February 18, 2010

The Eensy Weensy Spider





I was contacted by the author and illustrator of the fun new children's book "The Eensy Weensy Spider Freaks Out (Big Time)", who asked me if I could make a plush version of his Eensy design for him. He gave me a bunch of reference, and I got to work. It took me quite awhile to figure out how to get the legs working, and to figure out the right proportions for the body etc. I made six spiders before hitting on the right size/proportions that would work. Then I was stuck on the legs- a few of the options I tried first didn't work, but finally I hit on a solution. The legs are posable wire, so that Eensy's legs can gently be posed into pretty much any position. If you would like to see more work-in-progress photos, head on over to my flickr page. To find Troy's book, which comes out in late May, check out Amazon.com.
If you want to see more of Troy's art and design (of course you do! :D), head on over to his website.

February 14, 2010

Wow.


I don't know how he does it- but he found this book for me for Valentines Day, and the thing that makes it so special is that it is illustrated by my favorite illustrator, Tomie De Paola! I love it. :D
Happy Valentines' Day everyone! :D

February 3, 2010

Bea Arthur Cat plushcature





This is Bea Arthur. I was asked to make a plush version of him (yes, Bea Arthur is a boy. :D) for his owner's birthday at the beginning of this month. He's been sent off and arrived safely, and I have it on good authority that he was well received. Phew! I have to admit is was a bit of a challenge to make an all-white cat plush with no distinctive markings to rely on. I had to make the face the focus, since he does have those chartreuse eyes- and pinkish ears and a nose. Not being a person who is around many cats meant I had to do a lot of sketching of an unfamiliar subject to make sure that I got the "cat" aspect of him to really feel cat-like. I made him out of super soft and cuddly white minky to give him that soft cat hair look and feel.

February 1, 2010

Clodhoppers!





Something new! These are the Clodhoppers. Clodhoppers are a species of bigfoot that are found around the world but remain hidden from humans- most of the time, anyway. :D If you're lucky you may spot one. They LOVE to wear mis-matched socks.
Jessie from Samaria Project asked me to make her a Clodhopper, and it got me thinking that I needed to make more of them. I made the top Clodhopper for her, and then went on to make the rest. Meet Olivia, Henry, and Camille Clodhopper. There will definitely be more Clodhoppers made in the future- I am currently working on some that come from the far Northern regions, who are very furry. If you are interested in having any of the Clodhoppers over to your house for a visit, you can find them in my etsy shop. For more pictures of the Clodhoppers, see my flickr page.