Wee Cookie (b.10 March 2010)

So here's the last of Laura's commissioned wee creatures - Wee Cookie, a Roborovski hamster (or Russian hamster, as I've always known them).

Because this type of hamster seems to spend a lot of time sitting on its haunches (probably so that it can see better before it's so tiny!), I decided to make the miniature version in that pose as well. Making the body shape was relatively straight forward, and I spent most time working on the fur effect. You can see from the picture that Cookie has quite distinctive markings - the fur on his back is black/brown, and he has a white underbelly. He also has white eyebrow points. I made up a 'fur' cane combining dark brown and a paler brown, and once this was ready, I cut thin slices from it and made up a large sheet of 'fur'. I blended the slices together to make a continuous sheet, and then cut out the markings from this. I've found that this is a better way to create markings, rather than applying cane slices individually.

I made up quite sturdy feet for Wee Cookie, and then used 4mm round black beads for his eyes. This is the largest bead size I have, and I only use them for Piglings (for wee piglings and cats I use 3mm beads, and for wee horses, moles, etc I use 2mm beads). Although it felt weird to be using such a large bead, it definitely worked because the real Cookie has huge eyes!

Wee Cookie is 3cm all round, so he's probably nearly life-size compared to the real one! Thanks again to Laura for commissioning him - it's just so much fun to meet new wee beasties!

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