October 2024
Much has been done over the past two and a bit months, but so much more is left to do. Even though there are only two tabs this month to cover, both projects have been large. Let’s dive into what has been finished, and what lies ahead for the rest of the year.
Back to my roots!
Long-time followers of Zuperbuu Works will recall that I used to create fursuit heads and components, draw fursonas by commission, and even delve into making avatars on Second Life. I stopped doing these things when I moved house, simply because I didn’t have the room or facilities to do those things anymore.
Whilst I got into 3D printing to showcase my model-making skills to the world, I hadn’t seen its true potential until I created a replica of my Lancer mask from Specimen G-13; this mask rekindled my passion for costume crafts, and whilst I don’t exactly have the space to make heads et al by commission anymore, I can still create framework using the printer!
I got to work making my first framework, and rather than go into the typical canine or feline styles, I decided on something a bit more on-brand for All Meshed Up (and myself!)
Introducing the “Saurian” mask frame! It’s a 3D-printed fursuit mask base for the dinosaur fans out there; presently, it comes in two styles, but I am working on a longer snout design as a third option.
The teeth are also in three styles; you can choose carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore (a mix of both). The eye and teeth inserts are printed separately from the rest of the mask, so you can glue them onto the frame last.
The holes dotted around the framework are to help with adhering, or sewing, fabric to the framework. If you use a lightweight fabric, it also helps make the mask more breathable.
The large slots on the upper and lower jaw are for threading elastic, to make use of the jaw mechanism. The slots at the back of the mask are for straps, or helping you fix the frame to a head fixture.
Presently I am offering the frames in PLA or PETG. I am working on TPU, which is far more flexible, but I am learning how the material prints, and right now it doesn’t print cleaShortlyuture, TPU frames will be an option.
I had some old faux fur lying around and used it to create a dinosaur mask using the “regular” saurian frame as a base, as an example of what you can do with it. Considering I’ve been out of practice for 9-ish years, I’d say it came out pretty well.
The frames aren’t all I’m preparing; there will be some creature skull costume masks and mods to use with the frameworks! I’m still performing tests, but here’s a look at the “Triceratops” beak and nose horn for the Short Saurian frame; the teeth can be carnivore or herbivore, it’s up to you! I just had the carnivore teeth already inserted.
More on this project will be announced in the coming weeks over on Facebook and the new social media platform I’m migrating to: Bluesky!
Cosmic Cat Almanac
The other project I’ve been working on is the rework of the “Beginners Guide to Jinimaru”, now known as the Cosmic Cat Almanac.
In the old book, it used my ancient sketches, which didn’t look professional. I wanted to vastly improve this book with new artwork, and with the final build of the Jinimaru base mesh, this has been far easier to achieve; those couple of weeks working on the new mesh have paid off with this project.
The entire book has been re-written from the ground up but plenty of the original information is still in it, just vastly updated. I would have liked to include the old sketches of all the creatures, but I feel these may be better suited to another book, exclusively about the artwork and creation process of this project.
Whilst I am making great progress, I still have a lot of model variants to do, and it looks like I will not reach my goal of publishing the book by the end of the year; who knows though, I may pull a few all-nighters sometime in November and pull off that end-of-year release.
Whilst I would love to make the digital version of the book completely free, even outside Kindle Unlimited, Amazon does not give me that luxury. I will do my best to get the price for the digital book as low as possible. Printing-wise, as this book utilises artwork, and printing in colour always costs more, there’s nothing I can do about the physical printed copy; I have already resized the book to be smaller.
The D&D Module
The module has been sitting in a near-complete state for the past two months; I only have a few maps left to do for it! So, what’s the hold-up? The answer is testing.
I have been unable to playtest this module with anyone else, all I have managed is creating two character sheets and running test rolls for specific checks or saving throws using them, and whilst the questing works out fine, the real issue is the monster difficulty; this world is meant to be hostile and incredibly dangerous once you leave the “starter island”, but for a party of two, this module may be impossible to play. I have ADHD so managing an NPC, monsters, and then multiple character sheets is too much for me to handle a suitable playtest.
Because of this, I am giving the module away for free. You can grab it from Ko-Fi as “pay what you want”, with the minimum amount being 0/zero. https://ko-fi.com/s/7e120da203
If you enjoy using it, however, please consider donating or buying the original book from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SLD2XGS
So, just be aware if you choose to use this module, it may be rather difficult for your players in its current state, and you’ll highly likely need to make some changes to the monsters.
As for a printed copy, I may still make one, but it will probably be a convention-exclusive thing, and won’t be for some time, as I really want to get the difficulty level right to make this challenging, but still fun, to play.
Please also be considerate and do not use the artwork in this book outside of a D&D game without giving me attribution; the models used to create these images took me a long time to make.