[YES] Arlen the Rat Partial by Oakley’s Creations The item being reviewed is 5 years old and may not reflect the makers current style, or work. Maker Information Oakley's Creations (OKLYCRT) Based in Ohio. Crafting since Oct 2016. Formerly known as Just A Dragon Creations. Year of Project2021 Completion Time (?)2+ Years ETA AccuracyNO - MULTIPLE ETAs were passed An ETA is the Estimated Time of Arrival for a project. In other words, an estimated turnaround time. An ETA is not a deadline. Review Date7 February 2023 RelationshipThe maker is NOT a friendThis relationship was indicated by the reviewer at the time this review was written. Review InformationReviewerarlenoak Prior ExperienceNo, this is my first fursuit Wear Time20+ hours Informed Maker of IssuesNo, there were no issues Arlen the Full Partial Positive ProjectThis item was a commission Paid: A Payment Plan of $1000 - $2999 Initial Contact: March 2019 Completion/Ship Date: December 2021 Shipping Origin: USA Type: Partial Style: Toony Padding: Plantigrade Specialties: None SpeciesName: Rat Found in: Glires(?) Features: None Photos of Completed Product Overall Initial ContactContacted Oakley through Instagram DM and later emailed her for a Commission slot. I was accepted a week later and received a mockup drawing of his head. Maker CommunicationWe kept communication on Instagram Dm and she always responded quickly ( a day or even as quick as an hour later) whenever I DM'd with a question. The communication was business-like, but pleasant and felt welcoming. My suit did take longer than expected, but Oakley had a lot going on in her life around this time and COVID also happened a year after initial commission as well. However, she was never beating around the bush when I asked about WIP pictures or updates regarding progress. I am understanding personal life happening and a suit taking longer than expected (as an artist that takes commissions myself) so I don't blame her for my suit being delayed. Project Completion TimeI commissioned the suit in 2019 and received it in 2021. My deadline was missed twice, initially for Furcon 2020 and Furcon 2021 (but furcon was cancelled in 2021 anyways and was held as an online only event, so I didn't care about this deadline as much). I was left in the dark about completion dates, but I was always given updates on the suit itself when I asked about it. There was never an official date clarified by Oakley, but due to me commissioning right before COVID, I wasn't super strict on receiving my suit by a specific deadline and was understanding about the pandemic affecting artists. I recommend Oakley, but only if you are willing to be flexible with deadlines and don't mind waiting for your suit. Despite a long wait, I felt Arlen was well worth it! Overall Project QualityI'm very happy with Arlen! He's perfect despite small aesthetic changes that happened in the end, but he's so durable, and Oakley really brought my fursona to life. Oakley's art style is so cute and recognizable, I adore it and have received many compliments on my character design and the work she did to bring him to reality. I ended up paying $1,100-1,110, somewhere around there, and he was well worth the price. This was back in 2019 and Oakley's prices has raised since then, but I honestly would have paid her current prices for him back in 2019! Everything fits great, easy to wash, markings are correct shape and size, and shaving is clean. Components Head Wear SatisfactionHead is a perfect fit and has great visibility and ventilation. I have no trouble breathing and I even wear a facemask under my head due to COVID protocol. The arm sleeves require me to wear big enough/long enough arm sleeves of my t-shirts since they don't fit snug to my arm, but they still work great and I have no need to modify them, I do wish they were lined, but I just wear a long sleeve workout shirt underneath anyways. Cleaning is easy and I can see him lasting many cons in the future and I've already been to a few! He still looks brand new, but I do keep him as clean as I can! Visual SatisfactionThe head absolutely beautiful! I get so many compliments on Arlen and I think he's adorable. Sadly, his ear gauges fell out at BLFC since they were magnetic to each other and I do not have any replacements. I plan on measuring the holes and finding a gauge size I can just shove in as a solution. His magnetic crown was such a good touch! It's very strong and I have no issues with it staying on while I'm suiting and I love the duct tape details since it's a carboard crown he made himself. I do wish his eyes were more purple, but the printing came out a bit on the red side and he has purple/pink ombre eyes with a turquoise highlight. Despite the small printing color alteration, his star eye highlights and clean print job is perfect and exactly what I was looking for. His hair could also be more turquoise and the teeth could be more visible from a front view since he's a rat! Despite these small aesthetics, I love him as my first head and he's still my perfect boy! The fur shaving is perfect, the symmetry is great, and the markings are clean and match the ref I sent perfectly. The ears were made out of minky, which is great since the fabric doesn't pill like fleece and looks like the skin of hairless rat ears. I am very satisfied with his expression and I love how Oakley's art style is reflected in her suit-making, it's a great touch and I love how it's recognizable and a unique style. Upper Body Wear SatisfactionThe arm sleeves require me to wear big enough/long enough arm sleeves of my t-shirts since they don't fit snug to my arm, but they still work great and I have no need to modify them, I do wish they were lined, but I just wear a long sleeve workout shirt underneath anyways, but even unlined it doesn't bother me. They are very durable and I don't ever see them falling apart, the spots are sewn in precisely and look wonderful. They don't feel too hot to wear and overall has good airflow. Visual SatisfactionThe symmetry is great, and the markings are clean and match the ref I sent perfectly. All of the colors are perfect for the grey and white fur. Hands Wear SatisfactionThe paws are super comfortable to wear and I can take them on and off with ease. They fit perfectly and don't fly off while I'm moving and fit like a glove. My wrists never show and the arms sleeves blend into the paws just right. They seem very durable, but I have a hard time drying the paws due to the puff paw padding in the fingers not being removable. This is fine, but I have to definitely plan a few days in advance when getting ready for a con to wash my paws. The lining and padding is super comfortable. Visual SatisfactionI love the paws visually so much! I did get plush nails, but in the future I'll get resin or 3D print instead because I wish they had the hard nail look/sound to them. This is no issue for Oakley since I did not ask for this, but I do recommend considering that if you want claws on the paws. The paw pads are perfect and match a rat's paw, but stylistically enough where they don't look too funky Oakley knew exactly what I was thinking. I love how the paws are plush and chunky since with most rat fursuits I don't like the aesthetic of having the small rat-like hands, so I love how these emulate paws instead. It's exactly what I was looking for and Oakley pulled it off perfectly! They are perfectly symmetrical and she used minky for the paws to match the ears so they are a wonderful material. Tail Wear SatisfactionThe tail fits on a belt really nice and doesn't shift too much when I'm moving around. The movement is nice, even as a floor dragging tail. The tail seems very durable and even as a striped pattern I can barely see any sew lines! It looks almost like the striped were painted on perfectly, but it's all sewing! There are no popped seams and it's one of the pieces that gets the most wear due to its length. Visual SatisfactionVisually, the striped patterning is absolutely perfect! Like I mention, there are no sew lines on each stripe so it looks clean and flawless. The tail matches the character design and I love the thickness of the tail, it's just right! The color selection is great. Feet Wear SatisfactionThe bottom soles of my feet-paws do feel a bit thin, so it hurts my feet to wear long term and I often switch between my shoes and the feet when I have to walk outdoors. They feel better while indoors, but they are outdoor feet paws and have shoe like soles on the bottom. I wish they felt more like shoes to walk in, but they feel more like slippers. However, they are very easy to walk in mobility wise and I rarely ever trip! Even when going up and down escalators or stairs. They also don't get too hot for me to wear which is surprising! Visual SatisfactionThe feet paws visually look great! I love how the nails sit on the toes and the fur length is perfect and can be brushed/smoothed out very easily. The feet are made out of minky and are super easy to spot clean when I get dirt scuff on them. Special FeaturesHe has a cardboard crown that is magnetic to his head. I love this attachment the most since it never falls off and it's super strong on the head. The design matches my ref perfect and I love the duct tape to emulate the character putting a crown together out of garbage. Perfect! His earring did not last long sadly, and I lost them at the first con I went to since they fell out very easily. They were magnetic gauges, but I plan on getting gauges to fit snug in the ear holes. RatingFursuitReview 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 Oakley’s Creations. Final CommentsIf you don't mind waiting for your suit to be completed and you don't have a hard deadline that would upset you if it was missed, I would recommend Oakley as your suit maker! Please keep in mind that not only is Oakley self-employed making fursuits, but also completing projects for school in animation and is also a person with a life outside of her work! Things can happen in someone's personal life and remember to be kind to the artists you commission! 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.
