Cat Brawler

 

I built this character for my New Elementary article on Lilo & Stitch set Angel - which I don't like as a set design piece but which has some really nice bright pink pieces. The process on this model was certainly an unusual one, and I think the model is quite unusual, too. I first build the upper legs and the hips, reveling in those recolours. And I though it would be just another human character with fashionable pink trousers (and maybe some other pink garments too, or maybe a bright green jacket). But it didn't. I wanted to use the thin 45 degree macaronis, which were to most interesting pieces in the set, and I couldn't find a good use for them on usual human character. Pink hair, maybe, but pink hair with pink clothes wouldn't have stood out very well.

This took a sci-fi turn when I returned to work on it. First, I made the sleek boots with sort of okobo shoes, festooned with some bow ties. I still didn't know where I was heading. I still had to find out how to use the macaronis. I wondered if I could make some uncanny tentacle things, but that didn't proceed. Instead, I made a tail inspired by our cats. And with the cat tail theme emerged the rest of the model in very fast, straightforward process. 

Aside the tail, the bulky shoulders defined a lot, giving this a Samus silhouette (but with a long tail). Those big eye prints, asymmetrical with the other one closed, are pretty challenging pieces - but here I think the asymmetry works well, being more of an feature than a bug. I'm particularly happy how the black frames crop the shoulder pads. That aside, pink petal pieces made a nice pair of paws (albeit fragile ones). The head was made in a spur of a moment, combining Samurai X sticker from Ninjago with a petal piece, originally designed to be the face plate of super hero action figures. I like the cyberpunk uncanny feel of this combination, spiced up with the cute bow-decorated ears. Posing helped to establish the character.

-Eero.