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⚜️ Guidelines

How to fursuit/Interact with fursuiters

This is a helpful list of tips and tricks for fursuiters and handlers to help make our performances in public the very best they can be. By no means are these rules, these are guidelines to explain and help you.

Fursuiters

Moving and gesturing in suit

1. Exaggerate everything
2. Walk with attitude, have a bit of swag in your step.
3. Big movements so people can see you.
4. Keep moving when possible.

When you don’t know what to do: do something!

1. If you don’t know what to do, just do something and roll with it.
2. There is no one size fits all. Do what feels natural for you.

Conveying mood in suit (via body language, head position)

1. Head position and body language can convey your mood in suit.
2. Experiment with different head positions and body positions to see how they look.
3. Practice in front of a mirror.
4. Exaggerate body language as it will be more difficult to see in suit.

To talk or not pros and cons

1. Talking depends on personal preference and suit style.
2. Some chose not to talk due to having a static jaw and large head, making talking difficult.
3. If you are talking and have a moveable jaw, you may have to raise your voice more than normal to be heard. Don’t strain your voice.

Poseable eyebrows, tongues, ears and other parts

1. Can be used to enhance on to your performance.
2. Don’t grab a suiters eyebrows, tongue or ears without asking.
3. Play around with it to determine how best to use this for your performance.

Safety tips and how to communicate with a handler

1. Have hand signals planned out before so you can effectively communicate with a handler in the event of a problem.
2. Handlers should be paying attention watching for signs of distress or issues the suiter could be having, as well as ensuring the safety of the suiter (making sure no one pulls their tail, hits them, etc).

Dealing with kids

1. Let kids approach you.
2. Get down on their level, wave to them, act cute and let them know you’re just a big silly animal. Don’t be afraid to interact with them.
3. If they are afraid do not try and approach or get in their face. Back off and make yourself small, look away and come off as timid. Take your time and let them come to you if they want. If not, don’t worry about it and move on.
4. Never hold kids!
5. For photos, always keep your paws visible.

Dealing with adults

1. Don’t yell at adults who pull your tail. Have a handler or someone else deal with it.
2. If someone is enthusiastic, play it up and do what comes naturally when interacting with them.
3. For photos, keep your paws visible.
4. If they want to pet a suiter, ensure they know to pet with the grain of the fur, not against it.

Getting into character and playing your character

1. Practice in front of a mirror to see what your suit looks like in different poses.
2. Do what comes naturally. There is no right or wrong way to suit. Play around with how you carry yourself, how you walk, your attitude in suit. It comes down to what you want to convey and what you feel comfortable doing.
3. Keep practising as much as you can.
4. Try new things. Try to learn and take away bits of advice from other performers.

Handlers

Play into what a suiter is doing.

1. Go along with what a suiter is doing, no matter how silly it may be.

Dealing with props and fursuit parts: dos and don’ts

1. Don’t grab at a suiters props or parts of their suit without asking first.
2. Be careful as a suiter may not always see you. Let the suiter know you are there to avoid getting hit accidentally.

Ensuring a suiter can see you

1. Make sure you aren’t in their blind spot.
2. If you’re waving or gesturing to a suiter, ensure you are in their line of sight.