How Tani DaReal Inspired My Creation of Relic

I have been asked... I must tell.

Absolutely the "High-point" of my visit to Anthrocon in 2017 was meeting Tani DaReal in person. As a long time follower of her artwork, she was undoubtedly the single most influential force behind my creation of Relic. 

If I had experienced nothing else at Anthrocon that year, I would have still walked away extremely happy that I had finally met her in person. 











How has Tani DaReal inspired my creation of Relic?  

Wow!  There's a subject that is in all practical purposes in the Furry Fandom a bit of ancient history... I can Try.


The gist of the story is... Tani was the first furry artist that i came to back in the day of the early internet... this was back when more than 50% of internet use was still "dial up"... at least in my secluded area of nowhere USA. She was a young up and coming artist back then, I was following her art work with great admiration and tried to learn some of her technique of portraying expression in her art. Needless to say I never was able to capture any amount of her talent, she had more talent in he pinky finger than I had in both of my hands. But I faithfully followed her artwork for many years (and still do) and when she began the process of creating her own fursuit I was even more captivated and watched it take shape eagerly. I was impressed by the process, although at this point in time was not even close to ever considering doing anything like this. It was still many years off, before I was to bitten by the Fursuiting Flea. It was while following her early artwork that I made the connection between what was now considered furry art and what I had been doing so many years before, long before the internet had even been truly thought of when I was only around 12 or 13 and just starting Jr.High (1978 ish... gads that puts a date stamp on me for sure) My friends and I used to doodle comics at their kitchen table using their German Shepherds as models for our "Anthropomorphic" characters in the mornings as we waited for the bus. Without Tani I would likely never made that connection... once I did... there was no turning back, I was hooked... line and sinker all. Once I had decided that I was going to use my Husky as the basis of my fursonas appearance (which happened only about 7 years ago) the rest of the process followed suit (perhaps a pun intended there) mainly because of a dare and having watched the process… I knew it had to happen.

Cape Crusading

After nearly 5 hours of work, Relic 2.0 has a cape that is almost finished.

There will be adjustments that will need to be made to fit it to my shoulders but the worst of the process is nearly behind us now. 

So looking forward to his debut at Anthro New England in February!  The excitement is REAL! 

Vision Quest

First time I have put it on since getting the fur around the eyes finished and the eyes back in place. The vision is better than I had hoped for, far better than that with Relic 1.0 

The details around the mouth are next. This is always the step that I find most intimidating... why I can't say for certain... just is. 

The first side finished for the most part until the other side is at this point as well.

Getting really psyched now as the end is in sight. I will be starting work on the cape next (neck) probably next week.  then it will be a matter of detail work, painting, final trimming, brushing... etc.

Moving Ahead In Small Steps

I am to the point now where any tiny amount of work is very noticeable for the most part. 

Have finished getting the white around the eyes done and placed the eyes back in his noggin... makes him look much better again. Still some fuss-work trimming to be done and I have to fix the eyelids into place but in all, solidly on track for the debut in Boston at Anthro New England in February!




Looks so much better with his eyes back in place. Have a wild Hair up the...muzz... I may just leave that there, an unplanned trimming error that actually looks ok. 

A Steady Pace Forward

As long as I keep putting a small amount of work into the process each day we should be good to go for the Debut of Relic 2.0 at Anthro New England in February. 



Now working on getting the white fur trimmed and fitted into place using pins... soon I will start gluing it into place permanently. 

Let The Fur Fly

Well, not really but the work of getting the fur into place is coming along nicely.

The grey is now solidly in place with the ears finally finished.






I am pleased with the way the ears turned out this time, the adage holds true "practice makes perfect" I guess.

Hard to see them (that is the point after all) but I have now got the exhaust ports for my two cooling blowers cut out from the inside of each ear, and the areas inside the head trimmed out for the blowers to be placed in the finishing stages. 

Progress Being Made

Wow been a while since my last post, so much has been happening.
I have taken an extreme amount of time getting the hinge points for the jaws placed just right and the effort has payed off, the movements are fluid and smooth. 

I always seem to have a difficult time getting myself started on doing facial fur when putting these together, but usually once I get started it goes well and I can finish in a reasonable amount of time. 

 cutting out the transferred markings is no big deal

I can accomplish that in little time.













Even getting the fur rough cut is no problem... BUT, from this point on is the really tough part for me, and I really need to be focused and in the right frame of mind to do the work from this point on... it lends itself to very few days. 

Sighs of Relief

I always seem to have a sense of relief when he is finally Washed, Dried, and brushed out after any fursuiting event.






Just knowing that there has been no damage done that needs to be tended to seems to make me believe that the event was a success! 

Safe and secure in his case ready for the next Great Furry Adventure.

Running Away With A Joke

The start of a JOKE that I decided to tear apart and run with… now it has become a “thing” all its own.

Relic, my Fursonna, is based on a Grey Wolf / Timber Wolf, and from the start was largely associated with being a Lumberjack in the region of New York I grew up in, in the Adirondack Mountains. Within the first year after creating my first fursuit of Relic or as I referred to the suit at the time “TIMBER” I realized that the Lumberjack side soon faded away in favor of a more refined Jazz Club loving character. I decided to move Relic more toward the Urban, Easy Jazz side of life that fits his mannerisms much more accurately, and that is where he has resided ever since... a real “Jazz Wolf”.

This side of Relic and I are virtually identical and we both, obviously, have a certain affinity for fur. That being said I have never been one to hold back or hide what I am interested in. I began to “swag out” my car adding first declarative stickers affirming my interest in and my belonging to the Furry Fandom. I soon wanted to add more of a statement and after some time and using some Snow Leopard fur that I had laying around collecting dust, I covered the dash, and I added a tail to the back of the car. It drew looks and attention to the car that I found totally hilarious and in time created a better version of the tail that was more easily removed in case removal was needed for any reasons (including tossing it in the wash). Now with more Snep (aka Snow Leopard) fur left sitting in the box I realized I had torn edges on one of my front seats in the car and went to work making covers for the two front seats, including the head rests.

It was at this time after posting several photos on my blog and to friends over Telegram that several puns returned to me about my character being a Timber Wolf and “Snepping out” my car made it seem that I might be “Species Confused”. OMG! I nearly died of laughter! Shortly after that I decided that instead of taking this as a Joke I would embrace the reference and make it my own “thing” (thank you to all those that pushed those buttons, you know who you are).

Behold the birth of “Sneppenwolf” A somewhat confused Timber Wolf that has a desire to become a Snow Leopard Fursuiter !

I continued to think of more ways to “Snep Out” the Vibe and added Snep Fur covering to the Door Panels, and have more ideas for the inside as well, likely to do Snep themed floor mats too (yes they are available as well).

During CanFURence 2018 I commissioned artwork from GNAW depicting my Vibe in the background with the door open and Relic frantically stepping into a Snep Fursuit. If this artwork turns out as well as I have expectations of it, I will likely seek the artists permission to use the piece as a vinyl wrap for either the car hood or one on each side of the car (to be determined later). I have also located vinyl automotive wrap that comes in the Grey Snow Leopard print as well (actually quite realistic looking too), so this car could wind up a virtual Snep Suit on wheels.

Back To The Grind

Wow! What a fantastic time at CanFURence 2018 and the new venue "The Brookstreet" is as near a perfect match for our need as we can probably get at this point, what a wonderful hotel and the staff are the best.







A very trendy feel to the Hotel, modern, but not Industrial. 










Spaces easy to navigate...









Lighting that accents the spaces nicely.

So our attendance this year hit 457 in total and we raised $10,000.61 for our charity "Courageous Companions"!  This amount from these numbers speaks volumes as to the caliber of those furries associated with and that attend CanFURence.  




Our Fursuiters photo taken just prior to the Parade had 105 of us suited up, there could likely have been many more than that had the parade been scheduled for Saturday rather than Sunday, or even perhaps earlier in the day Sunday as Checkout times were interfering with being able to attend. 

I am all ready looking forward to next years stay at The Brookstreet for CanFURence 2019 "Furry Mystery" 

CanFURence 2018

CanFURence Cabaret 2018 Is now only 3 weeks away! I am excited to be staying at the Hotel this year and not commuting to and from each day there will be much more free time for this old Grey Wolf to prowl around!

I actually stopped by The Brookstreet back in February or April (it was one of those trips up to Ottawa) to get a peak at the Con's new home and it is a beauty! I am pleased I upgraded our room from the Double Queen to a Jr. Suite, I know it will make our stay with 4 fursuiters a bit more comfortable. 🐺 

If you haven't registered and plan to go you better do so at CanFURence Registration because the deadline is getting close and room availability is dwindling. (Please note that you must register for the convention before you are able to book your room at our discounted price).

That Time of Year Again

Working on replacing my Bumper Stickers for the Summer. 

Details To Finish

Finally turning my attention to some "Safety" details, one in particular was adding a quick release to Relic's collar. I was finally able to secure a heavy duty snap and still retain a reasonable look of the buckle still being used.  Still isn't exactly what I wanted but it will work and is much cheaper and less work than the alternative, which was to replace the buckle all together with a Firefighters Buckle which runs about $30 and then to have to deal with drilling out the rivets and replacing them with the new buckle. I think this was the right choice for now and finished in time for CanFURence in August.

Louisville NY Fund Raiser

Wow! Kinda forgot about my own blog for a while... too busy with getting ready for our next event coming up in only Two Weeks! 

I have been busy behind the scenes (doing what administrators do) coordinating our involvement with the event, printing out literature, burning DVD's, and also recruiting my fellow Furries to the cause some of whom are good friends from the Ottawa area, among them Arc Husky who is Co-Chair of CanFURence.  This is looking like it will be a good show of Fursuiters for this particular area of NY.  It will most certainly be more Fursuiters than anyone in this area has seen gathered in one spot before and for many it will most likely be the first ever experience face to muzzle with us!  Our group is ready to place their best foot ... err... Paw forward to support the memorial & help raise donations for the cause.  

The Torture Chamber

I have, after two years, finally talked myself into putting Relic into the washing machine instead of bathing him by hand in the bathtub. 

I was very much still concerned that the machine would literally chew him up, but after the cycle was done I went over all the seams closely and found that he had weathered the washing with no issues. 

After turning him back right side out I placed him on the rack to dry as usual. I do not recommend hanging a fursuit on a hanger to dry. The weight of the water that still needs to be taken care of can really be murder on the seams, especially those that are hand sewn. On top of that fur has a tendency to stretch a certain amount as well, you could find your suit a touch longer than was, so honestly if you have a rack of some sort (we have a large heavy wire frame dog kennel that works great) use it to lay it out flat to dry.

I have heard others say that you should brush several times as the suit dries, I wait until it is dry and tend to the brushing then and have never seen any difference between doing it either way.

Once dry and brushed out he's ready for a spray of suit deodorant and to get rolled up and put into the case for storage until the next event.

As for a rack to dry it on, if you are not as lucky as I to have the large kennel, I also have made myself a drying rack that I can place over my bathtub for the purpose of drying. Available at any Lowes or HomeDepot you can get two sections of wire shelving and have them cut to length to fit over the length of your tub. 

Remake On The Move

Progress is being made at a slow pace. In an attempt to avert any mistakes due to my push to finish things I have throttled back my normal pace and things have been much better for it as my finished Foot-Paws can attest.  

Finally getting the inside carved out and fitted and have built up the courage to cut out the eyes and separate the jaw. 

Suspension system is now in place and is adjustable with elastic holding things snug. Keeping straps removable for purposes of replacement and cleaning when needed.

Blanks are made from perforated plastic sheets made by Darice available at most craft stores. I purchased mine at Joann Fabrics.  I prefer this over the foamies as a blank because it is just a bit more rigid allows for more visibility and more airflow. 

Most people use a 1-3/4 inch hole but I prefer the 2 inch, a more wide-eyed look I suppose. I purchased a 2 inch punch from the craft store to do this and it gives a very even & clean cut.

Preparing the buckram ahead of time with the proper color spray-paint is a good idea so it is dry when you need it. I tend to keep an ample supply all ready pre-painted on hand for repairs when needed.

Cutting out circles so that they over-lap the back of the holes in the blanks by 1/8th of an inch for gluing. 

Blackening the pupil is a matter of using a black sharpie and in my case a Quarter to trace around. Always keep in mind that the Black part of the buckram is always easier to see through than the colored part so a larger pupil is not a bad thing.  This especially holds true in lighting situations like street lights and work lights which are very bright and relatively low shining at you. 

Eyelids add a bit of detail that softens the look a little.  These are nothing more than a semi-circular wedge of Foamie cut in a larger arc than what the eye opening is so that when glued in place the leading edge is out over the white eye blank.

Many people choose to glue the lids onto the eye blank itself but I choose to glue them to the base. I like to be able to pop the eyes in and out quickly if I need to replace one for any reason. 

An Evening with the Ottawa Furries

Had a great time at the Merivale Bowling Centre in Napean with my Furry Friends in Canada.

photo by Laura Smith

It was not the style of bowling I was used to, but was super fun none the less and I actually did well enough on the second game hitting a 138! 

photo & video by Eponiaswill

Hanging out for an evening with new friends was a great mental boost. 

Fur Bowling

The BlcakRifurs had a great time at the Seaway Lanes last weekend.  It was the first time I had ever bowled while in my fursuit and I actually did better with it on than I did after I took it off !

I wish foot paws were compatible with bowling, those bowling shoes do as fursuit absolutely no justice. :P




















It was also the first time that I was able to try out the Bowling Paw that I had made last year and it worked very well. It certainly added to the visual effect of Relic actually picking up the ball with his paw.   I am now ready for Bowling in Napean on the 17th for Glow Bowling! 

Photo Credits for this post go to

Linda Morrison

Thank You Linda