Have you ever wanted to make an animal for your cloth doll but didn't quite know how to go about it? I faced that dilemma several times wanting to make a dog, a cat or some critter and not knowing how to make the thing. I finally decided I would jump in make an armature and go from there. After all if you have the "bones" constructed right isn't it just a matter of fleshing out the animal?
I drew a sketch of the wolf to get the bone structure for the wire armature, which I think is the easier part. Next I had to decide how I was going to build up the body. What medium would I use? Would I choose paperclay and sculpt the wolf or use spun cotton like I did for the Dodo Bird?
After much thought, I chose to needle felt the body to the armature using black wool. I've only needle felted a couple of times. Here's a look at my attempt to Needle Felt a black wolf.
The Wolf Armature
After several layers of Needle Felting black wool: There is still much work to be done, but it's a start.
And a sketch I did last month.
