Sunday, January 27, 2013

Hey hey

Ever since Seamus , (gee that was a long time ago) I have had the idea of a monkey on the backburner. I Love monkeys ! About a year ago I spent a few days playing with heads but it ended in disaster.Yesterday I pulled them out and tried a few new variationsmonkey1

I tried the inserted muzzle kind of thing, and I tried an awesome darted variety (that would drive any sane person completely bonkers)and eventually I settled on a muzzle type four piece head with felt to highlight the facey parts.

monkey2 - Copy

A four piece head means either a four or two piece body , the first two piece body meant he had dangly legs which were cute and floppy but they wouldn’t work with the undies I wanted to try, so onto a four piece body with button jointed legs….  I got this far, little pinned-on ears and chunky baby kind of limbs….yeah, not loving him yet so today I decided to add some character to see if I could see where I was heading.

monkey3

Aha, I added a bit more “face” and the felt undies. A cape and mask (of course). gee those undies are badly aligned aren’t they?

monkey4

but hmmm.

The arm is too straight and unfriendly looking

The leg is…. on drugs ?

The cape might be a bit short and the front overlappy bits are far too wide.

Do I need larger leg holes in the undies, the obviously need some embroidery etc. to make them look like undies

The tummy might be a little extreme.

The mask was just for effect so I’ll need to do a few more variations.

Lower the ears?

Sounds like complete plastic surgery.

 

monkey5

Lucky he is a patient kind of patient.

(Throw your hat into the ring guys, I am not precious… what kind of surgery is required?)

46 comments:

  1. His head, body and tail is cool! A bend in the arms and legs would be good, I like his ears. More of a heal in the foot, they use them like hands.

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  2. I just stopped to say that I loved your blog post title. As soon as I read "Hey, hey" I knew it was gonna be monkeys! My head is so full of subliminal tv stuff it's scary.

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  3. Loving the face, make the foot wider at the toe end, maybe make him hippy rather than tummy to offset the beautiful head shape but above all he needs "Craft Camp" words on those undies ;-)

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  4. glad it wasn't just me that had "we're the monkeys" start in my head as soon as I saw the title. Also glad it was monkeys or I'd just be weird.

    Only this blog could have monkeys and the phrase "but they wouldn’t work with the undies I wanted to try" and it make perfect sense.

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  5. I like his little pot tummy, maybe a felt circle like his face for that? No doubt you'll sort him out!

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  6. I've just logged on for a Sunday morning catch up and am now traumatised by the thought of you spending a few days 'playing with heads'.
    I think his ears are just fine where they are.

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  7. Keep the tummy !
    A bend in the arms would suit him or her better I reckon..;
    And there's something about the feet that isn't quite right yet...
    But you're already real close to a monkey that will conquer hearts all over the world !
    Love from Belgium!

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  8. Oh I think he is very cute! I love the underpants - I have never seen a monkey in underpants but I have the perfect person to make him for! I like everything about this little man except for the legs. More of a heel and foot is needed. Perhaps a bend in the arm would be good too. Perhaps a little more length in the cape. I think he would make the perfect Valentine's Day gift!

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  9. Oh and I really like his tummy. That just adds to his charisma!

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  10. He's so cute. Love his tummy, his ears are in the right spot but maybe a little larger and more circular. His arms and legs need knees and elbows. Maybe he needs superhero boots on his feet? I do hope that embroidery includes a little Y front to his pants?

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  11. Just read the y front comment, i'm in agreeance.

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  12. Hi Jodie

    if you don't like him send him here!!

    I think he's lovely....

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  13. How about a bend in the knees so that he is squatting more than standing?

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    1. My iPad keeps freezing up hence me replying to myself to continue what I was saying....
      Also maybe a shorter body? Having spent some time at the zoo recently looking at monkeys I would recommend doing the same

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  14. I agree, some sort of bend in the arm is needed, leave the pot belly and maybe accentuate a curve to his tail?

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  15. Wow! It's really interesting working through the process with you! Thanks for that!

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  16. Bigger ears and pupils! on the feet maybe a couple of large stitches to denote toes. He's sill kinda cute Tail??

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  17. I think he is adorable

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  18. You make me smile and laugh out loud. Regardless of how this little fella turns out, I think Beyond Blue should add your blog link to their web page - it could help put a smile, even fleeting, on the face of someone who might need it. It always works for me. Thanks.

    I would love to see some embroidery detail on his undies, but I would love it to a bit 'Sheldon' like from the Big Bang Theory; Sheldon is into super heroes. Maybe this little monkey could be called Sheldon and have the power to stop atomic bombs. Think of the cute little atom symbol that you could stitch to those Y fronts. (It's late Jod; I suffer insomnia and hope all this makes some sort of sense).

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  19. Before I read all your comments, I had thought to myself how I love his round little tummy. I like where you have placed his ears, and agree with your assessments of his legs and arms. Slightly bent arms and maybe smaller hands? Oh, and I like the size of the underpants holes. Wouldn't want any dangly bits falling out.

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  20. I like his leg! It looks very "monkey" to me. The arm is a little fat/straight, though. Love the undies! He's going to be adorable.

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  21. I happen to love the tummy--since he looks like a toddler monkey and all toddlers should have bean shaped bodies with belly buttons to kiss. Love the mask and cape! Green underpants rule.

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  22. I feel like he needs a belly button. Maybe an outie even. (That is, if monkeys HAVE visible buttons.) I agree with the comments about the arms and the undies. I love his ear placement.

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  23. Shorter legs and neck, lowered ears and wider body.

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  24. I like the suggestion of giving him more of a heel. He is going to be awesome (is already awesome)!

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  25. I love his face and that he is already Seamus the Super Hero (I think that only works in our nerdy alternate craft universe - in my experience "Seamus" is generally not a strong muscle-bound type) His arms and legs definitely need more curves but I like the idea of them being fairly floppy too.

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  26. Hi Jodie, I think he needs to be plumper in general. Just a thought. Your blog often makes my day...you are so incredibly persistant in getting your little creatures "just right". Also I adore your stories about Baxter and Ernst. The room settings just kill me! I LOVE them.....wish you had a live stream so we could watch you setting up the photos. Best wishes for an incredible Supermonkey! Michele

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  27. I love him just the way he is......my 5 and 7 year olds would just love him, you have inspired me to attempt making one each for their birthdays this year!!

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  28. So cute! I think he's a bit long and skinny, which is cute, but a little harder to sew. I have a hard time with turning things right side out after trying to sew the seam straight. Is he going to wear superhero boots? One of my boys used to insist that boots were a necessary part of the costume. :)

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  29. I love the tummy, make sure you keep that

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  30. Superhero Monkey....love his undies, over his tights?? Great work!!

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  31. I love Seamus and think that he needs to have straight arms so he can fly to the rescue of any little person that he goes to live with.
    I could suggest using armature - to make bendy arms that can be straightened (something to play with while on long service leave - I am sure your list isn't long enough yet)
    I think the leg would look good if the foot was straight to the ground. The ears are good providing that they allow the glasses to sit straight on the eyes and the cape needs to be long enough to fly behind him when he is flying to the rescue - Super Grover style!!
    I can't wait to see Seamus as a pattern, he is really cute looking. Love the underpants, think they are perfect.

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  32. In proportion, monkey arms are quite a lot longer than we think they are. I kind of think of the spider monkey and the proboscis; both have extremely long arms and legs. Lots of images on Google for inspiration. Just sayin.
    Love your work!

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  33. I think he is very cute. My only suggestion would be a longer, curly tail? he is going to be fabulous when he is done!!

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  34. Skinnier arms, hands in particular. And I know they have opposable thumbs and all, but I think the thumb looks weird.... maybe it's just that his hand looks chunky. The added felt bits on his eyes are awesome. He is gonna be cute!

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  35. I like him! Even if his undies are completely aligned...but really, who's are?! ;p

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  36. Hi,
    I'm a bit late to the party. I am an expert on monkeys, having read many jungle themed bedtime stories over the years and raised three of my own (well it does look like monkeys have ransacked the house when I get back from the school run every day..) and I feel that your cheeky chappie needs a curlier tail and longer, more flexible arms. Tree climbing (and hanging off of) and banana opening are tricky things and unless he signs up for a yoga class he needs to be bendier and curlier..but then again, don't we all, my dear, don't we all ;-)

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  37. ..oh and Y is there no Y on the fronts??!!

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  38. awww he is a real cutie I think he was cuter with just a muzzle not the felt behind the eyes though also agree that a curly tail maybe enforced with a pipe cleaner or something so he could hang from it would be pretty cute too

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  39. OMG, Jodie, Seamus is SO. CUTE! The "perfect to you' version is going to be AMAZING. :)

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Hellloooooo !!!!