and Kellan Meig’h.
Critter Costuming: Making Mascots and Fabricating Fursuits, by Adam Riggs (Nicodemus), is the first published book about fursuit making. You can buy it on Amazon.
About the author
Patch Packrat — read stories — contact (login required)Fursuiter and unconditional linty hugger
Comments
I dunno; should the guy selling it also be reviewing it? Seems like a teensy conflict of interest there. ;-)
I have a copy; this book has been around for a long time, and while it helps you with the basics, some research on the Fursuit LiveJournal community and its linked sources will be necessary to acquire the techniques now in common use.
I really should get that fursuit wiki going, too . . . any volunteers?
The 2 main reviews come from random people I don't know... they answered my call for reviewers who actually build fursuits. They don't have anything to do with my sales (they got review copies and thank-yous.) There were only 2 submitted, and none were left out. :)
True, true - and you made the same observation as I.
I'm a little disappointed that we haven't had a competing book come out yet, but I'm not surprised given that most fursuit builders are working with a six- to nine-month backlog. Those who can, do!
I asked the publisher if they would be interested in working with me, to let me fund an updated 2nd edition. I think the author might have shown some interest, but the request didn't go anywhere.
The subject is niche enough that I can get a pretty confident guess on how many sales it could make, by how fast my stock goes. It would probably take many, many years for it to pay for itself. However, some other kind of coffee-table fursuit bible (like one full of photos that are just cool to look at) could be a worthwhile project. With luck, maybe it could earn notice as a subculture thing and a curiosity, outside the small core of furry fandom. That's why I like "street fursuiting"!
Check out photographer Tommy Bruce, he's been taking really amazing shots of fursuiters (and furries in general) for a number of years. http://furrydoc.tumblr.com/ He put out a small magazine style collection of photos, but I suppose a larger collection, such as a coffee table-style book is the next logical progression.
As the author, yes, I'm love to do an updated version at some point. :) There are lots of things not covered, either because they're newer techniques or things I had to edit out for space.
The main issue for me now is time. Both for the reason Green Reaper mentioned that I have a backlog of projects already and also because I've now got two young kids which really makes finding furry time a challenge!
As far as a fursuit coffee table book, my friend Croc has been working on an idea like that.
[comment removed on request]
A fursuit coffee-table art book would be almost a shoo-in for the Ursa Major Award in the Best Other Literary Work category.
Fred Patten
I have this book its a grate resource for those looking to starting to making there first fur suit and a wealth of information on design but I found some the information dated and needing to be updated with newer easier techniques. their was all so book with a yellow fox on the cover using a sewing machine that came out for a very short time around august of last year that went out of print extremely fast that was supposed to be the replacement to this book that I still haven't been able to find a copy of no offence to the author. its still a good beginner book but time some one stepped up and made an up dated diy fur suit manual
Post new comment