The Plastic Corn Affair

joecifur @ 2008-07-04T02:03:00

2008-07-04T06:12:55Z

oh yeah! thanks to brace bear's awesome photo gallery, i found pics of one more of the suits i pulled off for ac --

i still need some more spots and i'll probably do a few alterations one day when i get time, but hey, i like the new design :j

doing a lot of moving stuff and thinking about stuff today; finished some feet and got through a few of the emails, but 200+ piled up over ac weekend so it is taking a bit, sorry! :x

oh, and here's a horrible dog
photorealism

joecifur @ 2008-07-02T20:22:00

2008-07-03T05:00:30Z

I can really just sum up AC by saying that it was different, but a lot of fun. I made a lot of new costumes this past month. Here are some of them. I still have to get pictures of 3 more.

click the icon previews for the corresponding galleries if you like

AC was fun, and seeing my friends made up for the iffy things that happened. I also met a couple cool new people. We made a sunbear with things we found on the floor. Midori's lizard got stuck in the drawer. I flailed around in the fursuit dance for a while. Kelsey won 4 sodas out of a vending machine with $1, and then we ran through a tornado to McDonalds, where a strange lesbian started blowing kisses at her.

oh who is this guy

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

sunday night we got bored and made a fursuit

its a sunbear

moustache

moustache

no i don't think you are any of those people

the end

FurFright can not come soon enough. :(

In work news, I finished a lot, a lot of suits this past month, and never would have been able to pull it off if it hadn't been for Rebecca and Julie's help. Rebecca will probably be doing a few more bodysuits for me in the near future while I catch up, so you guys are lucky -- she is way more talented than me when it comes to the sewy-sewing; the new bodies she helped make for my suits were awesome. :]

Oh, and this morning I finally opened my action packer and amusingly (well, not really) the TSA did a random search on my checked luggage and confiscated my febreeze, my scissors, and tried very hard to completely crush one of my fursuits. I guess a bag full of dog heads and plastic squeaky pizza has terrorism written all over it.

Work and moving for the next two weeks. Maybe I can get out and suit a bit (or at least chill) for the 4th of July, though. What's more American than celebrating Independence with illegal fireworks? Somebody come hang out with us.

And now, cleaning up and then bed for me.

aaaahahahahahahaha

2008-06-20T03:47:21Z

aajskdfhy fauxpawroo

joecifur @ 2008-06-18T12:28:00

2008-06-18T16:50:53Z

The long and short of it is that I have to move much much sooner than I initially planned. Not getting stuck temporarily moving everything into an apartment or something involved jumping through a lot of hoops, a lot of phone time, paying a fair bit more out of pocket and sacrificing blood to the blood god but whatever, I don't even care at this point, it will work out and I will not have to move everything into storage and live with my parents for three weeks or something. Just immediately before and immediately after AC is going to be really, really really tight.

So now I am packing and finishing a little more for AC. I'll probably just post all of these suits up when I get home since I don't have time to resize and edit and watermark everything right now.

ahhhhhh I'm sure I'll post again before AC; back to work for now though

joecifur @ 2008-06-14T18:39:00

2008-06-14T22:59:00Z

THE SHAVING

THE HORRIBLE SHAVING

joecifur @ 2008-06-12T12:43:00

2008-06-12T16:50:19Z

Today I did something different:

Normally I just go section by section, taping / sewing / tacking down, and don't put the eyes in until almost the end. But I had made a quick eye mockup (which is lopsided, oops) for this one to see how something would look and then just started taping around it. Tape trance. I don't know. I woke up fifteen minutes later and it was covered in tape.

Also, ott.

joecifur @ 2008-06-10T22:33:00

2008-06-11T02:35:43Z

Today I had an epiphany, and realised that at least one third of all emails I receive sound exactly like this when read aloud:

joecifur @ 2008-06-05T16:29:00

2008-06-05T20:29:37Z

I finished a bunch of head sculpts this week and should be getting folks some updates via email pretty soon. Everyone's feetpaws are foamed and the last of the handpaws will be done this weekend, too. Not a lot of individual updates since we're doing everything in batches, but at least three new characters will be done next week. After AC there are only a handful of outstanding commissions (not counting the new ones from August onward). After that I'm going to be working on the fur and cosplay store.

Speaking of: thanks for everyone's input on that! I got some really kickin' comments and opinions that I'm definitely going to be keeping in mind when that opens.

Ahhh I have so much to do but I can't wait for AC. :<

Also: neat.

Dynamic Thinker (DT)

The dynamic thinker is a confident and independent person. He radiates enthusiasm and energy. He pursues his objectives actively and energetically. He loves nothing better than new challenges. This type is the born leader, competent, energetic and responsible. He has a sharp eye for errors and can criticise without mercy if he sees the success of a project endangered. He is completely unconcerned as to whether he alienates anyone in the process. But he is always open to objective arguments; he loves discussions, is very gifted rhetorically and is good at convincing and enthusing others.

As he is very sociable, the dynamic thinker likes to have a lot of friends around him, preferably those with whom he can share his interests and discuss all sorts of subjects. He is very direct but never in an underhand or scheming manner. If you can bear being spoken to frankly, you have in him a loyal and unwavering advisor as friend. Everything new and unknown stimulates the dynamic thinker and awakens his curiosity. However, rules, routine and traditional things arouse his resistance. If something does not go the way he wants it to, he can react rather pigheadedly and obstinately.

The dynamic thinker expects a great deal of himself and of others. Whoever does not fit in with his scheme of things does not have it easy. He sometimes appears to be rather severe due to his frankness. Partners and family also find it difficult to satisfy the dynamic thinker. He knows exactly what he wants and compromising is inconceivable to him. Whoever has an dynamic thinker as partner should have a strong personality and have a great deal of independence and sufficient self-confidence in order to give this dominating type some opposition. Normally, for the dynamic thinker, a partnership only takes second place after his profession. But he like to have someone at his side who is a match for him intellectually, with whom he can pursue mutual objectives and have interesting discussions all night long; preferably factual discussions - sentimentalism and romance are not his thing.

joecifur @ 2008-05-30T22:14:00

2008-05-31T02:30:27Z

So after AnthroCon I'm going to be starting a new side project. Joecifurs (har, har). I know a few of my friends have had their share of complaints about crscraft.com, so I'm going to start this out as an alternative. Similar prices, handling time under 48hrs, and similar stock. Initially, Monterey Mills fur in basic colours, and I'll build from there.

Eventually and if it goes well I could expand this to other specialty fabrics and supplies for cosplayers and fursuiters, run by people who have a background in both, and aren't going to sell you second quality and end of bolt crap for first quality price, because they wouldn't want to use it, either.

As a note I don't really intend to stock the "spiky" furs like DF/Plushfurs/Sy/Etc because there are plenty of sources for those already so it's not really a good use of the limited space I'll have.

SO: would you guys be interested in something like this?

-What colours/lengths of fur do you buy most / want to see to start?
-What's more important to you, fast shipping or inexpensive shipping?
-Are there any other cosplay / fursuit products you'd like to have readily available?
-And finally, what is your ideal "minimum order" quantity? Half a yard? A fourth (9"x60", remember, that's very small).

Thanks for any feedback guys!

joecifur @ 2008-05-29T17:43:00

2008-05-29T21:47:48Z

Black dragon's almost done.

( look what i made sparklebiscuit do! )

Fact: What I really need is an employee.

joecifur @ 2008-05-27T13:22:00

2008-05-27T17:44:08Z

Sale is over now, thanks everyone who placed an order! If I replied to your email you were given a spot, so no worries.

-All of the auctions that ended this weekend, completed small orders, fur boxes & etc. are going out first thing in the morning;
-Photos for Synchra and Kashi shortly. I have to go out tomorrow re: family emergency, but I will get these to you asap;
-Glglhfhfhfhgg.

joecifur @ 2008-05-24T16:37:00

2008-05-24T20:45:45Z

Those of you who have fursuits or commissioned costumes from others (including me) that you either bought or traded for:

This is something I've always wanted to know: how important is professional-looking construction and finishing to you?

What I mean by this is: pretend the fursuit is absolutely perfect and awesome and flawless on the outside, everywhere that other people can see. Pretend also that however the construction looks on the inside, the suit is durable and comfortable.

So we're talking about the inside -- or "backstage" part of the costume. How much do you care about raw hems or edges? Does it put you off to look inside your costume and see hand-stitching, or does it just bother you if the hand-stitching is messy? What if the thread is a different colour than the fabric (assuming, again, none of this is visible on the outside). Stuff like that.

Nothing in particular brought this up, but I've seen it create issues before particularly with cosplayers I know, so -- I want to know! I want to know what's important to you guys when you're spending this much money, basically.

Does it bother you a little, a lot, or not at all? Does a nice-looking interior make you feel better about the whole costume? Be honest, I'm really curious about this!

BIG commission update, please read.

2008-05-20T00:32:31Z

NOTHING IN THIS POST APPLIES TO THE MOST RECENT COMMISSIONS I TOOK ON FOR AUGUST-DECEMBER 08 NO WORRIES DUDES SERIOUSLY YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK IT IS OK

Hey this is a big, big commission update so please read.

First, suits for AC completion in no particular order.

FURSUITS FOR AC:
Kalahari
~~Kojac~~
Oceanrider
Moonmochi

Most of these should go pretty quickly.

The first list below the cut (**in addition to** the list above) is of folks who have requested suit pieces BY ANTHROCON, ONLY. If you see your name on these lists and you *aren't* going to AC, please please be honest with me and let me know.

SMALL ORDERS (after ac):
Kashi dragon wings
Spadge
LoboRoo

If you wanted something for AC and have emailed me and sent a deposit but do not see your name here you need to let me know ASAP like woah. If I missed someone that's no problem just let me know so I can make sure you're on said list. Odds are I just accidentally skipped your name while copying this from notebook to computer.

If you wanted something for AC but still have not emailed me or paid a deposit I'm sorry but I sincerely doubt I can fit you in. I know several people fit into that category off hand. I need time in advance to schedule things amongst the 3 of us working on things and I can't keep hanging on maybes, sorry but it's really time to draw the line.

------

Second, this is the list of EVERYONE ELSE UNTIL AUGUST. If you aren't on the above list *OR* this one, but you HAVE sent me an email AND a paid deposit, please let me know; odds are I just accidentally skipped you while copying this from my notebook to the computer.

EVERYONE ELSE'S LARGE ORDERS:
Oceanrider's body
Kalahari's body
Evilsquirrel
Greywolf
Javert
MehndiX
Taren
Lucario
Jaycatt
Lynxeh
Line Kristensen
Dafydd Dragon
Varg
Matix Coon

Jared Fox (on hold?)
Ronny Racine (on hold?)
Rose Rabbit (on hold?)

LASTLY, if you are on the large order list for AC, I have an offer for you. I would like to be able to devote more time to finding a house, moving, cleaning up new house, etc. Consider this like an airline offering you a seat on a later flight. If you are willing to have your suit completed AFTER AC for any reason, send me an email and I will give you a **$100** credit toward your order or any future order. I'll extend this offer to 1 more person. If not that's fine too, just throwing it out there in case anyone wants free money in exchange for a week or two more of wait.

Please only leave comments if you have questions, etc. so I can keep this informative instead of full of 'gosh that is so much merfles softly' type stuff; also if you say that because you thought surely the irony of saying that after I just said not to say that would be hilarious, I will drive to your house and cut you.

Thanks for reading guys that's it for now.

NOTHING IN THIS POST APPLIES TO THE MOST RECENT COMMISSIONS I TOOK ON FOR AUGUST-DECEMBER 08 NO WORRIES DUDES SERIOUSLY YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK IT IS OK

joecifur @ 2008-05-19T17:20:00

2008-05-19T21:30:30Z

Promised fursuit updates. Three more new suits: the dragon and squirrel are coming soon.

Commission for Shadow; an updated, slightly more realistic and slightly more badass version of the toony head I made for him about two years ago.
I don't take commissions for heads like this (this was an exception); please don't ask.

Commission for Nanaki of his (really elaborate!) husky character. Many tiny pieces, no airbrushing.

And Synchra's red panda character. A lot of puff.

Reference art and extra photos of all of these in my gallery, as ever: http://b3mascots.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php

I'm going to take a break for a few and then get together the comissions to be done by AC info post.

joecifur @ 2008-05-18T17:52:00

2008-05-18T22:29:31Z

I've spent pretty much all of my free time this past week driving up and down every single side street and subdivision on the east side of Athens, looking at homes. I was doing pretty good until I started to second-guess myself, my budget, and my "ideal" neighborhoods. So I gave up and decided to start in Winterville and work my way downtown, one street at a time.

I'm kind of surprised by the amount of stuff that made me go "--has that always been there?" despite my living in the area for seven years now. Also,

Yeah, that's a six foot tall statue of a chicken with a bow on it.
You tell me.

I swear to god this was a house with a full-size covered wagon in the front yard. I know you can barely see it but it's right there in the middle. That's just how far it was from the street, even with like a 4x zoom.

Speaking of finding things in yards, I found this in -- mine, buried in a pile of dirt that I started sifting through looking for bricks and rocks to use. It's a piece of steel railroad railing. I don't really know why it's there, but I'm sure if cleaned up it'll make a good makeshift anvil for -- something. It is fucking heavy.

Oh, I found this in my yard, too.

Anyway, back to work. I'll have a red panda partial finished tomorrow, and photos of some recent stuff as well.

joecifur @ 2008-05-12T22:44:00

2008-05-13T03:11:37Z

Hey guys staying in my room for AC --
I have (afaik) Quaylak, Jake, Kelsey and Mirabem.
~3pm Thursday to 10 or 11 or something Monday.

$104.88/ea ; paypal or cash works.

Will shoot for a 'fursuit floor' room, but that's not for sure. Let me know if anything changes.

joecifur @ 2008-05-11T20:29:00

2008-05-12T00:40:23Z

Hope everybody had a happy Mother's Day, or at least a good weekend. We all (somehow) managed to surprise my mom by showing up at my parents' house for lunch. I was kind of flipping shit about losing another whole day on the drive back and forth, but it wasn't that bad and it was worth it anyway. My sister and her wife brought their kids, too.

My parents live pretty far out, on ~seven acres of land. Tractor lessons begin at age three.

We got my mom one of these. It's like a fruit basket? I guess, but they cut it up and arrange it to look like a bouquet of flowers. It was really, really good -- and even the "small" size was huge.

I'm going to be back and forth looking at houses this week so I won't be around that often, but I have four (4!) suits in the 'almost done yes yes yes' stage set to show up at Rocky Mtn Furcon, so hopefully I can post a flood of updates with photos soon. Watch this space, etc.

joecifur @ 2008-05-07T17:31:00

2008-05-07T22:15:35Z

One more suit done:

Qeniheru is a demon-lioness-keekee; I really like her and think she turned out v. pretty.
The rest: http://b3mascots.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1116

Also finished foaming Shadow's head today and did some of the last bit of work on the dragon. And some balaclavas and feetpaws and blah blah blah.

Also:

worked on some soon-to-be-dragon-wings; here's part of the base
not quite as purple as what this light picks up. they'll be really cool and lightweight when they're done i think

mailtime MAILTIME MAILTIME

i finally found a foam supplier in georgia that's a) inexpensive and b) won't treat you like a jackass when you call to ask about their stock
SO I ORDERED SIX ^ OF THOSE ROLLS
the ups guy who always gets stuck carting bolts and giant boxes of fur to my house goes 'you don't know how happy i was when i picked one of those up and realised it was only like two pounds'
check out http://www.regionalrubber.com/ in stone mountain!

CHICKENS

CHICKENS
lol ilu jill and fauxpaw

I also got part of my secret anthrocon suit in the mail today, but none of that gets posted online until after AC. But I am excited.

Oh yeah, I promised to update with more about that craft fair last weekend, but it's already been shed from my attention span so I -- won't.
But here's a video of me and Julie talking about stealing walmart flowers and wearing the hooves and wings we made.

God I can't wait until I get all my sinus and breathing stuff sorted out and my voice won't be so nasal anymore.

Now I cut more foam-- and a lot of emails still to catch up on. :<
Unless I've spoken to you (in which case you're OK, just give me a few days), new commissions are temporarily closed again until I get a few things caught up.

PS If someone knows/talks to Flain Falcon can you have him email me please? I've had his suit waiting to ship out here for over a month, I just need his address.

TAILY SALEY

2008-05-04T00:39:21Z

Today we went to a fair, saw A Unicorn, met a very important faery (with cardboard wings that she coloured Herself), and then got chased away by the rain.

Since we got cut off a lot earlier than expected, I have about half of everything left over. Since I'm moving in a month or two (go mortgage pre-approval!) I'd like to move this stuff out sooner than later. What does that mean? STUFF FOR SALE, $10-$30! Why invest your tax refund and economic stim. check when you could buy a tail to pin on your ass instead? Why indeed.

----------

Cute little tie-on horns and ears. 1.5 to 3" tall, celluclay and leather. I can take additional photos for you if you're interested in one but can't see it clearly.
From left, row 1: curly lavender glow in the dark, white anime wings with pink accents, curly red, curly beaten silver
from left, row 2: dark and light blue glow in the dark fins w/fur accent, ~~tall beaten silver spirals~~, copper and pink "ears" with fur accent, ~~curly semigloss black~~, black and pink "ears" with fur accent
$15 + $3 shipping US, $7 shipping int'l.
Or request a custom pair for $20.

Cat tails. 2' long, the usual. Two of each colour left.
$20 + $5 shipping US, $15 shipping int'l.
BUY THIS ON ETSY IT'S EASY

Wolf & fox tails. 2' long -- about a third smaller than my usual, and half the price. 2 of each colour left, 1 white.
$25 + $5 shipping US, $15 shipping int'l.
BUY THIS ON ETSY IT'S EASY

Foxtail keychains! 3.5" long -- big enough to take a beating but small enough for a sidekick.
$7 + $3 shipping US, $6 shipping int'l.
BUY THIS ON ETSY IT'S EASY

I also have some other stuff up on Etsy (random tails, ears). Buy them and roll on them.

I got like three hours of sleep last night and I've now blown the last little bit of energy I had left, so I'm going to go get a tiny bit of work done and then crash. I'll post a better write-up and more work updates within the next day or two.

joecifur @ 2008-05-01T17:49:00

2008-05-01T21:54:12Z

Hey guys gmail is giving me some issues (aka suddenly I am not receiving ANY paypal notifications, and weird delays in emails sent to me), so if you send me a payment for something in the next few weeks please email me too. (I'll double check via paypal anyway.) I think I found everyone who sent me one, though.
Don't worry about this if I've already emailed you a confirmation or if you sent a payment more than a week ago.

Next ten:
Kashi's dragon (just body/wings left)
Evilsquirrel (delayed a tad for matching fur--)
~~Qeniheru~~
Shadow Wolf 2.0 (head only, almost done with foaming)
Red13Nanaki
Synchra
Sayuri
Greywolf
Eclipse
Kalahari
Shesta

Shadow, Evilsquirrel and Red13Nanaki I'll be emailing shortly.

For what it's worth, 2008 is completely full. I'm holding a few spots in January 09 for a few people (Redrumwolf/Writing, Foxwolf9tails,) whenever I get time to get back to them. I may take on one or two more if a really cool idea comes my way, otherwise I'll reopen fully after I move (in July or August). Sorry to those I wasn't able to get back to.
Tails/paws/feet are still totally open. I only have 3 of those right now, and starting next week my sister will be back here working to help out.

Saturday Julie and I will be selling some stuff at Faeryfest (hope it doesn't rain) just outside of Athens. Cute renaissance/faerie themed craft fair, probably not very big since this is its first year. But come hang out or visit!

Also:

KINDER BISCUITS
KINDER BISCUITS
OH GOD
I NEED THEM

joecifur @ 2008-04-27T21:22:00

2008-04-28T01:43:32Z

Next week they're holding this "Faeryfest" thing near Athens that I thought I'd try and go sell at. So I took a day off of commissions and with a little (ok, a lot of) help we made a giant pile of tails (24), tailkeychains (10) and tinyhorns (a lot)!:

I'm really excited about the horns and can't wait to paint them. They're like those typical ren faire horns that tie on with a knotted cord. Really tiny and cute. tidal_pool is way better at sculpting than I am.

I'm sure 2/3 of this stuff will end up back on here for sale or on etsy next week so keep a heads up if you're interested in any low-priced tails or horns with a quick turnaround.

I also foamed a bunch of people's feetpaws and did half the head foaming for Shadow, Qeniheru and Synchra's heads this weekend. Oh and knocked out a couple more Etsy tails and tail commissions, leaving just three 'small' orders left. I am going to crash for the rest of the night, but more progress updates soon. Ahshfgggg

joecifur @ 2008-04-23T14:25:00

2008-04-23T19:04:22Z

I have had a really cool week. For one thing, my dad is seriously on his A game this month. First the forks (hehe), then he calls me back this morning and says he found a "$300 video card" at the police auction (free) but "isn't sure if you want it." Uh -- don't mind if I do! Now I need a better fan and power supply or my computer is going to fry, lol.

Second, fauxpawroo came up on Monday to hang out and fursuit for a few days. We went out to eat and chilled with fastclaw and fayded_chaos, met up with aaronica, went shopping downtown with tidal_pool, worked on suits and stuffed Fauxpaw into Gent to take some photos.

no no no NO NO

I also finished some new fursuit heads and took some photos of Gent, which are

Vladimir is a bat who does not have wings because he works at the Starbucks drive-through and ergo eventually ripped them off in a fit of frustration and rage. Also his eyes glow in the dark. Full gallery and concept: http://b3mascots.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1027

The head for an elaborate dragon commission I'm working on -- body and wings still to come.

and one really cute picture of gent from the gardens that i liked! the rest are here: http://b3mascots.com/gallery/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1096

And now, getting something to eat with my sister and one of her friends and back to work.

we just ate a lot of potatoes

2008-04-22T01:12:08Z

joecifur @ 2008-04-20T22:44:00

2008-04-21T03:00:37Z

So once upon a time I had a set of twelve (12) forks. A year later I had three (3) forks. Where did the forks go? It is a mystery. Most likely they were accidentally thrown away. I guess.

Anyway, I told my dad about this [jokingly] a few weeks ago. Today I went to visit the family and on the way out he gave me a plastic bag filled with forks. A plastic bag full of thirty or more forks, no two of which are alike. "What the hell," I said, "are these forks." And he said yeah, when people set off the metal detectors at the police station / courthouse sometimes it's a fork and we have to confiscate it; here you go.

I'm really oddly pleased with this, like I want to log onto Craigslist > Atlanta and tell people that I have their forks.

Almost done with the bat (tomorrow or Tuesday) and the dragon suit (bit longer for pictures on that one since it has wings I need to work out) as well as a couple other things; I'll have an update in a couple days as well as the next round of email replies for folks.

joecifur @ 2008-04-15T13:50:00

2008-04-15T18:13:10Z

http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=177937,00.html
http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=177937,00.html
http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=177937,00.html

Just wanted to let you (US) folks know that the IRS' website has put up their official statement on that economic relief bill that a lot of rumours are still floating around about. I know I've talked to a lot of people about it and they've thought everything from "oh well you won't get anything if you didn't file for the last 2 years in a row" to "oh well I heard it's only if you made 30-50k AGI last year," to "oh well it's only if you have children," none of which are true. If you filed a tax return for the 2007 year you are getting an extra tax refund check period. It ranges from $200-$600 for singles and starts phasing back out at $70k+.

Even if you don't make enough to owe taxes (under ~$9k), they're allowing anyone who can show at least $3k to file with no taxes due and still be eligible for additional refund. If that's you, I suggest you pop on over to TurboTax and do so-- well, today.

So it's not a flat $600 like yet other rumours suggest, but personally I am A-OK with an extra few hundred dollars to comp the rest of the taxes I paid. Cool.

(BTW, please consider this entry to be informative instead of for eliciting arguments and/or whining about the government & economy or I'll just take it down.)