Category: Works in Progress/Proposals

Sock Monkey/Ape

Using a variety of socks including fuzzy ones to emulate fur. The sock primate will be either a Capuchin, Gorilla or Orangutan.

Fuzzy Socks for Orangutan Fur and Capuchin Cheeks

Has dreadlocks Each dreadlock has a light

Lights wired in parallel to keep voltage even

She had a very in depth tutorial, gonna add some cool eyes

This guy is dedicated and his cadence is a bit funny like the how it’s made guy

I have two types of fabric to use for this project, mostly to fulfill the first idea. But modifications (like dyeing fabric) is something I want to explore if I go with the other ideas!

Gudetama Plush!

I started this idea during the exercise in class, but wanted to work on a higher fidelity prototype for this project!

Gudetama has been my favorite Sanrio character forever, and I love the idea of squishing him to death, so that’s why I proposed this idea.

For this idea, I would use the LEDs on the egg part of the design and possibly one in the butt area (but this is still undecided).

This the circuit diagram I am thinking of using.

I have some for the white, stretchy fabric from class, and an orange/yellow fabric to complete this design.

2. Heimlich Plush

Bug’s Life is an underrated Pixar movie and is the only thing related to bugs I will ever be okay with. My favorite character from the movie is a fat caterpillar named Heimlich who (spoiler) by the end of the movie sprouts these ridiculously small wings on his body.

I wanted to make this pattern of colors on his body by dyeing the fabric Something like this:

The LED’s in this project will primarily be in the wings, which because of their size (small) might prove to be very difficult to actually execute. Feedback on how to achieve this is welcome!

3. Spirited Away Soot Plush

One of my all-time favorite movies is Spirited Away and I am obsessed with these little soot characters in it!

The colors of the candies would be created witj LEDs, so again using the white fabric I have. The black for the character is on the way!

I wanted my plush night toy to be something that kids love to hug all night. My initial idea was to design it in the shape of a crab because more “hands” to hug!

However, I decided to change it since the making of all “hands” might not turn out the way I want it to.

So the idea I will be working on now is a twist on the concept of “Monsters under the bed” and turn it into “Monsty to hug on your bed”!

Since it’s meant to be hugged by kids between the age of 6-10 years when they go to sleep, I wanted to make the arms long and maybe add velcro straps to the end of the arms so that the kids could strap it onto their arms or anywhere they wish and wouldn’t feel alone at night. I was also thinking of using a fabric that stretches so that the kids can play with it without having to worry about tearing the toy.

The LED lights would be placed on the main hug touch points like the arms and heart of the plush toy. 3 LEDs would be used for each touch points.

I got various kinds of fabric and few scrap patches, like the white frilly patch, as I want to experiment by creating different patterns, bring in different textures on it and learn how to sew them all into one toy!

I like the third concept more because my eyesight also sucks.

I bought two pieces fabric, some buttons and a sparkling strip.

The last 2 months of my undergrad degree took place in early 2020 when lockdown started. I worked on my final Advanced Sculpture project from home instead of the workshops. I focused on ways to reduce anxiety.
I crocheted and knitted pillows filled with dried lavender for my bunny. The making process reduced my anxiety and I hoped the lavender would reduce his. Here’s my bunny, Bugs interacting with them while eating raspberries:
(COMPRESSED VIDEO, since youtube didn’t work properly.)

He is so excited by the raspberries that he can’t spend time looking for them. Without the raspberries, he spent lots of time investigating each one, but lost interest within a day.

My plan is to:
1. Create 1 large surface instead of lots of small ones.
2. Use lights to direct him from raspberry-to-raspberry most efficiently, like a treasure map.

The proposed plush toy will be to entertain him, not to calm him. Here are sketches of some possibilities:

The artwork of Kathleen Ryan inspires me. She uses different shapes and colors of stone to represent various forms of fruit decay. My mind was drawn to the many beautiful things found in the microscopic world, and I want to make an enlarged version of the cell, using buttons and LED lights to represent the vitality of cells.

I prepared two different fabrics and several buttons in different sizes to use in the cell brooch.

Here’s My initial sketches and story ideas!

Circuit Diagram Sketch

First attempt at making a pattern 🙂

Initial testing of light diffusion:

Preliminary Sketches

Prototype made from acrylic, abs plastic, and spraypaint

Patterns are included below for the plushie

Circuitry Diagram

Story and target user

Materials I intend to use:

1. White linen
2. Orange/pink linen
3. black wool
4. polyfill
5. 3 LED’s
6. 1x Battery pack with 3 AAA batteries
7. fabric glue?

1. A harp seal wrist rest. When the wrist is resting on the cushion, it touches the button and the lights will go on.

1. A seat cushion that lights up when leaning against it.

1. A fried egg wrist rest that lights up when putting wrist on it.