Basic Character Data

Name: Tesla
Species: Zeraora (Pokemon)
Age: ???
Height: 5′ 4″

Likes: thunderstorms, playing with balls of electrical wire or statically-charged yarn, running electrical experiments, giving hugs (careful: you may be lightly zapped!)
Dislikes: strong Ground-type Pokemon, Pokemon with Lightningrod (unless he’s using them for an experiment), and Joltik. They always eat through his electrical wires and mess with all kinds of experiments!

Personality: Tesla is very playful and loves interacting with other people and Pokemon. He tends to zap people on occasion, but, like his friend Vandal graffitis others, this is really just a sign of affection.

Additional Details: His moveset is Thunder Wave, Acrobatics, Iron Tail, and Plasma Fists!

–Ref sheet coming soon!–

Costume Data

Project Type: Personal
Character Origin: Pokemon (Video game series, TV show, TCG)
Species: Zeraora (goggles added to character)
Debut Year/Place: [Worn as WIP] SacCon/SacAnime 2018 [Final Completion] BLFC 2019
Costume Type: Showpiece; Tesla is awkward to wear, extremely hot, and very heavy. Visibility is okay at best. The only part of my body that isn’t padded is middle of my torso and upper arms. I require a handler to travel with me as well as taking the suit off and on and helping with wire detachments.
Est. Build Cost*: $600+
Est. Work Time: Completed over around a year and a half, (long intervals between work times). Combined, probably 6 months work with normal work times

Costume Features:

• Moving jaw
• Lighting effects; glowing eyes, all 4 pawpads light up and flicker
• Sound effects (Zeraora pokemon cry and lightning/thunder effects)
• Outdoor resistant feet (EVA sole adhered to an inner shoe)
• Machine-washable torso

Material Breakdown:

• Cushion foam sheets & block foam for body shaping and head build
• Cotton/spandex lining fabric
• EL Panels x6 (2 large pawpads, 2 small pawpads, both eyes)
• Clear vinyl (covers EL panel pawpads)
• Yellow faux fur [local buy] (approx. 3 yards)
• Slate grey seal faux fur [local buy] (approx. 2 yards)
• Black seal faux fur
• Fleece remnant details (tongue and inner ear stripe)
• EVA foam (whiskers and back thunderbolt)
• Plastic sheets (reinforcement for back thunderbolt)
• White vinyl (foot claws)
• Sculpey (claws on main paws, and teeth)
• 1/2″ wire mesh (head base)
• Auto headliner fabric (liner for mesh headbase)
• Soundboard
• Rechargeable speaker
• Battery packs x3 (8xAA battery pack for EL pawpads, 2xAA for EL eyes, 2xAA for SFX board)
• Parachute clips, snaps, straps, and other sewing miscellany
• Wires, buttons, and other electrical miscellany

References Used

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Other Data

Post-build Considerations: In terms of things I would change, I learned a lot about working with EL panels and I would definitely install them differently (currently planned for his future alterations!). I also have new options for his sound system so that’s something I want to/will change in the future. I’d also build his whiskers a little differently because the EVA ended up snapping.

Trivia:

• To date, Tesla’s head weighs the most out of any costume I have except Bluetooth. It’s 3 lbs by itself. This is due to the amount of foam and the speaker in his head. 3 lbs may not sound like a lot but my fursuit heads are generally quite lightweight, usually under 1.5 lbs, if that.
• He doesn’t have a traditional hinge like most of my costumes due to his “kimono” style head (very short muzzle). Instead, it’s made out of EVA foam with a hinge, so it’s flexible as well as rotating around a hinge. This is what allows his mouth to move when I move my mouth!
• The Sculpey for Tesla’s nose broke during BLFC 2019 and I had to quickly make an EVA foam replacement in the hotel room! Lucky I carry a repair kit ^^”
• I had to give up moving fingers for his handpaws in return for the lightning and sound effects, which are triggered by buttons within the paws.
• Tesla has a bit of a crush on Claire Redfield u//w//u

Costume Gallery