What Makes a Sphinx?
In short, a sphinx is an animal costume that covers all but the face of its wearer.
Given that they're also referred to as open-face fursuits, it should come as no surprise that sphinxes share quite a lot with their more traditional brethren. In fact, the transition from one to the other can be as simple as swapping the normal fursuit head for an open-face hood.
But more specifically, a typical sphinx:
- Consists of a hood, body, hands, feet, and tail, any of which may be attached.
- Is constructed using fursuit-adjacent materials, but may allow for simpler presentation with fewer fine details.
- Is fitted like a fursuit in the body and hood, though may be slightly more relaxed or feature additional sculpting or padding.
- Lacks any additional facial features on the hood, as these are supplied by the wearer, who can opt to supplement the look with makeup or prosthetics.
And unlike fursuiting, sphinxing is not necessarily about portraying a character, and may not represent any specific character at all! It's just a fun, cozy, silly thing to do in a time when we could probably all use a little more of that.
