For my next review I have chosen a very popular maker
"Don't hug Cacti". They also offer the same artistic services as
Beetlecat- mainly the crafting of fandom-oriented mascot suits.
I must respect them as
artists, but there are several things which Don’t Hug Cacti do that causes a
potential customer such as myself to think twice before investing a great sum
of money into one of their creations. The first issue that I, myself particularly find to be a bit of a downside to their creations is that it seems no matter what species you choose to have your costume crafted as, they all possess a very similar facial structure.
The eyes and muzzle particularly jump out to me- they all have the same general expression and shape. I personally find this to be a factor as to why I don’t particularly enjoy their work. The coyotes, huskies, fox and wolves all look like they have been made from the same base as the other. Even though foam and sewing the costumes to fit a human body won’t guarantee realism- to take on a cartoony style it is still possible to stay true to the original species whilst still being toony. Foxes for example have shorter and narrower muzzles than a wolf- but these heads all have the same muzzle length and look. The only way to differentiate these canine species is based solely on the markings.
From their gallery I can only see a slight variation of character suits. I’m not sure whether the whole “same-face” situation is in fact the artist’s issue or just the customers not specifying for anything else. Most of the gallery is filled with examples that look extremely similar in markings as well- some looking almost identical other than several primary coat colors switched to a variation.
Fox
Husky
Wolf
Coyote
Although their suits are
fairly cute and probably of high quality- I personally would not purchase nor
invest money for a costume from this maker for the reasons I have listed above.
But art is certainly subjective. You can decide for yourself how you feel about
the quality of their work at their website here.
