Hey, soupface!

An unfortunate plush related incident revealed!

2012-02-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

I didn't mention any of the specifics from the Royal/T event in my last post. This is because nothing of note really happened. I actually sold several plush and most of the folks who came by the table seemed to like what I was selling. But there was one occurrence that I have to share. This isn't going to be pleasant for anybody.

About an hour into the event I still hadn't sold anything. Foot traffic had been slight. I was starting to worry. Could this be a repeat of the week prior? Could I beat my previous low sales record and not sell a single plush? These were my thoughts when an unassuming gentleman stopped by my table. He was immediately taken by the Potato Pirate Captain. I'm guessing this man loved both potatoes and pirates dearly and couldn't believe this thing in front of his face.

He had a good laugh, told me he'd be back, then headed to the other tables. A few people had expressed similar sentiments so I didn't think much of it. One excitable woman was so psyched when she saw my stuff she exclaimed "This is so great! I'll be back! I promise! I have to get my family!" Never saw her again. I hope she's OK. The gentleman, however, made good on his word and returned later.

He came back with his significant other in tow. Some kids were already at the table trying to decide which plush was their favorite. He asked me if I took credit cards. I informed him that I did not. He was bummed. He didn't know if he had enough cash and stepped away from the table.

He proceeded to empty his pockets. His significant other did the same. Children laughed as they read my character card descriptions while this man and his partner counted change a few feet away. After a few moments, he came back timidly clutching a handful of dollars and cents. "Would you be willing to sell the plush for $14.50 instead of $16?" he asked nervously.

I'm already selling my plush for less than I'd like to in some cases. I hadn't made a single sale yet and there are several children pouring over the plush at that very moment. I don't want everyone to think they can haggle with me over my prices. I am not a swap meet. So I told the guy that I couldn't lower the price. I suggested he hit up a nearby ATM and come back later. Unfortunately, he was on his way to some other place and wouldn't be back before the event ended. I froze. Probably apologized a couple of times. He seemed dumbfounded and left despondent. I had broken this man's heart over one dollar and fifty cents.

Money is not my be-all and end-all, but I just couldn't bring myself to lower the price more than I had. It was a matter of principle. Now I must live with what I did. On those cold lonely nights when I stare at the ceiling incapable of sleeping I must remember the pain I caused this poor man's heart.

This here man sold some plush at Royal/T

2012-01-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back I embarked on my first selling plush in person event. I sold one plush. A week later I participated in yet another event. This time I sold seven plush. How about that? I needed to use both hands to count the amount of sales I had made.

I had the foresight to not only bring my camera, but also take pictures with it. Here are some of those pictures.

Just glue the face already

2011-12-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

Sometimes after sewing a character I find myself hesitant to glue its facial features on. While sewing all of that plush two weeks ago, I waited until the end to glue all of the little faces in place. I'd finish sewing one character and then move onto the next one. By the end of all of the sewing I found myself with a pile of plush characters whose faces were in dire need of gluing.

Why am I so silly about gluing these faces? I cut out the facial features while I cut out the bodies so it's merely a matter of dabbing some felt glue on the little pieces and placing them just so. What compels me to stall the inevitable?

Case in point, are these things.

I finished sewing that pink monster days ago and the little cranberry bodysuit fellow last night, but I've yet to glue the faces on either of them. And I don't know if I will before the event at Royal/T tomorrow morning! The heck why?! I have no idea. Except when I do.

Such as in this instance below.

I finished sewing this blue rabbit before the last event I sold my plush at. But then something went wrong. The face I had doodled for it (not pictured above) just didn't work as well in felt as it did on paper. So I set the rabbit aside, disgusted at the very sight of it.

After the event, I decided to take another crack at the face. I came up with what you see before you. It has a classic heysoupface look to it to be sure. Only one problem. I HATE this rabbit! I hate this rabbit so much that I want to knock it over the table edge that it is so precariously perched upon in the picture above. Instead of that, I have simply decided to not glue the face. Thus forcing this rabbit to live in the in-between world plush must inhabit when some part of them remains unfinished. In your not-yet-glued-on face, rabbit!

Holiday Kawaii Trunk Show @ Royal/T

2011-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

I'm doing it again! Selling plush in person being the thing that I am doing. This time at a more convenient hour and location.

Roll your way into Culver City tomorrow (12/18) anytime between the hours of 10am and 3pm and you will find my beard and my body behind a table of plush at Royal/T. Need more details? Look no further than the Facebook event page.

Tales from the Crewest Gallery Gift Boutique

2011-12-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

My first time selling plush at an event in person just happened. But what happened while that was happening? This blog post will attempt to answer that very question.

For starters, nearly every single person who stopped by my section of table asked me the following question: "What is this?" Not about a specific character, mind you, just the plush in general. Had they never seen plush before? I wish I'd thought to ask them this at the time. By the end of the night, the question was still catching me completely off guard.

Some folks did try to guess what certain characters were. One such man stepped up to the table and picked up a Zombie Zucchini.

"Is this a soda?" he asked.

"No, it is not a soda. It is a Zombie Zucchini," I informed him.

"Wait! Am I a soda?"

He stood silent for a moment. I could almost hear him thinking. Then he made some more words come out of his mouth.

"Is that a zucchini?" (pause for effect) "Or are you just happy to see me?"

"You did it," I said and rightly so, because he clearly had done it.

A (teenaged?) girl's eyes lit upon the Undead Severed Hand. She gleefully turned it over to look at the price tag. In an instant, I watched her glee morph into misery.

"This is $20, really?!" she asked in complete disbelief. (It was one of only three items priced thusly at my table. I have never made this thing before so it is completely one-of-a-kind.)

"Yes, it is," I said, but shouldn't have had to as that's what the price tag is there for.

"I'm so tempted to buy it," she replied. A temptation which she very admirably resisted.

Another woman stepped up to the table and asked a familiar question with a twist. "What are these? I haven't seen these before."

"Yeah...that's cuz I make them," I responded, but this did nothing to squelch her confusion and greatly puzzled by this cryptic occurrence, she left the table hurriedly.

The last would-be customer I had the [dis]pleasure of speaking to was a nondescript middle aged woman who looked like somebody's mom. (No offense to somebody's mom.) I smiled and said "Hello!" as I did to everyone. She responded in kind and then looked down at the table. Something had caught her eye. That something was a pink Miss Jelly. She snatched it up.

"This is from Pac-Man," she said.

"No, it's actually not," I responded.

"Yes it is," she replied matter-of-factly. "It's those guys that eat Pac-Man."

"It's not, really," I said impatiently.

"No, it is. It's the guys that eat Pac-Man." This continued for another minute.

Here's what a heysoupface Pac-Man Ghost would look like.

I could see someone mistakenly thinking what I had made was a Pac-Man Ghost, because they do share similar body types and they are both pink. But even after I told this lady that it was not the thing she thought it was, she still insisted several times that it was.

Can you argue with the maker of something about the thing that they made? Is this a thing now? Has this been a thing for some time without my knowledge? She wasn't arguing with me whether or not it looked like a Pac-Man Ghost, she was telling me that it was a Pac-Man Ghost! I can't even. I hate.

But she didn't stop there. Her eyes widened. "You should make Pac-Man!" she exclaimed.

"I don't want to make Pac-Man," I snarled.

"Yeah, you should make Pac-Man" she said again this time with a little more authority in her voice.

"I don't think so," I said, almost quivering at this point.

She was nodding now with a knowing look in her eyes. "You should," she said one last time before leaving my table having now made it abundantly clear on no uncertain terms that making Pac-Man was not up for discussion. I had to do this thing that she had told me to do.

Seems some weird stuff happened, but besides that, how did the night go? How much plush was sold? I knew you weren't going to ask these questions so I asked them for you. Don't sweat it. The punchline to my week of hump busting to get as much plush made as possible so I wouldn't run out of plush in like the first hour of the event is...are you ready for it?

I sold one plush. ONE! If I had only made two plush it still would've been one too many. I made ten bucks. Ten bucks which I promptly spent at Denny's after leaving the event. Because if sadness has a taste.

"You brought 31 too many."

However, my lone customer of the evening was really great. She even went to the trouble of seeking me out on Etsy and sending me a little message of appreciation along with a picture of her and her new plush friend (a Pink Sassquid). I just wish there were about two or three more people like her there that night.

I don't consider the night a complete loss by any means. I met some awesome fellow artists. And it just so happens that I'm going to be selling my stuff again on Sunday, December 18th at Royal/T. Have you ever been to Royal/T in Culver City? It's a cool place. Much more my speed. I doubt its patrons will be asking "What is this?" about my plush.

Some plush for your eyes

2011-12-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

The holiday gift boutique thingy took place as scheduled last night at Crewest Gallery in downtown LA. Below are pictures of several variants of old characters as well as a few brand new ones. Ghosts! Beards! Undead appendages!

Brown Bear

Blue Bunny

Bearded Slug

Barrel

a Ghost

Hairy Pumpkin

Potato Pirate Captain

Chambers

Bearded Phantasm

Potato Pirate Peg Leg

Tremble

Undead Severed Hand - front

Undead Severed Hand - back

Plush making beyond the pale

2011-12-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

Got a message on Etsy Thursday before last asking if I'd like to sell my plush in a gallery downtown in one week's time. I did like. Only one problem: I didn't have any plush to sell. Smash cut to!

I sewed more in a week than most men do in their entire lifetime. There is no hyperbole here. Meals were kept to a minimum. Showers were rationed. Sleep a luxury I could afford only so much of. I learned something about how cruel a man can be during the course of that week.

It all came to a head Wednesday evening with the unfortunate decision to pull an all-nighter. My body knew I was up to something, I don't even know how it knew because I never talk to my body, but it knew. At the stroke of midnight I found myself suffering a serious case of the trembles accompanied by a sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach the likes of which I'd never felt before. By 3am I was seeing things out of the corner of my eyes. At 6am I wasn't seeing things out of the corner of my eyes anymore because my eyes were almost completely non-functioning, but even this minor inconvenience could not impede me.

Funny thing is I had finished sewing all but one of the plush that needed sewing by mid day Wednesday, so why you ask would I need to forgo sleep at that point? Because, dear reader, I find the need to make little paper cut out cards for EVERY plush I make. The front of each card features a paper cut out of the character and the back their name and a brief description. These cards sometimes take me as long to craft as the plush itself.

After it was all said and done, I had just over 30 plush pieces finished for the event. That was my target number. So, good job me.

I made a lot of my trademark characters, because the time crunch was too severe for me to devise 30 new characters. But I did manage to make a few original pieces along with some new variants of old ones.

I'm going to post pictures of these new plush in another post, because I just checked and there are more than I thought. Make ready your eyes!

Q is for Quiller

2011-11-07T01:11:00.000-08:00

Just realized that I neglected to shine a proper spotlight on this illustrious piece of artwork earlier. There is so much egg on my face right now that I could make twos and threes of omelets.

But never mind the egg face omelets. I have these sweet and salty pictures to satiate your eyes instead!

My Dwarf Hamster Lives in a Murder House

2011-10-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

When I woke up today, I found something truly terrifying happening in my hamster Jennifer's cage. I've recreated what transpired using pictures* with Chewbacca standing in for Jennifer.

*Some of these pictures depict events which may have only transpired in my mind's eye.

Heart Attack!

2011-07-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

The Ham Ba Ga Show opened this past weekend at Q Pop. If you missed it, don't fret! All of the art will be on display through July 8th.

I was putting the finishing touches on my piece up to 30 minutes before the show began (I'm not proud of this). My initial idea was a hamburger attacking a heart. Squeezing the life out of the poor thing. But then I thought it would be more amusing if the heart was attacking the hamburger instead. That's why this happened. It is called: Heart Attack.

New Plush Friends

2011-06-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

After an uncharacteristically long hiatus I have returned to the business of making plush. All of the plush mates below were crafted for Q Pop. Go there and snag one!

weird sassquid

a Ghost

Willard

Ivan

Twinkle

Benjamin

Acorn

The Plush Weekend

2011-02-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

The bulk of my weekend was spent feverishly sewing felt plushies while watching the oddest assortment of movies I could find. I had a happy time!

cactus

Straw Berry

Bluebeard

Q Pop party

2011-01-30T11:04:00.000-08:00

Last night was a rousing success! The place was crowded from the get go and remained so until I left at 10:00pm. I saw two of my plush pieces purchased and before I'd left a third had sold as well. I'm gonna have to make more plush to restock soon!

If you couldn't make it last night you still have time to stop by and see the art. Everything's going to be on display until February 11th. Head over there and check the place out. There are loads of cool items and Chris and Miki (the proprieters) are splendid people. You will not be disappointed.

The very last picture below is of the piece I made for the event. It is entitled "Q is for Quiller."

Another batch of Q Pop plush

2011-01-29T13:36:00.000-08:00

Q Pop's grand opening party is tonight from 7-11pm! If you are as radical as me you will be there. This is the invitation - Q Pop Grand Opening Invite.

The previous lot of plush I'd taken over to the store is sold out! But I made some more just in time for the grand opening. I also made a piece of art for the opening show which I'm not gonna post a picture of just yet as I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone heading there tonight!

These are the plush persons and things I made for the store. Some of these guys have been up on my Etsy shop before and some are new.

Pinks

Beanie

Quatropus

boots

Quatropus in boots

Robot Rumpus

2010-12-22T17:41:00.001-08:00

On one occasion during my childhood, I attempted to construct a tin can robot. Radio Shack supplied me with all the electrical components I needed: two small white light bulbs for robot eyes, a red bulb for the nose, electrical wire, and a switcher to turn the bulbs on/off. After poking holes in the tin can head and affixing the light bulbs, I managed to get everything to light up before quitting the project altogether when I realized that was the extent of my mechanical know-how. Sadly, my little tin can robot never gained sentience.

Back in present times, my friend and musician Brett Algera commissioned me to make him a robot (this one in felt) with the intention of having our other friend and photographer Luke Eshleman photograph it for the cover of Brett's newest album. I leapt with leopard like grace into the task at hand!

Designing the robot was easy. From the episode of Gumby where he gets robots to do his chores for him to banking with Robie the coin eating robot - I spent my whole life preparing for this task.

Actually sewing the robot together piece by piece proved just as time consuming as I anticipated. It took a week to finish. A week filled with countless hours of sewing while watching what was possibly the most random assortment of movies anyone ever watched via Netflix streaming. (How random you didn't ask? At one point, I watched "Survival of the Dead" followed by "The Proposal.")

Below you'll find pictures of some of the pieces before everything was sewn together. You'll have to wait until the album cover image is taken before seeing the finished plush. It will be worth the wait!

Q Pop is now selling 'Hey, soupface!' plush

2010-11-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

My friend, Chris Mitchell, recently opened an awesome store in Little Tokyo called Q Pop. If you like cool things like Thai T-shirts screen printed by hand or Japanese vinyl toys you should go to this place where you'll find those and more. The address is as follows:

128 Astronaut E S Onizuka St

Los Angeles, CA, 90012

Chris asked me to make some plush for the store so I made variations of old characters as well as brand new Q Pop exclusives! Here are pictures of the bulk of them.

gray-ish sassquid

bearded slug

Franklin

Straps

Trumpet

Floyd

Monsters hiding in plain sight

2010-10-11T11:22:00.001-07:00

I think the reason nobody ever really sees Sasquatch or Nessie anymore is because they wised up and started wearing disguises.

A dead vegetable that found its second wind

2010-10-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Zombie zucchini adhere to the same basic rules as people zombies. Aim for the head (it's behind their face). Don't miss.

Potato Piracy on the rise once more

2010-10-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

Question I asked myself: "How can I add spice to a spudly buccaneer who already possesses roughly a spice rack full of spiciness?"

Answer I gave myself: "Put a tiny skull on his eyepatch, dingus."

As a fan of all things tiny I implemented this solution forthwith. Behold!

Potato Pirate w/skull eyepatch modification

My kitchen table is a mess and I think you know why

2010-10-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

Currently engaged in a massive plush making campaign. I've made about 10 pieces thus far. Some old friends. Some new ones. But I'm not going for speed here, folks. I'm trying to make things when the inspiration strikes me in the face.

My work space of the moment is the kitchen table. (Take that, Better Homes and Gardens!)

I've decided to put all of the finished plush within my old Indiana Jones satchel. Young Doug received this one Christmas by asking his parents for "a bag like the one Indiana Jones has." Sadly, this bag and the boy that I once was never set off on any adventures to rival that of the young Henry Jones, Jr. I did, however, engage in some fiery stick fights in my backyard. Many a digit was scrunched betwixt yonder poles of birch! (Translation: somebody's fingers would invariably wind up getting squashed by a stick.)

Witness the doodles in all their glory! Paper doodles! Felt doodles! Macaroni doodles! I like to think I doodle...every which way but loose.

Zombie Murder Magic mightier than thou!

2010-10-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

My preferred method of doodling these days? In Photoshop using my FAVORITE tool: the pencil tool. I love the blocky, lines of pixels that in no way resemble drawing with a pencil. There's a gentle ugliness to every picture produced in this fashion. Though I suppose it helps when you're drawing things like monsters, blue zombies, and deformed power men...

Tres Power Men

2010-09-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

They will put a hurt on you.

Push!

2010-09-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Punch!

2010-09-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

Smash!

2010-09-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Indianapolis James and the Temple of Monkeys

2010-07-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

In true Indiana Jones fashion, I've excavated some old storyboards drawn for a project I planned as a kid. It was to be an extreme homage to the man with a hat.

Always one to bite off more than I could chew, I only shot the first four panels of page 1. Those scans above and the fight scene linked below are all that remain of what would've amounted to the greatest love letter to my boyhood/manhood hero ever conceived.

Adventure Monkey

Straw Berry Belly Time

2010-07-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

My latest stop motion video is finally online. Check it out!

Charles Bronson is Mr. Majestyk

2010-06-28T13:24:00.001-07:00

Cthulhuchador

2010-06-11T21:23:00.001-07:00

An ancient one has awoken from his slumber! And he needs a cup of coffee that's black as a moonless night or he's gonna start scissor kicking some people's faces!

Made by request for a luchador loving friend.

a Ghost

2010-04-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

Holy mackerel! A Ghost! Your internet is haunted!

I made and posted this spirit to Etsy the other day. It has since been sold. I'll need to make another.

Quilt Squares

2010-03-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here are the squares I entered into the GR2 show. Plus 2 bonus squares I gave people as gifts!

Sassquid Love

Bluebeard

Boxtopus Attack

Nose Eating Monster

Blue Hand Man

The next two are the bonus squares that I didn't enter into the show. I gave this one to Katie. It's based on a character she drew which she told me she really liked. I liked it too.

Bone Creature designed by Katie Larkin

And this last square was given to my sister for her birthday. She makes sweet "crazy" quilts herself. So I gave her a crazy man quilt square.

Your Dad Is Scary

Patchwork Show Opening Night

2010-03-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

The group show I'm in at GR2 opened this past Saturday. It was awesome seeing my stuff displayed in a gallery I frequent. My friend, Tim, was on hand to take photos.

Here's a link to his Flickr page with photos from the event:

Patchwork Showcase

Straw Berry Belly

2010-03-10T16:06:00.000-08:00

That is the title of my latest stop motion video which I made as the first in a little series of videos. I finished shooting it in November, but sound related issues have kept me from finishing it. (Those issues being my intense dislike for recording/editing sound.) However, I have set myself to finishing this so I can forge ahead with the series!

Here are two of the characters involved:

grey fellow

bluebeard

Giant Robot 2 group show in LA

2010-02-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much to post in the past couple of weeks, but with good reason! I'm part of a group show at GR2 and I've been working tirelessly night and day on my pieces.

Above is the postcard Giant Robot printed to advertise the show. Happily, my name is on there (Douglas Gauthier).

Below I've linked to their Flickr page which includes the press release they put out about Patchwork. If you're in LA on March 13th come to the opening!

Patchwork art exhibition

Beachcomber

2010-02-19T14:34:00.000-08:00

This is a creepy beachcomber person I sold on Etsy recently.

Sleepy Monster

2010-02-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

I'm keen on this monster's expression. He seems a little out of it.

Purple Person

2010-02-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

This is a purple person. He is waiting for somebody to find him on Etsy.

Study/Blue/Smiles

2010-02-09T16:07:00.001-08:00

custom green Study Bunny

Blue Vermin

Roger Smiles

Zombie/Pirate

2010-02-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Zombie Zucchini

Potato Pirate

Bluebeard

2010-02-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

I made this little Bluebeard for my girlfriend. It is the last Christmas gift I have to post for your viewing delight.

Bluebeard is the star of a new stop motion series which I am currently editing the first short episode of. I have to add sound/music to it and that always takes me a while to get into.

Mud Monster

2010-02-03T22:57:00.000-08:00

This monster is looking for a new home. It currently lives on a hill made of mud which is altogether unacceptable since this monster is a self described neat freak.

Potato Pirate

2010-02-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

A new variation on my Potato Pirate design. I imagine him as a bit of a know-it-all.

Study Break

2010-01-29T15:35:00.000-08:00

Study Bunny

Sour/Brownie

2010-01-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

Sour Bunny

Brownie Bear

Alien Robot Thing designed by Katie Larkin

2010-01-25T15:24:00.000-08:00

This is the last of the plushies I made for gifts based on a design by Katie. It is actually two separate creatures.

I chose to make them in such a way that the little alien thing she had doodled could be turned around and placed into the robot thingy. Katie slips me new doodles most every week so I see no reason why I won't make more of her fun and unique creatures soon.

Purple Creature designed by Katie Larkin

2010-01-23T21:07:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what this creature is. Even Katie deemed it too bizarre a thing to give to a family member. We did find someone worthy of receiving it in the end however. Its "face" is attached via velcro and can be pulled off, for no good reason other than I felt like making it so.

Pickle? designed by Katie Larkin

2010-01-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

Most of the doodles I get from Katie are of the odd variety. Her characters are nothing if not bizarre. I guess this pickle straddles the line between cute and crazy, but the next few plushies enter stranger territory.

Green Mushroom deigned by Katie Larkin

2010-01-21T16:06:00.000-08:00

Plushie number three designed by Katie and made by me. It might just be the cutest of the lot. By this point, I was very much feeling it. I didn't want to stop turning the girlfriend's doodles in plush things. So I didn't. Just you wait and see.

Jellyfish designed by Katie Larkin

2010-01-20T10:49:00.001-08:00

Jellyfish! The second piece I created from one of my girlfriend's designs. From this side by side, you can see that I stayed true to the original doodle. I like this creature. It is cute.

Space Fellow designed by Katie Larkin

2010-01-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

The next batch of gift plushies I have to post are unique in that they were designed by my girlfriend. I wanted to make stuff for her family, but I thought it would be cooler if she came up with the ideas for the characters herself. She doodled dozens and dozens of little things and I picked out ones I wanted to make in plush.

I imagine this character as being some sort of space traveler. It could really be anything though. For the rest of the characters we took pictures of both the plush and the doodle it was based on.

Mean T

2010-01-18T13:07:00.001-08:00

A mean plush I gave to my brother-in-law, whose name happens to begin with "T."

Scary Monster

2010-01-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

Craft fur is a new material for me. I was expecting it to be a bit of a pain, but it really wasn't bad at all. The worst part of the entire experience was cleaning mounds of fake fur off everything in my bedroom.

This bizarre creature was made for my other sister. I figured she'd get a kick out of the weirdness of it.

Grey Doll Man

2010-01-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

I initially thought of calling this guy "cadaver man," but it was made as a gift for my baby nephew...so that didn't seem appropriate.

It was based on a little doll I drew on the storyboards for a stop motion movie I never made as a kid.

I'm hoping to actually use him in a stop motion video sometime in the near future as part of a new series of shorts I just started work on.

Adventure Man and Seymour for the holidays

2010-01-15T10:17:00.001-08:00

I changed Adventure Man quite a bit. The initial design was nothing more than a doodle. Now he has a lot more character in my humble opinion.

Seymour is buds with Adventure Man. They go on adventures together and solve crimes and stuff. Both of these lovable blokes were gifted to my pa by me.

Beet Bag

2010-01-14T17:51:00.002-08:00

Beet Comma Bag version 2. This time with twice the cuteness. I added an extra pinch of joy to his expression plus some polyfil stuffing to make him pop out of the bag. I gave this to one of my sisters as she had expressed an interest in the first one I made.

Little Sassquid

2010-01-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

This is the tiniest plush thing I've made to date if I'm not mistaken. It was another gift for my mom. I have a strange love of tiny toys. I say strange, because I have no idea where this fondness came from. But because of this love it's only natural that I start making tiny plush!

More Broccoli?

2010-01-11T15:37:00.001-08:00

The Broccoli starred in a short video of mine entitled "Eat Your Greens." My mom liked that movie so I made her this plushie for Christmas.

Back from hiatus

2010-01-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

Greetings and salutations! I hope your new year has gotten off to a good start. I just got back from vacation myself. Had some time to recharge the creative batteries. I've got what I think are cool new ideas which I can't wait to make/show.

I have a bunch of fun plush stuff to post and the Etsy store is open again, with a brand new Magnetic Hare for sale!

Hugs and Bears

2009-12-21T09:49:00.000-08:00

These are the last of the labels I have to post. So no more labels this year, but I think these are a fine note to end on!

Hug Monster

Quiet Bear

Blue and the Captain

2009-12-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

Two more labels for you. First up is the Blue vermin.

(front)

(back)

And here is the Potato Pirate Captain. This one panics me!

Straw Berry

2009-12-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

This little strawberry is one of the stars of my latest stop motion project. His name is Straw Berry. He is rather mischievous.

Potato Pirate and Radish labels

2009-12-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

Packed and shipped some mean vegetables not too long ago.

Potato Pirate

Radish with an attitude

Lektrik Eggplant

2009-12-17T08:57:00.000-08:00

This is another character that I saw sometime after my head hit the pillow, but before I fell asleep. It's been something of a problem the past couple of weeks. Every time I try to go to bed I'm bombarded with mental pictures of all manner of characters. They're always so fleeting I have a hard time getting them down on paper before they're gone.

Squash it

2009-12-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

I swapped the Squash's googly eyes for felt eyes. I wanted to imbue him with more of my personal touch. He's since been packed up and shipped on his merry way.

(front)

(back)

Gold Sassquid

2009-12-09T22:37:00.000-08:00

I made another sassquid a while back, but I didn't want to post him to Etsy until the grey sassquid sold.

Some lucky soul happened upon this rarest of sassquids and adopted him. This is how I sent him off:

(front)

(back)

Mr Pumpkin changes

2009-12-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

This used to be a very nasty looking Grover the pumpkin plushie. But Mr. Pumpkin has evolved quite a bit. My current version is no longer a badguy. He's a good sort who adventures and heroes around.

Mustaches and beards are something I've always liked putting on characters. As I continue to craft characters with facial hair I've started to "round" the mustaches/beards. I think it looks much nicer in felt than pointy strands of hair do.

Crazy Bun

2009-12-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the blue character theme of the last couple of posts, here's Crazy Bun. He used to be the Blue Rabbit. But as the Blue Rabbit he wasn't entirely memorable. So using a mouth I had originally intended for Roger Smiles I whipped up Crazy Bun. Who is as crazy as his name suggests.

And he's already sold. Here's the packaging I made:

Roger Smiles

2009-12-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

I didn't have a name for this character before. But with a new face comes a name as well.

He started life as a little doodle I kept drawing over and over while bored at work. The finished product looks hardly anything like the doodle though. I'll probably change him again at some point.

Hug Monster

2009-12-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

Yet another mod. The forest monster is now a hug monster. I love his face. Hehe. I kind of borrowed his nose from Adventure Man (who I've completely remade as well).

Potato Pirate Captain do-over

2009-12-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

I made significant changes to the Potato Pirate Captain. I found his face too bland before so I scaried him up.

Turnip the trackstar

2009-12-01T01:25:00.001-08:00

I had the body of this turnip sitting around my place for months. His features weren't to my liking though so I gave him a face-lift. I'm happy with the results.

I'm in the process of reassessing all of the plushies I have laying around my apartment. I've already changed or modified several of them. By the time I'm done most of them will be posted to Etsy. There are a few characters/prototypes that I can't sell, but the rest are fair game!

Turnip just sold today. Here are some pictures of the packaging I whipped up:

(front)

(back)

Radish with an attitude redesign

2009-11-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

Posting loads of things to Etsy today. Here's a redesigned Radish.

T-Rex

2009-10-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

A felt dinosaur I made special for a friend. I'm currently watching a Godzilla movie as I post this. How very apropos!

the Boxtopus

2009-10-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

I've already posted this to Etsy. I'll be sad if someone actually buys it though, because he's such a well-mannered house guest once you get past his maiming and killing proclivities.

Beet Comma

2009-10-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Beet Comma is its name. Punctuating stuff is its game. Posting this to Etsy in a bit!

New/Old Stop Motion videos

2009-10-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

I just posted half a dozen old stop motion shorts to my Youtube page. Here's one of the videos:

And here's a link for the rest:

pbj beard

Mr. Pumpkin vs the Yeti

2009-10-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mr. Hairy Pumpkin battles a Yeti using only his mustache and his wits.

Henry

2009-10-06T11:54:00.001-07:00

Milk. Cookies. Rabbit.

the Boxtopus vs. San Francisco

2009-10-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

This poster is an homage to a smashing sci-fi flick from the '50s called "It Came from Beneath the Sea."

Etsy Wave 3

2009-09-29T15:37:00.001-07:00

I just posted another round of critters for sale. Here's the lot of them enjoying some tea.

http://heysoupface.etsy.com

Beet Comma Bag

2009-09-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

When I got this bag I liked it well enough, except for the "Julie & Julia" logo emblazened across the front pocket. Rather than chuck it in a closet to gather dust, I modded it with a "beet comma."

The monster on the hill

2009-07-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

This monster lives on a hill. His nose is very sensitive. He thinks most people are "smelly."

Leafhead

2009-07-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Leafhead modeling his favorite jammies.

As yet unnamed...

2009-07-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Can't think of a name for this character. I'm not entirely pleased with how he looks in felt. I should upload a drawing of him. He looks much better in "cartoon" form in my humble opinion.

Happy Orange Creamsicle

2009-07-09T23:05:00.001-07:00

My rather poor representation of an orange creamsicle.

The Monster in the woods

2009-06-25T00:13:00.001-07:00

He's a monster who lives in the woods and loves hugs! But that doesn't mean he won't eat you.

Adventure...Man?

2009-06-19T09:54:00.001-07:00

A gentlemanly explorer and adventurer who lives for thrills.

This guy was essentially a doodle in felt. I had an unused Flint body and thought it would be fun to actually use it for something.

Studious Bunny

2009-06-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a bunny study with such vigor before?

Zombie Zucchini Attack!

2009-06-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend put the words "zombie" and "zucchini" together. Then this happened.

The Blue Rabbit (and the outhouse)

2009-06-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

That outhouse and the other pieces of furniture from the last few pictures were all made by my girlfriend's grandpa. The man has skill!

Monkey time

2009-06-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

A monkey I made for my soon-to-be-born nephew.

Quiet Bear

2009-06-14T23:08:00.000-07:00

If silence really was golden this quiet bear wouldn't be looking at an empty fridge...

Magnetic Hare!

2009-06-03T10:27:00.001-07:00

Back from vacation

2009-04-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

I stayed away longer than I meant to. But I've made some progress prepping the stop motion I'm currently working on. Here's a rough animatic that pretty much sums it up.

Vacation

2009-03-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

I'm going on vacation in less than a week. That's the primary reason I haven't been posting stuff. I haven't had the time to make anything! But I'll be back in April in a major way! Ok, maybe not a "major" way. I don't want to hype my return too much. But I will be back.

I have a sweet idea for a bizarre felt guy that I had a dream about. It involves mixing a piece of fruit with a dinosaur. Be prepared!

If you have some free time check out my random movies on Youtube:

pbjbeard's movies

Stop Motion Commotion

2009-03-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

I met an animator at work who is taking me through the steps of making a one minute stop motion video. He's going to guide me through the process using his know how (since he's been doing this for years).

I still can't believe this is happening. I've been puttering around on my own trying to put something together, but this has absolutely supercharged me!

I'll be sure to take some pictures of the process as I go.

In the mean time, here's a link to an old stop motion video I made:

"Biscuits and Clams"

The second wave is upon us!

2009-02-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

Took me a month, but I've finally gotten around to posting some more characters on my Etsy shop. Hurray! Here's the link:

heysoupface.etsy.com

Hope you like 'em!

Another trip to the tavern...

2009-02-27T13:48:00.001-08:00

My friend took some pictures of the tavern display when the sunlight was hitting it a certain way. Gregor never looked so dark and mysterious before!

Vermin!!

2009-02-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

Blue Vermin to be more specific...much craftier than your average pest!

Mr. Jelly

2009-02-25T11:57:00.001-08:00

Made this jellyfish creature for the girlfriend. Calling it Mr. Jelly...but it could just as easily be Ms. Jelly as I think of most of the creatures I make as gender neutral.