A Tailypo Plushie

I cannot resist the idea of making a plushie of the Tailypo creature (with a detachable tail! I'm thinking magnets!). In this project I intend to create a range of different 2D and 3D pieces, and I definitely want to improve my plushie making skills. As I mentioned in some of my research, the challenge will be in producing a plushie design which elements that allow for a high evel of customisation in order to make the plushies relate well to my illustrations.

The options are:

Using felt. I can cut out and sew, or needlefelt, shapes in felt mimicking the designs of an illustration for areas such as facial features.
Super Sculpey. A polymer clay that hardens when baked to become sandable, drillable, etc. I can carve 3D features inspired by my style of illustration for the story in mind.
Printing onto fabric. I can either buy fabric that can run through an ordinary printer, or buy some transfer paper, or use screen printing to get a 2D image onto fabric that can then be made into or added to a 3D plushie design. This would be a good method to use for future pieces from Chinese folklore, as in my visits to the Pitt Rivers museum I noticed a lot of Chinese fabric toys with the designs painted on.

I have made a very quick and small (and accidentally horrifyingly creepy) example plushie with both felt and Super Sculpey details.

I created the mouth out of Super Sculpey by making a mould from a badger skull mybrother found in the woods, and then painting the teeth white. If you ignore just how creepy this result is, it shows that I can add high customised details with both felt and Sculpey in order to link my plushie creations to the illustrations that inspired them.