[YES] Rainstar Cheetah by ArtZora Studios The item being reviewed is 4 years old and may not reflect the makers current style, or work. Maker Information Sour Citrus Suits (SOURCSU) Based in California, Riverside. Crafting since Oct 2019. Formerly known as ArtZora Studios. Year of Project2022 Completion Time (?)1 - 3 Months ETA AccuracyYES - the ETA was accurate 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 Date4 April 2022 RelationshipThe maker WAS NOT a friend when the item was purchased, but they ARE a friend nowThis relationship was indicated by the reviewer at the time this review was written. Review InformationReviewerRainstar9805 Twitter: rainstar9805 Furaffinity: rainstar9805 TikTok: rainstar9805 https://linktr.ee/rainstar9805 Prior ExperienceNo, this is my first fursuit that I've owned and worn. Wear Time60+ hours Informed Maker of IssuesYes, the maker was able to assist or discuss warranty options on all issues. Rainstar Positive ProjectThis item was a commission Paid: A Lump Sum of $3000 - $4999 Initial Contact: October 2021 Completion/Ship Date: January 2022 Shipping Origin: USA Type: Fullsuit Style: Toony Padding: Plantigrade Specialties: None SpeciesName: Cheetah Found in: Felidae(?) Features: None Concept Art Photos of Completed Product Overall Initial ContactArtZora Studios was prompt and responsive in the initial contact. I was able to obtain a slot with most all of the major details fleshed out in a few emails and telegram messages. Maker CommunicationCorkie has always been very engaged with her community and runs multiple telegram channels with the various family members in them. Any questions were answered promptly and completely, even when ArtZora Studios was bogged down from time to time. Project Completion TimeFrom first contact to receiving the suit felt like ages but in reality was only a matter of months. Corkie had a time line laid out promptly and was very communicative of any and all changes to this time line. All expectations for the project completion time were satisfied. Overall Project QualityOverall ArtZora Studios has proven to be an absolute joy to work with and the quality of their work speaks for itself. Corkie went above and beyond for the suit. She is humble in her mistakes and is constantly improving. I was apprehensive at first to commission a suit maker that had very limited experience with feline suits prior to mine. I took a risk and the reward has paid for itself tenfold. I am thoroughly content with the quality of my suit, the construction of the suit and the appearance of it. The meer sight of Rainstar sparks joy in people's hearts and that is a testament to the sheer brilliance of the suit's design. Components Head Wear SatisfactionThe head was crafted on a Nuke Creations Feline base which is decently sized and easily wearable. The inside material is a mesh balaclava that is carefully sown into the headbase and provides very good sweat absorption. Visibility out of the head is decent as to be expected by Nuke Creations and ventilation can be a little difficult at times. This is not a detriment on the part of Corkie or ArtZora Studios as I specifically requested the fursuit head to be made off of a premade base. The mohawk extends down to the bridge of the muzzle but it does not severely impact vision from the inside of the suit. The mesh eyes were made by ArtZora Studios and allow for decent vision without interferences. Overall the head fits well and can be worn for many hours without needing a break. Visual SatisfactionVisually, Rainstar's head is absolutely flawless. From his dumb expression and his adorable nose, to his killer mohawk and gorgeous mane, there is nothing negative that I have to say about the appearance of the fursuit head. The head and features are symmetrical and the shaving on the facial fur is the perfect length. The patterns flow well into themselves and create a cohesive shape. Everything appears natural on the head and it meshes perfectly with the body suit. The design of the head is what really makes it stick out of the crowd. The head of the fursuit is the moneymaker and Rainstar's image has proven to draw people's attentions. Whether furry or not, dozens of people have complimented on how cute Rainstar looks and how his expression brings smiles to people's faces. It matched the concept art perfectly and Corkie was kind enough to add additional details (i.e. the whisker dots) that were not previously discussed. One-Piece Body Wear SatisfactionThe body suit fits extremely well and is perfectly designed to my body shape. Despite any protruding areas above the waist the wearer might possess, the suit manages to smooth everything out to make the character look natural. It is easy to don and doff without assistance and allows for full range of mobility while wearing it. The quality of the suit is excellent. ArtZora Studios painstakingly hand sewed 281 spots on the body suit. As such, there have been at least a dozen spots that have begun to come unraveled. This is due primarily to putting stress on certain areas of the suit which cause the stitching to pop out. Considering there are almost 300 of such spots on the whole suit, only having a hand-full of these issues is remarkable. Corkie was very quick to respond to the issue and provided me with the necessary information on how to patch the popping stitches. She has also agreed to repairing and reinforcing the spots on the body suit as part of the warranty. As of the time of writing this review, there has not been a huge rush to have this service done as a few minutes of patching will fix the holes. The interior is surprisingly soft despite the amount of stitches on the inside. I have worn the body suit without UnderArmour and did not find my skin to be irritated or scratched after. The airflow is naturally not great, as with all bodysuits. The length of the fur (1.25 inch) also does not assist in this as it traps all of the heat underneath. That being said, with the addition of UnderArmour Heat Gear, I have been able to wear the suit for multiple hours without feeling like I was going to succumb to heat exhaustion. Visual SatisfactionThe bodysuit is superb in terms of appearances. The fur has been handwashed with laundry detergent and still remains soft, fluffy and easy to brush. A few problem areas occur around the armpits and shoulders where the mane of the head sits, but those are easily rectified by a slicker brush. The fur is adorably huggable and is easy to maintain. The spots are all uniquely designed and patterned in such a way that it does not detract from the suit as a whole. This bodysuit is not shaved, per my request. It exceeds the concept art in terms of visual presentation, Corkie took many liberties with the suit's concept and it works perfectly. She was also kind enough to discuss with me how smaller details (i.e. the very small "freckle" spots around the star shaped spot) would not show up and discussed if I wished to have something special done for this. The only complaint with the body suit is that the bottom of the legs are a few inches shorter than what they need to be. Due to this, the blue colored liner of my feetpaws can sometimes be seen depending on how I am standing. Corkie and I have discussed this, and as with the spots issue, will cover under warranty the adding of a small 3-4inch flair to the bottom of the legs to make up for this. Hands Wear SatisfactionThe handpaws fit very well. I asked for the puffy paws but was given fair warning by Corkie that these would not allow for a wide range of motion when grabbing items. This is something that I accepted with her. The handpaws are easy to take on and off, but I noticed that if I do not clip my fingernails there can be slight gashes to the inside of the padding. This is likely also due to me taking my hand paws on and off multiple times when I record videos for TikTok while wearing my suit. I do not believe this is a fault of the maker, but rather excessive wear and tear on my part. Visual SatisfactionThe fur flows naturally into the sleeves of the body suit without having to be tucked under. Due to me taking the paws on and off as previously mentioned, it is nice to be able to smooth out my arm fur to cover up the divide between the hand paws and the rest of the suit. There is a cuff at the bottom of the handpaws that can sometimes be seen if the arm sleeve slips down too far, but this is easily fixed by the smoothing technique or simply by asking someone to tuck the paws into the body suit sleeves. The paws are bappy and soft and despite being puffy still allow for a decent range of dexterous ability. Tail Wear SatisfactionRainstar's tail is arguably his most favorite possession. It is a long and heavy tail, not good for wagging but great for twirling around with. In terms of durability, the tail took quite a beating while walking around the salt-laden streets of Boston during Anthro New England 2022. The tail was easily the most abused part of my suit, save for the feetpaws. It drags on the floor a bit, which is possibly due to its weight as well as the fact that I am significantly taller than Corkie and her models. The hole for the tail to be worn via a belt sits decently but causes the tail to become a wick for sweat. Due to this, heavy brushing has been required at the base of the tail to soften up the fur after a few long days of suiting. Despite this minor issue, the tail has held up significantly better than anticipated and shows very little wear at all. There is also a hidden squeaker in the tail which delights me immensely. Visual SatisfactionCorkie was meticulous in designing the signature dip-stick pattern on the end of Raintar's tail. It appears better in real life than it does on the reference image. Many individuals have been unable to resist tugging on the tail and playing with it while at a convention. The tail flows nicely while walking and flows perfectly with the rest of the suit. Despite being attached by a belt, the tail appears to be coming right out of the bodysuit which completes the immersion beautifully. Feet Wear SatisfactionThe feetpaws are constructed off of slide-on shoes that were purchased and sent to Corkie as part of the duct tape dummy package. A shoe horn is needed to slip them on and off but this is likely due to the cheap quality of the shoes rather than ArtZora Studio's construction. I purchased two sets of paws, one indoor and one out door. Both sets give proper balance and do not feel like I am standing on an additional piece of fabric when walking around. The paws are lined with the same material as the head which allows for easy cleaning. Visual SatisfactionThe paws are a touch large compared to the rest of the body and due not flow as well as the other parts to the overall image. The paws themselves are cute and adorable and the design is very satisfactory. I feel that should the body suit have been digitigrade rather than plantigrade, the seamlessness of the paws would fit much better. By themselves, however, the paws are extremely good looking and overall do fit well with the rest of the suit. Special FeaturesOn the back of the body suit is a large star shaped spot as well as the previously mentioned dip-stick tail tip pattern. Both of these features were expertly translated from the concept drawings to the suit itself. 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 Sour Citrus Suits. Final CommentsArtZora Studios is a perfect example of why the furry fandom is fundamentally a beautiful place. Having only been making suits for a few years, Corkie has blown her previous suits out of the water with her recent work. I believe that with a few more years and more practice, ArtZora Suits will be as recognizable as Lacy or Lemonbrat. 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.
