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emmastephens Oct 24, 2010

Hi there!
I was wondering if people would be willing to give me some constructive criticism on these miniature teddies for my diary of my work?
If people could give me like, 3 points each on what they might improve that'd be such a great help.
I find it difficult to get perspective on my own work - like how it's easy to miss spelling mistakes on a document when you've been staring at it for so long!
I'm not expecting people to reveal trade secrets or anything like that, just sort of basics like ear positioning or eye alignment etc.
Anything you can suggest would be really greatly appreciated! :D

Amelia

Edward
(He does have one leg shorter than the other - I seem to be a bit hit and miss with how well the joints are placed )

Emma
xxx

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner SponsorOct 24, 2010

Well, Emma . . . overall I think your bears are really cute.  The faces have lots of appeal.  One thing that I notice, especially on the second bear, is that the arms are so much thinner than the legs.  It's normal for the arms to be a bit smaller, but there is too much difference (in my opinion) in the sizes of the limbs on this bear.  Also, the feet are a little large.  It may just be a distortion of the perspective because of the camera angle, but these are the things I see that you might take a second look at.  Nice work!

kezjoy Oct 24, 2010

Hi Emma, they are both sweet..i love the tiny eyes, what are they made from? As far as constructive criticism, I would have to say your ears need attention..I feel they are both very large for such tiny faces, especially the first one, however, that could be the look you are going for. Its not a bad thing, but what I picked up on first.

I think you need to concentrate very hard on making them the same shape..if you look at the top bear, you can see one is a lot rounder on top than the other and on the second bear one appears pointed, though that could be the camera angle. I feel the first bears ears could be improved by trimming the inside fur..again thats just a preference...and i know how difficult it is to get matching ears..lol..but hey, you asked for constructiveness and thats all I can come up with..I think theyre adorable and they look well made to me.
Kerrilyn

lisaastrup Oct 24, 2010

Hi.

They are cute both of them, but I would say that the ears is huge on both of them, but most one the second bear.
The 2. bear has very big legs/feets too - maybe you could make them smaller next time and mark
the place for the joint    so they are even. 
I have a mark on the pattern with a hole so I can make the joint point even.

rowarrior Oct 24, 2010

Hi Emma,

They both have very sweet faces, although I think you may need to just go round their noses and pick out the stray hairs that have missed the scissors, or got stuck on them before you took their photos.

I don't mind the size of the ears, although I do think the first one's ears are quite high up, giving the top of her head a rather squared off look.

For bear number 2, his leags do seem huge, but it's hard to tell how much of that is camera perspective and how much it's that he has huge feet lol  I do agree with Sue Ann about the thickness of the limbs though, bear 2 seems a bit disproportionate! 

For the joint placement, a trick that Paula Carter from All Bear posted about some time ago was to measure where the joints are placed when the bear is sewn.  Especially with minis, if you measure and mark beforehand, any slightest movement on one side of the body or the other when sewing, making the two halves not match precisely, and tiny differences in the original markings anyway, can make quite a difference when attaching the limbs.  Having picked up on Paula's trick of measuring after the body is sewn, my bears can stand nice and evenly.  I measure the arm placement too 

HTH

Clarebear Oct 24, 2010

I Love these bears and agree with the other comments.  I would add though that the top bear seems to have one eye which isslightly off centre in that one looks straight at you and the other seems to look out to the side and appears a fraction higner. They are both very sweet bears though and would appeal to any collector.

emmastephens Oct 24, 2010

Thank you so much for all your comments!
You all have very valid points :)
They're going to be very useful when I make my next one, thanks guys

Oh and I forgot to say they do have huge feet lolz. But that was on purpose because I'm trying to make them look like the bears I paint, though their ankles are far too thin, so it does look a bit strange

Emma
xxx