Head Construction

The head for Chairo is constructed from carved open-cell foam, similar to upholstery foam. The foam was carved to the appropriate shape with an electric carving knife; using an electric knife like this is much easier and faster than using scissors. Beginning with a single large block of foam, profiles were drawn onto the faces of the foam cube. This made it easier to carve out the basic shape of the head.

Once the basic shape of the head was carved, an interior cylindrical hole was cut from the underside. This is the space for the wearer's head. This hole is fairly tight, transferring movement to the foam head by direct contact. Once this hole was correctly sized, holes were carved through to the front of the foam for vision. It is these holes that line up with the character's pupils, allowing the performer to see out of the costume.

The final step in carving is to smooth the shape and curve of the head. Check that it looks good from all angles. And also bear in mind that small details will be obscured by the fur, which adds apparent bulk and also hides rough edges. For this costume, the ears were carved separately and then attached to the main portion of the head. They were attached using hot glue, with a supporting wire running between the ear and the top of the head for extra strength.

Fur pieces then need to be cut so that they properly cover the head. If the head is a simple color scheme, it may be reasonable to cut as you go. However, with a complex color scheme like the one on Chairo, it's important to ensure that all of the pieces will line up correctly beforehand. This was done by cutting small pieces of fur and pinning them to the foam head. Small pieces were necessary because of the strong curvature over many parts of the head's surface; a single piece of fur cannot smoothly cover a concave or convex surface.

Once all of the pieces fit properly, they were glued in place using hot glue. Hot glue is a fast and relatively easy way to attach porous materials. The only problem is that, with some larger-pore foam, the glue will soak into the foam; in this case, repeat gluing of some spots may be necessary.