Heracross

I've been wanting to make a Heracross for my personal collection for quite some time, so I decided to slip it in while I wait for my machines to be repaired! I love bug types, so I will probably slowly keep adding them to my personal collection. 

Heracross stands about 14 inches tall. I absolutely love this piece of art by Kawiku (below), and it was a big inspiration for the proportions. I decided to go for a more cartoon-y expression since a simpler eye design looks great with the simple shape of the body, plus it is easier on the embroidery machine. I hand drew the eyes and digitized the machine embroidery for the front, back, and sides. He has jointed arms and legs, so he can stand, sit, and wave. This was my first time fully patterning before embroidering which was a big, but nice, change. I still had to make a few modifications to the pattern, but I hope to develop this more as I get better at embroidery. He is made entirely with minky, which is still my favorite material to work with, especially after so many humanoid dolls.

I haven't photographed plushies in a natural environment in awhile, since character type and scale make a big difference in how the plush should be photographed, but I felt this guy called for some tree. He is sitting in one of our mango trees, which actually gave a lot of fruit this year! I'm very happy with the lighting in these pictures, plus the way he is nestled into the tree is adorable.