Completing the World of Warcraft Pandaren Wedding Cake topper

To see how this all started check out post one, two, three, and four in this series.  Here's the final installment of my work in progress posts for the World of Warcraft Pandaren wedding cake topper.  In the last post I showed you how I finished sculpting the pretty Pandaren bride.  The poor groom was still headless at that point, but here you can see what he looks like with a good head on his shoulders ;)

And here's a shot of what he looks like from behind.  I textured the eyebrows,  hair, and beard and gave him a topknot as well.

After a final smoothing the wedding cake topper was ready to be baked.  I baked this one all in one shot, rather than doing several short bakes before the final longer bake.  When I'm working with white clay I try to just do one bake since the clay can sometimes darken with multiple bakes.  And since I used foil armatures to fill the larger parts, rather than solid clay, baking the piece for an hour and letting it cool in the oven was completely sufficient.  After the sculpture was cooled I mixed pearlizing medium with high gloss glaze to add a pretty shimmer to the bride's dress.

I used acrylic paint to add the gray stripes under her eyes and painted her nose and both their mouths with black acrylic paint.  I also added shine to their eyes and noses with a coat of high gloss glaze.  The final touch was to seal the entire piece with several layers of matte glaze.  This helps protect the sculpture and makes it easier to clean.

This wedding cake topper measures about 4 1/2 inches wide and 6 inches tall and is actually quite lightweight, especially considering that Pandaren are very solid, thick creatures.

I'm very happy with the way this piece turned out and I hope to get the chance to sculpt more Pandaren, as well as other World of Warcraft characters, in the future.  I really enjoy creating wedding cake toppers because a wedding is such a special event, and the cake topper is a lasting reminder of that very important day in a couple's life.  And don't forget, I'll sculpt just about any character you've got pictures of, so just contact me at macreativecritters@gmail.com if you'd like me to create a customized cake topper for your wedding, anniversary, birthday, or other celebration.
Thanks for following another creative adventure with me!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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World of Warcraft Pandaren Wedding Cake Topper Work in progress- the groom gets arms and the bride is completed

 Progress on the World of Warcraft wedding cake topper is moving forward and the sculpture is nearing completion.  To see how this all started check out posts one, two, and three in this series.  In the last post I showed you how I dressed the bride and groom , but neither had their arms or heads yet.  Now you can see how the Pandaren groom's hands and arms started out.  I used a wire armature bent into the proper shape and sculpted the gray and black polymer clay fingers and hands onto the wire.  They're still a little rough in this picture, but you get the idea.

Next I sculpted the arms and added cuffs to the black tuxedo jacket.  The cuffs also help secure the hands even more firmly to the arms.  I left enough wire sticking out of the shoulders to insert into the groom's body. 

I did the same thing with the bride's arms and managed to to arrange their arms so they were holding hands.  It took several tries to get this right, but I managed to achieve the look I wanted.  This is a very sturdy sculpture as well.  Not only do the arms have wire armatures but I also pressed them against the bodies wherever possible, forming one solid piece.

The next step was to sculpt the bride's head.  Although I've never sculpted a Pandaren before, my years of experience sculpting a variety of animals came into play and I was able to create a female Pandaren in polymer clay without too much difficulty.  I also had several good pictures to go by, which always helps.

Here you can see that I've added her hair, put a purple (polymer clay) bow in it, and inserted a pair of hair sticks.  I also added gray piping to her bodice and gray details to the shoulders of the dress.  The piping helps distinguish the white dress from her white flesh and the shoulder details not only add a bit of color but also help attach the arms even more firmly to her body.

And here you can see what she looks like from the back.  I used thin strands of clay to create her hair and styled it into a bun encircled with a gold band.  Making hair in this manner does take quite a bit of time, but I just love the way it looks- so much more natural than a sheet of textured clay.  At this point the sculpting phase is finished for the bride.  Once I'm finished sculpting the groom I'll bake the entire piece then do some detail painting. 
In the next post I'll finish sculpting my Pandaren groom and I'll be able to share the final cake topper with you.  Thanks for joining me in this creative World of Warcraft wedding cake topper adventure! ;)

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Progress on the Pandaren Wedding Cake Topper: the Bride and Groom Get Dressed

To see how this all started be sure to check out the first two posts on this project at Making a Custom Order World of Warcraft Pandaren Wedding Cake Topper and Work in Progress (Pandaren Pants). 

Work on the custom World of Warcraft Pandaren wedding cake topper has been coming along nicely and the Pandaren couple are now getting dressed in their sharp looking tuxedo and pretty white wedding dress.

Now that the groom's pants are complete I've started to add his jacket and belt.  This is the view from the rear.

And this is the view from the front.  As you can see, I've added lots of little details, including the white shirt under the tuxedo jacket, a black bow tie, and silver buttons down the center of the jacket.  I made the belt to resemble the picture that bride sent me as closely as possible.  All of this is done by hand using Premo polymer clay.

Once I completed the main part of the groom's tuxedo I attached the bride to the base, sculpted her feet in the same manner as I did the groom's, and used a thin sheet of white polymer clay to create the skirt of her wedding gown.  As with the groom, the bride has a foil and wire armature with the wire going through her feet and into the base.  All of my pieces are created with durability in mind.  I want my work to be around for years to come!

I used my fingers and a soft paint brush to create the folds I wanted and position the skirt exactly the way I wanted it to lay.  I smoothed the waist of the skirt onto her body in preparation for adding the bodice.  One reason I love Premo polymer clay is that you can roll it out very thin and it still remains strong and flexible.  When I make clothing like this I usually run the clay through my pasta machine on #4 or #5, which makes it very thin and easy to drape.  Of course it also takes a very light touch to avoid stretching or ripping the clay!

And here you can see I've added not only the bodice of the dress, but also sculpted a layer of white clay over the brown to create the Pandaren bride's skin.  I added a purple sash with a little bow at the waist as well.  In the next post you'll see how I add details to the bodice to make it stand out against her white skin.

And here's a slightly different angle.  You can see my laptop with the pictures I'm using in the background.  The bride sent me several good shots of the Pandaren couple, which made it much easier to include all these little details and reproduce the characters in clay.  I've also bent the wire for the arms of the bride and groom.  This next part is going to be a bit complicated because I want the couple to be holding hands.  It may sound easy enough, but it can be difficult to get each arm and hand positioned just right.  So be sure to check back and see if I can do it!
Thanks so much for sharing another creative adventure with me!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Work in Progress- The World of Warcraft Pandaren Wedding Cake Topper (Pandaren Pants- LOL)

If you've been paying attention you know I got a custom order for a World of Warcraft Pandaren wedding cake topper recently.  I've been having a lot of fun working on this project and things are coming along quite nicely.  You can check out this post to see how I started the armatures for the bride and groom.  Once the armatures were complete I made the base.  I wanted it to resemble a stone floor so I mixed several shades of brown and gray polymer clay together and then used my stone texture plate to create the look I wanted.

I do love those texture plates- they come in mighty handy for things like this!  I just cut a free form shape from the clay, making sure it was large enough to hold the bride and groom, but not too large.  This does have to fit on top of a wedding cake after all.
Then I set the base aside and got back to work adding a base layer of clay to the bride and groom.  I used brown clay for no other reason than the fact that I had an ample supply of it.  This base layer will be covered anyway, so it really didn't matter what color clay I used.

Instead of giving the bride separate legs I just made one solid piece in order to make her more sturdy.  Her dress will completely cover her lower half, so I just wanted to get the shape right and make sure she would attach solidly to the base.  She will have feet, though, which I'll sculpt right onto the base.
Here you can see the groom attached to the base with his feet sculpted and wearing his fancy black and gold spats.  I even made sure to sculpt toenails!

There's a heavy gauge wire that runs through his body, out the bottom of his feet, and into the clay base.  I want to be absolutely certain that this wedding cake topper is going to be a strong, solid piece.  Next I made some Pandaren pants, a first for me- LOL

I think he looks pretty good with his pants on!  I actually use my sewing and pattern making skills to make the patterns for these clothes in clay.  It's the same process really, only you're using thin sheets of polymer clay instead of fabric.  It helps to be skilled in a variety of different crafts.  These things do tend to overlap.  And here's a shot of the groom's back side.  Of course I had to add that cute little tail ;)

In my next Pandaren post the groom will finish getting dressed in his tuxedo.  So far this project has gone quite smoothly and I hope it continues like this.  I have most of it planned out, although sometimes I need to change my plans as I sculpt and come across issues.  I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I want to sculpt their arms.  I'd like them to be holding hands, but that's not as easy as it sounds.  Any time you're working on two sculptures simultaneously things can be a bit complicated.  Their arms will have to be positioned perfectly and I'll have to measure constantly as I'm sculpting.  But I'll cross that bridge (or those arms) when I come to it.  Until then, thanks for joining me on another creative adventure!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Making a custom order World of Warcraft Pandaren wedding cake topper

So I got my first order for a World of Warcraft Pandaren wedding cake topper last week, and I'm really excited to be working on this project.  Business had been slow for the last few weeks, and while that did allow me to catch up on some things around the house and the yard, it's always nice to have a project or two going on the work table.  And this one is just really cool!  First of all, wedding cake toppers are such special and important keepsakes, second of all Pandaren are just some really awesome WoW characters! Pandaren are large bipedial panda-like humanoids that live in mountainous bamboo laden areas (just like your average panda bear).  Their main homeland is in a portion of Azeroth known as Pandaria.  Personally, I think they're adorable!  I also like that Pandaren get along with any races that don't attack their homeland. In terms of the war between The Alliance and The Horde the Pandaren remain neutral. Yep, Pandaren are certainly critters after my own heart ;)  This is a screen shot of the Pandaren couple I'll be sculpting in polymer clay.

Now I've never sculpted  Pandaren before, but ever since WoW introduced these characters I've been wanting to either sculpt them or create them as plushies.  Before now I really didn't have the time to do it just for fun.
Before I started sculpting I carefully examined all the pictures my customer sent me and planned out exactly how I was going to create this couple.  I drew a rough sketch of the bride and groom and covered it with tape to keep it clean and make sure it lasted through the entire project.  This drawing will help me keep everything in the right proportion and size.  Then I had to make the armatures, using my sketch to measure against.  Since this sculpture will be sitting on top of a wedding cake I not only want it to be strong, but very lightweight as well.  Pandaren have large, thick bodies and if I were to make them from solid clay not only would it be very expensive in terms of the amount of clay needed, but the sculpture would be pretty heavy.  So I created a wire armature covered with foil for their bodies.

By filling the groom's body cavity with tightly packed foil I saved at least a full bar of clay, if not more.  The legs are also very thick so covering them in foil saves clay and gives the groom an even stronger base of support.  I left enough wire sticking out at the bottom so I can insert it into the base.  These wedding cake toppers are meant to last!

The bride's body isn't nearly as big or thick, but I still want to keep things as light as possible, so I built up her torso with foil as well.  After shaping the foil I wrapped it with floral tape and coated it with tacky glue.  This helps smooth the surface and will allow the base layer of clay to adhere easily without any air bubbles.

So that's the basic armature for my Pandaren bride and groom.  I'll continue to post my progress on this fun World of Warcraft wedding cake topper as I go.  This is a truly enjoyable project and I hope the real bride and groom get as much pleasure from it as I do!  To order your own custom wedding cake topper (I can create any characters you like, not just World of Warcraft) just click Made To Order Personalized Unique Wedding Cake Topper.  Here you can read more about my custom cake toppers (I'll do birthdays, anniversaries, or any other type of cake topper you'd like as well) and place your deposit.  If you have questions just send me an email at macreativecritters@gmail.com.
Thanks so much for sharing in another creative adventure!
 

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Celebrate your pet with Personalized Pet Jars from CreativeCritters

 
Although I've been creating custom pet sculptures for years now it took a suggestion from my boyfriend to make me think beyond just a figurine and make the leap to personalized pet jars.  Above is a picture of my own Ginko kitty with the pet jar I made featuring him.  He was very helpful and more than willing to pose for me during the sculpting process ;)
I can sculpt any type of animal you have (cat, dog, bird, skunk, ferret, fish, etc.) once you send me several good pictures of your pet.  The animal is sculpted by hand from Premo polymer clay without the use of any molds and each is a unique, one of a kind creation.  I pay close attention to all the little details that make your pet special.
 
I carefully texture the fur and after the animal is cured I paint the details of their coat with acrylic paint.  I attach the sculpture very securely to a metal mason jar lid and further personalize the glass jar by covering it with polymer clay and adding a plaque with your pet's name stamped into it.
 
I can also stamp paw prints and other decorations into the clay.  For Ginko's jar I used a cavorting cat stamp framed by swirls and stars since that just matched his personality.
 
I used a half pint mason jar with a wide mouth lid for this pet jar, but I can use any size mason jar you like.  This cat sculpture measures four inches tall and the overall height of the entire piece is 6 1/4" tall.  These jars make great storage for pet treats, office or art supplies, or snacks.  The jars can be hand washed and are food safe.  These can also be used as memorial urns for pets that have passed on.  You can use them to keep your pet's ashes, a tuft of fur, their tags or collar, or anything else you want to remember them by.
Our pets are special, and if you're like me you consider them part of your family.  I think this is a wonderful way to celebrate those special animals in your life.  And what cat or dog doesn't want a treat jar that's completely personalized? ;)
You can click on any of the pictures above to be directed to the custom order listing in my shop.  If you have any questions you can contact me at macreativecritters@gmail.com. 
I truly am passionate about pets, and I understand the connection people have with their cats, dogs, ferrets, and other furry friends.  These jars would make a unique and special gift as well. :-)

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Custom personalized wedding cake topper

My youngest brother recently got married and I had the honor of making their wedding cake topper.  He and Sarah first met while playing the World of Warcraft.  He played a female Blood Elf and she played a male Tauren.  They wanted me to create their characters in polymer clay wearing the same outfits which BJ and Sarah would be wearing for the wedding.   Sarah wore a beautiful white wedding gown and BJ wore full Scottish dress to represent his Celtic heritage.  I even created her wedding bouquet to match the flowers in the real bouquet.  This highly detailed cake topper posed several challenges for me.  It had to be lightweight since I didn't want it to sink into the bride and groom's special cheesecake.  I also learned a lot about Scottish dress outfits while painstakingly matching the plaid pattern on the Blood Elf's kilt to the clan pattern my brother would be wearing in the wedding.  I included as many details as possible, like the sporran, the purple tie, the laced gillies, and the belt buckle. 
 

This cake topper measures about four inches tall and 5 inches wide and took about a month to complete.  It was a real hit at the wedding.  Everyone liked it so much I decided to  make a custom order listing in CreativeCritters for personalized wedding cake toppers.
I can create toppers to resemble your online avatars, characters in a game, or anything else you like. 
Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life. You want your cake topper to signify that importance, rather than have just another generic bride and groom! This is a keepsake you will have for the rest of your married days. It should be as special and unique as your wedding :-) I can create any character you like, so long as you can provide good pictures. I can also create more traditional bride and groom, or same sex cake toppers, but still customize them to make them resemble the bride and groom. There are a lot of options when it comes to wedding cake toppers, and I do my very best to create something that is completely unique, something that really captures who the bride and groom are.  If you have any questions just visit CreativeCritters and use the Contact Artisan button under my avatar.
Thanks for stopping by!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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My entry for the Smooshers In The Ocean Challenge

The theme for the Polymer Clay Smoosher's Challenge this month is In The Ocean.  Once again I had lots of ideas swimming through my head (and not enough time to sculpt them all)!  Eventually I settled on a mermaid.  I always enjoy adding an element of fantasy to projects whenever possible ;-)  Not too long ago I made several beaded pendants using some of my mismatched glass beads.  The beads were all very pretty, but none of them matched.  When I make jewelry I generally like to use matching, or at least similar beads, so this was a good way to display the beads.  I decided that a miniature mermaid wrapped around a pendant made of blue and green beads would be just right for an ocean challenge!

 I started by sculpting the mermaid's tiny little head.  It's always a challenge to sculpt on such a small scale, but this one actually went pretty well.  Sometimes I have to remake a head up to 5 times!  I only had to remake this one twice ;-)  I used tiny blue glass beads for her eyes and gave her fairy ears.  I baked the head at this stage so further sculpting wouldn't distort all the tiny details.   A baked and hardened head is so much easier to work with.

 

 Next came the torso. I sculpted this and attached it to the neck, using diluent to make the seams perfectly smooth and invisible.  I wasn't ready to add the arms yet at this point.  I wanted to sculpt her tail and get her positioned on the pendant before I made her arms.  That way I would be able to position them perfectly so she was holding onto the pendant.

 

I swirled together several shades of blue and green Premo polymer clay to create a custom mix for the mermaid's tail and the teardrop shaped beads I planned on adding to the necklace.  Before positioning the mermaid around the beaded pendant I painted her facial features with acrylic paint and colored her lips and cheeks with powdered pink chalk mixed with interference red/ blue Pearl Ex powder.  I really wasn't sure what color I'd get when I mixed the two, but it turned into the perfect shade of pink with just enough of a sheen to make it look very realistic.  To be sure the mermaid was securely attached to the pendant I added liquid polymer clay where her body touched the pendant.  I baked the mermaid and beads at this point.

After the body and tail were baked and cooled I added her arms and hair.  I used wire through the eye pin to suspend the pendant in a coffee cup while it baked for one final time.  This assured that none of her delicate features would be crushed while baking.
The final step in the necklace was to create the beaded components, which were composed of blue and green glass beads, silver bead caps, and the blue and green swirled clay beads.
And this is how the final piece turned out.
 
I've actually only made a few mermaids (so far), but I have to say this is my best one yet.  I'm very happy with the way she turned out, and I'm glad I took my time while creating this entire necklace.  Once again, this is something entirely new for me- definitely a one of a kind creation!
Thanks so much for joining me on another creative journey!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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Dragons in love- unique Valentines sculpture

The theme for the Polymer Clay Smooshers Challenge is Valentines (appropriately enough) and I just finished my first entry.  As always, I wanted to sculpt something different and unique.  I toyed around with several ideas before an image of two dragons popped into my head.  The boy dragon was offering a pretty heart to the girl dragon, who had a look of surprised delight on her face.  Once I had the idea and a rough sketch I got started sculpting the dragons.  First thing I needed to do was form the foil armatures for their bodies.  I made the boy dragon's armature a bit bigger than the girl's.

 

Next I covered the foil with clay and added a tail.

 

I made a custom sparkling pink mix of clay for the girl dragon by combining sparkling red clay with a bit of pink and white clay (even my colors are one of a kind- LOL).  For the boy dragon I mixed Cobalt blue with silver, which creates the most beautiful shimmery blue color.  I took my time getting the colors just the way I wanted them because they help to define each dragon's personality.  She's soft and sweet and feminine in pink, with a little sparkliness (yes, I know that's not a word-LOL!) to her personality.  And he's strong and brave and confident- a knight in shining (blue) armor ;-)

I worked on these dragons one at a time, completing the girl first.  The next step in her creation was to add a head and belly plates.

 

I used my own custom mix of purple clay to create her belly and impressed lines across it to resemble plates.  Additional work will be done on her head and face, but I made sure to give her a big smile and a happy expression right from the start.

Next I added the arms and legs, posing the hands just so.  This helps add to her expression of joy and surprise.  I also added a spine of purple starting at her head and going all the way to the tip of her tail.

 

I used my fingernail tool to add the look of scales .  The next step was adding a bit of bling to her spine.  I used red, white, and purple beads and secured them with wire and liquid polymer clay.  I also gave her beaded horns with a purple acrylic flower at the base.  I had a bunch of bead caps mixed with the rest of my jewelry supplies, and the gold filigree cone shaped one looked prefect for adding to the tip of her tail.

 

Then all that was left was to dust her with purple Pearl Ex powder and add her wings.

 

I embedded a wire in the center of the wings to make them even stronger and attach them securely to the body.  Then I carefully propped her and baked her.

Now on to the boy dragon.  He started with the same basic shape then I added his head and belly plates, done in essentially the same way as the female, only in shimmery green.  His hind legs were formed in the same way as the girl's, only slightly larger.

 

Next comes his green spine and his arms.  The arms have to be carefully positioned and propped so they hold this pose.  I prebaked the heart he'll be holding and glued an acrylic heart jewel to the center.  Since the jewel is acrylic I didn't want to risk having it melt in the oven, so I glued it to his hands after the dragon was baked.

 

I textured him with the fingernail tool to give him scales too.  Then I added blue and green beads down his spine and a matching bead cap to his tail.  He has a single horn on his forehead made from blue glass beads.

 

His wings were made in two shades of green gold and also have a wire in them.  They slightly larger and a little different from the girl's wings.

 

And now he's ready to be baked.  Of course the dragons were only the beginning of this piece.  I had to create a setting for this romantic little scene to occur in.  For the base of the sculpture I covered a metal lid (I have no idea what happened to the box the lid came from) with green polymer clay and sculpted flowers in shades of pink and purple for each corner.  In the center of the flowers is a purple acrylic flower bead topped with a yellow bead.  I positioned the dragons and attached them to the base with liquid polymer clay.  Next I stamped the words MY HEART IS YOURS into a rectangle of purple polymer clay and baked it.  Once it was cool I painted the letters with red paint and sealed it with high gloss varnish.  I positioned the plaque and sculpted tiny pink flowers growing all around it.

 

After baking the entire piece for one final time I glued the heart in the dragon's hands and glued colorful marble chips to the base.  I covered the bottom of the base in green felt and signed and dated the piece.  

 

Now how sweet is that?  Love is in the air, even for fearsome dragons ;-)  

Thanks for joining me on another creative adventure!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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