Unlike mascot suits, which are usually affiliated with a team or organization, fursuits represent an original character created by their wearer, and are often better-fitting and more intricately crafted, with features such as a moving jaw.
[2] Most early fursuit making was done by the suit's owner using guides released by members of the community, with one of the most prominent being Critter Costuming, a 2004 manual by Adam Riggs.
[2] According to Forbes in 2018, a few fursuit makers in recent years have gained a larger audience by making mascots for mainstream organizations.
[4] Fursuit making is a growing industry, with new costume makers who handcraft custom suits entering the market every week.
Some of these, however, are "fly-by-night" operations or make suits of sub-par quality, leading to the proliferation of fursuit review sites to weed them out.
[2] There is heavy turnover of these smaller makers, with only a third of them able to stay afloat, due to suit-making being labor-intensive, and requiring a unique style and a following.
[1] Quadsuits are one of the most challenging and expensive types of costumes to make, and involve the wearer walking on all fours with arm extensions to create the illusion of a real animal.
They are also worn in public, though this often requires a spotter or handler to ensure the safety of the performer from things like rowdy people, exhaustion or accidents due to limited vision.