Stuffed Creature Design Part VI

You are either a loyal reader, and are eager to digest Part VI, or you are new to this blog and wondering what in the world is going on.  Welcome to The Stuffed Animal Review, a publication dedicated to the analysis of stuffed creature design and their larger worlds.  A fuller explanation of The Review’s purpose can be found on the “Philosophy” page.

Today’s post is Part VI of a series analyzing high-quality stuffed animal design: a guide to understanding what characteristics make a stuffed creature superb, and what characteristics make a stuffed creature boring or botched.  You can catch up by clicking on the “Core Principles” page.  
 

Without further ado, Stuffed Creature Design Part VI: Stuffed Creature Size

Size is an important choice, for it impacts animation, storage, and travel.  FAO Schwarz in New York City sells the largest stuffed animals The Review has ever seen – dogs the size of small cars, bears the size of industrial refrigerators.  When animation and play become a suffocation risk, your stuffed creature is simply too large.  Besides, it would be almost impossible to properly animate such a gargantuan creature – moving limbs and heads would be a cumbersome and weighty task. 

At the other size extreme, however, miniature guys are ideal for carrying in pockets and bags, and they don’t occupy much living space. 

For example, the diminutive sheep in Figure 1 is perfect for storing in pockets.  Here he is peeking out of the inner pocket of a motorcycle jacket on a cross-country jaunt.  [Note: This is Cheppie, a Review field operative.  Click here to view his profile.]

Figure 1

The only caveat for small stuffed creatures: they are easy to lose, especially in cracks between furniture and walls, under sofas and beds, and in the tangled mass of sheets and comforters.  As a safety precaution, tiny creatures should reside on the nightstand and steer clear of the bed.

And there is such a thing as too small.  Microscopic creatures could be a problem.   Loss risk increases exponentially the smaller a creature gets.  And at nano-sizes, the most pleasing aspects of stuffed creatures – smushability, softness, and animation potential – are hard, if not impossible, to access.   It is difficult to hug an animal the size of a gumdrop.

The Review considers creatures between 2 x 4 inches and 10.5 x 11 inches to be ideal.  Within this size range, one can find creatures substantial enough to provide adequate hugs, holding, and squishing, but that are small enough to be mobile and portable.

     

The miniature creature pictured in Figures 2&3 is as small as you will want to go at 2 x 4 inches.  This is a brilliant interpretation of the stuffed creature of the candy world: marshmallow peeps.  [His name is Peep Tooth, and he works for The Review.  Click here to view his profile.]

Figure 2

Figure 3 The 10.5 x 12 inch Gund Bear in Figures 4&5 represents the largest sized creature you should contemplate purchasing.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Next Saturday: The Review begins a four-part examination of stuffed creature accessories.  What should we make of stuffed animals dressed in clothes; or those holding or wearing props; stuffed creatures that talk or sing; and stuffed animals with miscellaneous details, such as zippers and pockets?