I hereby open the first artist feature of this blog! *cue trumpets*
HobbaGobwin (aka Victoria) has graciously agreed to be my first feature. All the artwork that you will see here belongs to her. You can visit her deviantArt page at
for more of her wonderful plushie works. And now, without further ado, I give you HobbaGobwin!
1) How did you first get into making plushies?
When I was around 17 I got the crazy idea to make a gomamon plushie. I went out and bought some fleece and got everything I would need to make it and then realized I had gotten in WAYYYY over my head. I didn't know how to do a backstitch (which is the hand stitch that most closely resembles a machine stitch) didn't know how to use a sewing machine, how to design a pattern, etc. so that plan was a big failure and nothing ever came from it. It wasn't until a few years later I started making little pokemon keychains for myself out of felt and I thought it would be cool to learn to make real plushies. And the rest is history!
2) Do you have any plushie plans for the future?
Right now I have loads of stuff on my "to do" list. Got a couple of dogs, an eagle, a sea mink, elk, butterfly, manatee, sturgeon, axolotl, winged pig, foozle, a couple of bats, a fox fursona, a character called "Nug", and probably something else I'm not thinking of right now. And that's only commissions, trades, and prizes for giveaways.
I'd like to make myself a plush of my character Gobby when I get a chance and maybe a little one of Rudy from Animal Crossing.
A big thing I want to do with my plushies is use them as a means to help those less fortunate than myself. I plan on starting up a charity of sorts involving the "foozles" that I make. I'd like to start donating some of them to children's hospitals and donate a portion of the proceeds from selling them to help feed starving children and support orphanages.
I'd like to have a table at a fair or convention or something sometime and sell some plushies there, but so far I haven't had the time for it.
3) How do you coordinate your making time with the rest of your life?
I'm actually a stay at home wife, so while my husband is at work I'll be working on my plushies. Normally when he gets home I'll stop for the day unless he gets busy doing something else and we're not really interacting with each other for the moment. Then I'll go back and work on stuff more. Sometimes if I'm making really good progress on something I'll keep working after he gets home. I do like to take things a little on the slow side though. I don't want to push myself too much and make it to where making plushies loses it's fun factor for me and becomes only a chore.
4) Any hints and tips you’d be willing to share?
Check out how other people design patterns and try to figure out why they do something rather than only copying the patterns. Make sure you clip little triangles around curves in your seem allowance so your plushies have a smooth look to them and aren't lumpy. Pay attention to the stretch of the fabric and cut your pattern pieces out accordingly. If you cut your pieces going random different ways the different directions of the stretch will cause it to look weird. Also, check out the book called "Stuffed Animals From Concept to Construction". The women who wrote it had a blog that really helped me
in designing plushies that were 3d instead of just 2d style plushies. She teaches you a lot of stuff that will help in learning to design your own patterns. Lastly, feel free to ask for advice or help! I know a lot of people (I know I am) are totally willing to give you advice on something if you'll just ask us.
5) Or inspiring words for those just starting out?
Keep at it! Realistically you probably won't be amazing at making plushies to start out with. I know I wasn't . . . like at all. My first plushies were lumpy and misshapen. I had a hard time getting stuff symmetrical (I still do to some extent). It took me a few years to get at the level I'm at. So if you actually enjoy doing it KEEP AT IT!
6) What do your family and friends think of your plushies?
My husband is really supportive of me and my plushie making. He lets me know that he thinks I'm doing a good job and that I've gotten good at doing it. My dad actually helped me to buy my sewing machine since the one I had was really old and I didn't even know how to thread it. He always asks how my business is doing whenever he calls me. My mom thinks my stuff is really cute and she likes and shares most of my stuff on facebook. She bought a couple things when I was starting off for baby showers and kept one for herself. It hangs from her rear view mirror thing. And my friends compliment me on how nice my plushies look a lot.
7) Do you like commissions and why?
Yes! I enjoy getting to work with other people and turn their characters into tangible items and I like getting to see how people react when they see the finished version of their plushie. I do tend to take on too many things at once though . . .
8) Have you ever done any collaborations and if so, how was it?
Nope, I've never actually done and collaborations yet! I'd totally be up for it though.
9) What scale do you prefer: making small or large things? Or somewhere in the middle?
I enjoy making all scales really. Sometimes I like making key chain sized jointed plushies, but they take more work than you think they would for their size. Turning such small pieces can be difficult. For four legged standing, sitting, or laying plushies I'd prefer to do them on the larger side (closer to 12"). Plushies that sit on their butts with two legs and two arms (like my dragonite) work well for around 6". So it really depends what I'm working on. It's hard to fit a lot of detail in a plush that's only 6" so when I try to make characters that have a lot going on I would much prefer to be able to
make them on a larger scale. I haven't made any really big plushies yet, but hopefully one day I will!
10) Do you have a theme that goes through all your work and if so, what is it?
Well, a lot of my stuff is a little bit more on the chibi side than realistic if that counts. I wouldn't say I have a consistent theme really, but I do enjoy making my plushies engaging. That's one of the reasons I like to do jointed plushies. They invite people to actually play with them a bit more.
11) How important is the Internet in your work?
Verrrryyy important. Like, I wouldn't at all be at the level I'm at now if it weren't for the internet. Being able to look at other people's tutorials and stuff on here was what helped me learn to make patterns. It's how I connect with potential customers and how I build a fanbase for my plushies. It's how I research characters/different animals so I can make plushies accurately. Before I moved into my new house I actually didn't have the internet, so I had to go to places like McDonalds to be able to check and update my stuff. It was a frustrating process and I wasn't able to engage with people as much. So if I didn't have the internet I might never have gotten into plushie making to begin with and if I had I'd probably only be selling stuff in local consignment type shops and not making very much profit.
12) What is your favourite cartoon? Why?
Ducktales is my favorite by far. It's just a nice show. The main characters are all likeable and it's well made. Plus, Scrooge McDuck is pretty cool and he has cool spats. Digimon is probably my second favorite cartoon. I can remember watching the first season when it first aired and collecting the cards toys (same with Pokemon), so it's got a big nostalgia factor for me. The story line is good too and I like that it flows more like a novel than just a bunch of random filler episodes (like Pokemon, though I still do like that show). I have the first three seasons on DVD and parts of the fifth.
13) Favourite artists: dA and otherwise
Plushie artists: sewgoods(tumblr), magnastorm(DA), dot-Doll(DA), d215lab(DA), plus loads of other awesome people.
Normal Artists: Chigle(DA), Witchpaws(DA), extyrannomon(DA), purplekecleon(DA), and lots of other people. These are just a few.
14) Favourite ice cream flavour
I really like cotton candy icecream, but that's sort of hard to find. Cookies and cream is a close second.
15) Worst sewing injury
I actually haven't had anything TOO bad happen yet. I mostly just stab my fingers occasionally with the needles or tear off some skin on my fingers from pushing needles through areas with multiple layers of
fabric.
16) What is the best super power to have and why?
Omnipotence? Ha. I don't really know if that counts as a super power though. Invincibility would be cool for obviously reasons. I think personally I'd like the ability to understand animals and get them to do my bidding. It might not be the "best" one to actually have, but it would just be neat to be able to talk to them and get them to do whatever you needed them to like protect you and stuff.
17) Song that always makes you feel better
The Mos Eisley Cantina theme from Star Wars. Seriously. Listen to that song. Whenever we're at a red light of something and someone is blaring rap music really loud we'll turn this song up and roll down the windows so that they can hear it. It's always funny and you can't help but dance around to it.
That's all folks! The artist feature will (hopefully) happen every last Thursday of the month. If you've enjoyed it leave a comment, share, reblog. If you would like to be featured, contact me.
Until next time
LaDIY Tasha
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