[YES] Aeryl The Owl Fullsuit by Pajama Cat Studio The item being reviewed is 8 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 AerylTheOwl Relationship With Maker The maker IS a friend Prior Experience Yes, I own 2 other fursuits, one is a 3 year old, foam-headed planti and the other is a 4 year old, resin-headed, drop-crotch digi. Informed Maker of Issues Hand escape wasn’t lined and maker fixed that. They also updated the zipper with a better technique when it was developed. Wear Time About 25 hours Maker & Project Information Maker Pajama Cat Studio Commission Information Type: Fursuit > Fullsuit Style: Toony, Digitigrade Shipped From: USA Species Owl Found in Aves (?) Made in Year 2018 Transaction Information 2500 USD paid in installments Filed under $1000 - $2999 as a Payment Plan. Estimated Completion Time (ETA) Accuracy There was no ETA given Date of Review 6 July 2020 Project Timeline Contact Date September 2018 Completion/Ship Date November 2018 Item Completion Time (?) 1 - 3 Months Item Being Reviewed Aeryl The Owl digitigrade fullsuit in a toony style as a commission. Character Concept Art Photos of Completed Product Head Wear Satisfaction The head fits very well and very snug. I could head bang until the end of time and it would not budge an inch. There are no heavy pressure points, nor are there unnecessary voids. Also, the mesh of the eyes are a very good quality and let me have relatively good vision. Obviously, with a beak and the shape of the head, it’s not perfect… but it is as good as it reasonably could be. The breathing is a little hard, but that somewhat comes down to the shape of the beak and how closed it needs to be to avoid my human mouth being seen (since it’s short), but the eyes let a decent amount of air in, so that helps. The entire head is also lined in a nice, breathable lycra material. Feels real nice against my sensitive skin! My only issue that can’t be explained by species choice is that the padding in the neck to give that continuous owl look is a little stiff and thick. It constricts my breathing a bit and makes the head very hot. The good news is that the foam has been loosening up over time, and I’m sure I could stuff a yoga mat or foam roller in there to open up that padding a bit. Definitely not a problem anyone would run into with a dog, cat, etc. Visual Satisfaction I am absolutely blown away by the fit and finish of this suit. The lines are so smooth and the shaving is top notch. Plus the fur used is next level quality. This isn’t made of your bog-standard luxury shag fur, but instead some EXTREMELY soft and luxurious furs! Additionally, the suit is very symmetrical (as much as a hand made thing can be), and it absolutely conveys the happy-go-lucky bird look I was hoping for. The maker somehow made a hard beak smile (I think it’s in the eyes!) Special Attachments and Features The head also has a pair of magnets in the beak that allow Aeryl to have a pair of magnetically held on eyeglasses! The maker made these for me as well and they look and feel so good. Plus the magnets used are some STRONG boys. I can’t shake the glasses off if I tried! As mentioned in the fit though, another feature, so to speak, is the padded neck that gives that owly body shape. I absolutely adore how it looks, but it definitely impacts the comfort of the head. If I had to choose tho, I’d still take it despite the comfort. Body Wear Satisfaction First off, the body is heavy. REALLY heavy. But that’s to be expected with such big wings! I’ll explain the wings more in the wings section though. The body itself is very comfortable. It fits my body perfectly and the padding fills the shape out great. The seems are all reinforced and, even with the heavy weight of the wings and my active suiting, have not popped at all. My only criticism is that the furs used are on the warm side. But that’s what you get with such thick, soft, luxurious furs! Also, the padded spots get very warm, but that’s to be expected with padding. The padding is also a lycra material filled with the kind of non-clump stuffing you get in those japanese plushes, so it fills out super well and is actually a little lighter than polyfill and a LOT lighter than foam. The zipper was initially a little bit of a problem as it would come undone at the base when zipped all the way down and was a bit of a challenge to get back together. But when I alerted the maker about this, they fixed it for me and told me they would be sewing, gluing and lining the zipper bases shut on all future suits. The maker also, at one point, took the suit back from me and applied a new zipper technique they had learned that made the suit look even cleaner! Visual Satisfaction Similar to the head, the appearance of the body is absolutely tip top. All the markings are spot on and very symmetrical, the furs are soft and aesthetically pleasing, and the shape produced by the padding gives the suit a wonderfully bird-ish shape. What shaving there is is basically unnoticeable, and the design matches the concept art to an absolute T. For the body itself, I could not ask for anything better. Special Attachments and Features The padding is very easy to get in and get out, though I had to mod the butt/thigh/tailfeather padding only because the retention strap around the waist was a bit too loose! (Guess I need to put on weight?). It’s also very light and made of a nice lycra-like material that breaths great. At some point, I may need to add stuffing if it clumps up, but that’s the case with any non-foam padding. Hands and Feet Wear Satisfaction The feet are wonderful. They’re based off of shoes, so they fit great and, even though they’re a VERY weird shape with three spread toes out front and a big toe behind, they’re not hard to walk in at all. The only place they’re tricky is stairs, but I just end up going up and down sideways. With the length of fur used and the shape of the body/feet, it’s VERY hard for me to show ankle. Also, the lining on the inside of the feet are comfy and nice. One of the biggest boons though is that the foot base is a thick, tough, rubber mat. It does make the feet a bit heavy, but it’s SO much more durable than the foam puzzle mats that most makers use which eases a ton of my anxiety on concrete, gravel, or anything else rough. The choice of minky for the toes is great too since it’s so much easier to keep clean than fleece. The only issue I had was that the front of one toe detached from the rubber base once after I tripped on some upturned carpet. I told the maker and they instructed me on how to glue it back on with E6000. Since then, it hasn’t come loose again and none of the other toes have had that problem. Visual Satisfaction They looks so wonderfully birdish. The soft white fur of the ankle drapes the feet so nicely and the claws are beautifully rendered. The choice of minky for the “skin” of the feet was a great one too since it looks kinda shiny and smooth from a distance just like regular owl feet! Tails Wear Satisfaction The tail is attached to the bodysuit and thus has a wonderful slope from the back into the tailfeathers. This keeps a lot of the strain off my waist, which is nice! The padding for the tail bump did need some minor modifications to fit me properly, but it was super easy to do. Only took a couple minutes to tailor the waistband. Visual Satisfaction The tailfeathers drape great. I love how they look sorta propped out against my butt. I do wish they fanned out a little more though as they tend to hang slightly limp. But it really doesn’t bother me that much. Wings Wear Satisfaction So the weight of the body definitely comes in the wings. There’s a LOT of fabric here and you can tell immediately putting it on. Thankfully, the chest area of the body is constructed and tailored nicely, so it distributes this weight pretty evenly. Even so, it will wear heavy on my shoulders after a few hours. This being said, all this was expected given the shape. The wings also have some foam in them to keep a nice shape even when extending outward. Also, there is a little escape for my hands on the back between the long feathers and the midlayer. It lets me be able to get in and out of this suit solo and even manipulate things that require dexterous hands. The wings are also lined with a lycra material that makes them very comfortable to wear. Visual Satisfaction These are absolutely the showpiece of the suit. I get so many people who come up to me and want wing hugs or just to give me a high five! It’s an entirely different experience to have wings as arms and I LOVE it. The feathers are beautifully rendered and the choice of furs are so soft and nice. My only small complaint is that the wings themselves are a little short in height and so they look a little off for the size of Aeryl. Though bigger wings would put more strain on me. So it’s a bit of a downside with an upside. Overall Product Satisfaction How was your concept art realized? Like I mentioned, it looks like it was ripped from the concept sheet. This was helped by the fact that this was a semi-artistic liberty suit. Since the maker was a local friend of mine, we worked on the character until I liked it and then the suit was made off that concept. That said, I was blown away by how spot on the suit was to the concept. How well does everything fit together and match up? I could not be happier. Seriously. Everything about this suit lives up to my expectations. Every piece fits well together and it basically looked like it was ripped from the reference sheet and plopped into the real world! Futhermore, it fits me like a glove! Nothing is baggy or too tight. Overall Project Quality I am absolutely happy with this suit. I feel like the cutest bird at any con when I walk out in it! Purchase Process Initial Contact I contacted the suit maker about getting a suit from them at some point. They said they were looking to perfect their professional fit and finish on suits and I jumped on the opportunity to be their first commissioned suit. Maker Response Time Since they are a friend of mine, it was effortless. That being said, seeing how they have communicated about other suit commissions, they’re very quick and clear in their responses. I believe they work entirely through email from the quote onward. Maker Professionalism As mentioned throughout this review, the maker was VERY professional. They took my points and questions with tact and grace and answered them very clearly and cleanly! Furthermore, the final product is just as professional as the other suits I have commissioned from much more established makers. Project Completion Time It only took a few months to finish! Though this was, to my knowledge, the only suit in their queue. But I was kept in the loop throughout the entire creation process and even got it in time for MFF! Rating FursuitReview rates by asking the question: Would you recommend this maker? YES This review has been marked with a positive rating. This means the reviewer would recommend Pajama Cat Studio. Final Comments A small note worth mentioning is that this suit was very experimental for the maker. First time doing wings, first time doing a beak, first time doing bird feet, etc. And yet they were able to do it all with the skill of a veteran! I think it really speaks to the fact that, regardless of species, the suit will turn out cute and absolutely read as that species. Also, this maker is a friend of mine, but I’ve made every effort possible to explain any and all problems or issues I had with this suit. But the fact is that almost all the issues or problems come from the suit shape itself. It’s almost impossible to do an owl beak with good ventilation, wings without weight, or padding light on heat. It may come off as a friend talking up another friend, but I would be this ecstatic if an absolute stranger made Aeryl for me. And I’ve seen firsthand the maker make suits for many other clients. From cat-dragons to kangaroo-unicorns. They all come out so cute and every client is so happy to get it! If you’re someone like me who’s always worried about the “what if the maker doesn’t get my vision or my species”, Pajama Cat Studio is a great place to go. Whatever your dream, they’ll make sure it comes out cute! 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.
