My creative mojo has been somewhat lacking since finishing this 5 month epic project of planning, making (and remaking!) and panicking after losing 3 weeks of crafting time to 2 rounds of covid! I thought now would be the perfect time to do a little blog for those of you wanting a more in depth behind the scenes peek.
I found out yesterday that my Pokémon art is up for live auction (eeek!) on Fri 18th at 7pm PST, Saturday 19th November at 4pm NZT, or for those of you in the UK it's Sat 19th at 3am GMT, sorry!
You can have a look at it here and all the other wonderful crafts up for grabs.
Desert Bus for Hope is a yearly charity fundraiser for the charity Child's Play. The money raised is used to put games and toys in children's hospitals around the world, and in domestic violence shelters.
For more info and to get involved with watching a week of fun click here https://desertbus.org/info/about
Planning the Picture
The official planning for my entry began back in April but really began as soon as I had finished the previous years art.
I was really daunted as the auction of my Totoro art in 2021 went so well but thankfully two of my brothers and my sister-in-law are fully immersed in all things gaming and were able to direct me (tell me what to do!).
After watching over 50 episodes of Pokémon and singing the theme tune in my sleep! I decided I wanted to base my picture around the wonderful character of the Snorlax. I loved the watercolour backgrounds and colours in The Indigo League series and thought adding in some thorny vines would be fun.
It was a scene that would enable more Pokémon to be added too.
Although it was my intention to fully draw out a design (like proper artists do) I couldn't wait and just started making!
The Snorlax and Vines
For a timelapse video click here https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChrGtYMAN8B/
The Snorlax kept growing! He's made from self-shedding sheep wool from a friend, some super soft alpaca fleece from a gorgeous alpaca named Elmo and topped with NZ merino. I gave him a fluffy stomach using a reverse felting needle.
Compulsory cat photo - Elsie trying to ignore the new cat toy / thorny vines!
The vines are wired so they have flexibility and can be adjusted in the picture.
Cubone
Little Cubone was my favourite Pokémon to make. I was really pleased with how the skull turned out.
Cubone has thread jointed limbs and head so they can be adjusted and it made them feel so adorable to hold.
I used fabric hardener on the bone after felting to make it firm and smooth and the little claws have a dot of superglue applied to make them solid.
I initially was going to make Cubone with open eyes but thought that having them asleep on Snorlax's shoulder would be super cute.
Video montage https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ch_nCbpghOA/
Pikachu
This is my first attempt at Pikachu but I just couldn't get it to look right and I wasn't happy with my colour options. He now resides in my box of failures, waiting to be recycled into another form!
Mr Darcy volunteers to adopt the rejected Pikachu!
After ordering some more wool I started on Pikachu no.2.
I found it so hard getting the right expression and there were many remodels. At one stage he looked cute but too much like a teletubby!
Thank you to my family and my children's friends for their honest opinions enabling me to finally end up with a Pikachu that was passable.
Pikachu the remake's body parts.
Making tiny fingers.
Miniature hands.
Adding the glass eyes and tail.
Building up the facial structure around the eyes.
Looking more like Pikachu!
"Time for a break?"
Holly thinks this is all taking too long!
Finally happy with Pikachu!
Charmander
Thankfully I found Charmander was easier to sculpt than Pikachu. I added tiny dots of superglue to the tiny felted teeth and claws and then trimmed them to shape.
Creating the background
I really wanted to try making a cracked earth felted fabric to learn a new technique that could add interest to the background.
I started by layering wool on bubble wrap for the base layer of the cracked earth.
This is then sprayed with warm soapy water.
I cut up a piece of old plastic in the shapes for the cracked earth patches to make a resist.
The plastic resist was then layered on top of the base layer.
A paler wool was layered on top (sorry, no photo for this) and the whole thing felted by rubbing and then rolling.
For a brief process video click link.
When the wool was well felted, I cut along all the channels of the resist to remove it. This took a long time and was really fiddly!
I then felted it again, being careful to make sure all the cut edges of the top layer were fully felted.
The finished cracked earth definitely needed Diglett to be bursting out of it!
Next came the decision about which frame size I should use and therefore the size of the whole artwork. (Note to self - always plan your work fully before starting!!!)
The smaller frame (12"x 16" internal space) fitted snugly around the Snorlax and would be easier and quicker to finish. Whereas, the larger frame (16"x20" internal space) had so much area in which I could add more Pokémon and a detailed background.
I really wanted to challenge myself and the list of Pokémon requests from my children's friends was growing longer each week that I needed every inch available and opted to go large! There are just too many adorable Generation 1 Pokémon!
12"x16"
16"x20"
With the decision made, I started trialing the background layout. Using various scraps and my trusty ipad, I worked out a composition I was happy with that provided space for more Pokémon to hide and also depth to help the huge Snorlax work in the picture.
Trying to visualise the composition using felt scraps.
After taking a photo, I used procreate on my ipad to digitally sketch a composition that I felt would look good.
Using needle felting to recreate my design
Caterpie
I thought hiding Caterpie up in the tree so that it isn't immediately seen would be fun.
Holly reminds me to take a break again!
Trying to felt circles is always a challenge. Thankfully this circle stencil is really helpful.
Jigglypuff
The eyes were a big challenge again. Cutting felt circles really helped to make sure that they stayed as round as possible.
Video of Jigglypuff being felted https://www.instagram.com/p/CihcRGaANXJ/
Eevie
Making a hollow mossy log which is a perfect hiding place for the adorable Eevee.
Video of Eevee being made https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cirh-k5A0pV/
For a video montage of the Pokémon click here https://www.instagram.com/p/CjJFaJIAb38/
Finishing touches
With all the Pokémon finished, they needed sewing on to the background. The whole felted artwork was then wrapped around a plywood board and fixed into the floating frame.
Video of the Pokémon settling in the forest https://www.instagram.com/p/CjRhnrdgaBB/
Finished!
Congratulations if you've made it this far! I'd appreciate any comments, shares or tips. Every creation is a learning process of trial and error and I'm sure there will be different methods I can learn in the future.
Remember to check out all the prizes https://desertbus.org/prizes/live and it would be great if you want to watch the live stream on - Fri 18th Nov 7pm PST / Sat 19th Nov 3am GMT / Sat 19th Nov 4pm NZT
Come and find me over on all the usual social media, likes, follows and comments make a huge difference.
Twitter @iles_art
Reddit u/johannailesart