needlefelting
You can also skip down to the resources below, if you want!
lil s
Made for Arachne for Artfight of her character, Lil S!
She's also posable, but built a bit different from the vaporeon: her limbs (both arms, and both legs)are made with the same pipecleaner stuck through her body, so they're a bit more secure. Also, I tried to make her neck with a pipecleaner (like the vaporeon), but it just wouldn't stay in right and pissed me off, so I ended up just using a toothpick. Whatever gets the job done, I guess... orz
vaporeon
I wanted to experiment more with wire armatures and posability, which I wrote about in more detail on Dreamwidth. Some extra pics: ^^
phanpy
She's loosely based on this card, but I went a different direction with composition and whatnot. Besides that, I did more sewing here than I have for other needlefelting projects: the pillows in the background, of course, but also, to make her ears, I cut out shapes from a felt sheet and blanket stitched them together and sewed them on. That's a lot easier than trying to felt such a tight and precise shape from scratch! And I think the exposed stitching is rather cute, as well. Will definitely have to keep that in mind. (The sheets I got are an acrylic blend, though, not 100% wool, so it's kind of a pain to try to felt it normally.) And I tried to make the Meowth and Buneary in the background look a bit more 'simple' so they'd come off as plushies; their limbs and other things are also cut from felt sheets. By the way, you're so much more likely to stab yourself when working at such a small scale, ow!
The Phanpy herself is cute, but her front leg isn't even with the others -- not quite what I was going for, but it does make her fun to set around and pose; like she's mid step or reaching out.
shiny furret
shiny mareep
Based off this mareep alarm clock I've been obsessed with!
To make the fluffy texture, I took some acrylic yarn and needlefelted it down in little loops like a carpet -- took forever, but I think it was really effective!
She's now the cutest and fluffiest little pin cushion!
marill
oddish family
I tried to use pastel dust to get a cute little watercolor-y effect on their leaves... which, like, didn't not work, but also, it's just very messy. Would not recommend!
Another view of them buried:
budgie
Like the fourth thing I made, I think? A little accompanying sketch:
My first couple of attempts at needlefelting! Started with the jigglypuff, then bulba, then lapras (who I ended up giving to my sister for her birthday). These guys are tiny tiny! It's kinda cool to look back and compare...
resources
So, needlefelting! If you're just starting out, I'd recommend checking out Felts by Philippa or Julie's Felted Friends for more advice on starting out, different techniques, fancy types of wool, etc. It's surprisingly similar to working with clay and other forms of additive sculpting -- a lot of rolling little snakes and balls in your hands, with a lot of added stabbing. There's also a series of books by Ayala Talpai that's, uh... interesting. She's kinda got weird hippie woowoo vibes and her work isn't really my style, but it's neat to flip through at least with hand drawn illustrations and she explains how to wet felt, dye your own wool, using armatures and thread for jointed dolls, etc. And there are also more formal step by step guidebooks and kits and what not, if that's what works for you, of course -- but, personally, I prefer to go rogue and do whatever I want, lol.
That said, though, I do think it's a good idea to plan out what you're doing ahead of time (ie: making little sketches from different angles, etc) and really trying to simplify your shapes down.
Also, pro tip: if you're stuck on something and can't quite figure out how the shapes should work or don't like how something is going, maybe stop for a while to calm down and make some basic balls and ovals in different sizes with core wool. It's relaxing to be able to mindlessly work away at that sort of thing and your future self will thank you -- when you're next inspired you can just jump right into the making!
It's also fun to experiment with different textures and mixed-media approaches. Sometimes it's easier to sew a shape with felt fabric, sometimes you can make little needlefelted horns for a plushie, etc -- all the fiber arts go together really nicely!
Additionally, keep in mind that you can sew through wool, so that opens up so many possibilities, too! like making bead & button joints or incorporating embroidery for different textures or fun little details.