The interesting thing about TF is that you don't need to have it look real. Certain things are really easy to imply. Sound effects are a huge trigger for most people, and I know that shadows are enough for me a lot of the time, enough that I bought a light just to play by myself. I liked whoever said we could shoot through a dirty window-- or perhaps a shower door? Since we seem to have agreed upon a cow with little disagreement, we could maybe use a Skin Milk type product as a trigger.
There were also a ton of great suggestions for effects. Personally, I plan to tackle the growth element using Thrandrall's idea about water sacks. I think I can find some sort of plastic and seal it with something like Flex-seal or another type of rubber weld. My plan is to cut the shapes out and strap them to my legs underneath tights and see what happens. I'll post results, though I may be picking up a second job soon so please be patient.
I think anyone who wants to help with this project could start by experimenting with another effect. One thing I think would work (know would work, actually, because I saw another TF fan try it) would be purchasing rubber elf ears or some other prosthetic. I think if we had three or four sets of different sizes, we can fill in the blanks with CGI. I will not have time to play with it, but if someone can prove it can be done, we are one step closer.
Same goes for fur. I've played with gloves and glueing different swatches to my skin, but find one that looks like hide has proven elusive, though I've only looked in person and not online. Again, this is where we can experiment and see what works and what doesn't.
Someone just posted a hairy werewolf video that was corny but had an interesting transition in the mirror that felt chaotic and right.
I also think something similar to this might be perfect:
https://youtu.be/MW4o5_tg7Ys
If anyone wants to start brainstorming a script, that's another project that I can undertake but it will take me awhile to get to it. Hooves, perhaps using Destier's model, would also be helpful. It's a lot of work, but not if everyone takes on a bit of it.
If some of this gets done, I'd say we've got a scrappy start to something.