Custom Mascot · Design Guide
How to get a mockup we can actually build
Before you send us an AI-generated design, use this guide to check it
against what a real mascot costume can be — it takes 5 minutes and saves a round-trip.
Why this matters
A mascot costume is a physical, worn object: a molded headform (foam or vacuum-formed styrene), a fabric/plush body, and dyed fur or plush in a fixed set of colors we actually stock. AI image generators don't know any of that — they'll happily draw a shape no mold exists for, a color we don't dye, or a printed pattern that isn't a real fabric option, and it will look completely real in the image. Looking real and being buildable are different things.
1 Find your base product
Go to our full catalog or search for your animal/character and find the closest match already in our lineup. This product is your base — everything downstream (the mockup, the price) comes from this pick.
- Real animal or recognizable object (bear, tiger, gnome, etc.) — find that exact match first.
- Invented character with no obvious animal match — look for a similar head shape instead (round, long-snouted, tall). The head mold is the real constraint, not the theme. Products with a "Mr." prefix tend to be round-headed, stocky shapes — a fast starting point.
2 Pick the real variant
Open your base product's page and check its Color dropdown. Every value listed there is a real, buildable option — our actual dyed-fur palette for that product.
- A close named color there is your target color — use its exact name.
- Nothing close? Use "As Pictured" (the stock color) instead of inventing a shade. A convincing mockup in a color we can't produce sets an expectation we can't meet.
- Long fur and short fur have different color lists — check the one on the actual product.
Reference hex values (for designers / AI tools)
Short fur — solid colors
| Grey | #929297 |
| Rust | #904510 |
| Tan | #b9ac87 |
| Pink | #d487a1 |
| Purple | #4f2cab |
| Chocolate Brown | #432517 |
| Yellow | #d9d021 |
| Navy Blue | #222849 |
| Bright Orange | #eb733b |
| Light Brown | #846f5e |
| Tiger Orange | #be6113 |
| Lime | #9ec177 |
| Red | #cd0116 |
| Royal Blue | #2f41c1 |
| Green | #195f2e |
| Light Blue | #8bbfcb |
| White | #d4d8db |
| Black | #131317 |
Long fur — solid colors
| Royal Blue | #252593 |
| Red | #bc0316 |
| Green | #11651d |
| Yellow | #afa824 |
| White | #d4d7ee |
| Dark Brown | #362522 |
| Rust | #602a10 |
| Black | #17161b |
| Grey | #808a91 |
| Tan | #878164 |
| Bright Pink | #f901b4 |
| Bright Orange | #f63e30 |
| Lime | #46cb7b |
Approximate values measured from our reference chart — dyed fur has natural texture variance, treat as a starting anchor for AI recoloring, not a print-accurate spec. Long fur and short fur are separate dye lots — don't cross-reference one for the other even under the same color name. Animal patterns (leopard, zebra, tiger, etc.) are discontinued — solid colors only.
3 Generate the mockup — the rule that matters most
Upload the base product's own stock photo into your AI tool (not a photo of something else) and ask it to edit only the fur/plush color, and any garments/logos you're adding on top.
"Keep the exact same head shape, body proportions, pose, and fur material as the original image.
Do not add, remove, or reshape any part of the costume. Do not change the material to anything
other than fur/plush — no metallic, glossy, clay, or cartoon-render textures. Only change what I
specifically ask for."
If the output changes the shape, proportions, or material — regenerate it. Don't keep the version that looks best if it broke this rule. A mold can't be reshaped after the fact, and a texture that reads as plastic, clay, or a glossy render isn't something we can sew.
Do the recolor as its own pass first. Add garments, logos, or accessories in a second pass on top — asking for both at once is how the shape drifts.
- Exact logos: don't let the AI redraw your logo from a description — it drifts with every revision. Overlay the actual logo file onto a blank garment instead.
- Printed patterns, camo, gradients: these describe character art, not a producible fur option. Tell us to translate it to the nearest solid color — we don't offer printed/patterned fur.
4 QA your mockup before you send it
Check these against the ORIGINAL stock photo, side by side:
- Silhouette — head size, snout length, ears, body proportions, limb count all match the original exactly?
- Material — still reads as fur/plush, not shiny, glassy, clay-smooth, or 3D-render material?
- Color — exactly the named variant from Step 2 (or "As Pictured"), not just "close to"?
- Pattern — solid color only, unless explicitly translated to the nearest solid?
- Everything else unchanged — pose, viewing ports, and existing accents you didn't ask to change?
If your mockup fails any of these, that part isn't what you'll receive — flag it explicitly when you send it in, or fix it first.
5 What to send us
- The base product link from Step 1
- The variant/color name from Step 2 (or "As Pictured")
- Your edited mockup image
- A plain-language list of what's added — logo, garment, lettering, accessory, quantity
- Any part you know is off-catalog (an off-palette color, a pattern) called out explicitly
Rough pricing, so there are no surprises
| Base costume | Real variant price on the product page |
| Custom logo | +$300 each |
| Custom color (off standard palette) | +$400 flat |
| Embroidered lettering | +$30 per letter |
| Any other add-on (garment, shirt, cap, accessory) | +$300 each |
| Upgrade to Parade Feet | +$250 |
| Shipping | $200 ($100 accessory-only) |
| Fully from-scratch character (no catalog analog at all) | Starts at $6,000 |
If Step 1 found a real base product, you are not in the from-scratch tier — that's the exception, not the default.