Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

  SueAnn and Peter, he's mine!

Oh! I want one of these SOooo bad! I walked by a Pet Food store that was having an adoption event and I had to walk pass. I know if I had seen a red tiger kitten it was all over and I can't adopt another cat right now

Snow Leopard? Look at those deep blue eyes. This may be my next guy? Love those eyes 

Sweet, just look at those eyes! But what is that heavy thing around his neck? My cats as kittens would have never put up with that!

I didn't know porcupines were so cute as babies! They don't get their quills until they're older. This is Gavin from our Woodland Park Zoo  Porcupette is the name of a baby Porcupine.
Karen

SueAnn! Not fair I'm in a different time zone

Very cute   But, also, so stylish with the black whiskers against the white fur 

Wow, Beautiful and amazing!

SueAnn!
HaPPy BirTHdaY!

Here is my latest wild cat. Chronos was a complicated project. I wanted to give him a realistic Tiger coat pattern. It took me about four hours to create his coat pattern, I repeated the first pattern in a slightly different color to give his coat color depth. He is 12" with a 9" tail and his neck and back legs are jointed, his front legs have soft armatures. His paw pads are sculptured soft leather. He was a very interesting creation ;)
Karen
KJ Lyons Design

Gail,
Thanks! GEtting close.......

Gail!
THank you. I'm working on a White Tiger Cub right now and I was having a hard time deciding on the color of his eyes and paws. This photo helps a lot!
Karen

I used autocad, experimentally, when I designed the character Chairry for Pee Wee Herman. It took a LOT of time and I was working with simple shapes. I could have accomplished the same thing much faster with just a pencil, ruler and drawing paper. Even with the computer print out you have to create prototypes. I'm sure the programs are much better now and I do use Photoshop to experiment with different looks, but the computer is just a tool. It's still the artist who creates the design. Here's a couple of examples of how I work. The first image is just the paper pattern taped together and I created the paper pattern pretty much from measuring the photos. The second image is the original clay sculpture I created when I first decided to design a cat. You have to have a basic plan for how many pieces you want/may need in your pattern, then I just use the statue to create paper pattern pieces by fitting the paper over the statue. Where there is a bend/fold in the pattern piece, I place a dart or gusset.

This is a new design for 2013. I have been experimenting with telling the story of a new design from start to finish and here's the Page that I used to show Sierra's design story~
http://www.facebook.com/KjLyonsDesign

Sooooo, where can I pick him up 
Karen

Ohhhh! That makes we want to make another Tiger cub!

Peter, I was thinking the same thing; it really looks like a Gund bear. Gund made so many different bears in all kinds of fur. Maybe getting in touch with a collector group for Gund bears will help?

I think that's a VERY young Cougar? I'm working on a Cougar cub that's a little older ~

I am really getting into the design of wild cats this year. I love the intricate coat patterns and different expressions. This is Arion a Snow Leopard cub, he has a 12" body and 9" tail. He is created out of super soft Tyber faux fur that is hand-dyed and colored. His glass eyes are yellow/green, and he has a suede nose and soft black leather paws. There are a few more photos on my facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/KjLyonsDesign

Peter, just a heads-up, they get bigger 

Oh I'll take him! Look at those deep blue eyes!
Karen

Francesca, what a wonderful blog! 
Karen

Wow! Milly Me, your photographs are fantastic! I can see why you get so many hits, beautiful 

Boop,
I just finished a series on my Facebook Page, KJ Lyons Design, showing images from each step I took while creating a Bobcat kitten. It was my first new design for 2013. I really enjoyed the whole process! Because I knew people were waiting for the next step in the design I found myself staying on schedule so they would not be disappointed  I, also, had to be able to explain each step so it gave me a better understanding of how I work and how I might improve. I had hoped for more questions or suggestions, but people were very kind and, generally, had only encouraging comments.
http://www.facebook.com/KjLyonsDesign?ref=hl