flopped

[bladespark]

Finished the major sewing on a larger than life collie plush. (Is slightly less than three feet tall sitting. BIG!) My shoulders are sore from the sewing. I'm getting caught up. I think I may actually make it! The month is about halfway done, and I'm about halfway through what needs doing in it. *dances* I basically now have three bodysuits to make. Which I should just be able to finish in the next two weeks, if nothing goes wrong. *crosses fingers*

This evening I'm doing a little painting, and a little drawing too. So yes, those of you waiting on art commissions, actual progress is once again being made. Still going slowly though.

And I'm never taking a drawing commission again. I should have remembered why I swore off them in the first place. I really am not cut out to draw good art on demand.

Comments

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

Malcolm would just like to say that collies are indeed 3' tall sitting if you count the head. :P

(I wuold post a picture of ihm but am too lazy to go dig one up and most of the ones I have on photobucket are of him when he was bitty.)

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I seeeeeee. I've never had one. They don't look that big in photos.

[lightgreendryad.livejournal.com]

Well, you can always refund me my money... If you don't think it'll be good...

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

It'll be fine, it's just taking longer than I'd wished. As you may have noticed. *grin*

[lightgreendryad.livejournal.com]

shrug. I noticed. I'm not in any kind of hurry to have it done. As you might have noticed. :D

[jfoxfire.livejournal.com]

i like to see the pic when it is done

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I'll be sure to put up pictures. Though it won't be done for a while yet, I had to order a nose for it.

[privatepony.livejournal.com]

Just look around your neighborhood, I'm sure someone's got a collie. ;)

[nicodemusrat.livejournal.com]

The collie sounds like a cool project. I've wanted to try making some plush but the patterning is, well, very different from clothes/fursuits. Any techniques you use when drafting patterns that you're willing to share?

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Sure! Always happy to share.

And... I cheat. *grins* I make a newpaper dummy (on smaller projects this is very quick and easy. This one took me half a day to do. Would have been longer, but since this guy is symmetrical I only had to do half the legs.)

Newspaper and masking tape are what I use, and just cruch up balls and tape them together and smash them around until it looks right. Then I use saran wrap and duct tape just like making a fursuit head, or a duct tape dummy (but yet again only finishing one side,) and once I've cut the duct tape off, right there I have a pattern.

[nicodemusrat.livejournal.com]

Interesting technique! I'd never thought about adapting the duct tape dummy methods to something like this. Definitely something I'll try out.

Generally, when I've fiddled with plush/puppets, I've disassembled existing ones to analyze their patterns and try to figure things out that way. I've had only mixed results with that, though.

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, collies are pretty big dogs in person, it's deceiving. I can't wait to see this plushie when it's done!! Your fox was incredible.

Kudos on all the hard work, by the way. You've done an awesome job if you've gotten caught up in this short a time!

Heh, my mom used to often ask me to produce some artwork so she'd have a gift to give to friends or relatives on their birthday (which was usually within the next 24 hrs). How many times I had to try and explain that producing art is not like, say, baking a cake. You can't always just whip up something excellent on-demand like that! I still think she doesn't get it to this day...

Never mind that it was a lousy excuse for not having taken the time to get the person a gift in the first place and expecting me to bail her out... without offering any compensation, at that. ;)

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

... and NOW all I can think of this morning after posting this is whipping up a birthday cake... d'oh!! Is it lunch yet??

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Well, part of the reason I'm caught up is that somebody cancelled a suit this month, so I had one less thing to do. Otherwise I'd still be running behind. Ah well. They didn't want their deposit back, they're asking me to hang onto it for next year, they'll get a suit then.