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FamiliarOddlings β Octopus WIP
Published: 2010-10-26 20:58:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 6834; Favourites: 121; Downloads: 33
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Description
So this is what I've been working on the last month. It is the new blue-ringed octopus. Still working on it, but getting there! You can see I've made a few revisions on the design and also the color is somewhat more intense this time around. I'm also adding a beak to this guy, as requested by the commissioner.
1. Pipe cleaner armature for the arms
2. A base of plain wool batting needle-felted into shape on top of the pipe cleaners
3. Starting to felt colored wool on to the base in the blue-ringed pattern, careful about the eyes so the shape is good
4. Felting the rings on the arms (I start with the light blue so it stays bright and pure)
5. Still felting the rings... There are a lot of them!
The beak -- made out of paper clay and painted with acrylic.
Eyes -- paper clay painted with pan pastels and acrylics for the pupil and the white outline so it "glows." Thank you, =ShePaintsWithBlood for introducing me to pan pastels! They are so perfect for cephalopod eyes!
Feel free to ask questions, I'll try to answer in a timely manner.
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Comments: 40
Thank you for sharing this it reallyΒ is very generous of you
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That's an amazing piece of work. Whatever you're charging is probably not enough for the effort it takes!
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How much would something like this go for?
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I've never heard of needle felting before. It looks like the head is hollow so I was wondering how you get the felt to hold the shape?
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Its amazing to see a bit behind your process. Do you just glue the paper clay to the felt?
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i want one so bad D: it's amazing
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I LOVE THIS! THANK YOU FOR SHARING A PROCESS IMAGE!
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Wow, to see the step by step of this makes it all the more admirable and awe worthy.
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I'm just curious, do you not run into issues with breaking your needles on the pipecleaners? How do you work around having the wire in there?
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Good question! The pipe cleaners do make it more difficult and I have broken my needles -- but not as much as you would expect. I angle the needle around the wire and try to be extra careful. It's mostly not that hard except on the tips of the arms where the wool is just a thin covering on the pipe cleaner, then I have to be really careful and hold the tip of the arm between my finger and thumb and poke the needle right by my finger. I actually have callouses on my finger pad from where the needle scrapes against my skin, haha. Hope that explains it a little? I'm trying to put together a tutorial that shows how I do it but it's taking a while to put together.
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I wish I had money so I can buy something for you.
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I'm actually a fan of these animals, this is just beautiful... I want it...
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.....so how do you apply the wool to the armature? do you treat it like clay?? i wanna do thiss...
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Yes, it's kind of like clay but very light and you have to manipulate it with the needle. I wad the wool onto the armature, sometimes wrapping it, and then poke it a thousand times until it takes the proper shape. Don't know if that explains it well enough for you...
Have you gotten a chance to try it out yourself yet? It's a lot of fun!
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Thank you so much for the info! i haven't tried....yet!
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I've greatly admired all the critters you've made with needle felting. I actually acquired a book on it and want to try it too. It looks like fun.
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Thank you, Averuna! That is so kind. It really is a lot of fun! Have you gotten to try it out yet?
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I haven't gotten a chance to try it out yet. I'm waiting until the holidays are out of the way, and then I can begin playing around. It really looks like fun.
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Oh how intense my desire is to own one of these! Someday!!
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S/he is looking fantastic so far and I love that electric blue you're using! The variety of the rings look much more realistic and aesthetically pleasing as well -you just get better and better at these as you go, I'm highly impressed.
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Aw, thank you so much, Keturah! 
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Lucky commissioner. 
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Thank you, Megan! The rings are such a pain to make, but I guess it's worth it, haha.
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As long as you're happy with the end result, I think that's what matters most.
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Awww this is looking so beautiful and amazing so far! I love the bright colours and the way the rings stick out like that. I so want to tough them. The process of adding colour is super interesting too. Ooh, I thought those were Pan Pastels you had there! I am glad they are working so well for you ^n.n^
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Thank you! The blue really pops out because of the colors I used around it more than the color itself -- really surprising and interesting to see that happen! You can sort of see in the #5 photo, the arm sticking out the back has all the colors on it except for the darker blue that I outline all the rings with at the last. Such a different look! Oh, yes, the pan pastels are awesome! I am looking forward to using them for some other projects too. ^_^
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i love these, i want to make one but i can't afford another hobby
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I am totally in awe of your talent. This is so great!
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Thank you!
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