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End of the Year Reflections 2011 Day 2
Dec. 30th, 2011 09:32 amA slightly crafty look at the previous year.
Creating for me is just like breathing. It is something I do and, in some cases, do pretty well. I will give credit to my parents and my husband for all the encouragement that they give me to be a creative person and letting me know that being creative is a good thing.
This year I tried to challenge myself in a couple of ways. Some of those challenges were met and others were left by the wayside but are there for another try.
Probably the biggest project I undertook was the X-Men First Class uniform I built along with Lockheed the Dragon. Having gotten the whole thing done, there are a number of things I would do differently but overall I didn’t think it was a bad outfit. I think if I was going to go back and rework any part of the costume, it would be the harness for the jacket and finding a way to add a pocket to the jacket. I did get to use my zipper foot which saved me so much time and I am no longer that terrified of putting a zipper into something.
Lockheed was a project in himself. I used a lot of different things I had done in the past to get him to look like he does. That and some dumb luck with the electronics because this year you could buy fingertip LED lights which were a perfect fit for the head cavity I designed. Given some more time, I would rework parts of his head mechanism. I would have also done a run of tape over the armature wire I used for various parts of the structure. But from him I learned a lot that will allow me to build a couple of other critters I have had in the back of my head.
Lockheed and Me at DragonCon
(For the Visually Impaired) On the left is a purple Dragon with yellow glowing eyes
Nicky and Rod for “It’s OK to be Takei” were another set of puppets that took me outside my comfort zone and proved to me that my geometric skills are much better now than they were a number of years ago. I based the puppets on the Avenue Q puppets. They have bigger heads that I usually do so there was a whole mess of things I had to do so they could operate. Again, given some more time I would have done a couple of things very differently. But the shirts and insignias turned out very well.
(For the VI: This is a picture from the DragonCon performance of “It’s OK to be Takei”. To the far left is John in a Star Trek red Shirt. He was Nicky’s left hand. Nicky is a green puppet with an orange nose and black hair. Nicky is also wearing a Star Trek Red Shirt. In the middle is me wearing a Star Trek Q Costume with a black hat. On the right side of the photo is Rod a hand and rod puppet who is made up to look like a blue Andorian with a green nose and white hair. He is wearing a blue Star Trek Science shirt. To the far right is Rachel wearing a Red Shirt.)
Chuck and Erik from X-men First Class were a set of problems in costuming for very small objects but I think their outfits turned out just right. I did sell them so I must of done something right that a fan wanted them. I did get a funny video out of it before they were sold.
Then there was Castiel who was thrown into the mix after Peter met Misha. I think the wings turned out pretty doggone awesome on him. It was nice being able to consult the wearer of the costume as to some of the details that I incorporated into the puppet.
I didn’t do as many dolls this year but I had a lot of ideas for them. Next year I think I will be doing more dolls and fewer puppets. Also next year I plan to start getting ready for DragonCon on Jan. 1st rather than after Shoreleave so I might get everything in that I think I am going to get in.
I am grateful for everything I learned this year while creating art.
Creating for me is just like breathing. It is something I do and, in some cases, do pretty well. I will give credit to my parents and my husband for all the encouragement that they give me to be a creative person and letting me know that being creative is a good thing.
This year I tried to challenge myself in a couple of ways. Some of those challenges were met and others were left by the wayside but are there for another try.
Probably the biggest project I undertook was the X-Men First Class uniform I built along with Lockheed the Dragon. Having gotten the whole thing done, there are a number of things I would do differently but overall I didn’t think it was a bad outfit. I think if I was going to go back and rework any part of the costume, it would be the harness for the jacket and finding a way to add a pocket to the jacket. I did get to use my zipper foot which saved me so much time and I am no longer that terrified of putting a zipper into something.
Lockheed was a project in himself. I used a lot of different things I had done in the past to get him to look like he does. That and some dumb luck with the electronics because this year you could buy fingertip LED lights which were a perfect fit for the head cavity I designed. Given some more time, I would rework parts of his head mechanism. I would have also done a run of tape over the armature wire I used for various parts of the structure. But from him I learned a lot that will allow me to build a couple of other critters I have had in the back of my head.
Lockheed and Me at DragonCon
(For the Visually Impaired) On the left is a purple Dragon with yellow glowing eyes
Nicky and Rod for “It’s OK to be Takei” were another set of puppets that took me outside my comfort zone and proved to me that my geometric skills are much better now than they were a number of years ago. I based the puppets on the Avenue Q puppets. They have bigger heads that I usually do so there was a whole mess of things I had to do so they could operate. Again, given some more time I would have done a couple of things very differently. But the shirts and insignias turned out very well.
(For the VI: This is a picture from the DragonCon performance of “It’s OK to be Takei”. To the far left is John in a Star Trek red Shirt. He was Nicky’s left hand. Nicky is a green puppet with an orange nose and black hair. Nicky is also wearing a Star Trek Red Shirt. In the middle is me wearing a Star Trek Q Costume with a black hat. On the right side of the photo is Rod a hand and rod puppet who is made up to look like a blue Andorian with a green nose and white hair. He is wearing a blue Star Trek Science shirt. To the far right is Rachel wearing a Red Shirt.)
Chuck and Erik from X-men First Class were a set of problems in costuming for very small objects but I think their outfits turned out just right. I did sell them so I must of done something right that a fan wanted them. I did get a funny video out of it before they were sold.
Then there was Castiel who was thrown into the mix after Peter met Misha. I think the wings turned out pretty doggone awesome on him. It was nice being able to consult the wearer of the costume as to some of the details that I incorporated into the puppet.
I didn’t do as many dolls this year but I had a lot of ideas for them. Next year I think I will be doing more dolls and fewer puppets. Also next year I plan to start getting ready for DragonCon on Jan. 1st rather than after Shoreleave so I might get everything in that I think I am going to get in.
I am grateful for everything I learned this year while creating art.
