Got My Sniffer

Thanks for Relic's nose goes to My new Friends at 

Dream Vision Creations 

Although I wanted to fabricate Relic's nose myself, after several failed attempts (not by much however) I felt it worth the small price to purchase one all ready made and ready to go. 

I still need to tweak things a bit around it ... but Relic is all ready looking much better with the actual nose in place.

Toes!

Starting to sculpt toes for Relic's Foot-Paws. Two will be glued over the toe of my loafers I purchased for use on this project and will be directly off the toe of the loafers. The other two toes will be glued off to the sides and over the top of the loafers. Hard to explain that correctly but I will post more on that as I begin to construct the actual Foot-Paws. 

I proportioned them off my own foot to try and keep them around the same size as the Hand-Paws. 5 inches in length seemed a good size to provide the digit length and still give enough area to glue to the loafer and have it hold well.

A Relative Term

Finished really is a relative term.  Relic is nearing completion as far as a partial suit is concerned and now I am thinking of trying something different with his eyes.  I am thinking I want to bring them out closer to the surface ...

I have plenty of blanks made up so I guess I will have to start experimenting a bit. I can always place the ones he has now back in if others don't look right so ... nothing ventured, nothing gained!

On another note, Relic's hand-paws are now finished. This leaves only the foot-paws left to fabricate. Time for a cheap pair of loafers to start gluing foam to for the base. 

First Paw Nearly Finished

Have one of Relic's hand-paws nearly finished.  I am brushing out the seams and will have to turn it inside out one more time to cut between the fingers, but the bulk of the sewing is complete. 

I can now look forward to getting started on foot-paws. Right now I figure on buying a cheap pair of loafers to use a a base for the foot as I will be using Relic outdoors for events I need a foot that will hold up and be somewhat weather resistant, although I will not have him out and about if it is raining.

I Got Some Whiskers!

Well, Relic did. 

Fishing line cut to about 12 inches or so then tied in a knot at one end (as many as you would like to have as whiskers). Thread it through a needle and send it through from inside the mouth and pull gently until the knot is against foam then secure with tiny dab of glue, then trim to length.  Voila!

OMG! I Found Relic's Collar!

Totally have to order this to complete Relic's look.

Just hop it comes in the right size!

Gotta Get A Collar!

Tryin' to find a stylin' collar for Relic, Prefer leather with some bling, sorta like this one...

... but would like it dyed blue... haven't seen one like that anywhere. :/  

Planning a Trip to The Windy City

Setting about planning our trip to Chicago this summer. I promised my Daughter that I would take her to see some sights in a real Big City. So we are planning a trip to the Windy City. Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Sci & Ind, Adler Planetarium... to name a few items on the bucket list. It is also a grand opportunity for me to meet up with an old Navy Buddy that lives in Belvidere just outside Rockford. This will be our first reunion in almost 30 years and I am so happy to be making the trip out to see them. I will be counting down the days to the end of June.

On To The Sewing Machine!

Have Relic's paw pads pinned in place and now I'm ready to attack the sewing machine. Once these are sewn on I can finish putting the handpaws together and set to work trimming them up. I'll need to buy a small wire brush (the ones I have are way to dirty) to pull the fur from the seams after I sew them up.

I also made a stand for Relic's head... it makes it much more easy to work on the fine tweaks I am now getting into by freeing up both hands. Should have done that weeks ago.  

I am also experimenting with a Goatee for Relic as well. This one (only pinned on right now) is white with the black tips. I will also be trying one on made from the grey fur as well, but I think that will be too much of a contrast ... will have to wait and see.

Still haven't got the nose finished... only the temporary one still pinned on his snout. These are a finished set of the new eyes, they turned out quite well. 

I have also done a little more trimming around his ears and eyes, at times it doesn't look like I have trimmed much but I really DO NOT WANT to go too far. Like I said before, I doubt I will ever call it finished. 

Gotta get that sniffer done!  

Another Set Of Eyes

Decided to give a much smaller grid a try for the eyes and I am glad I did!  Had the Darice #10 before and it was OK... but then decided to try a smaller grid #14? (I think) and the finish looks much better, and believe it or not, it is actually easier to see though than the larger grid.

Still have the White dot (reflections) to paint on, but these are the next items to be placed into use on Relic. I will be punching out several more of these to have made ahead for spares, unfortunately they scratch fairly easy and I will want spares readily available. 

Officially Finished With Relic's Tail.

It is rather difficult to model one's own tail for pictures... best I can do for now ;P

A Pawsative Decision Made

So now the Handpaw halves are set, I was trying to decide if I was going to use the White on the palms or not ... Guess I am.

Here is one back half and one front (or palm). Now to pick up some black leather or vinyl for the pads, it should look nice against the white palm. Once they are sewn on I can sew up the handpaws and try them on.

To Say Something Is Finished Is A Relative Term

Relic is slowly coming together. As a partial fursuit he is nearly finished, only have his paws left for actual construction. His head will continue to be tweaked for many months after I figure he is finished. Like any other artwork I have done, I will never feel he is "done". There will always be the one last thing I need to add to complete the build and I am sure he will continue to evolve. 

Meanwhile introducing Relic to the public should prove both challenging and exciting.  I look forward to the whole process as I have had so much positive feedback so far, and I thank all of those that have offered me that truly great feedback.  Relic and I Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. 

A Moment For Paws

First cuts for the backs of Relic's handpaws... the fronts will have white on the palms (along with black pads and grey on the remainder of the sleeves. 

Be sure to keep the direction of the fur consistent with the proper direction. I will be using some black vinyl (faux leather) for the paw pads. They need to be sewn on before you sew the Handpaws .  

Relic Got Tail Today!

LOL  I just finished stuffing and stitching up Relic's tail... need to finish brushing the fur out of the seams but I feel it turned out really good.  He's Happy!

Yeah, I know... the shop needs some serious Spring Cleaning it's a mess.  

A Decision Reached

Today I have decided that Relic will now be a full fursuit and not a partial. (Damn you Barry Verville) I was railed back into the thought process of not wanting to do this half way so now it looks like I will be ordering more fur ... lots more fur.  *Rant over*

Printing Some Flyers

In preparation for Relic's debut.

It may be a little pre-mature but at least I feel I now have it finished to my liking and ready at a moments notice. 

Slow Progress

Too many other things going on right now with Union Contract negotiations going on at work... have pushed Relic to the sidelines for the time being. Yesterday did afford a small amount of time.

I was able to finish the second set of three different styles of eyes. These have the "reflection" like the drawings have and will be the regular everyday use. The next set will have the Glow-in-the-dark effect. 

Also playing around with the nose size. Using foam and cheap black fur. After several attempts I think this size best matches the face. 

Need to get started on teeth and gum-line details.  More trimming going on as well, small steps at a time, unfortunately this fur does NOT grow back if you make a mistake and it takes much work to correct the problem, taking it slow will pay off in the long run. 

Ready For The Next Step

Sculpey in hand

Translucent and Black for teeth and gums.  The White paint pen is for later after the Sculpey is baked.

Relic's First Road Trip

Took Relic to my Mom's today to show her and my Sister. They were amazed at how well he has turned out even though not fully finished.  They don't fully understand my desire to create this character as a real life costume... but hey, It's my dream!  Yeah, I know, I still need a nose and teeth... I'm workin' on it!

Seam Center-line On Snout Was No-Go!

If you look at the before and after here it is very evident that I needed to correct that oversight.

You can make out a small section of the seam on this pic running down the center below the grey markings toward the nose. As with any mistake once you see it it becomes the center of attention, I had to rectify the oversight.  I carefully cut from the tip of each side of the grey straight out to the end of the snout about 2 1/2 inches wide and replaced it with another piece making two seams directly in front of the grey markings tips. They hide very nicely.

Yup, I'm happy with that result. More trimming has been done as well, and I am now in the realm of the correct facial fur length. Nice thing here is ... once I have it cut right I will never need to worry about it again. Fin.