Kitsune or fox characters are not strictly a Japanese only thing. There is a Korean and Chinese version. European and Native American cultures have their own version of fox beings. I mention this because although my titles say "kitsune", I'm lumping in other fox traditions too. (And I wanted to pretend I'm not as ignorant as I may seem. *hiding*)
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| Your fox can be red! |
That's right, foxes have distinctive tails, ears, and markings but kitsune are specially identified by these features. Specific types of Kitsune have multiple tails. (Kyuubi has 9 tails.) This is certainly a feature we must consider...
Considerations for Kitsune/Fox Person Costume
When coming up with your costume design, these are things to take into consideration during the planning phase:
- Number of Tails: At the minimum, one tail is expected. However, as previously mentioned, some versions of the creature have 9 tails. You could add more or sit somewhere in between. More tails will mean more materials and potentially a heavier tail prop.
- Animal to Human Ratio: Basically what I mean is how "furry" the costume is going to be. Are you going for a Disney Robin Hood look or Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss?
Mostly Human 
More furry - Inspiration References: Are you going to utilize nature as your reference or use a more fantasy source?
Character Development
- Culture: The common culture around kitsune is Japanese. (And like I said there's the Korean Kumiho and Chinese huli jing too.) A culture has its own identifiable art style, diet, dress code, ethics, and relationship to the geography around them. Look into costumes from various points in history and how things are depicted in art. (Animation is art too!) If you want to use the animal of fox as a base, you can find cultures that live in the same region as that fox species.
- Nature: Images of real foxes and learning about their behavior are another good way of developing a character. You can mirror what you find in research. It can also give you inspiration for fur color, ear shapes and the basic look.
- Work/Career/Job: What a person does for a living affects what they wear. This affects what materials they may use to make their clothes, color choices, and cuts of clothing (like if they need to move freely). It will also affect what they carry, how they wear their hair, and more.
- Your Body: The best thing about making your own character is making it suit your body! You can be your own inspiration for character development too! What colors do you like or compliment your features? What kinds of clothes do you enjoy wearing or think look cool?
- Personality/Trope: Color choice, how you wear clothing, and other design decisions can be influenced by a personality type or vibe you want to put off. A confident extrovert would probably wear something with brighter colors than a shy introvert trying to blend in.
- Brainstorming: Again, word association and brainstorming can be great tools for finding terms to research and get inspiration.
My Example brainstorms
These are my example kitsune costumes most of which were inspired by brainstorm. But first, this character was developed with Culture/Job in mind.
Goro - the Spymaster
Goro is a character from a story that I'm working on. He comes from a mixed cultured background, but his job is very specific. The personality of the character has also influenced some of the choices I made when developing his costume. I should note that design is a process. The first idea doesn't always stick!
However, the final design has him with 3 grey-tipped tails, Silver/Grey Ears and Hair, a midriff-baring shinobi outfit, and a fox mask without the ears (since he has his own ears.) His colors are green, purple, rust, and black. His eyes are blue and gold (hazel) with round pupils.
The next few were all from a word association brainstorm. (Note that the sketches are NOT final designs, these are off-the-cuff doodles of ideas.)
Sakura Kitsune/Cherry Blossom Kitsune
The main inspiration for this lovely lady is the Sakura blossom and Wa-Lolita Style. She will sport 5 pale pink tails, have short pink ears, and pink hair in a bob cut.
Temptress Red Fox
Pop Star Arctic Fox
I really wanted to do a "crystal tail" kitsune so I figured an ice fox would suit this the best. Borrowing a bit of inspiration from Ahri K/DA and Lady Gaga and figure skating outfits. Also, the arctic fox is the base. So small white ears on a white hair asymmetric hairstyle. The colors are white and various shades of blue. I plan on one tail, but it might be fun to have 2.
Eyes could be brown and dark or ice blue. TBD
Brainstorm Words: Arctic Fox - Winter - Ice - Ice Skating - Frozen/Elsa
My Old Design Considerations
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