Peachface Lovebird: Amigurumi Design

Peachface Lovebird

A circular crochet amigurumi design for beginners

I made this around the same time as Banburu. Perfect for bird lovers! This was also easy to improvise, though I wonder if it has been set to stitch counts somewhere on the web... 

1. The "Blueprint" 

Here it is! The Peachface Lovebird Amigurumi! 

I must admit, I would have done the beak differently. But the eyes and the body I was just fine with, perhaps making a bit stouter bottom half of the body would have been better. 

Bumblebee Amigurumi Design: Banburu, from 2010

Amigurumi Design: Bumblebee 

(Crocheted character Design) 

   I've seen this guy turned into a pattern with stitch numbers on the internet. I figure if so many people are finding him, I might as well get traffic to my blog with the original. This should be enough to get experienced crochet plushie designers going. I am only a beginner in amigurumi myself and I was able to make little Banburu! 

Enjoy! 

Banburu Sketched Plan

Banburu by me. I'm not an experienced yarn artist. I stitched it in 100% cotton yarn. 

Workspace Rehaul

Workspace Created in my Tiny Apartment

I don't use my apartment dining table for eating so I turned it into a dedicated workspace so I don't constantly have to be rearranging the table that I do sit down to eat at. If I could possibly improvise an easel I'd be set for larger works.

The materials I usually use, beside my little plastic dry watercolor case, some cheap student colors I got in Korea that I should try to use up before I go back to America. Don't know if I need that much paint before that point.

A spread of brushes I have, just waiting to be used. But again, working small, I won't have a lot of use for them until I get back to America. So it will probably be mini paintings and sketches, rough drawings, until that point.

2014 Week 4: Tanuki, Gang Gangs, Inks, and Watercolor Inks!

2014 Week 4

Tanuki, Gang-Gangs, Inks, and Watercolored Inks 

   So far I've been enjoying the fountain (nib) ink pen the most, beter than a brush. My postcards are so small the brush doesn't give me quite enough control. A nib pen is the perfect balance between control and uncontrol. I've practiced drawing and then painting (which results in smearing) and painting and then drawing in the wet, which results in bleeding. But it lends itself to a distressed and uncontrolled appearance and I appreciate the unpredictability. Also opened a few new colors from my watercolor set (a student watercolor set from Korea) and enjoyed playing with those. Posts to come! 

 Gang Gang Cockatoo, Bust

Inked then Painted

 Gang Gang in Flight

Nib Pen, Sketched and then Colored

 Peachface Lovebird Nesting (Not as good as the first)

Brush Painted then Colored with watercolor

 Japanese Magical Creatures: Tanuki

(Korean: Neoguri) 

Female

100% watercolored over pencil sketch

 Male Tanuki with Gourd of Liquor

watercolor

Male Tanuki Stalks the Grounds at Night

Sketched, watercolored, and inked while partially wet. 

I like the style. It feels expressive and illustrative.

WEEK 4 PREVIEW: TANUKI

WEEK 4 PREVIEW: Tanuki

this week I explored tanuki and cockatoos... coming soon

2014 Week 3: More Inks

2014 Postcards Week 3 

I was trying to duplicate a few cards which I gave away, and draw some subjects again. Unfortunately many did not come out so great this week :( I guess I was just being sloppy and not as careful as I should have been.

Drew my friend and had a good laugh. I tried to capture chapped lips. We're all a bit chapped.

Japan is dry in winter. Didn't come out so close.

 Nesting Lovebird Try 2. Didn't come out as well as the first >.< (which I gave away as a gift) 

 My husband. Came out looking more like one of my Japanese friends.

 Cockatiel. Trying to go for minimalist and bold with lines. It came out alright. Not perfect, but it was fun.

Brush and ink.

 Brush and ink. 

I don't quite like this one as much, so I think I'll color it with watercolor later. 

And again my friend, I don't like the result but I sure had a good laugh messing it up. Looks like he's 100 years old but he's only 24. 

Gang gang Cockatoo Fountain Pen Sketch

Scanned week 3 cards today. Some of them were duds so there will be less than seven. Also enjoyed doing these Gang gang sketches with the fountain pen.

Cockatiels fountain pen sketches

Peach face Lovebirds Nib pen Sketch

Peachface lovebirds normal and lutino coloring watercolored.

I'm experimenting with nib pen and ink.

My daily sketch on watercolor postcard is coming along well too. I've finished through week 3 and even through week 4 so they will continue to be posted. Enjoying experimenting with the inks.

2014 Week 2 Collection INKS

WEEK 2-3#1 INKS

Made with basic Higgins multipurpose Ink with a Japanese brush. 

Couldn't decide if I wanted to color them or not, but I figure I can do a colored version anytime so I tried to do them black and white to begin.

 A Beautiful Elf (ink)

A Japanese Motif Bearing a Deer

This motif is in a set of Japanese seals/symbols found on a wikipedia search. I was practicing copying in hopes I will develop a few techniques for designing my own. 

 Horse Seal (ink)

I used what I learned about elements to try to create my own, for a horse, since it is the year of the horse. But it did not come out very well. 

 Kappa in the Moonlight

Trying to draw a kappa in ink at nighttime. 

Nesting Lovebird (ink)

 Nesting Cockatiel and Three Eggs

 My Husband Max Study #1

He was disappointed.  I have to try to make him "sexier." 

 My Husband Max Study #2 

Attempt at a Red Squirrel

Not experienced with animal drawings.

Or Landscapes.

Will work on it...

The ink was fun but I'm definitely a beginner! 

2014 Week 1 Full Collection

Week 1 Collection: Kappa 

The Kappa Leads Noa Home (non-inked) 

This was the 2nd attempt, and an attempt to be freer and looser with colors and less tight with line, and experiment using fewer colors which I find is an effective strategy for water color compared with other mediums. "Less is more" approach.

 The Kappa Leads Noa Home ( pen-inked) 

 Kappa Gathering in Pond in Springtime

 The Kappa Discovers Noa

Old Kappa

First Year Uniform
A brainstorm for the first year uniform. I have written further on it but a sensitive project is in development right now and I should not write further in public on it.

2014 Week 1 Watercolor Postcards Kappa PREVIEW

INTRODUCING KAPPA

So I didn't get around to doing many more postcards in 2013. We downsized from a house to an apartment and the moving bit and year-end committments were a bit hectic, but I'm back and really enjoyed being active during the winter break. In fact, I finished two weeks of postcards in advance. So I hope to continue the activity and see to what day I'll make it this time! 

Day 1: Old Kappa

The Kappa is a magical being which lives in rivers and ponds. They say it has the back of the turtle and is roughly child size with human like arms and legs but webbed hands and feet. It has a reptilian head and a beak and has a dish on its head which should be full of water. If the kappa's dish goes unfilled for too long, they may die. There are both friendly and unfriendly kappa. For a new fiction I have in development I am researching the magical creatures of Asia, most specifically Japan but am open to learning about Korea, China, India, Thai, Vietnam, any interesting stories which may surface, as I know the mythologies likely feed one another, though Kappa appear quite unique to Japanese folklore. This week's pictures are studies of the Kappa and explorations of scenes I may write into the fiction.