Progress Being Made

OK!  Relic's Ear fur is going in, be sure to leave inner ear fur about 1/4 inch away from the edge of the ear to allow area to wrap over and glue the outer fur. It hides the seam really well, and gives the ears edge a rounded  look and feel. 

I am very excited to see Relic finally being assembled again for the last time. Everything that is done now is a final step. Make sure it's right before you glue! Not that you can't pull it back off again, but every time you do it will tear at the foam and leave remnants of glue, best to be sure that it is fitting correctly. Even after pinning and adjusting the seams prior to this there are still adjustments that are needed as you glue everything in place.

The fur for the back and side was placed on next, these were all pieces that were not needed to be shaved, they are the length that it came from the manufacturer. This fur is approx 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inch length. The rest of the pieces all have areas that will need to be shaved prior to gluing them on.










I am looking forward to debut Relic at Anthrocon next year (2017), the more I finalize on him the more anxious I am to go. As I have previously committed to other plans this year I will not be attending the end of June this year :( . This will also allow me time to decide to go Full suit or remain Partial, as of right now I am remaining a Partial, Head Paws, Tail. Being a Timber Wolf (Grey Wolf) I will be needing to have larger jeans/overalls and plaid loggers shirt and mock axe, to fit the Fursona.

Gosh!   I need a brush!

Brush Brush Brush!!!!

Ear Movement Refinement

Now that I have figures out the mechanism needed to operate the line for Relic's ears I can refine the design. I have used O-Rings to attach the tube and Line to my thumb and forefinger.













It became evident quickly that you want an o-ring only large enough to go to your first knuckle and no farther.








The final test is a go! I will more than likely make a cap for my finger, more like a sewing thimble that would be easier to find inside a paw. But this works and can be refined over time.

Ears Can Now Move

Although they now function the way I want them to there is still much work to be done, the next work on them is making an actuator to attain the correct amount of pull from just using one or maybe two finger(s).

Relic Once Again De Furred

Only a temporary event. Need to shave the facial fur and that is easier done off the head, save for the detail trimming.

Using this opportunity to add in some mechanical features that I need to work out before I put the fur back on permanently.

The first mod is rigging the ears to move to give him more expressive looks as needed. Here is what I have been up to:

Relic is once again without his fur. It makes me feel almost cruel after having seen him with it on, even though he is far from finished.

I am now ready to begin on some “Mechanical” additions, the first of which will give me the ability to Curl his ears back (or down) to give him additional range in expression. To do this I have two lengths of 1/4inch OD vinyl tubing each length long enough to run from under the ears to the back of the middle of my hands down each arm leaving it a little longer so as not to bind anywhere during movement, for me at 6ft tall about 45 inches was good. Heavy upholstery thread or carpet thread and curved sewing needles.

Before placing the tube do some experimenting with just

pushing the ear around with your finger at different angles

toward the head, down and back are most likely the directions

you want it to go. Once you have a spot visualised as to where you want the ear to go mark and punch a small hole for placing the tube through. You can trim the tube later if needed, but for now leave it through a good 1/4 inch or a little more.

Seamstress I'm not but stitching aside, Tie the thread to the tubing about 1 inch from the end and using a heavy curved needle stitch around the tubing into the foam down to the neckline above your
shoulder and tie off the thread. This will hold the tubing in place well enough to accomplish the task, but I am adding hot glue along it as well if for nothing more than to keep the stitches tight. Repeat the entire procedure on the other side.






I am using 8lb test fishing line to do the work (experimenting right now) and seems to work ok. Threading the line through the tube is easiest if you can keep the tube as straight as you can, you may have to suck the line through as you push it in from the ear end. Once through leave it much longer than you need to, you can trim later. Using a needle put the thread through the ear and tie it off. Keep in mind at this point that you will have to do this a final time after you get the fur on ... so at this point it is all about setting it up for correct function.











Go ahead and gently pull on the line at the other end and watch for proper movement. If it reacts the way you want it to then you are finished with this end until you put the fur on. This side has passed my test so on to the other ear.





LOL He's an angry Relic. Tests out the way I had hoped they would.




Half-way,














All the way.

The next step will be to create the mechanism to retract and release the line.  Another post.

A Historical Input To Relic's Name

There are probably not many Furries that can remember this show ... but I do.

Of course it was not the only input, but the memory of the character in this show did help.

Last Large Cuts Done!

All large cuts are done and pinned on. Now I have over 4 feet of seams to go over to refine the fit. Tedious work that will no doubt take weeks. I am sure I will have to walk away from it many times to avoid making stupid mistakes.







He looks so floofy.

Relic Lookin Rather Floofy

Nearly finished with fitting seams on one side of his face, once the other side is finished I will be removing everything to shave the fur to the correct length.

Now that the process is started the nerves have subsided. I was so nervouse I would make serious mistakes... meh... nothing bad yet.

I have plans on making it possible to do some basic movements of Relic's ears and maybe give the ability to snarl. we'll see.

HAHA! Relic Looks Reminiscent Of The Shaggy D.A.

Last piece of the grey fur has been rough cut and pinned for trimming to size and seam refinement. The section between the eyes needs to be shaved down yet and will get trimmed in width to accommodate white fur on either side around the eyes.

The art work of Relic was done much darker since he was created with reference to Steele, but as an actual character he is definitely looking more like the wolf I had envisioned with every piece I affix. The White fur will occupy all remaining real-estate on the foam save the back of the ears and nose.

I have three similar but different sets of eyes for him, all are green of course. The ones I just finished are for nighttime use or use around black-lights, they have a glow-in-the-dark finish on the black pupil so that it appears that the eyes are glowing like a dogs would in the dark as a light hits them. I'll talk more on them when I get to the point I put the eyes into place. 

I cannot stress enough that you should be wearing a respirator or at least a dust mask while cutting or trimming this fur, the fibers are so fine they float around and get everywhere. 

Some Temporary Pinning To Fit The Seams Propperly

Since the bulk of the Grey Fur does not need trimming I decided to knock out a large section of it before getting on with the more tedious parts.

A little more brushing and the seams here will disappear  nicely.





















Slow and steady wins the race ... As long as I can see progress I will be able to keep moving forward in good shape.  ... Now about the Nose???

Starting The Shaving Process

Have the fur for Relic's ears rough cut to size and have started trimming the fur to the correct length.
OMG! be sure to wear a Respirator/Dust mask, the fur is fine and gets everywhere.

It lightens it a little because some of the browns & Blacks are in the hair tips, but that is ok for the ears. The white inside the ears will remain untrimmed, at least for now.
I am using my regular hair clippers with the NO.4 brush attachment and it is giving me roughly a 1/2 inch fur length, about right for the ears.

Once I get the other ear trimmed down I will begin the process of gluing it on. The seams are not something I am looking forward to dealing with, I plan on cutting a couple test pieces from my material to experiment with the overlap technique (dark over light) to hide the seam better. If you shave off a 1/4 inch wide area all the way around the lighter fur you can overlap the darker to make a better looking finish.

I will post up more progress on Relic after I get the ears finished. 

The Nervous First Cut

OMG, I made the first cuts into the fur to start on Relic's ears.

Just one cut into each of the fur's and I am all ready a nervous wreck! lol  As @SilverDeni stated in a conversation on Twitter Yesterday, I'm not looking forward to doing any of the trimming of the fur to length, the cuts alone are making me cringe. 

Time To Start ... FURRING!

UPS man delivered Relic's FUR today all the way from Portland, OR. Thanks Fabric Depot, U were the only ones I could find that had the ones I wanted in stock.

The darker one is of course Grey Wolf Faux Fur 

The lighter one is Polar Bear Faux Fur

I'm almost afraid to cut into them to get started... so fluffy!

Furries of Anthrocon: Beneath The Fursuit

NBC Report from Anthrocon in Pitsburgh

Thought For The Day

To Ponder ...

Sometimes You Just Have To Screw With A Scammers Head

Had to write this down on paper ... PRICELESS! 

The Pileup Continues

Bleh...

GIMP 2.8

Gimp 2.8 does offer CYMK

Copy Going Down

It seems like every time I finally find an On-Line backup / storage service I like that is actually free, it is only a matter of a year or two before it gets shut down. I was very happy with Copy

and its performance between all platforms I was using it on, but alas, it is falling into the same black hole as the rest of the sync services I have used in the past. 

I have now found a suitable replacement for the Copy service and it seems even a bit better. The free account gives you 50GB (yes 50GB) of storage, although the bandwidth on the free account is throttled back it is still effective for must uses and once the files are transferred and synced the bandwidth is not really much of an issue.

Enter into the Service of MEGA

It's clients for the multiple platforms are easy to install and navigate, syncing is totally automatic and it has end - to - end encryption based on your password. The better your password is the stronger the encryption is. They DO NOT store your password and it cannot be retrieved if forgotten so make sure you can remember it!

Change of Fur

Decided to change the Fur I am going to skin Relic with.

This is much more expensive but much more realistic and sturdier.

There will be a certain amount of trimming needed but I think the added quality will be worth it, and I like the off-white & black tips of the Polar Bear.

 I had to Order it  from The Fabric Depot in Seatle.

Learn To Be Furry?

ROFLMAO  Who would have thought.

Can I send people here instead of trying to explain why I am a Furry?

I could drive a FurBus for them!

Time For The Pattern

I almost felt a little abusive doing this, although I know it is a needed step in the process.

Don't forget to draw out the characters markings before carefully cutting the pattern off.



Don't leave the tape on any longer than you need to either, the longer it is on the stronger the bond it has with the foam.



On a side note it pays to stay away from the cheap tape, I strongly recommend 3M or the original Duck brand tape.



I do the ears separately and use less sticky brown packaging tape instead of duct tape.

As you carefully peal the cut sections of tape off, place cling wrap (or I find I prefer tissue paper I hate dealing with cling wrap) on the adhesive side to cover it up otherwise it will stick to anything and everything.

First look at the Fur

Have Relic's Black fur in the shop now, The white I need to order the fabric shop didn't have it in stock (go figure).

Want to get started sewing the seams for the ears and get them finished but ... need the white for the inside of his ear. Now we wait some more.

Dropping AOL and Yahoo

As I am now connected with the Telegram service I am now going to drop the AOL and Yahoo instant messaging services. Please not you will not see me or my accounts on those messaging platforms any more.  

Telegram

Relic B. Furry is now on Telegram, on both PC and Mobile platforms!  Look for this mugshot on Telegram @RelicBFurry

Disturbed - The Sound Of Silence [Official Music Video]

An awesome remake of a Classic!  Every now and then you get an artist that can remake a classic and do as good as the original artist, but it doesn't happen too often. This guy NAILS it!





       

Eyes! Have It.

I Decided to make Relics eyes a bit larger, trimming the foam back got a little intense, but I think I have them right now. 
























They will look much better once the fur is on, they kinda clash with that green foam. :?



Sculpting continues and the hunt for a nose and teeth start. A trip to a fabric store to see what I can find for fur is coming up next week, not sure if the craft store has anything along the way of teeth and such, will have to find a taxidermy supply most likely.  I Picked up three rolls of brown packaging tape so I can start making the pattern for furring when the time comes.

Shaping It Up.

Most all additional foam that is needed for shaping is now in place and the shears are cautiously trimming away at the overburden. Have pieced together the beginning of his eyes and will be getting the mesh cut and painted soon.































The back of the head has been cut and shaped better and the top of the head will need more shaping yet and the brow-lines are nearly set.

Won't be long before I start taping to make the pattern for the fur sewing. Not really looking forward to that.

Last Large Pieces In Place

The last of the larger pieces of foam are now in place. Lots of shaping cutting and gluing to do now.

Relic is continuing to take on a look all his own. I suppose I need to start shopping for the Fur I will need to skin him. Oh! and find eyes, those bright green eyes!

Little By Little

Relic's head is taking shape slowly. I now have the ears placed as I want them and fixed permanently. The muzzle is affixed and I continue to add foam so I can sculpt it as I go along with the forehead and brow-line. The bottom jaw is in place and fixed temporarily until I get the muzzle trimmed up.

My Next step from this point will be to add Jaw structure on the sides of the face so I can start sculpting the foam to the desired look.