critter tutorials

[rverk47]

i love the plop the penquin tutorial, anybody know of any other tutorials for critters that are fun and cute..thx

[jojo101]

i dont know of a tutorial for any critter, but while the request is out there..
can anyone make a hippo? its random, i know.. but i have been trying for wayyyyy long to make a jar or bead or pendant of a hippo as a gift for a friend thats obsessed wit hippos and no dice haha.

[rverk47]

wish i could help but i don't know of one, i would love to try any type of critter..

[Just Nancy]

I do cows, no actual tutorial but they are pretty obvious.

[Donna T.]

well, I need the penguin tut. Do you have a link for it? I just started making frogs using Mary's tut. But that's the only critter I've made so far. Here's the link for the frog tut if you don't already have it. http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...highlight=frog

[rverk47]

here's the link to plop the penquin thread http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45319
i'll try to attach my plops picture..100833

[Mark Parkinson]

I don't have a tut but heres the one I made today ( I over heated him and burned the glass :( )
I designed him by googling hippos then using a catoon hippo as a guide, I use clay for models as I can push it around easier than glass in the design stage. Then when I am satisfied with the model I cut one ( I always make two) into individual pieces the way I am going to apply the glass. Harry(the hippo) still needs some refining but the basic idea is there, it applies to any critter you want to make. Cartoon/colouring books for kids are great for the basic critter shapes. Hope this helps you.

[jojo101]

hey thanks mark!!!
harry is a pretty fine lookin fellow :)
did u make the arms and feet separate, and then put them on? its starting to make sense to me. ive only ever made fish before.
and thanks donna and renee for the links.. i didnt mean to hijack the thread with my hippo but i appreciate all the help! haha plops reminds me of happy feet, which is an incredibly cute movie

[Mark Parkinson]

jojo to make the hippo
make a teardrop shaped barrel for the body
add a round for the top back of the head on the narrow end of the tear drop
add a gob of glass for the front of the face to one side of this
melt these parts together ..I use a small dental spatula to move the glass where I want it
using a small stringer add the arms and flaten in the hands and melt in
add two balls of glass for the feet and flaten and shape
using a small stringer add dots for the toes and fingers
using your tool of choise make a mouth and fill it with stringer for teeth
add the nostrels and pick holes in them
add eyes and dot them
add dots for ears flaten them then reheat to soften the edges

during this keep flashing the whole hippo in the heat so "stuff" does not pop off just don't over heat like I did on this one...I'll make another one today out of a lighter colour rod and see if I can show the details better...black is just the rod that that I have the most off and I use it to play with new shapes

[Donna T.]

I couldn't get the penguin link to work. Well, the link worked but the link inside the link wasn't working. I'll try again later....
Cute penguin BTW!!! And Hippo too. I love the coloring book idea.

[artwhim]

Mark, what a great idea to use clay first! I'll have to remember that tip. Cute hippo BTW.

[Just Nancy]

Crud. I thought I had the link to Emma's tutorial on my site but it isn't current. :( I think I saw it around here some place. I'm hoping someone finds it. I have a pretty small list of tutorials currently and this cuts into how many are active. :pout:

[granny]

http://www.beadenvy.co.uk/penguin-tutorial.htm

I think this is it,
granny

[jojo101]

thanks mark!!
im going to be blowing glass all weekend an tryin out the hippo, ill post some flicks of the results!

[Just Nancy]

Granny, that's it. Thanks.

[Pledra]

Here is mine:

1. Pick the colour you plan to make the elephant and make a cone of about 3-4 cm ( I Measured one of my elephants, it was 2,8 cm high). I prefer making it thin side towards the end of the mandrel, so its easier to add detail to it.

2. Heat the thicker part of the cone from about 1/3 of it's height. The bead should look a bit like a pear. Ad one round of glass to the thin end and melt it down. You can let the body droop a litle from two opposite sides.

3. Make a big blob on the rod you want to make the head from. (I make mine about the size of the tip of my forefinger) Attatch the blob to the bead (on one of the drooped ends) and let it cool down a bit. Pull the rod off and leave a long "trunk" hanging from the blob. (Don't let the trunk melt in, because it won't be easy to pull it back!)

4. Separate the legs with razorblade. Add the tail (I use a rod - not a stringer - of some other colour than the colour of the body).

5. Add blobs of glass on the sides of the head (You can stack two or more colours if you like). Nip them with tweezers. With the last nips turn the ears backwards. Don't make them too thin, or they will beak. Heat he rims of the ears a bit, so they will get rounder and more earlike.
Make eyes with white and black and tusks with ivory. Leave tusks sticking out a bit. It will be aesier to make the tusks with a rod. -While you make the details DON'T LET THE REST OF THE BEAD COOL DOWN!

6. Heat the trunk gently and turn it up (for good luck) with txeezers and form into S-shape.
Add the feet (little bolbs) and the toes (if you want). It's again easiest to make the toes with a rod, just touching the feet and then pulling it off, leaving little spots of glass.

7. Have fun!


-Paula-

[Mark Parkinson]

Pledra great elephant and a tut as your first post wow

[theglasszone]

Paula:

This is so cute and well done!!!! Talk about a picture being worth 1000 words...it's wonderful, and thanks for sharing!

DeAnne in CA

[Just Nancy]

Woswers. What a great tutorial. I've have always wanted to do a bracelet with donkeys and elephants for when I work the elections. (I think I'd have to have both or it could be accused of in the poll campaigning.)

[rverk47]

thanks that is a great tutorial!!!!can't wait to try it out

[ChristinaColligan]

I hope this will help with your quest for critters I love animals!
I have made several of these, but alas they always end up in someone elses hands....Piggy. He is very simple and can be done as a simple bead, don't forget his tail (not pictured) Eyes first then the nose ...easy as bacon...
http://www.beadartists.org/Images/ThumbNails/000036000/Thm36253_Piggy3.JPG

[theglasszone]

Oh, Christina - so cute!!! Of course, I checked your Etsy Store already to see if I could make your "prophetic" vision come true...not posted yet! Tee Hee!!!!

Thanks for sharing!
DeAnne in CA

[Pledra]

Here is a pic of the first two I made!

http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs21/300W/i/2007/235/b/2/Elephants_in_the_glass_store_by_Jurv.jpg

[ChristinaColligan]

I will be torching this weekend I will make some more little guys :-) Blown and not. Thank you for checking out my Etsy :-) I work full time and torch when I can usually I'm rockin out in my studio on Saturdays. Pledra those are cutey-patooty Elephants.
have a great weekend all!

[joycerenee]

Paula, great tutorial! Thanks so much for posting it!

Joyce

[theglasszone]

Here is a pic of the first two I made!http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs21/300W/i/2007/235/b/2/Elephants_in_the_glass_store_by_Jurv.jpg

SOOOOOOO CUTE!!!! I'm going to have to try this - thanks again for sharing!

DeAnne in CA

[tt4st]

Paula, those are SO very cute.... thanks for sharing the "how to".

[Allie_T]

Here is a pic of the first two I made!

http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs21/300W/i/2007/235/b/2/Elephants_in_the_glass_store_by_Jurv.jpg

Those are really cute.

[Pledra]

Thank you! Sadly the next ones didn't come out as good as these cuties. (Don't worry, I wrote the tut after that ;) ) The ones in the picture were made last june.

[HONEYBUNNY72_99]

Those elephants are too cute!
Tina