Name of Artist: Razzylee
Website:
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/razzylee/http://rlworks.bravesites.com/Character/species commissioned (link to photo/concept art): Gina the Hyenasaurus
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6500279Links to picture(s) of your commissioned item:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6485194/http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6485228/http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6488576/Is the item old or new (if old, how long have you had it/when was it made?) New. September 2011.
--Grade each below aspect on a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best)--
Visual Aspect (does it match the concept art? Is it consistent with other items the maker has produced? Is it visually pleasing overall?): 5/5
The bodysuit looks amazing, even down to the placement and size of the spots on the shoulders and thighs as well as the number and shape/size of the stripes running down the back to the tail. My only gripe is the white on the belly isn't really the right shape (I wanted more of an hourglass shape that extended all the way down the crotch to the underside of the tail, and instead the white belly pattern ends a couple inches above the crotch and doesn't connect to the underside of the tail).
The tail itself is my favorite thing-it's huge and fluffy and I can hit people with it, just like I wanted. The only downside is I'm short and it's pretty long and heavy, so the tip does drag on the ground. I am planning on building a plastic armature so that it doesn't drag as I walk.
Service Aspect (Deadlines. Communication. Little extras.): 4.5/5
Communication with Razzylee was prompt and concise. If ever I had a question she would always have a response within a day if not several hours, and she was a dear to work with!
The only minor problem was when she'd gotten to the point of finishing the bodysuit and tail, she suddenly messaged me asking if I had wanted feetpaws and handpaws along with it, which i had specified in one of my initial notes that I had. Thankfully this was all before she'd gotten ready to send it out, and so she was able to get my feetpaws and handpaws done in time. I'm glad she didn't overlook that!
Workmanship Aspect (Is the sewing neat? Are things that should be sewn glued or vise versa? Does it fit? Has anything fallen off yet that shouldn’t have): 2/5
The suit is quite form fitting to my expectations (I asked for it to be in the style of certain other freakhound-styled suits I've seen, hence quite form fitting). The foam padding for the digitigrade legs stays in place well enough, though I am considering adding some fabric pockets for the foam to slide into, as I noticed after doing some walking or dancing that the thighs especially shift around a bit, and I have to keep readjusting them so they don't slide down my actual legs.
Another issue are the armsleeves are a bit too short, thus sometimes my wrists poke out from between my handpaws and the ends of the sleeves. I am considering purchasing snaps or sewing in some flaps to attach the paws to the insides of the sleeves so that the fabric covers the entire area.
I really don't like giving a bad score on anything for these dedicated artists, however, there have been quite a few glaring issues with the sewing and seams.
First off, the very first day the suit arrived in the box I took it out, tried it on, and found a one-inch hole in the tail between the two different colors of fabric. I patched this up myself. The tail has since split at the seam where the belt loop is (presumably due to the hefty weight of the tail), I have had this double reinforced and re-sewn by the co-worker.
The next thing I knew, walking down the hallway to try the suit out one of the cast resin claws fell off the middle toe of my right footpaw! Examining the feet more closely, it seems the claws were sewn in and not adhered to anything inside the feet (i.e. the space between the fur fabric and the carved foam of the toe), so I ended up taking and hot gluing it. I have since done the same with all the other toe claws, simply so they don't fall out, and I haven't had issues with them since.
Two of the digits on the handpaws had half-inch holes in them where the two pieces of fabric met (again, sewed these up). The paws themselves were quite loose in the ends of the digits, but I got some craft foam and have since fitted this into each of the digits, so they are no longer loose.
I've worn this suit to two furmeets thus far (one at a coffee shop, taken it walking a bit outside the shop and danced in it a little) and once to a corn maze (didn't actually bring the bodysuit into the corn maze, instead wore it as a partial because it was too hot out and i didn't want the suit getting dirty).
Since the very first meet I have noticed there are several spots between the toes of both feet that have large un-sewn gaps in them-we're talking two inches of space between the middle toes where they contact the other two toes and there's not even thread here. Now, I'm not sure if Razzylee meant to do this or if maybe at some point they were just hot glued, but that's another thing I've since had some help from a seamstress co-worker in stitching up.
Finally, in the past week or so I've noticed quite a few areas where the sewn in spots are coming undone. Upon closer examination my seamstress friend noted (on turning my bodysuit inside out) that all the seams were done with a running stitch. The problem with this is, if just one area of that thread should get pulled on hard enough to come undone, the entire length of that stitch comes undone. This happened once with the inside seam of my left thigh on the bodysuit at the last meet I was at, thankfully I had the chance to take the suit off and just wear it as a partial and not further damage the opened seam.
Long story short, my seamstress co-worker has basically re-sewn the entire suit with a better tension stitch. I am paying her for this, as it is quite the time consuming job and one she doesn't have much free time for to begin with. I do wish the construction of the suit had been better so I could've avoided having to have it repaired so soon!
I also plan on dancing in this suit but am now concerned doing so could seriously damage it...this isn't to say I'm overly-rough with my suit, I just worry particularly about the crotch and leg areas tearing from the tension. I have found that the repairs my seamstress co-worker have done seem to be quite durable, so that's easing my fear a bit.
Describe your Experience. Pros, Cons, Comments: 3/5
Razzylee is a fun and accommodating person to work with, she was concise and incredibly fast getting my commission done in time and with time to spare. The suit looks just like the concept art save for the white belly fur pattern, but it still looks awesome regardless. My only issue is the suit construction, particularly how many of the seams have split with only light wear to the suit.
Otherwise, the cost for the entire bodysuit was quite the bargain, her digitigrade legs look amazing, and the suit looks identical to what I asked for in most every regard! I would recommend Razzylee if you're looking for a good-looking affordable suit, however, I would double check with what sewing techniques she's currently using...
Final Grade (out of 5): 3/5
lethargic
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