ABC's of Creating

I've gotten lots of great feedback about the work I've done over the last few years. Some people want to know about techniques, how I learned to do what I do, what inspires me.

One of the best artist tips I can give you is:

Always

Be

Curious

It really is as easy as "abc"! A lot of the things I've learned were because I thought "what if...?" or wondering if a certain thing was possible to make. Once you decide what you want to do, want to learn or want to achieve finding the answer is the fun part. 

Tap into your imagination and the creativity will flow! After learning the felting basics with the teddy bear kit I purchased when I first discovered needle felting, my next project was my first baby dragon, Flicker. I thought about all the basic sculpting techniques (soft and hard) I knew and went from there. I knew I wanted her to be a certain shape and I wanted to be able to pose her, so an armature was the first logical step. Then felted the body over that and made her wings and there she was!

So if there is a project you've been wanting to start, but don't know where to begin, be curious. Ask questions, expand your arsenal of techniques and you will get there in no time! You can achieve anything you can dream.

If you have any questions, want to learn anything or if there is a tutorial you would like to see, drop me an email and I will either reply to you directly or post a tutorial on the blog.

Happy creating!

Some clipart provided by Free-Clip-Art.com

Falkor: Work in Progress (UPDATED July 11!)

***Scroll to the bottom of the post for updates!***

Falkor has been coming along great. I have his body completely finished and fleshed out. Today I started the very long process of applying all of the beadwork for his scales.

Here is his body. I felted a firm core of merino wool over a strong wire armature. I then applied another layer of merino/silk (80/20) over that to make his colour uniform.

After fleshing the body, I felted his paws. I have yet to make his claws, which I am sculpting of paperclay.

I have not yet attached his head. I am waiting to complete the scales and will then attach his head and add his adorable long floppy ears. This will be done right before I add his coat of luxurious mulberry silk.

His head and face came out perfect. I spent hours poring over the internet looking for good movie stills and YouTube videos. I wanted to capture every single feature on his face to recreate his expression in wool.

Here is the beadwork I have done so far. I have sewn on hundreds of clear and iridescent glass seed beads. I also bought some cream coloured glass pearls and some gorgeous cream/iridescent New Zealand shell beads. I am still trying how I am going to incorporate them in and transition from the clear to cream.

It is very hard to capture how this looks in a photograph, but here is a portion of the tail that I have completed. I have many more hours of sewing to go and then the hard part: felting in tiny sections of mulberry silk, trimming to the proper lengths and rooting it properly.

What do you think of Falkor so far?


****************************************

Update 5/7/10 (New Zealand Time)

I've got most of the beadwork done and attached his head. I've also added more definition to his face. Here are some pics of the additional work done:

****************************************

Updated 6 July

Today I started hand rooting Falkor's silk coat. This is very labour intensive, but worth every minute!

 

 

 ***********************************

UPDATED 7 July

Slow going, but still happy with the direction I chose to take with this piece. I suppose I could have just felted everything and called it a day, but I really wanted to make this as true to the original as possible.

Here is a quick tutorial on how to root fibre. I am using this technique to add Falkor's fur. It is a very time consuming process which is why this will take me a few days to finish.

First, take a small length of fibre. I am using mulberry silk as fur in this instance. I am using about 1/4" widths or less.

Next, root the fibre in. I find that a fine needle like a 40 triangle works best for this. You want to place the end where you want it to be rooted. Felt in against the edge, leaving the rest loose. Do not felt any more than the edge. Think of your scalp :)

Gently give it a tug once you have felted the edge in. If fibres start to pull away, go back and felt them in a little more.

Once you have made sure it is felted in securely, cut away the remaining length. I cut it on a diagonal and in different directions for a more natural layered look, rather than cutting straight across.

Gently comb the section with your needle, spreading it out to make the fur uniform with the rest. Repeat the whole process from step 1, moving up a few millimeters each time so there are no gaps and the fur looks full and natural.

After several hours, I am 2 1/2 inches up his tail.  Be patient and take your time for good results. 

********************************************
UPDATED 10 JULY

I've been ill the last couple of days so I haven't finished Falkor yet. I am hoping to have him done tomorrow or Monday at the latest.  Still about a good 4 hours of work to be done as far as scales on his neck, rooting the fur on his neck and face, making and attaching his ears and attaching and painting his claws.

Rooting his fur has taken me a few days as this is really detailed work that is labour intensive. Here are some shots to show his progress so far.

********************************************
UPDATED 11 JULY

Falkor is just about completed. His claws have cured and I will attach them tonight and paint them tomorrow and that is it. This journey has lasted me much much longer than my originally anticipated 30 hours. I would put the work completed at around 70-90 hours. I have no way of knowing. I spent 2-8 hours a day on him (4 hours today alone). So here are pics of him completed. His glamour shots are to follow in his "completed" post.

 

What do you think? I have been toying with just opening his other eye. Maybe it is because I have been staring at him for three weeks. I have lost all objectivity in this project. :)