Experienced construction. Custom Designed & Built for You.

Deanna (aka Beetlecat) is a sculptural artist with over TWO decades of professional art experience and an unmatched semi-realistic/idealized-realistic style of fursuit construction. 

HEADS:

The head design is hand-scupted from oil-based clay and then molded in silicone and cast in strong & durable semi-rigid urethane resin.

This resin ‘base’ is cleaned up, trimmed, and blackened on the inside to improve vision and better conceal the wearer; an internal armature is added so the head can be worn/adjusted to fit and the jaw can be opened/closed.

The hand-painted glass eyes and custom-sculpted resin teeth are finished and installed into the head.

The rest of the head and the final shape is created by carving/gluing/adding various open and closed-cell foams to the base structure for ears, eyelids, cheeks, gums, etc

Fursuits are inherently big, bulky, hot, and heavy, but comfort is an important factor in how I build my costumes.

I smooth down and/or pad out any rough or hard spots in the inner head. I pad the inside top of the head with a thin layer of closed-cell foam (thin so to not add extra heat or block airflow) for comfort (closed-cell so that it may be easily wiped down after use).

I line with fabric any part of the inside of the head that will contact your head or neck. This also serves to protect the fur backings from stretching or wear.

I suggest you wear a thin black balaclava inside the head - This protects the head from sweat and body oils and it also can be used to fully mask your mouth when you open the jaw.

I open the nostrils of the nose to allow for as much air circulation as possible. I also cut out the inner base of the ear (invisible from the outside once furred) to help vent extra heat up and out of the head.

A muzzle fan can be added on request.

Once the basic head structure is complete, the fur is patterned and attached with a combination of sewing and gluing.

The fur is trimmed and then airbrushed. Eye mesh is added (blackened on the inside to reduce glare) and then also painted to match the fur.

Eyelids, lips and gums are added or adjusted as needed for the final look and overall expression and glossed for looks and durability. Hair is styled (wefts are added if character appropriate).

Whiskers are added (on request) and and everything is checked many times to insure it is finished, secure, and moves (or doesn’t move) exactly how it should.

As vision is key for navigating dark convention hallways and interacting with the public & fans, I do my best to reduce any blind spots when designing and constructing the head - with larger eye ports situated closely to the face.

If you need eye correction, the wear of contacts with your fursuit head is recommended, If you prefer/require glasses, please mention it when ordering a commission so I can adjust the head for more room.

I am happy to make any real-life (or characters based on a combination of real-life) species!

Designs I have not made before will incur a design fee (for my labour and cost to sculpt, mold, and cast the resin base).

My current repertoire includes: Big cat, Small cat, wild canine, working-breed domestic canine, otter, fox, fennec, skunk, deer, & cattle.

As adjusting an animal’s shape to fit on a human head already leads to some amount of consistency between species (and with the additions of foam/varying ear shapes/nose and teeth resculpts), many of these can be adjusted for other similar species! (ie badger, jackal, caribou).

As an optional alternative, Some heads are made from a lighter weight closed-cell foam. The rest of the finishing details are the same.

This type of head is very light-weight. Can be built very large or very tall. (Such as for a quadsuit or neck-vision style) and more unique, customized shapes can be created relatively inexpensively. It is also easier to modify after construction if you like to add your own touches such as fans, LEDs, etc.

This type of head is currently static-jaw only (so if you want a moving jaw it will have to be in the resin-style of head).

Vision through either type of head is usually through mesh near the eyes (never through the eyes themselves), through the nostrils, through the mouth, or under the chin (or often through a combination of methods).

BODYSUITS:

Each bodysuit is tailored to fit snug and comfortable via the use of a body-double duct tape dummy.

All body patterns, paddings, and details are individually drafted and designed to fit the individual’s body style and character design.

Together, we will discuss all padding options and styles during the initial quote phase of the process. I can do digitigrade, plantigrade, unguligrade, chest padding, shoulder padding, back padding, rear padding - just ask!

Bodysuits are not lined and the use of a dive skin or spandex undersuit is HIGHLY recommended/required.

Using an under layer to capture sweat and damaging oils will increase the longevity of your costume as well as increase comfort of wearing.

These fursuits are made from only faux fur fabrics. Some specialty fibers can include the use of real animal hair (but this is rare and will be discussed/disclosed). Horns and antlers are sculpted or replicas. Only all new materials (foams, stuffing, etc) are used in the construction of all costumes.

FEET:

Feet are realistic and durable. Sized to fit the wearer, they will not slip off, even through very energetic performance.

Realistic feet have tough, realistic, sculpted rubber pawpads that can stand up to all surfaces.

Feet can also be made with simple flat parade soles or soft-stuffed indoor/photo-only pads.

They can have claws or no claws. I can also include the skin ‘cuticle’ as found in animals with retractable claws (felines) sewn from fabric.

Even in digitigrade fursuits, my feet have your entire foot on the ground.

At this time, I will not make anything that has the wearer up on their toes with no heel (such as hoof-boots) or any types of stilts that has the entire foot off the ground (due to the potential danger or injury to the wearer involved).

Hands:

Hands are available in many different styles; from large paws with realistic paw pads, to thin dexterous gloves with simple sewn-on pads.

Feline paws have large puffy fingers and can have sewn fabric pads or realistic rubber pads. The claws (if any) are large and lightly curved. They are not sharp.

Like feet, they can have little fabric ‘cuticles’ to represent extended retractable claws.

If no claws/retracted claws is preferred, an airbrushed or furred ‘claw slit’ can be added instead.

Canine paws are generally slimmer, more form-fitted gloves with either sewn stuffed fabric or realistic cast pads.

The claws are similarly smaller/slimmer and have been specifically designed for this style of paw (feline/canine claws cannot be swapped.)

Claws are attached externally so there are no hard bits inside the paw itself.

All paws are unlined (except for the cuff) so wearing thin spandex gloves inside (as a washable liner) is suggested (though optional).

In addition to these more common styles, I have/can also design and make any other species hands/feet (webbed, hooved, etc) needed to complete the costume.

Check out my gallery photos for more paw styles!

TAILS:

Tails are carefully and individually designed to energetically waggle back-and-forth (and bounce up-and-down) naturally with body movement.

I try to replicate the real shapes of natural tails. Such as in designing them for a more realistic movement (originating from the tail-tip instead of the base) and using primarily longer furs when possible.

I have made a wide variety of tails including cat, canine, free-standing upright skunk, and horse tails; using all sorts of materials and designs.

Check out my gallery photos for more tail styles!

I check in with the customer several times during the building process but please be proactive with any requests or concerns.

My masks are not intended to be dismantled or swapped out so any edits requested after the fact may be difficult/impossible and/or will incur an extra labour fee.

I can usually accommodate special requests, but they NEED to be discussed during the quoting phase of the project before ANY work is done.