[OK] Cedar Hyena/Husky Hybrid Fullsuit by West’s Custom Creations The item being reviewed is 6 years old and may not reflect the makers current style, or work. General Information Please note that this review is from an older version of the site. The page layout differs slightly from the current version because of this. Reviewer Information Reviewer Ced Twitter: retromochi Relationship With Maker The maker is NOT a friend Prior Experience No, this is my first fursuit. Informed Maker of Issues Yes, the suit arrived missing a few items and features. Wear Time Worn for 8-10 hours. Owned for 4+ months. Maker & Project Information Maker West’s Custom Creations Commission Information Type: Fursuit > Fullsuit Style: Toony, Digitigrade Shipped From: USA Species Hyena / Husky mix Found in Felidae (?) Made in Year 2020 Transaction Information 1200 USD paid in installments Filed under $1000 - $2999 as a Payment Plan. Estimated Completion Time (ETA) Accuracy NO - MULTIPLE ETAs were passed Date of Review 23 May 2020 Project Timeline Contact Date January 2017 Completion/Ship Date February 2020 Item Completion Time (?) 3+ Years Item Being Reviewed Cedar the Hyena/Husky Hybrid digitigrade Fullsuit in a toony style as a commission. Review Video Character Concept Art Photos of Completed Product Head Wear Satisfaction The head is overall very comfortable, with decent vision and comfy padding. The inside is lined with a stretchy balaclava, and the neck fur is lined with a decorative fabric. The head is slightly loose, and has a tendency to tip downwards, and if I shake or move my head too much it will slip down just a bit (I intend to fix this with a bit of padding, or with a method the maker might recommend, but as of writing this I have yet to get a response on the best way to remedy this issue). I’m able to wear my glasses while in suit, which is definitely a plus. The ventilation leaves something to be desired – I did request the addition of a small USB-powered fan to be included, as I wear glasses and didn’t want them to fog up as much, and while I received the fan with the suit, the velcro that was supposed to be installed in the head to attach the fan is nowhere to be found. Thankfully, the mouth is open and lines up quite well with where my mouth is when wearing the suit, which provides a bit more ventilation and ease of breathing. The vision is definitely a highlight – I have quite a wide range of sight when wearing the head, especially considering the eyes are follow-me eyes. The holes for seeing out of are bigger than they look on the outside, which makes the head look fantastic without sacrificing a ton of space on the head or eyes for better vision. I can feel confident that I’m not going to run into anyone or anything when wearing the suit around. Visual Satisfaction The overall look of the head is fantastic. The expression is cute and fun and everything I imagined, and the craftsmanship is great. The ears are sturdy and sewn on very well, and they can handle a bit of rough grabbing without any issue. The eyes are 3D-printed follow-me eyes, which are very well painted and very expressive. The colors match my character as perfectly as I could’ve hoped for, and I’m very happy about that. The appearance is definitely my favorite part, and knowing how cute Cedar looks makes me ecstatic every time I wear the suit out, or even at home by myself. There was a small bit of trial and error in getting the hairstyle to look how I wanted, but I love the result West came up with, and I’m very happy with it. The shaving is very even and well done, and I love getting to run my fingers over the smooth parts and through the fluffy bits on the ears and cheeks. It’s overall very even, thanks to the head being made on a 3D-printed and foam cast base, which makes it easy to get the eyes and ears symmetrical and looking good. The fur was slightly rough on some shaved bits upon arrival, but it was smoothed down with a brush, and now looks perfectly fine. Body Wear Satisfaction Overall the body is well made and has nice features. The suit is made where I have a separate pair of leggings with the digi padding sewn on that I put on first, and then pull the bodysuit on over it so I don’t have to worry about stuffing the padding in later, which makes it easy to take on and off in a pinch. It can be a little clunky to move around in, as the padding is thick and doesn’t allow a huge range of motion, but that’s to be expected from a digi suit and I have no real complaints about it. It fits me well enough – the arms and shoulders are very slightly snug, but it doesn’t decrease my movement or feel uncomfortable, so I have no issue with it. I can move around alright, and I’m happy to report there have been no popped seams, tears, or any signs of degradation. It’s very sturdy and I suspect I won’t have any issues for many years to come. There is no lining on the inside, which is slightly uncomfortable if I’m wearing a short sleeve top underneath, however when wearing a long-sleeved under armor shirt, this presents no issues. The suit shows no signs of damage or smells due to sweat, which is definitely a plus. I’m a fairly big guy, and wearing a big padded suit of faux fur is certainly going to make me heat up, and the bodysuit can only be worn for 2 hours or so at a time because of this, but as far as fursuits go, it’s not any more hot than it should be. Visual Satisfaction The bodysuit is great and fits my body shape very well. I was slightly nervous about all the padding making me curvier than I would like, however it compliments my body nicely and I have no issues with the overall look. It matches Cedar’s concept art well, and his simple designs really stand out and add a lot of personality to the suit. The fur on the bodysuit has no shaving, and while I was debating on having West shave the belly fur, I’m happy I had her leave it at the regular length, as it adds a lot of charm to the character and realism to the species Cedar is modeled after. The fluffy look is great, and very fun to pet or touch. It also lends itself well to hiding the front zipper, which can’t be seen at all unless you’re looking for it. The fur itself can be brushed easily, and after wearing it out for a few hours, taking a brush to it leaves it looking like new. The removable leggings with the padding sewn on are a nice feature, however it does mean that the padding is prone to shifting slightly and looking slightly uneven. This is definitely an easy fix, as one shove usually gets it back into place. My only real issue with the bodysuit’s look is the dropped crotch tends to be a little baggy at times – however its only really noticeable if I’m standing with my legs too close together, so it isn’t anything I’m too concerned about. Hands and Feet Wear Satisfaction The hands are decently comfortable, and I’m surprised at how natural it feels to put 5 fingers into the 4 finger holes. They’re less clunky than expected, and I can easily grab or carry items with one or both hands. The hand paws have a cuff at the wrist that provides a snug but comfy fit, ensuring that the paws will stay in place and not show any skin. They have no lining inside, so the inside of the fur feels slightly scratchy, but its a minor enough issue that I hardly ever notice. The claws and paw pads are sewn on well, and have shown no signs of wear and tear. The feet are comfortable as well, and the plush feel makes them fun to wear, even using them around the house as slippers from time to time. They are an indoor-style foot, with a thick and comfortable plush lining on the inside. They can be slightly clunky, as the front of the paws are stuffed with plush padding, and the front also has a tendency to stick up off the ground, which looks a bit goofy (you can see this happening in the 3rd completed project picture). I can temporarily fix this issue by shoving my foot forward into the paw, but after a bit of walking the paws won’t stay put and go back to sticking up. In the future I might try putting a weight in the front of the paw to keep this from happening, but for now its still a minor annoyance. Visual Satisfaction The hands and feet overall look great. They match the body and colors well, and aren’t too big or too small in comparison with the rest of the suit. The paw pads on the hands have very slight jagged edges, and one had a loose thread upon arrival, but that was an easy fix. My only real complaint is that the jagged edges on the paw pads slightly take away from the overall look and aren’t quite as seamless as I’d hoped, but they still look alright and I’m happy with it. The claws are made with a soft fabric and sewn on, which looks great, and makes it fun to give out high-fives or fist bumps when out suiting in public. Just like the hands, the claws on the feet are also made with fabric and sewn on, and they are very slightly crooked and uneven, but can only really be noticed if you’re looking for it. It doesn’t distract from the overall look of the paws, which is very nice. The paw pads on both the hands and the feet were made with a custom printed orange minky fabric, as there wasn’t a pre-existing minky color that quite matched the one in Cedar’s reference material. It was an extra step West didn’t have to take, but I’m beyond happy she did, as the color matches his other fur perfectly, and adds a lot of individuality and charm to the suit itself. Tails Wear Satisfaction Two tails were included with my suit – one loose with belt loop attachments to wear for partial suiting, and another attached directly to the body suit for ease when full suiting. This is a great addition, and makes it a breeze for both methods. The loose tail is made with elastic loops to fit on a belt, and they’re quite sturdy while also allowing for a great range of movement, which adds a lot of character when walking, and makes for fun actions like tail wagging, and having a cute bounce when I walk. The attached tail is very slightly less bouncy, but that isn’t much of an issue to me. Both tails are very well made, and have both survived a few surprise tail pulls by small children with no issues or damage at all. Visual Satisfaction Both tails are very cute and match Cedar’s design perfectly. The longer fur on the underside of the tail lends a lot to replicating the look of a real husky’s tail, and they’re very fun to touch and play with. My only real complaint is that they are slightly smaller when I was expecting, but that doesn’t take away from the charm at all. Overall Product Satisfaction How was your concept art realized? There were a couple of small hiccups in the early stages of transferring the design from digital art to real life, but they were all solved with very minor issue or fuss. At first, the fur colors didn’t quite match up, as I picked Cedar’s main brown fur color from a lineup of furs that West had sent me a picture of, but she initially went with a different fur from the one I had picked out. Luckily, this was an easy fix, and West didn’t cut out a ton of the wrong fur before the mistake was realized, and it was all corrected by the time I received the next set of WIP photos from her. The only other issue from the concept art stage was a slight misunderstanding of the shape of the eyebrows I wanted. Originally, the ref sheet I used was a color-it-yourself style base, just so I could get a general idea of how I wanted the markings to look. The base had a different eyebrow shape than the one Cedar has – the base had a set of human-like angry eyebrows, while Cedar has round eyebrows like that of a Shiba Inu or husky dog. Luckily, West checked with me before going ahead with the eyebrow shape, and I quickly sent her a new reference image with the correct eyebrows this time, and it was fixed and completed without a hitch after that. How well does everything fit together and match up? Overall, I love the look of this suit. The sewing is sturdy and everything is matched up quite well, giving the fur and body a very seamless look. When the full suit is worn all together, I feel like I can really express myself and lend myself to the character with ease thanks to the craftsmanship and quality. West definitely has a great suit making style, and Cedar lived up to almost all of my expectations. Overall Project Quality In short summary, I love this suit. The quality and expression are fantastic, and make for a very fun wearing experience, and I’m extremely happy to have Cedar in my possession, especially for the price. My only real issues lie in the professionalism and communication of West as a fursuit maker, and are the only things stopping me from leaving a perfect review. Purchase Process Initial Contact The commission post and initial contact were both made through Twitter and Twitter DMs. Maker Response Time The maker response time is really my only huge issue with West as a creator. DMs from her were initially very consistent, however after a month or so, the response time between each message started to get longer and longer, and eventually wound up being as much as 3 months between responses from her. I would often have to send a few messages inquiring about the status of my commission before I ever got a reply, and it was a process I didn’t enjoy, as I was constantly worrying I would come off as rude or pushy. Maker Professionalism For the most part, West did a very good job of balancing friendliness while still treating me like a customer, and that was very much appreciated. Every interaction I had with her was pleasant, however her communication frequency left a lot to be desired. I’m not the type of person to get mad if personal issues get in the way of work, but it often took a lot of prodding in-between messages from West to finally get a response from her. She was always very polite and apologetic when responding to me after a lot of time had passed, but she often neglected to give me straightforward timelines or clear plans, and it left me feeling like it would be a total surprise of when the suit would be completed and finally sent to me. Because of the lack of messages and communication, I felt I was often left in the dark or pushed to the side, especially when West was starting and finishing entire other suits while I was still waiting for a status update from her. Even now that I have the suit in my possession, it still arrived missing a few items West told me would be included – and as of writing this review, she has not responded to any of my messages regarding the status of the items she forgot to include. West is overall a very friendly individual and an extremely talented suit maker, but the lack of communication from her made it hard to feel like a valued client. Project Completion Time The original turnaround completion for the suit was between 4-5 months after the final payment. However, West did not have a visible queue at first, and when she did put one online, she was often neglecting to update it, and I had no reliable way to check in on the progress of my suit, as West’s response time to messages left a lot to be desired. I was very forgiving for completion dates – I had no real deadlines for when I needed the suit, and I was happy to wait longer if needed, however any loose completion dates I set for West and any self-imposed deadlines she made for herself were passed by multiple times. Whenever a deadline was approaching, I had no indication if the suit was on track, and when a deadline was passed, I received no messages from West explaining the delay until after weeks had passed. In total, the suit took 3 years to be completed and sent out to me – paid for in January of 2017, and arriving at my door in February 2020 – a far cry from the original 4-5 month turnaround West had given. Rating FursuitReview rates by asking the question: Would you recommend this maker? OK This review has been marked with a neutral rating. This means the reviewer MIGHT recommend West’s Custom Creations depending on circumstances that have been clarified in this review. Final Comments West is an extremely talented fursuit maker, and I love getting to see the projects she puts out. She has a lot of creativity and style in her suits that I love, and I’d work with her all over again if the issues to her response time were fixed. I’m a very patient person, and I would’ve been happy to wait as long as I had to if West had communicated the delays to me first. Waiting months between responses just to get a message with a very minor update made it hard to fully enjoy the process of waiting for my suit to be done. It was disheartening to wait and have so little communication, especially since I love West’s work and wanted to build a good relationship as a client. All that being said, Cedar is an amazing suit, and I couldn’t be happier to finally have him. It was a long 3 years of waiting, but definitely worth it in the end. Are you the maker of this item? Would you like to leave an official response? Click here. In case the button above doesn't work, you can click here to launch the maker response form.
That’s too bad, I was interested in commissioning them too.