Centaur Costumes: a compilation

Author:
Penny Skinner
Updated date:
Feb 12, 2019

Cetaur Costumes

A centaur costume is an ambitious project, but with a very high impact result. I have collected a wide range of examples as inspiration for those who might want to tackle this project. They appear at a range of events from Halloween parties to stage plays.

Most are original creations although some are based on centaur from Harry Potter, Narnia or Fantasia. If you know of any more commercially made costumes of this type, please let me know! Also if you know of any hand or custom-made centaur costumes that I have not listed.

^{eschipul / Foter.com / CC BY-SA}

Full body, Static, Wheeled.

The guy shown above has what is probably the most famous centaur costume made by a Renaissance fair regular. This is a full body, static costume with rear wheels.

For more pictures of this particular centaur see--

Back in Time-the characters! (2008)
Kegasus (undated)

For the child's design shown right (source unknown) the wheels are a bit less subtle but probably more effective.

For more pictures of other centaur costumes of a similar design see--

50 Centaur Run-on [adult, male] (2008)
Halloween [adult, male](2010)--The back legs are a bit basic, but extra points for the pointed ears.
Dustin Overby [adult, male] (2011)--a novel design with detachable rear end, shown with rider.
Armored Centaur [adult, male] (2011)
Centaur with built in cooler! (2011)--This is cool.
Girl's costume [child, female] (unknown)--Creative use of papier mache, with shots showing the costume in production.
Centaur King and Queen [adult, male] [adult, female] (2012)

Wheeled centaur with built in cooler
GabboT

^{Alaskan Dude / Foter.com / CC BY}

Full Body, Static, Fixed

Without wheels on the rear portion, if it is a full sized replica, the centaur ends up pretty much fixed in place. Some of these examples may actually have wheels but if I wasn't sure I listed them as fixed.

Model: Ingeborg Svarc Lauterstein design by Robert Rauschenberg [adult, female] (1948)--A great vintage example, see also here, and here.
Blue Zebra taur [adult, male] (2006)
doombotkillah [adult, male] (2007)
Contest winner [adult, male] (2007).
With muscle shirt [adult, male] (2007)
Unknown [adult, male] (2007).
Living statue centaur (2007)--shown setting up.
Kevin Barnes [adult, male] (2008)
Karl Lagerfeld Halloween Costume [adult, male] (2008)--A nice example of a over-shoulder detachable body. (Baby got back). See also here.
"Greg" [adult, male] (2009)--Been there, done that, go the T-shirt.... See also here.
Unknown maker [adult, male] (2009)
DarkMoonbeam [adult, female] (2010)
Jose Rivera [adult, male] (pictured right, 2010)
Leah (2012) [adult, female]
Multicolor zebra, unknown maker [adult male(?)] (unknown)
Centaur boy [child, male] (unknown)
Baby Centaur [child, male] (Unknown)--This is the youngest centaur on the list. Cute!
Centaur in boots [adult, male] (unknown)
Costume Works [adult couple] (unknown)

Some More Female Centaur Costumes

For some reason female centaur costumes are more rare.A female version of the full body, static wheeled costume can be seen here as created by Laecee R. (2009). See also:

tarorae [adult, female] (2005)--With extensive floral accents.
sadwonderland [adult, female] (2005)
villagelinka [adult, female] (2007)--Possibly a deer-taur based on the tail? Blue-skinned. The same costume also appeared at Anime Boston (2009)--see also here, sans body paint. Another shot of the same costume here suggests the inspiration is Fantasia. (Another shot is here, clearly a popular costume!)
Female archer [adult, female] (2007)
Girl [child, female] (2007)
Halloween [adult, female] (2008)--unicorn centaur.
FairieWorlds [child, female] (2009)--I love how the fur of the horse part matches the girl's hair.
Zombie Party [child, female] [2009]--A papier mache version with no fur. See also here.
First Ave Halloween party [adult, female] (2009)--With wings? See also here.

Ren Fair [adult, female] (2010). See also here, here and here.
White centaur [child, female] (2010).
Brunette [adult, female] (2010)--Another Harry Potter centaur?
Medieval Fair [adult, female] (2011) See also here.
Leah the centaur [adult, female] (2012)
Unknown--In a jaunty red color.

the-power-of-now-by-eckhart-tolle-a-guide-to-spiritual-enlightenment

chicken-biryani-an-indian-seasoned-rice-dish

Small Body, Static, Fixed.

This simpler, child-sized version was featured on Blame it on the Voices (2009). Original source unknown. Because the horse part of the body is drastically reduced in size it can easily be moved around without requiring wheels or moving parts. This design tends to work better with smaller people and children. Unless, of course, you take it to a comedic extreme.

A pint-sized version of the sophisticated Fair unicorn costume can be seen here. Other similar designs can be seen here.

Unnamed [child, female] (2007)
Inflatable costume [male, adult] (2016)--Available from Wackyplanet if you are not the 'do it yourself' sort.

Some variations on this costume have the rear legs a raised position so the do not even touch the ground.

Harry Potter Party [child, male] (2005)
Pillow centaur [adult, female](2007)
Minimalist centaur [child, male] (unknown)

Inflatable

A relatively recent development is the availability of lightweight inflatable costumes. These are available on Amazon and include a unisex version that provides the horse part of the body, and one that includes an exaggerated male torso.

Full Body, Animated

The simplest method for animating the back legs of centaur costume is the use of strings. Others attempt to simulate a walking motion in the rear legs by tethering them to the front legs to produce a centaur with four moving legs. See:Walking Test #1 [child, female] (2010)

One example (shown right) is from the Seattle Children's Theater premier production of Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (2002).
Male street performer [adult, male] (2008).
Female centaur [adult, female] (2009)

Ginny Di is working on a guide on how to created a Fantasia-style walking centaur costume (see below), but it does not seem to be available yet.

Two Person/Pantomime

There is also the traditional two person model for constructing a pantomime horse, which works just as well for a centaur design.

None-Equine Centaur Costumes

This deer-taur costume (shown right) was spotted at BlizzCon in 2007.

In general, costumes that include four legs and two arms are, regardless of the species represented, referred to as a "taursuit".

Virtual Worlds

These days there is also the option of becoming a centaur online in games such as the Sims.

For Sale

islesofday--Etsy

If you know of any centaur costumes not included in this list, please drop me a link!

Commercial Examples

A 2014 commercial campaign for Nestle used a centaur that you might assume was created by computer-generated images but, as candid shots show (example), was actually a static costume.