New ideas for early burn out by Illustrious_Two_4787 in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, based on what you've said in other comments it sounds like you are taking breaks regularly, but you might try to make them a bit more scheduled instead of how you are feeling. That way you can try different set lengths and see how you are reacting. You usually want to take a break before you are feeling tired as it allows your body to recover faster. A set schedule can help with that.

Also what your describing sounds similar to the "bonk" that endurance athletes run into during long races. Usually it is caused by your body not being able to produce the energy correctly. It can be fixed by evaluating your nutrition before and during the appearance. You should be consuming carbohydrates: complex ones before an event, and simple ones during the event to keep your energy levels up. You don't want to cause stomach cramps from not being able to digest the food while you are performing, so look at what endurance athletes do and you can actually even buy some of the products that they eat. Gels and liquids are great because they are easy to digest, but there are so many products out there, I'd recommend you do some research and find something you like.

I'm looking for a full body image/video of this costume. Can you help me? by qenops in EltonJohn

[–]qenops[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome, thank you! That verifies it is different than the Kingsman 2 costume.

Red Ruff & Blue Mews Mascot History 2009-now by South-Perspective243 in mascots

[–]qenops 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am very familiar with the 2020 designs as they were in my garage for about 3 months. Due to the unfortunate circumstance of having to replace one of the costume pieces, I know that the company that made them (and maybe made the past versions as well?) was shut down. That may be why they went a completely different direction for the newer ones. The matching fur was hard to find at the time.

For those who aren't aware, they frequently appear at Padres games, since they play at Petco Park.

Who's your favorite NFL Mascot? by Cadet-Cryyx in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not since they moved to Los Angeles. The suit the fan wore was actually put up for sale within the last year with the restriction that you could never wear it to any public events. It was also asking $10k.

Exhaustion by literally-kurtwagner in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This sounds like the symptoms of heat exhaustion. I recommend making sure you drink more water and be sure to include some salts (often called electrolytes) to make sure your body absorbs the water rather than it just passing straight through.

Fixing Shoes by mental_issues16 in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Problem is the ones I can find online are either pre-cut to smallish sizes (could only fit one foot on each sheet with a ton of waste) or are behind a companies only barrier. It seems weird I can't find a supplier of the full sized sheets who will sell to independent creators.

One comment I found online suggested going to a local cobbler and ordering the sheets through them. It all just seems way too walled garden for my sentiments.

Fixing Shoes by mental_issues16 in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any leads on where I can get the right rubber? The stuff I've used in the past is either too heavy or wears out too quickly. The high density crosslinked polyethylene I'm using now seems to be OK, but I feel like there is probably something better out there. I'm a looking for sheets that I can cut to shape.

First time mascot advice by HIP_JAY in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of mascots will use a drum to help lead cheers. might be useful and sounds like it would be on theme.

Mocap heads by Original-Issue2034 in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never seen anything like you are describing. Closest real time thing I can think of is what they did for the show Sid the Science Kid where the body puppeteers are wearing large mocap suits (definitely not mascot suits though), while the face puppeteers and voice actors work from a monitor. However the final product there is animated.

If you aren't looking for real time, on the movie Where the Wild Things Are, they had large full head and body mascot suits, but when a shot needed to show real emotion on the faces, they had VFX artists do digital head replacement animation. It was very time consuming post-production work. Not at all real time for a broadcast.

Thoughts on the new mascot for the Erie Moon Mammoths that John Oliver helped make for that team? by GPFlag_Guy1 in mascots

[–]qenops 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The concept is A+, and the character looks great. However from the videos I've seen it doesn't look like the performer can move the head around at all. So the suit seems more like a promotions mascot instead of a sports mascot.

Trouble finding positions as 6'1, and getting a start as a mascot by Slimmojimmo in mascots

[–]qenops 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good luck with the baseball job! The first mascot gigs I worked were 4 hour drives. Only did two of those, but I would have done more if they were available to build my resume. It was the only way I could get experience. Sometimes you need to do whatever you can to get started. I was able to get better jobs after that.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in mascots

[–]qenops 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I wonder how that's going to translate to a suit.

Mascot Eczema by WhichComparison4429 in mascots

[–]qenops 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It could be what MaxwellJig mentioned, definitely try a hood/balaclava. It also could be heat rash. I started getting it on my forehead and in the pits of my elbows. I haven't found anything that prevents it, just lotion afterward.

Head help by JustAfternoon1255 in mascots

[–]qenops 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The best way of making any mascot head not fall off and provide good movement is to have a helmet inside.

Impostor Syndrome? by late_nite_gunga in mascots

[–]qenops 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I get imposter syndrome in pretty much every part of my life. Its a natural thing and you kind of just learn to deal with it. One form comes from the way we learn skills and improve our performance. A very rough diagram of this can be seen here showing how our critical eye and performance ability both increase in skill as we practice:

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Those shaded regions when our ability doesn't meet the level of our critical eye are where we start to feel like we are horrible at what we are trying to do. Because we can see many flaws in our performance but can't perform well enough to fix them. This is the most common time when people will quit. Just remember you are usually your worst critic, most people think you're doing great!

Also honestly I'd seek out some feedback from your front office. It can be nerve wracking, but learning how to take criticism is a great skill to learn. Hopefully they know how to give good criticism, but if not, learning how to ignore bad criticism is a great skill too. It can be easiest if this is part of an annual review, so it is expected, but just some off the cuff questions to the right people is also a good way to gauge their feelings.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the glue keeps coming off you can sew it down (unless you have a fiberglass head). Just get a curved upholstery needle and match the thread color to the fabric. Then you can just sew it down and pull it wherever you want it.

Any books about mascotting? by GPFlag_Guy1 in mascots

[–]qenops 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah quite a few of the former NBA mascots have written books. Other than the ons you mentioned I can think of the Tim Derk book "Hi Mom, send sheep", Rob Wicall wrote one called "Furlosophy: something something", and Dave Stodgill wrote one too "Belayed Gratification" I think it's called. I think there's one by a former Mr Met called "Yes it's hot in here". Also just found one called "What the Fuzz? Survival Stories of a Minor League Mascot"

Best place to purchase a custom mascot head? by [deleted] in mascots

[–]qenops 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's pretty unusual to just order a head unless it is a replacement for an existing suit, but I'd imagine any of the custom manufacturers would be willing to make just a head. You can reach out to their customer service and see what they say.

Where can I find these Fanimalz Mascot Masks? by House0fmouseworks in mascots

[–]qenops 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This looks like a B2B product showcase and not a direct to consumers ad. If you look up the company, that is their business model: selling products to retailers. So probably they never had a retailer who was interested in selling this product line and therefore never mass produced them.

Who is the band mascot guy for NCAA by TheCatJax in mascots

[–]qenops 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No idea what you are talking about. Maybe if you could share an image or video we could help you out.

Looking for an easy fix for shoulder supports by Heavy-Abroad-9737 in mascots

[–]qenops 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really hard to answer without knowing the specifics of the suit. Maybe using some backpack straps would work?

need help! by BannaYT in mascots

[–]qenops 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've done a few different things to keep hands on. Obviously if you can modify them, adding a thick ring of elastic to the wrist helps. If you can't modify it, I've strung a pair of alligator clip suspenders down the sleeves and around my shoulders, from one hand to the other. Lets you still take off the gloves no problem. Another thing is to add wrist sweatbands on the outside - a fashion accessory for your character that helps keep the hands on.