Complete noob

[Black Ice]

Hello! My name is Josh and I just kind of "discovered" this part of myself over the previous weekend. Ever since I found out about this it all clicked and ive not been able to stop drawing my fursona  ( I'm not much of an artist) and working on creating my hand paws/arms.
A little about me. I am currently in high school and am a wood craftsman for my town. I build mainly bedroom furniture and tables. I'm also a reef keeper, I have a 29 gallon reef tank in my room with several different corals and fish. In my free time I love to play PC games like Arma 3, Wartbunder, and CSGO. But when I'm at my dad's house we go gold mining just for fun not really making any money back.
I do have a few questions for you people. Where is a good store or online shop to get supplies for a fur suit. And on kind of a personal note how do I go about telling my family about this? I have a very close friend that knows but she is the only one who knows ( she supports me and even offered to go to a con with me if I wanted ).
Well enough about me, anything you fellow furs would like to share with me?

[Dax Declan]

Hello Josh. Welcome to the forum. Newbie furs are always welcome here. Gamers are also always welcome. For the question on telling your parents, you really don't have to. Being a furry isn't a big deal, it's a hobby and nothing more. But you don't have to hide it either. It's nothing to be ashamed of or hidden, but you also don't have to act like you're coming out of the closet to them. As for the fursuit questions i have noooo idea. But I'm sure plenty of other members would be glad to help you out.

[Armalite_]

Welcome aboard Josh, always good to meet new furs


For fursuits you'll need a good quality carving foam for the head, the rest is fur (that I normally get from Etsy and check reviews) but make sure you get all the right measurements. A lot of fursuit makers are able to sell "bases" which is a carved foam head and I recommend it if you wanna save a lot of time and frustration lol


Telling your parents isn't something you have to do unless you want to. I casually let my parents and friends find out and shrug it off. I don't care if they think it's weird, if they have questions about the fandom I simply answer them when they ask.


I always invite my non-furry friends to cons and sometimes they'll tag along for a day. It doesnt turn them into furries per-se but they sure do have fun at the parties even if they're not used to some of the characters they meet there lol


Enjoy your time on the boards! We're always around if you have any questions

[Ventus Fall]

First off: Welcome to the forums and the fandom, Josh ^^
Sounds like you have quite some interesting skills and hobbies ;D


Well, if you're in the US, getting faux fur is a lot cheaper and easier I've noticed
But there are a variety of online places. I, however, try to get them at the local fabric market when I do get fur (for costumes or for the fursuit head I worked on). You do need to heed yourself with extremely cheap fur, as I know a guy who made his fullsuit completely out of the most cheapest fur you can probably get and he regrets that. The fur falls out so easily, and when combing the fur also large bushes were 'pulled' out. So yeah ^^;
I can PM you the details of the fur one of my fursuits is made of? It is a special type of fur that I wanted at the time, however.


But yeah, what kind of head are you planning on making? A toony one or a more realistic one?
If you're going for toony you probably need to make a foam base. So just find a local store and just buy some foam there, doesn't have to be expensive If you get a resin base for realistic... It would probably be best if you bought it from someone who makes the bases (especially if you cannot make one yourself because it's hard to come by the materials).


You of course don't have to tell your parents, but I have a feeling you want to
I would just casually say it with a smile. What does it mean for you to be a furry? I'm going out on a limb here and say you like artwork and like to make fursuit stuff. So, that's what being a furry is to you. It's a hobby and an interest you share with others ^^
Usually that's already a good enough explanation for most people, so I would just say that
(But that's my personal opinion x3  Just don't make a huge deal about it and it will be fine in most cases )

[Firox]

*waves paw - wags tail*

Hai and welcome Josh
hope you stay with us, we are all friendly furs around there
Having a large tank full of fish must be tough to keep clean, how difficult is it to maintain it

by the way, my name is either Firox or Foxy 'Vee (depending on my avatar), I'm always the friendly and snuggable fox

[Black Ice]

Thank you all for the kind welcome and suggestions! You are right in saying that I joined for the artwork and creative side.
I am always making stuff and I can get a good sense of 3D objects in my head from building small sheds and things like that. Would it be a good idea for me to get some cheap foam just to practice on? That way I can get a model/ refrence on what tI do or not do. I do want the more toonsh side of a wolf and there are a few fabric stores around here. Maybe after work tomorrow I can go stop by one and see some fur in person.

To answer your question Vee my tank is actually small in the world of reef tanks. For me I just scrub the glass on the inside every 3 or 4 days (takes about 5 to 10 min), feed the tank every 3 days, and change 10 - 20% of the water so 3 to 6 gallons every week but sometimes I get busy and go every 2 weeks then I will change 20% of the water.

[Ventus Fall]

No problem! Hope you feel safe and cosy here on the forums ^^


You could try with foam, or you could always try with clay other other material to make 3D objects to practise with. You also mentioned you're a wood craftsman, so while you usually probably don't do this... maybe you could make a (small) 3D model out of wood? To use as a reference
But you may try with foam, of course I'm not telling you not to. Just... making things of different material and having it indeed as a reference might be a good idea? (:


Sounds like a good idea, I hope you can find some fur fabric Oh yeah, and... faux fur is what you're looking for. Not real fur x3 That can also change the pricing, as well as being an animal-friendly costume and all

[Black Ice]

 I feel right at home here. Other people who share the same views as i do and arent going to be weird about it. The only reason I asked about how to tell my parents is bc my dad is the manager for one of the biggest hotels on the east coast and they had a furry convention there. The thing is some of the furs decided to get a little.... um........ sexual. So they has to plastic the ballroom to protect the new carpet. I think he was overreacting but I don't know how he will take this when he finds out. I'm just going to let them find out on their own rather than me tell them but if they ask I will tell them.
I figured after a quick Google that faux fur is what I want. As it turns out the art class at school just made a lot of small sculptures out of carving foam and they have A TON of scraps. The cool thing is that the scraps are in big sheets and I can glue them together and get a solid block roughly the size of my furs head. It isn't the really nice foam tho so I will just practice with this block for now.

[Ventus Fall]

Glad to hear it


Ah, I see. Well Let's put it this way, if your dad brings that up... There are always individuals who ruin it for the rest. I find that a bit weird that reaction, I don't know what they did to cause him to react in such a way, but regardless, those are people who do not represent the whole fandom. No 'group' or individual represents the whole fandom. So you could always mention that if your dad reacts in a way, referring to that incident.


Oooh, glad to hear you found your materials very easily and practise materials too. If you ever make something nice you'd like to share with the rest, feel free to create your own art topic as well

[Black Ice]

Disspaointing news the foam that the art room has is actually the blue foam sheets that are used for insulation and it snaps like Styrofoam. But I did get a little back into drawing and I drew just a sample anthro wolf, have to color it but I will make an art thread and post it there later.

[Armalite_]

Yeah styrofoam and foundation insulation isn't what you're looking for. It breaks too easy and isn't good for carving. Look for soft but dense carving foam similar to what you find in dense pillows used on firm couches or something similar. It can't be too soft or too firm so you can shape it easier and keeps it from falling apart.

People at cons will like to hug you a lot so it has to be durable if you're going to let them

[Black Ice]

So on they way home last night I stopped by Michaels and tried to look at some fake fur bug guess what, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY, or any fabric in yards. They only have it in little 18x10 inch sections and the fur is 6.99 for that small section, looks like I will not be going to Michaels for fabric of fur. By they do have foam, it comes in a roll and it is 1" thick, roughly 3 feet long, and roughly 5 or 6 feet long for 22.99 before tax, is that a good price or should I look somewhere online.
In other news I was drawing an anthro wolf and one of my friends saw and he pulled me to the side of the class and told me he was a furry too! IT IS SO AWESOME TO HAVE A FRIEND THAT IS A FURRY, he told me I can talk to him anytime about it which is good so if I don't have my phone I can get an opinion or just talk about cons/or anything furry related. Now is time to go to work for the first time so I can get some money for my partial, WOOO!!

[Narf]

hello and welcome =3

[surlifennec]

I don't know if anyone already suggested, but you can get stuff at furbuy.com , it's like the ebay of furries

[Black Ice]

hello and welcome =3

Thanks!

I don't know if anyone already suggested, but you can get stuff at furbuy.com , it's like the ebay of furries

  I will have to check that website out, Thanks!