The Magic of Fursuiting!

[baconcoyote]

So when I first got into the fandom, the main and primary force that was driving my desire was Fursuiting. It caught my eye immediately upon discovery of furry and I just KNEW that I had to do this. First of all, I was thinking, why on earth do I want to do this SO BADLY!? This couldn’t be MORE out of character of me. I’ve never been one that

Comments

[thump]

Furfag ;)

[baconcoyote]

NO U!!!!

[nikolai_miko]

I like this story. It reminds me a lot of the first time I suited (and every time since). I know what you mean by just being kind of transformed by the suit you wear. Now, having 2 suits (at this rate I am gunna be /that guy/ with like 15 suits *shakes his head*) I notice that each one has a unique character to it. In a way though, they feel like an extension and then an expansion of parts of my personality.
I think it might be interesting to see what other people who fursuit say about it. How they feel in a suit. I hear this angle from people... the one where the character takes over... but I haven't really heard anyone else talk about it.

[baconcoyote]

Nothing wrong with being the guy with 15 suits :P

I hear ya on the personality extension. Especially with Bacon. It really is just an extension of me. It feels a lot easier to get into Bacon's headspace than it does any other characters. But that unique mental space still does exist!

It's cool that you feel similarly... I don't think everyone quite gets to experience this.

[seritaph]

Very interesting on how it impacted your life.

[baconcoyote]

It's definitely been a major and good impact. Have you ever suited before?

[seritaph]

Nope! Well, a little bit, but in a very specific suit style and for a very specific goal. No fully developed character or anything.

[jilduck]

what you're describing, bakes, is Acting. with a capital A. how gratifying it is to completely enter the "avatar" of the character (and not in that way, yiffy puppies!)... there's really nothing like it. it's what keeps me coming back to fursuiting, too - and honestly sometimes it's easier for me to completely become the character in a fursuit than it is onstage. (though overall i think the art of fursuiting is closer to the art of clowning, the actual experience you mention there is the sign of a good actor.)

though i still don't think it's as serious of an art form than stage or film acting, heh, but it's also rarely serious in its execution, isn't it? giant animal costumes and all that. it's plain fun. :)

[baconcoyote]

I suppose when you break it down it is pretty similar to acting. I can see how being able to get into a characters head is so very very important to being a good actor. It's like when you hear about people like Jim Carrey (who I do find to be a GREAT actor) BECOMING Andy Kaufman or something along those lines.

Awesome stuff. And yeah... It's definitely not quite as serious of an art form as acting.... but you're right. How often is it trying to be anything more than just people having fun in a giant animal costume?

Good thoughts. I never really looked at things in this way.

[colinstu]

You seem to act different in suit, but when I started comparing how you acted in suit to how you did in real life, they're actually kind of similar.

Sure, everything you do in suit is way exaggerated, but that slinky way you walk, that way you kind of hang off everyone when you have your hand around them... quite similar in suit and real life.

Lol, I had Chicago Babe stuck in my head pretty bad a few days ago.

[baconcoyote]

You're right! I feel like Bacon especially is a giant extension of my own personality. Playing him is something that takes the least amount of effort compared to even playing Nipper, our new suit. They both share similarities in the sense that the suit has its own personality that you enter.. but Bacon's is just so much more in line with my own. I kind of like that about playing a character.

I dont know what Chicago Babe is!!

[colinstu]

http://manasto.tumblr.com/post/286930213/chicago-babe-by-mark-farina-from-mushroom-jazz-4

lol... remember first hearing it while you were driving us through a rainy chicago en route to FCN08. (the minivan with the axle about the fall off!)

[baconcoyote]

OH YEAH!!

SWEET! I was just listening to one of the other mushroom jazz sets in the car on the way home :)