Gloomy Bear

For those of you who did/do not read my LJ, I had to x-post this one here:

From the Cube Works press release:

• Gloomy, an abandoned little bear, is rescued by Pity (the little boy). At first, he is cute and cuddly, but becomes more wild as he grows up. Since bears do not become attached to people like dogs by nature, Gloomy attacks Pitty even though he is the owner. So Gloomy has blood on him from biting and/or scratching Pity. The Gloomy with blood is called Chax Colony Edition.

The Gloomy Bear is also available in different colors with slightly different designs.

It is a bit of a long story, but all you really need to know is that I wanted to buy a Gloomy Bear for a friend. I went searching around at First Markham Place to no avail. There was one that had some in the display window, but the owners did not seem to want to be bothered or interested enough to tell me their prices. Most of those animé shops were really small and everything was very expensive. I saw a small plastic figurine and I am assuming that it does not do anything extraordinary, but it costs $25 + tax, of course. There is no way I am paying that much for just a moulded piece of pink plastic. I probably did not get to check all of the stores, because I was also hunting for riding jackets, but I ended up with the conclusion that there were not many Gloomy Bears for sale in Canada and even if there were, they would be ridiculously overpriced. However, there were smaller versions that were much cheaper, but it was obvious that they were fake, partly because they were hideously yellow, of poor quality, and lacked the tag of authenticity.

In a sudden surge of creativity, I thought I should crochet my own Gloomy. I have never designed my own crochet patterns, so I thought I could give it a shot. I am not sure how long it took me to complete it, because I had to first search for completed dolls as models, check my stash of yarn, choose a colour (I am extremely indecisive), and finally get down to working on it. I did not want to make the typical pink one and since they come in different colours, this is the plush toy I chose:


If I were to order it online, I believe it costs 35 € or so, which is approximately $55 CAD + S&H.

I wanted mine to also be freestanding so I used two bottle caps from my many, many empty bottles of medication (I knew there would be a use in saving them!) and put them at the base of the legs, so they would act as feet.

I was in a panic when I could not find material to make the claws. I did not have white felt and even if I did, they would be rather floppy. I searched my room and found that I had some pieces of felt of a stiffer consistency. However, it was pink. It would not do for a Gloomy Bear to have pink claws, so I painted both sides of the felt white with my brother's jar of acrylic paints. The texture became somewhat similar to a white leather and was the perfect stiffness.

I tried to find suitable snap-on eyes and a nose for it, but the ones I had were for teddy bears and were simply unsuitable. I did have black and red felt, so I could easily make my own. I just could not decide how much blood there should be on it. As for the blood on its claws, I was puzzled yet again, but suddenly remembered my stash of nail polishes and I found the perfect match for fresh blood. Excellent.

I am sorry that I do not have a better camera to take pictures of a higher quality. Nevertheless, I present to you the end result:

Fully Body Shots





Head Shots




Claw & Leg Shots



Lying Down and Back Side Shots

It even has a tail!

I have post the miniature cell phone accessory my friend had given me, but I forgot to take a picture, because it did help inspire and act as another model for me to consider.



I actually take more interest in the process than the end result. I just hope it gets appreciated and goes to a good home!