First of all --------------- This is not finished yet, The computer I am on atm doesn't have microsoft word, so I'm using this journal as a way to save my progress while typing this tutorial so I don't get near the end and loose everything >.>. This will eventually be moved to my website, so I can pretty it up with pictures and stuff ^^

This tutorial will show you how I personally discovered how to put blinking eyes in a fursuit costume, as well as making a creature snarl. I don't claim to be an expert so my methods might not be the most effective, or suit your style of making costumes. But they work for me ^^. This tutorial is dedicated to a special someone! You know who you are because you asked for it, but I won't mention a name as I know you're keeping things secretive!

Blinking
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Making an animal costume blink is one of the next steps to bringing more realistic life to it. This is one of those things that when you know how to do it, you'll wonder why you didn't consider it sooner!

Materials needed:
Step 1-
Your eye (plastic or resin ect)
Stiff wire
Polymorph
Black pigment powder
Spare fabric to make the eyelid
Glue (Either hot glue or superglue can work as an example)

Step 2-
Miniature servo (this tutorial will be for using 2 servos, one for each eye, but it is possible to use one servo to control both)
Y lead cable for servo
Arduino Uno R3 board (Others available but I found this easiest)
Solderless Breadboard + Jumper Cables
Strip board
Soldering iron
Solder
Battery clip or other power source
Switch
Wires
Electrical tape

Here we go!
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 First of all you need to make sure that there is enough room inside the head of your costume to fit everything in and the eye hole is large enough to accommodate the blinking movement of the eyelid.
This is what my most recent project looks like with the blinking eyes:
>>>>>>>>>>>Insert picture of hippo here<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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Step 1: Making the eyelid

This is the most important part, because if you get the shape wrong here the whole mechanism might not work later on.
Grab your eye (The one for the costume, not your own eye XD) as well as the wire. Bend the wire to the curved shape of the eye, following the diagram.
>>>>>>>>>>>>Insert diagram of wire over eye<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Hold your wire where shown in the picture and try to rotate it over the surface of the eye (like it's blinking). If it rubs against the surface keep playing with the shape until it moves freely all the way up and down the eye, leave a gap to allow to the eyelid fabric to be attached to the wire.

Updated - 30 November 2012

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Website / Resin Eyes
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www.Silantre.com is up and running, but the store is still under going some changes.

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Hippogryph
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Hippogryph is coming along slowly,,, veeeeerrrryyy slowly. I had hoped to get it finished back in October, but that didn't hapen as I've realised many mistakes. Including not being able to fit inside him properly *facepalm*. But now I don't hae to rush it, I can concentrate on the finer details ^^


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AMFE Midlands
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This will be my next convention, I was planning to bring Hippogryph, but not that I need a mechanical engineer (don't ask) I guess it'll have to be necromancer again >.>, I wouldn't go, but I'll hopefully be meeting some awesome peeps there!

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Beyblade
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Thanks to London Expo I've re-visited my love for Beyblades!!! More specifically though, Driger Beyblades ^^. I've been re-building my collection for a little while, and now have 44!!!! Different Driger variations ^^. So my appologise to people who watch me for costume related things, there will be Beyblade related stuff popping up from time to time, and vise-versa.


PLUS I want to thank everyone for viewing my page, favouriting and watching my Deviant Art page! It means alot when I log in and see the little message count thingie at the top has risen =3

Sil =3