Mascot Foot Tutorial

When making animal mascots i used to have a problem with making the feet, after looking at many videos and tutorials i have come up with my own way of making mascot feet. These feet making methods can also be used for fur suit feet. Unfortunately i havent taken a photo of the end product but will definately take one soon, i shall also be putting up a picture of other feet i have made in the same way.

What You Need:

• Cushion Foam
• Glue Sticks
• Glue Gun
• Old Boots/Shoes
• Fabric/Fur
• Scissors

1. First of all remove the laces of the shoes you have chosen and make sure your foot can easily slip in and out. If the shoes are old and dirty just give them a quick clean up as this will help the glue stick a little better.
(Fig. 1)


Once you have done that cut the tongue and lace holes off of the shoe, this will also give you a little more freedom and make the shoe a little looser. (Fig. 2)



2. Next step is to cut a strip of foam about 2 inches thick and as long as needed to go around the ancle part of the boot/shoe. This is really only done if you are making a mascot body and not really for fur suiting as this is helping to thicken out the legs of the costume i am making. All you need to do is position the foam so the heel of the boot/shoe is covered but then resting on the top part of the boot/shoe. Once placed where you want it hot glue into position.
(Fig.3)


3. Once the glue has cooled and dryed, place the boot/shoe onto some more cushion foam, mine was about 4 inches thick, and draw around the base of the shoe. Carefully draw out a paw shape around the outside of the base of the shoe, this will give u the individual "toes". (Fig. 4)


4. When everything is drawn out you need to cut out the base of the shoe and then cut out the paw at the moment it doesnt matter that it looks all squared or rough, every now and then check that the foam fits aroud the base of the shoe and make sure it is in proportion to your costume. (Fig. 5)



5. At this point the feet look kind of messy, so what you need to do is gradually round off the foam, my technique for this is to trim the edges with my scissors and then keep trimming till they slowly become rounded. One word of warning though, this is a very messy part, and putting down newspaper or a plastic sheeting is highly recomended for a speedy tidy up.
Once the paws are rounded and in proportion with your costume you can glue the paws to the boot/shoe. (Fig. 6)



6. Now we have the easy sections out the way, the harder part comes in. Place your desired fabric/fur on a table and draw around the area you desire to be covered, though remember to leave about 1-2 inches all the way around as when you glue you need the extra spaces. any little pieces left over can be trimmed. (Fig. 7)




7. When glueing remember to pull the fabric tight. I personally find glueing the tips of the toes first then the sides of the toes a lot easier, and if needed you can always cut into the fabric to make it more mouldable. Once you have done the toes glue the sides of the feet and then add the fabric/fur to the foam ankleadd any accessories you like, for example claws or toe nails. (Fig. 8)



I appologise for some of the really bad pictures, and also for not showing a finaly picture *slaps wrist* i promise i will take some photos of the final product aswell as other mascot/fursuit feet i have done. I hope this helps out a little bit, and if there are any other questions you would like answered please dont hesitate to send em a message either here or on my facebook.

!!~ XxKimi-Chan xX ~!!