Basics of fursuiting (with a twist) ?

[Snackcat]

So there's this idea for an event I've been mulling over. Often you get fursuit workshops but they often relate to the performance aspect, How to emote, how to compose a character and that sort of thing.

But I know from experience that when you put on a fursuit for the first time the character is only one part of it, wearing a suit can be disorienting and cumbersome. So my suggestion is for a workshop that focuses on getting people comfy with basic movement and things like restricted field of vision and muffled sound.

This could be helpful for beginners who are still a little uncomfortable wearing a suit.

What do you think?

[SFW]

I'm working on something like this with Sparkywolf. Hopefully that will answer a lot of those questions that people have when starting out suiting. A lot of people say that performance is natural and you put yourself into it, but it can be hard to know what will work and what won't.

[Cursico!]

It sounds like a neat idea... Lord knows I waddle like a fat penguin on a rocking boat that is also spinning on a round-about while in suit and will trip over anything that lies in front of me... but how do you actually propose to help people with that?

Part of it comes down to spatial awareness (which does seem to be an inherited trait... or at least configured very early in life), heat tolerance... claustrophobia... ability to concentrate etc.
Maybe throwing a bunch of odd-footed fursuits into a room filled with pointy objects lying on the floor might force us to learn and learn fast... but that may perhaps require an ethics form. Just maybe.

[Bezel]

...I waddle like a fat penguin on a rocking boat that is also spinning on a round-about...

Well, if it comes to fursuit charades, at least I now know what you'll be attempting

Part of it comes down to spatial awareness (which does seem to be an inherited trait... or at least configured very early in life), heat tolerance... claustrophobia... ability to concentrate etc.

I've seen even practised suiters bump into things before - spatial awareness is one thing, but it's possibly more due to the tunnel vision that suits impose - it's amazing how much you miss it when navigating steps, kerbs, slopes, groups of squishy babies etc.

As the vision and heat buildup are, to a large degree, dependent on the construction of the suit itself you have to learn to work with the suit gives you - so I expect to see lots of meditation and "becoming one with the suit"... or maybe not...  

As an aside, I've also been told by someone who suffers from it that claustrophobia isn't so much a fear of being enclosed, as a fear of being unable to escape from being enclosed...whether this is true for everyone, I don't know, but at least a suit head can (normally) be quickly removed, even if if it does "spoil the magic".

Maybe throwing a bunch of odd-footed fursuits into a room filled with pointy objects lying on the floor might force us to learn and learn fast... but that may perhaps require an ethics form. Just maybe.

Well, if it involves form-filling, SFW is the man for the job. He has forms coming out of his ears, and a whole rainbow of coloured highlighters !

[Snackcat]

It sounds like a neat idea... Lord knows I waddle like a fat penguin on a rocking boat that is also spinning on a round-about while in suit and will trip over anything that lies in front of me... but how do you actually propose to help people with that?

Part of it comes down to spatial awareness (which does seem to be an inherited trait... or at least configured very early in life), heat tolerance... claustrophobia... ability to concentrate etc.
Maybe throwing a bunch of odd-footed fursuits into a room filled with pointy objects lying on the floor might force us to learn and learn fast... but that may perhaps require an ethics form. Just maybe.

Lord no! O.O think of the damage to the suit paws!

I admit I hadn't thought about the specifics of the workshop, but have several vague ideas, maybe several fursuiters trying to practice movment while navigating chairs and other objects? or perhaps in groups learning how to compensate for the peripheral vision?

I think that would be something for a more experienced fursuiter to think up x.x I'm not very well versed in the art of suiting.

[Rwylin]

there is the fursuiting 101 panel as well as the bar meet for new furs that will be covering this kinda stuff    ^^

[SFW]

The bar meet seems to be a lot more about meeting new people and what goes on at a convention then purely fursuiting.

[Rwylin]

it is more about meeting people and what genraly goes on at a con.... but as the fursuiting 101 is going on at the same time i thaught perhaps have a small segment in there about suiting as i know a few people who will be attending are new to suiting as well as cons and have asked me to try and cover the basics.

If the CF staff would rarther i not cover this then thats fine.

[Cursico!]

Lord no! O.O think of the damage to the suit paws!

Oh yeah... I suppose spikes can damage the suit. The people inside will be fine, though.

It might be worth having that little chair obstacle course you mentioned... maybe also filming the suiters as they go about it, then showing them the footage afterwards. That would require equipment, mind you... but seeing yourself on film in a situation where your suit-awareness would be low sounds like it could help some folks out. And I am totally a video-hog. All cameras on me please

[SFW]

I don't think there's any problem Rwylin, it's your social meeting event. You can discuss and go through what you think is best and see what people actually want to know and go through.

[Delph]

Hi all,

Unfortunately, we're now at the position where we can't change the schedule any more and still be able to publish the conbook in time.

I think we're also covering some of these things with the "your first convention" formal event, the informal bar meet afterwards, and the fursuiting 101 event.

I'm going to pass on the suggestion to the team organising the fursuit stage events though, as it might be a possible idea for a challenge at the fursuit fiasco. Again, however, I think they're advanced in the planning and might have started to build the challenges already.

These are all good ideas! Keep them safe and suggest them again at the start of next year

Thanks,
Delph

[RizzoRattie]

Hi All,

just to note on what Delph has said here, planning for the Fursuit Fiasco is already well and truely in motion and all the games have already been designed and decided on.  The idea of a chair obsticle course is a lovely idea for a Fursuit 101 panel, but for a larger event with 50+ fursuiters, it would be somewhat chaotic and, always hating to wear the official hat, it would be somewhat of a health and safety issue, which we do have to consider everytime we try to think up games and events.

Any ideas you do have that you might like to see in the Fursuit Fiasco, by all means email to the fursuitrelations@ team, as we keep a file of game ideas that we revisit every year, and are always looking for interesting and inventive new ideas!

Kind Regards,

Rizzo

[Dasherskywere]

That's sounds like an amazing idea! I know it's way to late as Delph said to add an event in but i really do hope that something like this gets added somewhere! I'm picking up my first fursuit (full) on the first day of Confuzzled and i can see things like you mentioned being tricky to say the least Would be so helpful to get some handy tips to stop me falling on my a** XD

[suburbanfox]

Question for SFW / Sparky re. the Fursuit 101 panel --

I'm probably going to the bar meet, though it's a close decision.

Would there be any possibility of getting the Fursuiting 101 panel recorded (and hopefully shared with attendees) for the benefit of those who can't be in two places at once? 

[SFW]

I will see what I can do to film it, I have a video camera, but will see about obtaining a better quality one.