This post is part of The Stuffed Animal Review, a publication dedicated to the analysis of stuffed creature design and their larger worlds. Brand new readers might want to consult the “Philosophy” page for a fuller explanation of The Review’s purpose.
In terms of today’s post, welcome to the eighth installment of The Review’s guide to high-quality stuffed animal design. Yes, it is possible to have eight different posts dedicated to analyzing stuffed creatures. Proof can be found on the “Core Principles” page, which outlines fundamental principles and considers fur, softness, and size. Last Saturday we started a four-part rumination on accessories tearing the concept of a clothed bear apart at the seams.
To continue our discussion of Stuffed Creature Accessories, The Review submits Stuffed Creature Design Part VIII, which casts a critical eye on props.
A second common stuffed creature accessory is a prop glued or sewn onto the creature’s paw. This is especially true of gift/business bears. Many come gripping a balloon, flowers, diploma, baseball bat, pencil, etc. These typically plastic add-ons can seriously circumscribe cuddling, squeezing, and animation. There’s nothing like getting whipped with hard plastic bits when your stuffed creature is simply waving hi.
Imagine the perils of snuggling with the bear in Figure 1 – pointed candle on the cupcake, pointed birthday hat perched dangerously on his head. And how can he escape his pre-set identity as the “birthday bear”? Any sort of play has to work around the fact he has a giant cupcake stuck to one paw.
 |
| Figure 1 |
Figure 2 is an egregious example of how plastic add-ons can ruin a bear. The poor creature looks tortured: uh, guys, there’s a gigantic insect on my nose. Guys? This bear should come with a pair of scissors for snipping off the offending butterfly.
 |
| Figure 2 |
Join The Review next Saturday for the third installment of Accessories where we show why all singing and talking creatures should be silenced.
No comments:
Post a Comment