Eastern Dragon Studios -FAQ

General FAQs

How do I order a fursuit?

Want to get your character bought to life by Eastern Dragon Studios? Well here is a step by step guide to assist you in getting a slot with us!

We take in a select number of commissions each time we open, usually 3-6 suits roughly every 6 months. Eastern Dragon Studios is run and operated by only one person (Kaikirith), and we only work on one suit in our queue at a time to ensure each suit gets our full attention and is made to the best of our abilities every time!

Our commission openings are listed on THIS PAGE

STEP 1: GET ORGANISED

- Get a reference sheet for your character! Whether its only a head or a full digitigrade fursuit -a visual reference of your character ensures that we are both on the same page as to how you want your character to look! We can not even give you a quote without an appropriate reference sheet!

- Save up your money! If you have your reference sheet, you also need to be able to put down at least 30% of the cost of your fursuit down up front to be able to secure a slot with us. Check out our FURSUIT ESTIMATOR to get an idea of how much a fursuit from us will cost.

STEP 2: GET A QUOTE!

- Wait for our commissions to open and send in an application!

- Once we receive your application we can give you an estimate of how much your custom costume will be and if we accept your application. Sometimes we receive so many applications that we can't respond to all of them and will only contact the ones that we wish to work on.

- We select projects that we would like to make, and are usually picked based upon design, species, complexity and the appeal we have for making the character. We wish to make sure every suit we do is made to the best of our ability, and unfortunately we can not accept every application that comes in.

- Receiving a quote does not mean that we will start making your costume.

- If you applied for a slot previously but were not selected, you will be required to apply again.

STEP 3: PAYMENT

- You've received an email accepting your application, and you've decided you wish to go ahead with getting your fursuit made by Eastern Dragon Studios! YAY!

- Discussion on completion time and payment will be made. We plan to get all new work done within 2 to 6 months.

- Nothing is secured until final payment is made.

- We will require an initial 30% non-refundable deposit (minimum) to secure your slot. The rest will be required to be paid as per payment plan agreements.

STEP 4: THE WAITING GAME

- Now that you have paid your deposit, you need to pay off the rest of your commission, usually our payment plan is in monthly installments of 10% (however alternatives can be discussed when you apply for a slot)

- Your suit will not be added to our working queue until it has been paid in full. Commissions are added to our working queue in order of completion of payment. If you wish to have your suit completed earlier rather than later we recommend paying the full balance as soon as possible.

- We do not have set deadlines for completion just estimated time frames.

- If you have a deadline and want to make sure your suit is completed by that deadline, we charge a 30% completion fee, but we only accept this rush fee if it is within a conceivably doable time frame. This fee is payable with the rest of the suit up front. You need to notify us of this upon your application for a fursuit, otherwise you will be scheduled into our queue as per normal. This fee will be refunded if we are unable to meet the deadline due to illness, accident or other unforeseeable causes.

- If you are getting a bodysuit, its time to make your DTD, for other parts you will need to measure and fill in our measurement form. If your weight is due to change, please make your DTD closer to when you plan on making your final payment for your fursuit.

- We do not need your DTD until about a month prior to working on your commission. We have limited space, so please wait while we work on completing other projects to make space for yours.

- If you want a specific shade of fur we may send photos or even mail out swatches for your approval during this period. Please keep in mind that not all fur and fabric colours are available, but we will try our best to match what is available to your character design!

- During this waiting period we order in the materials for your commission while we work on our existing queue so we have everything we need when it comes time to begin bringing your character to life!

STEP 5: THE GAME BEGINS!

- You've made your final payment, your DTD and/or measurements are in and we are now about to start work on your commission!

- At this stage things start moving very quickly!! We will provide photo WIPS at a few stages for design approval. We typically can work fairly fast on certain tasks, some can be a little longer to process. We try our best to balance construction methods with artistic style.

STEP 6: GETTING YOUR FURSUIT! YAY!

- Your fursuit has been completed, with photos for our gallery already taken!

- Provide us with your shipping address and we will get a quote on shipping costs (shipping costs are not included in the quote). Shipping costs are payable before your suit can be shipped off to you, if you wish to take the option of express shipping, signature on delivery or insurance, you will be responsible for paying the additional charges involved. Tracking comes standard.

- Once shipping is paid, we send off your suit! We have no control over the parcel once it leaves our hands, but we do our best to ensure it will arrive safely!

- We do not offer at con delivery to interstate cons takes up too much space in our luggage and compromises our dealer den stock. At con delivery is available for Melbourne conventions, however a fee may be charged.

STEP 7: BE YOUR CHARACTER!!!!

Just do it! Put on your fursuit and have fun!!!

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How long will it take to complete my fursuit?

We aim to have a maximum of a 6 to 9 month turn around on most of our fursuits, and open two or three times a year for new fursuit commissions. That being said, sometimes new techniques, materials or extremely complex designs can slow our turn around times.

Usually we re-open for commissions when there is only one or two fursuits left on our queue. We do not queue skip, so each intake of fursuits is completed in order. New commissions taken on later will NEVER be placed in front of suits already on our queue. While we finish the existing queue, we start ordering in the materials for the new commissions so they are ready to be started once we finish the fursuit/s remaining in our queue. We also do not add any commissions to our working queue until payment has been received in full.

If you are the first suit on our new intake - we will be finishing the fursuits that are already on our queue, we do not queue skip, your commission will not be placed in front of clients from the previous intake. As it is, we usually have to order in new fur or parts for commissions, which can mean it can take some time to a) find a supplier, and b) get those materials shipped to us. This means even if we could start your suit right away - we'd have to be waiting for the fur to be shipped in anyway. Once we have all the materials for your suit, we can make a partial within a month, or a full digitigrade fursuit within 2 months.

We also only make one fursuit at a time so each suit we make gets our full attention and is made to the best of our abilities. Since we take on 3-4 applications each round, your suit could be completed within 2 months of completed payment or it could be 8 months from completed payment if you were the last person to finish paying for their fursuit in full.

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What is the fastest I can get my fursuit?

If you wish your suit to be made ASAP the best thing you can do to aid this is to apply for a slot as soon as we open, and have your money ready. Usually we re-open for commissions when there is only one or two fursuits left on our queue. If you pay in full up front you will have priority in our queue and will be the first of our suits to be made in our new intake of commissions.

If you are the first suit on our new intake - we will be finishing the fursuits that are already on our queue, we do not queue skip, your commission will not be placed in front of clients from the previous intake. As it is, we usually have to order in new fur or parts for commissions, which can mean it can take some time to a) find a supplier, and b) get those materials shipped to us. This means even if we could start your suit right away - we'd have to be waiting for the fur to be shipped in anyway. Once we have all the materials for your suit, we can make a partial within a month, or a full digitigrade fursuit within 2 months.

If you have a deadline and want to make sure your suit is completed by that deadline, we charge a 30% completion fee, but we only accept this rush fee if it is within a conceivably doable time frame. This fee is payable with the rest of the suit up front. You need to notify us of this upon your application for a fursuit, otherwise you will be scheduled into our queue as per normal. This fee will be refunded if we are unable to meet the deadline due to illness, accident or other unforeseeable causes.

Shipping however, is not within our control. Once it is handed over to the postal service, there is literally nothing we can do. Most of the time parcels within Australia will arrive within 5-7 business days, however I have had some parcels take up to 3 weeks to arrive at their destination! Express shipping is generally reliable and gets to its destination within 2-3 business days within Australia (if it is in a capital city). If you wish to take the option of express shipping, you will be responsible for paying the additional charges involved in express shipping.

We do not do interstate at con deliveries for fursuits as we simply do not have space in our luggage to do so without compromising our dealer den stock. At con delivery is available for Melbourne conventions, however a fee may be charged.

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What do I need to give you to get my fursuit made to fit me?

For a fursuit head I need 2 measurements - the circumference of your head at eyebrow level, and the circumference of your head at an angle that goes through your jawline, ears and to the back/top of your head (pictures coming soon)

For hand paws I need 4 measurements - the circumference of your palm, the circumference of your wrist, the circumference of your arm 5inches from your wrist and the length of your hand from wrist to finger tip (pictures coming soon)

For feet paws I need you to send a pair of new, clean, and comfortable flat shoes, preferably canvas type shoes with elastic laces that you can slip on/off your feet (you will not be able to access shoelaces once the feet are built around the shoe). I only need one measurement for these and that is the circumference of your ankle.

For a bodysuit I need you to make a DTD and send that off to me so I can use that to build your bodysuit to your bodyshape (see next question below on how to make a DTD!)

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How do I make a DTD? (Duct Tape Dummy)

We have a tutorial for it HERE!

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Do I need a reference sheet to commission you?

I require coloured, detailed reference sheets to accurately recreate your character in a fursuit or an illustration. Essentially your reference sheet needs to show accurate proportions and details of your character as you wish to have them. I will rarely accept reference sheets that are solely and extremely stylistic in proportions (ie chibi style).

A reference sheet generally ensures that we are both on the same page as to what the final product is to look like. It also allows me to accurately quote you the cost. I can offer some simple sketches (at cost) if appropriate reference images are not available. There are also many free to use bases that you can download an colour in yourself if you have a design in mind.

Reference sheets are required to have at least two facings - front and back. I do offer reference sheets in my drawing commissions if a reference sheet can't be provided. Without a reference sheet I can't provide an accurate quote, or may not be able to accurately recreate your character to your liking. If I'm simply crafting you some hand paws, feet paws or a tail, a reference sheet is not necessary, however a description of what you would like will be needed (ie colour, patterns).

This information is required so I can complete your commission to the best of my abilities. If there is any information missing that I require for your commission I will ask for it. Please note there may be small changes made to your design (such as slightly moving a marking or changing its shape), so as to make the design work as a costume.

Alternatively, you can also choose to get an artistic freedom fursuit from me - this means I create the design of character. You can still choose to have some influence over the design (ie if you want specific colours or you want to have spots instead of stripes)

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I have allergies. Do you have pets?

We have a Corgi (dog), and while we do our best - corgi glitter (fur and fluff) GETS EVERYWHERE! We also have a long haired kitty called Cuddles. Please let us know if you have an allergy to dogs or cats and we will do our best to keep the workspace, materials and myself free of animal hair when working on your suit - however we can not guarantee our products will be perfectly free of animal hair or dander.

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Can I come and watch you work?

Whether I am working on someone else's suit or your own suit, the answer is no. I don't invite people into my house to watch me work, especially people I don't know. Having people in my house watching me work is not conducive to my work flow, aside from the fact that I don't like the idea of having someone look over my shoulder while I work.

If you would like us to start streaming our work, please consider pledging to our Patreon so we can start investing in equipment to provide such a service.

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Can you help me with my fursuit/illustration/art project?

Yes. I offer a one on one mentoring service. Through these mentoring services I offer: Constructive critiques, redlining services, Q&A tutorials, assistance with particular techniques.

I charge for these services in half hour or one hour blocks:

AU$30 gets you 30 minutes of my time, Q&A style in a one on one session. This can be a private stream or text chat. You can ask me about resources, techniques or anything art related.
AU$60 gets you 1h of my time, Q&A style but it can also include red-lining, a quick tutorial or explanation/demonstration of a specific technique (but remember its only a one hour block!!)
AU$120 gets you 2x 1h sessions of my time. This can be the above options, but can also be treated like a mini class, with me spending the first 1h session demostrating the technique, and then the second 1h session revising and reviewing your work with feedback for further improvement

Please note that this is a tutorial/mentoring session for -MY- techniques and my style. These are by no means the best or even the only way to achieve a certain effect, but they are “my way” of doing the thing. I can’t guarantee that my illustration techniques can be replicated in programs that I do not use, and I will probably not be familiar with the user interface of programs that I do not use (so this may require a bit of searching around and experimentation on your part to achieve the desired outcome)

Please do not expect me to teach you another style or something I do not know. Also please do not expect me to teach you “how to draw” or “how to make a fursuit” from scratch in a single session. These sessions are for specific techniques and for asking specific questions - such as “how can i improve on drawing hands?” or “how do I make a plush nose for a fursuit?”. If you want an overall run down on “how to do a thing” there is an amazing resource at your fingertips - the internet. There are a TONNE of tutorials about many aspects of drawing and fursuit making to help you get started. Once you get started if there is a particular thing you are having trouble with - then come to me and I will help you out.

Time frames are loose, If we seem to done early before the time frame is up, I will let you know and you can ask other questions. If we seem to be running over time we may need to run additional (paid) sessions to cover your question, however I try to keep within the allotted time frame if possible.

Please be aware that these tutorial sessions will include CRITIQUING your work, which can involve pointing out aspects of your work that can be improved. While I try to include positive and negative points (cuz no one can improve without knowing where they have gone wrong, but they also can’t improve if they don’t know what they have done right!), if you opt to get a piece critiqued please know that anything I say about your work comes from a place of trying to help you improve your work! If you can not handle negative things being said about your work, please do not request a critique, and just stick to asking questions or getting me to run you through a technique.

If you do need to reschedule PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP!!! If 2 cancellations are made (regardless of reason) your lesson will be cancelled entirely without refund. A lot of time and effort goes into making these time slots, including preparation of materials.

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How do I become a full time artist/fursuit maker?

As counter intuitive as it seems - DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB!

Seriously. It takes a lot of work to build up a following, develop your skills and gain a reliable income from doing art. While you are still employed at your day job, take the opportunity to get yourself set up! Get your finances in order (I highly reccommend having a decent savings cushion before you take the final plunge and quit your day job, and by decent I mean enough to live off if you had to for 3-6 months with no other income!), make those big business purchases while you have a stable income (such as a reliable sewing machine, or drawing tablet, or even buying shelving or desks for your workspace), and work on building your audience - get your work out there on social media, build a website, attend a couple of conventions as a dealer.

Then as time goes by, slowly wind down your day job. Say you work full time - cut it to 4 days a week and then devote that new day available to working on your business. When that is going smoothly and is financially stable, cut it down to 3 days a week. Only once you can see your business has a decent chance of being financially stable on its own would I reccomend quitting you day job completely.

Make sure you are charging AT LEAST minimum wage for your area, and include your expenses in what you charge your clients. Expenses can also include the overheads such as tool maintenance or replacement, and fees for maintaining websites or online shops - not just the materials that go directly into the client's commission.

We don't want to feed into and encourage the starving, overworked artist stereotype!!!

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