Feed aggregator

Doug Brathovde, owner of Anthropaws, a local costume-making business, puts the finishing touches on Nahia, a hyena character commissioned for a client. Anthropaws offers full costume building and repair services for individuals or organizations wanting their own mascot character. Photo Credit: Chad Coleman, Redmond Reporter

By: Tim “Kijani” Watanabe

For Redmond’s Doug Brathovde, it all began in 2004 after watching “The Lion King on Broadway” stage production.

Although none of the costumes in the show contained the faux fur he works with today, Brathovde realized how creative, and fun, building costumes could be as a hobby.

“I thought it was a really fun deal and saw everyone was enjoying it, so I started building my own,” he recalled.

After serving five years in the Marines, which included a tour of duty in Afghanistan as an aircraft mechanic, and a short stint at Boeing working on the new 787 Dreamliner, Brathovde continued building costumes on the side, and late in 2009, started up his own home-based business, Anthropaws, Inc.

The unique company name comes from the word “anthropomorphics,” which relates to bringing human characteristics to something that is non-human, like an animal. Cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse are an example, and many fans of anthropomorphics, also known as “furries,” create their own characters and have them commissioned into a full costume, called a “fursuit,” that resemble sports mascots with a personal touch.

“The community itself is very broad,” Brathovde noted. “You have your fans of cartoon (animals), musicians, artists… and the costuming part is just another way to express yourself that you can’t do normally.”

Brathovde estimates that 90 percent of his business comes from the furry community, but Anthropaws also offers many other services.

“The rest comes from organizations interested in mascots, or (performance) catering,” he said. “I also service existing mascots or fursuits, general repairs, sizing, anything and everything.”

 

CREATING A CRITTER

According to Brathovde, the most challenging part of his job is not the actual hands-on work, but the conceptual creation that must go on before he even plugs in his sewing machine.

“The most difficult part is coming up with a character design from someone’s description, taking that and turning it around into a three-dimensional form,” he said. “That’s the most challenging part, and in turn, one of the most fun parts.”

Brathovde has at least 20 different colors of faux fur in his workshop, all different styles and lengths, and will special-order to meet any customer’s needs.

He has made eight full suits so far – a hyena, german shepherd, two lions, two huskies, a badger and a raccoon – and Brathovde says his goal is to try and look for ways to improve his craft, to make each costume he builds a little better than the last.

“I’ve been doing a lot with moving jaws, whenever the wearer opens their jaw, the character’s jaw works as well,” he explained. “I’m also working with a style of eyes that wherever you look at the costume from, the character’s eyes are also looking at you… I’m always trying new things.”

And once a costume is ordered, how long does it take to build from head to paw?

“It’s totally dependent on the complexity of the costume,” Brathovde said. “If it’s really fancy it usually takes somewhere in the nature of 3-4 months, but more basic stuff is real quick. I also do partials, which is just a head, paws and a tail, and those come a lot faster.”

While other costume builders often charge at least $1,000 for a custom mascot character and sometimes much more, Anthropaws currently offers full suits starting at just $500, going up based on complexity.

“I started it on my own so that I could make a little money doing what I love doing,” Brathovde said. “I cater to the anthropomorphic community, and also to anyone that wants something for Halloween or to wear to parties, anyone that wants a costume of some sort.”

 

A REWARDING EXPERIENCE

Though building mascots and fursuits often means many long nights of grueling work, Brathovde admits that it is all worthwhile after the customer sees the finished product.

“The most enjoyable thing is once they get their costume and can go out and be their character, and just enjoy the time they have with it,” he said. “They can totally express themselves in a form they can’t do any other way.”

Brathovde also cherishes every opportunity he gets to go out in one of his own costumes and perform, bringing smiles to the faces of children and families, brightening their day. Brathovde and his crew of costume performers attended Issaquah’s popular Salmon Days festival last year, and also made an appearance at the Redmond Saturday Market in May at Redmond Town Center.

“That’s one of the most fun things about building costumes, that you can take them out and people don’t worry about who you are, they just see the character and that’s what they look at,” he explained. “The reaction from people is just outstanding. Everywhere you go, people are like, ‘Oh my gosh I can’t believe this!’ They all want pictures. It’s awesome, a really rewarding experience.”

Having moved to Redmond from Bothell about one year ago, Brathovde is also looking to get involved locally with community and charity organizations in his new, unique line of work.

“I am always open for commissions, and open for performing,” he said. “If it’s a matter of doing a party or coming to a charity event, I’d definitely be there and I can usually round up a bunch of other costumers who’d be interested as well.”

 

To see more photos of Brathovde’s costumes and home workshop, check out staff photographer Chad Coleman’s blog, Focus Northwest.

 

For more information about Anthropaws or to contact Brathovde about a commission, e-mail ithabise@anthropaws.com, call (425) 381-9657, or visit www.anthropaws.com

 

Link to this post!

By Jerry James Stone @ Treehugger

Congress, for the first time ever, has removed an animal from the Endangered Species List. Unfortunately, for the northern Rocky Mountain grey wolf, it was caught in the crossfire (soon to be literally!) of last Friday’sFederal Budget compromise and is no longer considered endangered.

“The Environmental Protection Agency was cut by $1.6 billion, a 16-percent reduction, and lawmakers from Western states were able to include a rider allowing states to de-list wolves from the endangered species list,” explains Brian Merchant, about Friday’s decision. The rider puts the management of grey wolves in the hands of both Montana and Idaho. Though, just last week a, federal judge bucked this idea because he felt it would actually increase commercial wolf hunts within those states.

Whats’ really obscene to me is that Congress has actually set this precedent. Okay, it’s not really the first time. Congress did inadvertently delist an endangered Tennessee fish called the snail darter by approving a dam originally slated to protect the fish. But the difference being that Congress was not overturning scientific findings, it was a legislative loophole.

Read the rest of the article at Treehugger

Thanks to @Tsuka_Bull from Furshoot.com for the tip

Link to this post!

Author: Rakuen Growlithe

In the Arctic there has been a change in the distribution of both red and arctic foxes. Red foxes have expanded their territory to the North as the climate has warmed, at the expense of arctic foxes.

Due to a lack of observations of interactions between the two fox species, biologists have been unsure whether the loss of arctic fox territory was due to direct competition, or if they were indirectly competing for the same food. Rodnikova et al have now reported observing a red fox intruding upon a arctic fox den in 2007.

read more

Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.

Link to this post!

"Congress, for the first time ever, has removed an animal from the Endangered Species List. Unfortunately, for the northern Rocky Mountain grey wolf, it was caught in the crossfire (soon to be literally!) of last Friday's Federal Budget compromise and is no longer considered endangered."

2 Vote(s)

"A Dauphin County jury is being asked to weigh charges that former state Senate aide Alan Berlin used online chats to try to arrange to have sex with a 15-year-old autistic boy. Berlin, 42, of Carlisle, was arrested nearly two years ago after the boy's parents went to authorities. As the trial opened today, prosecutors from the attorney general's office walked the jury through 10 Yahoo instant messaging exchanges between Berlin and the teen that involved conversations about sex acts."

1 Vote(s)

"Here, we report from the first direct observation of a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) intrusion on an arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) breeding den from the southern Arctic tundra of Yamal Peninsula, Russia in 2007. At the same time, as a current range retraction of the original inhabitant of the circumpolar tundra zone the arctic fox is going on, the red fox is expanding their range from the south into arctic habitats. Thus, within large parts of the northern tundra areas the two species are sympatric which gives opportunities for direct interactions including interference competition. However, direct first-hand observations of such interactions are rare, especially in the Russian Arctic."

" Brad Paquin was on his way out the door to pick up his wife Nancy Sunday evening when his cat Max, gone for two full days, darted in the house with an arrow lodged in its head.

The 3-year-old black and white cat went straight for his food bowl, while an alarmed Paquin called his wife to say the evening's plans had changed to include a trip to the veterinarian."

"When Etsumi Ogino saw a news photo of a pack of shelties wandering through an abandoned town near Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear plant, she thought of her own 13-year-old canine Kein and jumped into action.
"My heart trembled," said Ogino, a 56-year-old volunteer at an animal shelter in Chiba prefecture. "They looked just like my dog. I started searching for them right away.""

Author: Higgs Raccoon

The trial of Alan Berlin, known in the furry fandom as Alan T. Panda, has begun. Berlin, a resident of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was arrested on May 28, 2009, on accusations that he had propositioned a fifteen-year-old boy over the internet. His arrest came after the boy’s parents found sexually explicit messages on his computer and they contacted the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit.

Amongst furries, Berlin presented himself as a “daddyfur and caretaker” who was “looking for a babyfur to be (his) mate and companion in a long-term committed relationship.” When Berlin’s home was searched, wolf and cat-like costumes were found, and it was alleged that Berlin discussed dressing up in animal costumes and engaging in sex.

read more

Find the full article here: flayrah – furry food for thought

Creative Commons: Full post may be available under a free license.

Link to this post!

There’s no way on earth we can top the publisher’s description of the second story arc of Screamland. So here it is: “‘Death Of The Party,’ Part One — In a world where movie monsters are real, most of them are just looking for work in an industry dominated by 3D, CGI and other scary acronyms. Forced to hustle their past glory on the convention circuit, Wolfman Carl London and Space Path star Travis Walters put their scheduled appearances aside to stop the screening of a legendary monster porn film that threatens to ruin the careers of feature creatures everywhere.” Got that? This new full-color comic book series is written by Harold Sipe and Christopher Sebela, and illustrated by Lee Leslie and Hector Casanova. It’s coming this June from Image Comics.

 

image c. 2011 by Image Comics

Author: AshMCairo
""Natt and Dag" is a free, paid-by-ads newspaper in Norway, distributed in stores and pubs and stuff. It is in the "sensationalist!" segment. They did, of course, not go public to furries about wanting to interview us, but found two furs who felt they could represent the entire fandom.

It goes as it must go. The front page has the somewhat loosely translated title "AniMal placed love – Furries & Bestiality " (where the first word was a combo of malplaced (misplaced) and animal…).

It has created great disturbance in the furce in Norway."

Download the complete translated article here: NATTandDAG

1 Vote(s)

Find the full article here: furryne.ws / Published News

Link to this post!

Author: AshMCairo
"The idea came from seeing someone else’s joke. An atheist created a site in England that said she’d take care of Christian-owned pets after the Rapture, and asked for 70 pounds as a "donation." She promoted it as a joke, and it virally made the rounds amongst non-believers who enjoy making fun of Christians. My husband saw it (he’s an Internet geek) and told me about it. Admittedly, it seemed funny. I told my friend, Carol, who is not a Christian, and she brought up a question: "Hey, if you get raptured, what happens to Petey?" It was an excellent question, and I didn’t have an answer."

1 Vote(s)

Find the full article here: furryne.ws / Published News

Link to this post!

For immediate release
For further info, contact Max West, i...@sunnyvillestories.com
SKETCHING OUT A CREATIVE PROCESS
Trailblazing creator reveals select sketches in world-building
It’s no secret that constructing a believable world isn’t easy and
avant-garde creator Max West demonstrates this principle in his

Author: AshMCairo

Ash’s note: SQUEE!!! OLD SCHOOL SONIC!

“It’s here! EXCLUSIVE to Facebook – the first hint as to what the new Sonic game might be all about…”

Watch it in HD at Facebook
1 Vote(s)

Find the full article here: furryne.ws / Published News

Link to this post!

Editor's note: SQUEE!!! OLD SCHOOL SONIC! "It's here! EXCLUSIVE to Facebook - the first hint as to what the new Sonic game might be all about..."

1 Vote(s)

"Do you want to HEAR trolling?"

2 Vote(s)

"The idea came from seeing someone else's joke. An atheist created a site in England that said she'd take care of Christian-owned pets after the Rapture, and asked for 70 pounds as a "donation." She promoted it as a joke, and it virally made the rounds amongst non-believers who enjoy making fun of Christians. My husband saw it (he's an Internet geek) and told me about it. Admittedly, it seemed funny. I told my friend, Carol, who is not a Christian, and she brought up a question: "Hey, if you get raptured, what happens to Petey?" It was an excellent question, and I didn't have an answer."

1 Vote(s)

Guess who's #2...

2 Vote(s)

"After the DMCA take down notice on March 28, the video had been pulled from the service. As of this afternoon (April 11, 2011), the video is back up and accessible. Congratulations goes out to Curt Pehrson for winning this battle against Vimeo and fraudulent DMCA take down notices. We're looking forward to your next work."

1 Vote(s)

Sure, Rio did well overseas. It tanked in the US though. In comparison, Hop did well in the US. Overseas it bombed.

1 Vote(s)