Making a Fabric Animal Character come to life:Part1

I hope all of you who celebrate have had a very Happy Easter, or Spring festival break. We had a few spells of glorious sunshine here, but mainly, it rained. It's still quite warm though, and the birds don't seem to mind, they're still singing gloriously.  The fairy blue haze and scent of bluebells fills the wood and there's been much activity and digging at the badger sett.

 
This  inspired me to start thinking about bringing  a new character to life, and I thought  you might like to see the progression of a new creation.

First, I delve into my design sketchbook. This is full of very scruffy/scrappy sketches, notes, thoughts and ideas. Many of these are put in last thing at night or scribbled at odd times when I'm inspired!

When I've decided which animal/character I want to work on,  I begin to research  my subject more thoroughly. Then, I make some preliminary sketches, notes and doodles, to try and get a 'feel' for who I want to create.

Once a picture is forming in my mind of the final character, I start thinking about how I can simplify the form to create a 3D replica in fabric. This part of the process usually involves a lot of mind changing as things don't work evolve!

After I am clearer how I can make a three dimensional figure - and how it will work with costuming/accessories etc, I begin to work on ways to fit the shapes together. This is a very flexible process, I don't create a 'formal' pattern, (unless it's going to be used by other people) or use graph paper or computer software, as I find them too restrictive.

I start playing about with the pieces on scrap paper. Quite often I just cut into my pattern pieces and alter the shapes as I go!

Now I'm at the stage to start roughly piecing in fabric, and thinking about joints and stability. All  my characters are designed to be tactile, and usually positionable, so they must be robust.
I constantly think about fabrics, materials, and the personality of the final character. Often my ideas change as he/she 'grows',  but that is part of the fun! You've probably guessed by now what sort of animal this is going to be - but his/her character is still a mystery!

Just for a further tease - I found a number of things on my walk through the wood,  common cockle shells dropped by gulls,  a lovely, brick red coloured, brown lipped snail shell, and a fragment of a blackbird's egg. I decided to paint them in my journal, and I think some of them will become part of my mysterious  new friend!

I'd love to know how others work. Do you keep a sketchbook or journal? Or do you have other methods of recording and remembering your creative journey and putting projects together?x