crowtree - Not so much the uniformness but the very strong edge it forms inside the ear. I hope you don't mind, but I drew on your pic to try to illustrate what I mean: Left is the visual line that all the little fuzzy hairs inside the ear stopping at the same point creates - a very distinct line. Just cutting in a little bit to the contours of the hair you already have to soften that line would create, I think, a wee bit more natural look inside the ear. Wouldn't require chopping off and starting over, I don't think - just a little bit of trimming away with a craft knife. Of course, he is your baby and I can understand not wanting to ruin what you already have - I don't have that problem working in 3D but I know that fear in clay! So if it would be tough to do, definitely not worth messing up that darling little head.
Insomnalia: Those are the sweetest words ever, that you think my fennec captures the essence of the real fox means more than I can express, thank you so much. You've gotten right to the root of my intent with all the animal art I've ever attempted, that's always been the most important thing to me so I feel a bit humbled now. I hope he lives up your kind words when he's finally completed I love maned wolves too but have only recently discovered them, they're amazing though. That they're not actually related to foxes or wolves which makes them even more intriguing. the Falkland Islands wolf is another one I became interested in like the maned wolf, which sadly became extinct in the late 19th century. HystericalParoxysm: Actually I was going to ask you for a redline but didn't want to seem demanding, so thats' really okay, and thank you for it! xD Okay I see what you mean now, although I think the lighting makes it look worse than it is, the ear hair does vary a bit at the tips. But I think it's also part of the uniformness I was talking about so future revisions will fix that part too. The problem is the gray sculpey is actually very brittle so even trying to trim the fur will probably just chip big hunks off (I've already had to fix so manyplaces on the body after trying to 'tweak' them D; ) so I'll just wait for a junkcast before attempting anything. Here's a collage of test poses. I don't think the hind leg joint will work out, it needs more stability so back to the drawing board! Still working on the paw joint design too, it's not working out as planned but I think i know what it needs. Oh idk if I've mentione dit before but he'll be about (looks like..) 11+cm tall, foot to head (not including ears, and 12 cm from nose to rump. My fairy is 14 cm so you can see how they compare.
Oh my gosh, I just have to burst right in and say *Aaawwwww* over the two bottom left pictures of the fox with the boy. My heart just squeeeeed!
Ohgod. SO CUTE! The ones with the foxie scratching with a back leg just killed me with cute. The poses look -fantastic- and so very natural.
Fffff, crowtree, I think I might love you. ;___; Okay, maybe not, I don't even know you - but you get my drift, yes? This little fennec fox is absolutely ADORABLE and, yes, I do need one, it's been decided! Now I need to get started on my butterfly/fairy boy, so they can be companions, harrharr... Aaanyway, the poses look good, I love the one where he's sitting with his hind paws stick outwards, so adorable, haha! Can't wait for more updates!
I like how you did the jointing of the back. It's good to see it actually works. I was afraid the body would collapse under its own weight, when I made plans to do a human/lion hybrid. But you fox looks quite stable! One little thing that I noticed - perhaps someone else already mentioned it - is that the knees in the front legs are placed a little too low. Normally, this wouldn't bug me, but since your little doll is so realistic in its posing, they stood out. Lovely little fox, crowtree and I'm amazed at your jointing. I've never seen a doll move so smoothly! Please tell me how you did this? Making joints never seems to be something I can do right.
*absolute squee* I can't even put into words how cute that is! Ok, I might need one of these if you have them cast. :XD
aneemal: Aww TY x3 These two seem to go well together, the little fairy is about the right size to ride the tiny fox, maybe it needs a saddle xP HystericalParoxysm: I was pretty happy to find out his foot could reach his ear like that Thanks so much, I'm glad you think so! Aminoff: loll you mean the fox not me, I'm just a poor ugly maker, that's okay though! xD Ooh you're making a fairy-type boy too?? Can't wait to see him! clarinetplayer: thank you~ silk: If it's a larger animal I'm not sure if the back joints would react the same way but things seem okay with a tiny so far. They're just simply round cup joints so pretty hard to go wrong there, I think. I'll probably want to suede the finished fox anyway just for added traction as it's a bit more fiddly-difficult to pose a 4-legged animal..especially with a centipede back . As for making them? I didn't really do anything special, not much planning either haha.. I just kinda made the cups to fit the joints as each one was finished by seeing if the joint would slide nicely along the raw clay to the degree I wanted, before baking. There was a little bit of revision done for fit, but it's hard to get these joints to fit super perfect like smooth clay would so I'm not worrying too much about it. I'm really not very good as making joints though.. this is something I'm struggling with in all my projects ;;. If you have any specific questions though feel free to ask! re: the wrist joint.. you think so?? Hmm.. I'll try tweaking it in photoshop and see if a higher joint looks better lbrevner I notice lots that could be better, but that's what first tries are good for ;P thank you! Mittebam: Yay, I'm glad he's to this point! Only a few issues to fix now *cross fingers* Eldurwen: Thank you somuch Leda Thank you I wish he could pose further, like into a sleepy ball and a full sit, but this will have to do for now. Okay ..I'm going away in a week for my gramma's birthday so there probably won't be any updates on this one (or any other one) for up to a month. Don't know how I'll stay sane without anything to sculpt or work on @_@.
Omg, he is the most adorable thing I`ve ever seen! I love all his poses, he looks so cute and real! Simply amazing work!
I love this little fennec fox! He is so detailed and has such a cute little face. And the jointing is very realistic.
crowtree: Naaah, I actually meant you. ;D Harrharr. And, yes, I'm planning a butterfly/fairy boy! I'm not sure when I'll be able to start working on him, however.. there's a loooot that needs to be finished before I can do anything else. x_x; I already have his concept sketched down, though, so once I'm ready to start I can go straight to sculpting. ^^
I am in awe. This is amazing! I love it. I have absolutely no use for one in my collection but I want one anyway!!
Totally amazingly adorable fox!!! If you ever cast some to sell, please look me up!!! He's just too cute for words!!!! ^_^
darn, this is really amazing i was planning on making a corgi bjd (as if i don't have enough to do) and seeing this makes me really want to do it.
I don't know which I feel more strongly- inspired to work harder, or despair at ever being as good as you. First of all, Fennec Foxes have to be one of THE most adorable animals EVER, and second, your sculpting has brought it to life! I can't get over just how flexible your Fennec is. The face is absolute perfection!!! That alert, bright, eager expression reminds me of my little dog =0) You've done an incredible job. Now I need to go throw away all of my clay and tools LOL JK Maybe
The sculpted fur and face are AMAZING. My goodness how inspiring!! Also the proportions are fantastic, with those tiny paws and huge ears. I can't wait to see how this ends up, also I'd so throw money at you to buy a casting if you cast the little guy. I adore animal BJDs!
Insomnalia: & Eldurwen: Ahhhh, I'm sorry for such a long time with no update to show for it :[ I set him aside to think about how to tackle the leg joints properly since they've given a bit of trouble (among other aspects) and then lots of stuff happened to distract me and I started a new project to boot. But I'm tackling the fox again and want to get him finished first because he's had so much interest. Thank you for waiting on him ;; Hope to have some news to share soon! This finishing work is the most difficult since I've never finished a doll yet and it's all new ground ^^; Plus I'm so easily distracted ah~ *FOCUS* ApokriPHa & Cerchio Fatato: Yep, posing was the most important thing for me with this guy so I willingly gave up some aesthetics for the ability (all those back joints xD). Though I wish he could be a bit more flexible, still. fairysquisher: Thank you for such kind comments, especially about his face and expression ) but don't even joke about giving up sculpting, you! That would be my worst nightmare to cause that! I'm only posting progress pics at all because I find looking at others work so inspiring and feel that others might feel the same way, so I like to share my efforts in return. I also sometimes feel overwhelmed by the talent here on the forums and from companies too because there's so much about sculpting that is a struggle for me and others make it seem like it should be easier and I'm just out of my element, but in the end (after some self pity hehe) it only drives me to improve my skills and strive to get better. It's good to not be content with your art, because then you'll always improve. Anyway/RAMBLE OFF. I hope you decide to post some of your work here as well, I'd love to see it :] Lithe-Fider: Thank you, I'm glad you like him!! It's hard to tell if the work is any good 'cause I just see so much that I want to change, but for the moment I think I'd just like to get him finished and cast, and worry about some details in the next version. & he will get cast if it's at all possible I'm just waiting to research about that until the lil guy is all completed and ready to go.
Oh my, that collage of poses is adorable! You know when you see other peoples work and you go ohhhhhhh I want to sculpt like that (usually for me with a sigh of will that ever happen!) He looks great especially with your small guy.
Oh how amazing! Love it. It poses really naturallyhnjbg8i7uuuuuuuuu<zZZZZZZZZZ'''''ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZaaaz nzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz4m3zas<+bklllllllllllllllllllp54e+ ... Aaaand it seems my cat had to say something about this too, sorry about that. First when I saw the sketch it bring Transfer, an cunning wolf, to my mind from Around the world in 80 days animation. Can't wait to see this finished!
I absolutely love this little guy! Do you think you'll be able to get him cast and offer him for sale, even if it's only a limited run? I've been wishing for a realistic ball-jointed pet for my doll crew for a long time, and a fennec fox would be perfect!
As soon as I saw the photo collage, I thought the exact same thing! It reminded me so much of the poses and actions of my lil dog...It actually caused me to go pick her up and cuddle her, lol. Crowtree, this project is simply amazing! Add me to the list of "wishing for future castings". Looking so forward to watching the continued progress of this and your other projects.
crowtree, the face is really really cute. RESPECT!!=) i also like the proportions and even the idea of making a fox is very original
This whole project is so wonderful. I too would want one, and next, I am begging you, do a domestic cat!
I went looking for fox BJDs on Google and this little one caught my eye immediately. I'll confess, I came to the Joint (observer only!) because of this fox! I am also one of the ones hoping to buy a cast once they're made, because I fell hard for this one, and so did one of my best friends. That face, those poses... I can't wait to see more! ETA: ...Apparently I did join back in January 2010, but I don't remember that at all. o_O;
