PriestessShizuka
Dragon Master

I'm planning out my first fursuit idea, and I'm pretty confident about the following numbered list, and I have read all the fursuit tutorials on this forum and in many of the links and in many Youtube fursuit tutorial videos, but I still have a couple questions.
1) I am confident in my artistic abilities to sculpt foam into the shapes I desire and in getting the shape and design I am looking for.
2) I am able to buy all the pieces and parts I'll need.
3) I have good stamina and an athletic build.
4) I'm not claustrophobic.
the foam
I'll be gluing foam together with hot glue, I guess, but how do you suggest I go about doing it so that I don't create "hard parts" in the soft foam where it's supposed to be even and relatively squishy? Use wider pieces of foam? I'm not picky about having hard edges in the foam due to the glue, but I just want to be careful not to have too many hard edges.
I'll use high density foam for the horns, snout, feet, fins and tail tip parts. I'm going to use normal density foam for the rest of the head, the shoulders, the neck, the thighs, and the thick part of the tail. I'll use some special material for the spikes, claws and teeth.
the head
The eyes will be resin, and I'll be able to see through the tear ducts made of black mesh with the angled shape of the face. I'll also have a semi-movable jaw with the elastic strap method. I won't be a talking character, but I'll occasionally hold my mouth open to try and look intimidating, or strike a "roaring" pose.
I'd like the neck to attached smoothly to my bodysuit give a thick-neck look. Should I use velcro or snaps to achieve this? I feel like velcro will be too stiff and will come undone if I turn my head too much, and I'm hoping to give the fursuit the ability to turn its head to the side naturally without having a gajillion diagonal wrinkles in the fabric. Any suggestions for doing this?
Another idea I had that I thought was pretty good was to cut a small hole in the center of the balaclava mask so that I can drink water from a straw through the fursuit's own mouth without having to remove my mask. Good idea for hydration? Or no?
the body
From my chest to a little higher than my hips, the costume will just match my own body in shape. I'm going to place the zipper along the line of red and blue of Luci's front side to avoid any extra seams.
What fur fabric would you suggest for an animal like Garchomp who is actually a reptilian species? I'm not going to go the leather/scale route--just gonna use fabric, but I'm guessing I need a short, smooth fabric. Maybe fleece?
the handpaws (such a cute name this fandom has created for these<33) and arms
Even though Garchomp has apparently no fingers, I'm going to put fingers in the glove so that I can at least pick up things, but as long as I keep my fingers together when holding like, a water bottle, with both of my hands, it should still look like Garchomp has a single fist. My pointer finger goes inside the claw itself.
I'd like the fin to not flop around (at least not too awkwardly) when I wave my arms as a Garchomp does. How do you suggest I get the fin to attach to the arm so that it doesn't flop around and remains relatively stiff and held in position? (same for the back fin, claws and spikes)
the legs
The thigh will be quite round in shape and be rather wide as well. Most of the padding will be on the outside of the leg, though. I'll use the normal density foam for the thighs. Right under the kneecap of the person is where the Garchomp's thigh will end.
I want to know where I should place the cuts in the form for flexibility of the human joints. Since the feature of Garchomp's thighs is that they are so round, I'm worried that putting a high cut will create a strange shape in the roundness whenever the leg bends. I considered putting the cut lower on the knee, but will that be too uncomfortable to kneel down on? I'll probably fall down onto my knees a couple times in character, like to pretend I'm imitating Garchomp's KO animation in Pokemon X/Y.
The feet will be somewhat blocky in shape, but a bit flexible around the ankles. It'll also have a lowered ankle as Garchomp does.
the tail
Garchomp's tail is very thick, and like Mewtwo's, is a smooth transition from the lower end of the front of the body, between the legs and to the tail. It'll be attached to the rest of the fursuit by a very wide base that is basically just connected to the entire fursuit.
I'd really really like to make the tail "waggable". Maybe so that when I walk, the tail will slightly sway back and forth like a shark swimming? The tail will be relatively long, but I think that its thickness will allow it to hold a shape allowing it to stay above the ground for the most part. The tail tip is allowed to drag a little if that's too much to ask. I'd also possibly like to make it so that if I move my hips/body, I can get the tail to swing in wide arcs from side to side. Can I get this effect from doing something similar to what Rarsuit did for his dragon tail?
Any advice and criticism is appreciated~!!