grittney
Grittney is an original creation inspired by the philadelphia flyers nhl mascot "Gritty". she was debuted in 2020 for valentines day, and was completed during spare time over the span of 2 months.
in november of the same year grittney went viral during the presidential election, and was featured on local philadelphia news, as well as various websites and podcasts.
GRITTNEY WAS A FASCINATING PROJECT TO WORK ON. FULL BODY PADDING COMBINED WITH MASCOT MAKING TECHNIQUES, CHARACTER DESIGN AND INTERPRETATION, SQUEAKY HANDS, 100 FEET OF HAIR EXTENSIONS, GOOGLY EYES, GIANT FAKE NAILS, REALISTIC FEET, AND CUSTOM GIANT FALSE EYELASHES.
SHE IS THE BEST, AND WORST, THING I HAVE EVER MADE.
GRITTY
VS
GRITTNEY
HEAD
THE "SKULL" WAS CREATED WITH plastazote, PATTERNED AND COVERED IN FUR. THE EYES WERE BONE BUTTONS, SANDED TO SHAPE AND PAINTED, A PIN IN THE TOP ALLOWS THE PUPILS TO SWING ON THE PLASTIC BASE PLATE. THE FALSE LASHES WERE MADE FROM LAYERED WIG WEFTS, CUT TO SIZE AND CURLED WITH A HAIR CURLER. THE MOUTH IS BLACK BUCKRAM FOR VISIBILITY, THE REMAINING DETAILS WERE FINISHED WITH BLACK AND PINK FELT, RED LEATHERETTE LIPS, AND A RIVET AS A TONGUE STUD. 100FT OF EXTENSIONS WERE SEWN TO THE FUR AS HAIR, AND CURLED. A COMBINATION OF THREE COLOURS WAS USED TO GIVE HER HIGHLIGHTS.
BODY
plastazote "REAR" TO MIMIC GRITTY'S HOOP WAIST, WADDING LAYERS FOR BODY PADDING TO BUILD SHAPE. PATTERN TAKEN WITH SCRAP COTTON AND THEN TRANSFERRED TO FUR. ONCE THE LEGS WERE COMPLETED, THE TORSO AND ARMS WERE ADDED AND SEWN TO THE WAIST SO THE WEIGHT OF THE SUIT SITS ON THE ELASTIC BRACES.
HANDS
GRITTY HAS 4 DIGITS RATHER THAN 3, SO THE HANDS HAD TO BE LARGE ENOUGH FOR TWO FINGERS TO BE HIDDEN IN ONE. AN INNER GLOVE WAS MADE FROM LIGHT COTTON AS A LINING, WITH A SQUEAKER SEWN IN AT THE PALM. THE OUTER PALM MATERIAL IS A CORRESPONDING ORANGE FELT, WITH ORANGE FUR ON THE BACKS. THE ACRYLIC NAILS ARE MADE FROM WORBLA SHAPED OVER A BENT PIPE. AT THE WRIST OF BOTH GLOVES, SNAPS WERE SEWN AT 4 POINTS THAT ATTACH TO CORRESPONDING SNAPS INSIDE THE WRISTS OF THE MAIN SUIT.
THE SQUEAKERS ARE PLACED SO THAT THEY SQUEAK WHEN THE HANDS CLAP TOGETHER, OR ARE SCRUNCHED UP.
feet
the feet had to be large to fit the scale of the rest of the suit. they were built around a pair of flip flops, an a tape cast of my foot to keep them wearable. eva foam was carved into the shapes of foot soles, and then attached to the flip flops. the feet were built up with upholstery foam and shaped and then the top of the foot and ankle were finished with batting. orange fleece was used on the soles to match the palms, and then the rest covered in fur. the ankle was reinforced with orange cotton, and corresponding snaps attached to connect them to the suit. the toenails were made with the same technique as the hands.
