How To Fursuit
So you want to know how to fursuit. Well, it's pretty complicated, but I'll try to explain...
Have fun.
Respect other people & what's important to them.
Put some heart into it.
BOOM. You're done, mission accomplished.
But wait, you say. That's not going to make me the next Ravertooth or Yippee Coyote!
Nope, it isn't. But why compare yourself to someone else? Your strengths may be different. Play to them. Taking inspiration from someone who is successful is awesome, taking jealousy from it, that's not going to help.
The thing about fursuiting is, to some people it's a huge important, really personal deal. To some people it's fucking around in animal-shaped fur. Neither side is inherently right or wrong. What makes it MORE right or wrong is whether it works, whether you're having fun, others are having fun.
If you feel the need to scorn someone because the reasons they suit don't match yours, you need to stop and watch an episode of Diff'rent Strokes. (If you don't know what Diff'rent Strokes is, WHA'CHU TALKIN 'BOUT WILLIS?")
Specifically the opening theme song where they say:
"Now the world don't move, to the beat of just one drum...
What might be right for you, may not be right for some.."
Now if someone's style is DIRECTLY (this word is important, and will be clarified in a second) negatively affecting someone else's experience... that's not cool. That's not respecting. Let's examine a few potential situations:
1. "Babbles Bunny is talking in suit and suits shouldn't talk! She's ruining it!"
You can decide if you think Babbles is effective at bringing a speaking character to life, assuming that's even what she's going for (she may just be being herself in a suit, not creating a character), but she's entitled to do that, and she's not hurting anyone unless she's cussing loudly in front of children or saying horrible things. Bzzzzzt.
2. "Pssst, did you hear that Espiayche Coyote is actually a murrsuit? I saw his zipper once. How disgusting!"
Okay, so is Espiayche's suit clean if you look at it? I don't mean, can you find the zipper if you look hard enough, I mean does it look/seem clean? Be careful not to interpret disheveled fur as dirty, because some types of fur just always look messy. Is he acting lewdly or inappropriately in public? Is his junk out? No? Then leave him alone.
What he does in his free time should be none of your concern and if he makes sure his suit is clean and well kept when he's in public then he's Doing It Right. If you get right down to it, his suit could even be CLEANER than some non-murrsuits because he knows what cleans best and understands the importance of keeping it clean. You don't get to judge what you think fursuits should be for, except your own. There are tons of people who have murrsuits that you probably don't suspect. That's because they are mature people who understand and practice discretion.
3. "OH MY GOD, Decapi Gator just took off his head and he's WALKING AROUND THE CON like that! WTF!"
Well, you could probably argue that Decapi Gator probably isn't really invested in bringing a believable character to life, or possibly that he isn't a great judge of his own stamina and had to do that to not pass out, but Decapi is still entitled to walk around the con merrily carrying his head upside down and eating popcorn out of it. Cause, guess what, he paid for it, and he's enjoying it. If there are small children around, it's less respectful, but again, still his, still his prerogative.
So what kind of suiting behavior IS bad then, Croc? Is EVERYTHING okay? Who can I scorn?
If you're looking for people to scorn, it could be that your priorities are a little messed up. Lead by example. Set the standard. If people are honestly screwing up, you aren't going to be the only one that notices, and their behavior will usually speak for itself without you sounding the alarm. If you see someone being destructive, violent or lewd, by all means let the proper individuals know, but otherwise, suit and let suit is a pretty good motto. There are a lot of things that you probably should avoid, however.
It's hard to see well in a lot of fursuits. This can lead to misjudging things, like touching someone in a way that you didn't intend (always apologize quickly). Because of this, you should always be paying attention to what's happening around you.
Don't butt in and try to steal attention from someone who already has an audience. You can try to join in and do something fun if you have a good idea that matches what they're doing, but never steal someone's thunder. If they're clearly working to do something, respect that.
Don't engage someone who is suiting to discuss RL things unless it's Really Important. Especially if this person is not a good friend.
Don't call someone in suit by their name instead of their character's name. This can be a honest mistake, but still, really try not to do this. It can ruin the illusion they're trying to create.
Don't walk in front of someone who's posing for a photo. Pay attention, it's just rude. Photobombing is also questionable, there can be times when it's fun, other times you're just wrecking a specific photo that someone wanted to get. Your fun shouldn't ever be at the expense of someone else's.
Don't interupt the conversation of non-suiters unless you do it in a really clever, amusing way, and be aware that if you risk this, it may not come off like it did in your head. Be careful.
Don't get overly physical with others. You may think you're playing around, but the other person may be a different strength level. They may have worse vision. They might suddenly trip over something and before you know it, it's Final Destination 6. It's all fun and games until someone loses a follow-you eye. (Actually you can't really lose those, they're like, deep in the head.)
Don't steal the unique, specific schtick of another character. If they do something unique first and successfully, stealing it isn't going to grant you the same popularity, it's more likely to make people think you have to copy other people to get attention. Unless you can do it way way better (can, not THINK you can), just don't.
Suiting is actually way deeper and more complex than a lot of people might think, but it also doesn't have to be. It's whatever makes you and the people around you smile and enjoy themselves. You don't even have to want to suit at conventions, around furries or even necessarily around other people at all.
If you're having fun, being respectful and putting some heart into it, congratulations.
You're Doing It Right.
Have fun.
Respect other people & what's important to them.
Put some heart into it.
BOOM. You're done, mission accomplished.
But wait, you say. That's not going to make me the next Ravertooth or Yippee Coyote!
Nope, it isn't. But why compare yourself to someone else? Your strengths may be different. Play to them. Taking inspiration from someone who is successful is awesome, taking jealousy from it, that's not going to help.
The thing about fursuiting is, to some people it's a huge important, really personal deal. To some people it's fucking around in animal-shaped fur. Neither side is inherently right or wrong. What makes it MORE right or wrong is whether it works, whether you're having fun, others are having fun.
If you feel the need to scorn someone because the reasons they suit don't match yours, you need to stop and watch an episode of Diff'rent Strokes. (If you don't know what Diff'rent Strokes is, WHA'CHU TALKIN 'BOUT WILLIS?")
Specifically the opening theme song where they say:
"Now the world don't move, to the beat of just one drum...
What might be right for you, may not be right for some.."
Now if someone's style is DIRECTLY (this word is important, and will be clarified in a second) negatively affecting someone else's experience... that's not cool. That's not respecting. Let's examine a few potential situations:
1. "Babbles Bunny is talking in suit and suits shouldn't talk! She's ruining it!"
You can decide if you think Babbles is effective at bringing a speaking character to life, assuming that's even what she's going for (she may just be being herself in a suit, not creating a character), but she's entitled to do that, and she's not hurting anyone unless she's cussing loudly in front of children or saying horrible things. Bzzzzzt.
2. "Pssst, did you hear that Espiayche Coyote is actually a murrsuit? I saw his zipper once. How disgusting!"
Okay, so is Espiayche's suit clean if you look at it? I don't mean, can you find the zipper if you look hard enough, I mean does it look/seem clean? Be careful not to interpret disheveled fur as dirty, because some types of fur just always look messy. Is he acting lewdly or inappropriately in public? Is his junk out? No? Then leave him alone.
What he does in his free time should be none of your concern and if he makes sure his suit is clean and well kept when he's in public then he's Doing It Right. If you get right down to it, his suit could even be CLEANER than some non-murrsuits because he knows what cleans best and understands the importance of keeping it clean. You don't get to judge what you think fursuits should be for, except your own. There are tons of people who have murrsuits that you probably don't suspect. That's because they are mature people who understand and practice discretion.
3. "OH MY GOD, Decapi Gator just took off his head and he's WALKING AROUND THE CON like that! WTF!"
Well, you could probably argue that Decapi Gator probably isn't really invested in bringing a believable character to life, or possibly that he isn't a great judge of his own stamina and had to do that to not pass out, but Decapi is still entitled to walk around the con merrily carrying his head upside down and eating popcorn out of it. Cause, guess what, he paid for it, and he's enjoying it. If there are small children around, it's less respectful, but again, still his, still his prerogative.
So what kind of suiting behavior IS bad then, Croc? Is EVERYTHING okay? Who can I scorn?
If you're looking for people to scorn, it could be that your priorities are a little messed up. Lead by example. Set the standard. If people are honestly screwing up, you aren't going to be the only one that notices, and their behavior will usually speak for itself without you sounding the alarm. If you see someone being destructive, violent or lewd, by all means let the proper individuals know, but otherwise, suit and let suit is a pretty good motto. There are a lot of things that you probably should avoid, however.
It's hard to see well in a lot of fursuits. This can lead to misjudging things, like touching someone in a way that you didn't intend (always apologize quickly). Because of this, you should always be paying attention to what's happening around you.
Don't butt in and try to steal attention from someone who already has an audience. You can try to join in and do something fun if you have a good idea that matches what they're doing, but never steal someone's thunder. If they're clearly working to do something, respect that.
Don't engage someone who is suiting to discuss RL things unless it's Really Important. Especially if this person is not a good friend.
Don't call someone in suit by their name instead of their character's name. This can be a honest mistake, but still, really try not to do this. It can ruin the illusion they're trying to create.
Don't walk in front of someone who's posing for a photo. Pay attention, it's just rude. Photobombing is also questionable, there can be times when it's fun, other times you're just wrecking a specific photo that someone wanted to get. Your fun shouldn't ever be at the expense of someone else's.
Don't interupt the conversation of non-suiters unless you do it in a really clever, amusing way, and be aware that if you risk this, it may not come off like it did in your head. Be careful.
Don't get overly physical with others. You may think you're playing around, but the other person may be a different strength level. They may have worse vision. They might suddenly trip over something and before you know it, it's Final Destination 6. It's all fun and games until someone loses a follow-you eye. (Actually you can't really lose those, they're like, deep in the head.)
Don't steal the unique, specific schtick of another character. If they do something unique first and successfully, stealing it isn't going to grant you the same popularity, it's more likely to make people think you have to copy other people to get attention. Unless you can do it way way better (can, not THINK you can), just don't.
Suiting is actually way deeper and more complex than a lot of people might think, but it also doesn't have to be. It's whatever makes you and the people around you smile and enjoy themselves. You don't even have to want to suit at conventions, around furries or even necessarily around other people at all.
If you're having fun, being respectful and putting some heart into it, congratulations.
You're Doing It Right.