Monday, July 27, 2009

Mutant animal creations

I create kawaii mutant animals. All my animals have subtly slanted eyes. Here are a couple of them based on jellyfish and sheep + walrus.

Below is a light-up jellyfish. Its body is made from black fabric. Its eyes are small yellow LEDs, which make connections to a watch battery (Duracell DL 1216, 3V) via conductive fabric. A couple of the tentacles are also made from another type of conductive fabric that is mesh-like. The battery is inserted into a pocket inside the jellyfish. To make the LED eyes glow yellow, there are two methods: 1. have the two conductive mesh-like tentacles touch, or 2. push down between the jellyfish's eyes. I intentionally wired these two methods for more interactive capability.

Finish date: July 26, 2009
Dimensions: roughly 7 cm tall, 3 cm wide
Total time spent: 1 sitting ~6.5 hours - conceptualizing, blue-printing, circuit-checking, sewing by hand



The following is a sheep walrus plushie. Well, it's actually an airplane pillow cover inspired from a trip to the Northwest (Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland) last August. In any case, the sheep walrus' body and tail are made from fleece-like fabric. Its eyes are button pins (given at a free screening of 21, the movie based on MIT's blackjack team). The pins are covered with scraps from a worn-out pair of black pants. The ears, feet, and face are made from a worn-out sweater top. The tusks are made from the pocket lining from the black pants. What always surprises people is when they gently tug at the tusks and find that the tusks detach. I added hidden magnets, so my sheep walrus can be a sheep as he pleases.

Finish date: March 15, 2009
Dimensions: roughly 35 cm tall, 24 cm wide
Total time spent: Many weekends, many hours - conceptualizing, making templates and stuffing, sewing all by hand




I'm planning to make more sheep inspired animal plushies and hopefully a mini sheep walrus as a travel companion. Let me know if you have ideas.

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