Shiny Things Gallery | Fandom | Final Fantasy | Chocobos

So.  Many.  Chocobos.  And all shiny.

Annie the Phoenix-obo

Annie the Phoenix-obo

There's no need for formalities, or remembering all of the many names she's been given; call her Annie! She's so happy to meet new people! And try new food.

Simply: I needed a phoenix this year. I think a lot of us can relate. "Everything's on fire" is a fine half-truth half-joke, but my ornery, defiantly hopeful nature insists on an asterisk and a "But you know what comes from the ashes?" A lot of the actual choices made were happy accidents, my favorite things. I had another yarn in mind, for instance, but I really loved the look and more "solid" structure of this heather black recycled acrylic yarn I bought for something entirely different. I happened upon the "fire yarn" by chance and accident and tentatively ordered one skein only to discover it was soft and easy to work with. I used an entire skein on her, but I ordered one more for... additional yarn hoarder reasons. (Oh no, believe me, I will make use of it.) These are the last of my "fire opal" Swarovski crystals, which was fine because I had all these gorgeous old light-reactive red lucite beads to use as centerpieces instead.

Structure-wise, I did have a plan at least. From head to tail, there's a poseable "spine wire" (yes I do delight in the term), plus the "wing arms" and legs/feet/toes being wired. I did a little something different with the beak, or specifically the jaw hinge, so this one opens with both top and bottom beaks moving at the same time instead of separately. The tail feathers are all wired to be posed however is desired, as are the wing feathers, but my real point of pride was finally deciding to have the wing feathers on a pivot joint so they can be spread all the way open or gently closed in a "stacked together" sort of way to look a bit more naturally folded. ...And also to fit inside of the shipping box. Necessity, invention, etc. As for the eyes, I had a bunch of green fluorite, but none of it was quite "right", so I used a combination of alcohol dye and diluted-until-transparent green acrylic paint to get the right color on frosted glass beads. Unnecessarily extra, yes.

As for the name, well... I got "Annie". The rest is up to her companion, right? Ultimately she exists as a not-so-subtle reminder that hope cannot, will not, be extinguished.

Want to know how you can possibly wind up with this beauty? Check out Desert Bus for Hope starting November 8th, and/or watch this space or any/all of my "social medias" because I will be constantly mentioning it.
Crash the Sand Dweeb

Crash the Sand Dweeb

You're looking for who? Oh no, no, this is Crash! Crash the Sand Dweeb! He's a very big fan of Vash the Stampede, but as you can see, he's a bird!

Well. I kinda had to. I realized this early on, unfortunately, and had some time to form it all in my mind, which immediately imploded. As for whether this is a chocobo, a toma, or a chocotoma... yes! Excellent, glad that's settled. He's got a fully wired neck, legs, toes, tail feathers, wings, and primary feathers for posability, and this year the wings can pivot forward and backward a bit for extra expression, along with a jaw joint that allows the top and bottom beak to pose independently of each other. He can grasp very small light things, but not... well. ...It's not a grippy yarn.

This time I decided to try natural fiber yarn all the way through, as a bit of a personal challenge. The sandy gold superwash merino I decided to make bulk of the body was... very different from what I was used to, so my process had to change pretty quickly. Luckily in having to put pieces together instead of making the body as one large piece, it left me opportunities to include subtle "scars" where I just didn't smooth out the joining bits. The beak, legs and "prosthetic" wing are all baby alpaca yarn, and I had a much easier time of that. Only the tongue is a scrap of old acrylic yarn, because the color was too good to pass up on. Back to the "prosthetic" wing, the lovely (and perfectly colored) wire is from a friend who has accidentally managed to fill every wire requirement I might have for the next several years, but particularly this one. As for the eyes, they were too perfect to pass up; semi-frosted, reflective, aquamarine or blue depending on the angle of the light, and appear to glow from most angles. The claws are ancient glass beads I've had forever, as is the fabric I used to make the coat. All by hand, no pattern, just determined to make a coat for a small bird. Like you do. As for the glasses, I spent quite a while trying to decide how to accomplish those, but in the end buying some small round acrylic blanks and trying a few different methods for keeping them in place worked. Eventually. I may have broken some in the process. ...Beadwork was the winner, with attached wire for the nose and ear pieces, and since I had no reason to give a bird a golden earring (birds got no earlobes!), I elected for a golden chain to drape between crest spikes to keep everything in place.

tldr; He took a really long time and a lot of love and effort, as per all my chocobos, and would love a donut, thank you.

Of special note, to go here because it must go somewhere: some choices were very much made with this being a worldwide, all-ages-focused charity item in mind. The more overt scars and gun, specifically, which are very important to the character himself. I'd considered the chest grate as well, but... as stated, this isn't Vash, this is Crash. And a bird doesn't really need a gun, right?

Geisterkarle won the auction with a high bid of $1,520.00! Thank you so much for your generosity!
Lotus

Lotus

Using Final Fantasy VII: The First SOLDIER's rainbow chocobo as inspiration, may I introduce the lovely and joyful Lotus!

As is usually the case, I did actually intend this to be... simpler. I really don't know why at this point, but I'm also extremely glad that I continued on with new and different wild ideas. And sparkly yarn! Very important, that. Obviously we needed well-fed racer legs, yes? The open mouth is a kweh (or wark, as the case may be) of sheer exuberance, ready to be an uplifting inspiration... and totally not just waiting until someone turns their back to take little nibbles out of their sandwiches. Just little ones! The tail feathers, first primary feathers and wings, legs, and front toes are all wired for poseability, but I tried a little something different with leaving the back toes reinforced but soft to allow for an easier time with Lotus actually standing properly no matter how the weight is shifted. Experiments. The eyes are raspberry pink-purple dyed agate. They stand at a purely accidental 12 inches to the top of their crest, with an 11 inch wingspan and currently 5.5 inches from their chest fluff to the base of their tail.

Amongst other things, the lotus flower often represents hope and determination. From the muck and mud comes life and color. Much congratulations to Catachrel for a high bid of $3,030.30!
Chickobo Shift Parade

Chickobo Shift Parade

16 September 2021

Welcome to the Chickobo Shift Parade! For those not in the know, this 24-hour week-ish-long charity marathon has four daily shift changes to allow folks to actually get something called "rest". On the left side, we have the banners for Dawn Guard (orange and yellow) and Alpha Flight (red). Over on the right side, we have the banners for Night Watch (blues) and Zeta Shift (purples). In the center... that is the land where time no longer makes sense at the very end of this marathon, and we call that Omega Shift. These very specific banners were inspired by JonDale1's work here.

Seeing as how this is the tenth year (I recounted three times) I am making prizes for this magnificent marathon and delightful charity, I decided we needed a little extra celebration. I also decided that surely making five smaller chocobos would be easier and take me less time, right? Well, the chocobos did. ...The layered felt banners with clearly hand-stitched embroidery and then stands to keep them on, which I ultimately decided they ought to be able to be removed from and so decided that magnets were obviously the best solution, however... Yeah, let's not talk too much about that.

Well, we can definitely talk about how the banners can be refrigerator magnets. Or just stick to metal things, because that's fun. The chocobo chicks are also up for some fun, but mostly they just really like to be adored. They're all acrylic yarn and polyfill, with wired poseable feet and semi-precious gemstone eyes (green jade, obsidian, tiger's eye and ametyst). I also decided to fancy up the mostly wood (with some clay and iron wire) banner stands with a little bit of gold paint at the bases and super tiny green Desert Bus trees on the front "foot" to indicate what side the magnets will best stick to. There's also some dark green real silk velvet at the bottom of each for extra fanciness. And also extra green.

Despite taking a little longer than intended because I just had to have Brilliant Ideas, I'm really happy with the result. I hope whoever wins them will ultimately be even more happy. As per the last nine years, it's an honor to be a part of something so joyful and hope-instigating.

This give-away raised a grand total of $2,331. THANK YOU, and congrats to obladerek!

Solana

Solana

10 September 2020
You know what 2020 needs? A bright, cheerful, soft chocobo, big enough to help you barrel through! Solana is just such a chocobo, sweet and friendly and ready to remind you there's light at the end of that tunnel, but sometimes you just gotta kick your way through. She offers her services.

I felt an exceedingly bright rainbow chocobo to be extremely necessary for the Desert Bus for Hope Craft-Along this year. I had not actually planned on doing fully wired legs, but that just kind of happened. And then a simplistic wired tail to go along with it... and while it doesn't necessarily look like it, simplistic wired wings for a few poses. There, see? Simplicity! With a few very small beaded accents that are actually ridiculously rainbow, but photographs just do not show them off. And some iridescent pigment that is almost too subtle for the camera, which is a surprise but also the intent, so score there.

I am pleased that I did not accidentally lie about the size, because she's less than 15 inches in all dimensions. 12.5 inches tall to the top of her head (just under 15 inches including crest), with a full wingspan of 12 inches, and just under 7 inches from chest to tail.

Sold for a much appreciated $2,350 to duaiwe!
Luxie

Luxie

27 August 2019
Luxie's part of a grand tradition, stretching back to ancient times: once a child has reached the age when they want to go off adventuring, a grandparent figure will make them a plush chocobo to go with them, protecting them from harm and keeping them company until they return. They're very good listeners, these chocobos, lending an ear in exchange for head scritches and hugs. This one in particular has chosen Luxie as their name, and would love to accompany an adventurer of any age!

Look, I legitimately did something simple. ...Simpler. No wire, okay?! But really, I wanted something simple and straight-forward and succeeded even though I gave in and did more for the tail than I was intending, but it all worked out and became one piece eventually. I wanted to revisit some old styles while applying techniques I'd learned over time, and a sitting chocobo seemed like the best way to do that. Plus I got a discount on the yarn and the polyfil, so bonus.

Congrats to sheikun07, and thanks to everyone for raising $1,842 for this chocobo!
Sable

Sable

05 October 2018
Have you been wanting to keep a chocobo of your very own, but they're just too big? Have you ever wanted to cuddle your chocobo indoors? Have you wanted the companionship of a big feather friend in a smaller friend-shaped package? Drake Chocobo Ranch has the solution for you - miniaturized house chocobos! Loyal, soft, and bred to smell like cedar! (Mostly. Within reason.)

I have to admit... she was kind of an accident. I'd meant to do a regular Play Art Kai-scaled chocobo! And then I just... made the feet too big. And thought, "Well surely putting the claws on will take some length off the toes." ...And it did. ...And it did not matter that much. I spent a good couple of hours considering starting over with smaller feet, but then I just sort of. Didn't. And here we are. I needed this, long story short. Even if the work took way, way longer than I could have imagined, and challenged me much more than I was prepared for. No sob stories here, folks; it's been A Year, and it's my most sincere hope that Sable will make people happy and do a lot of good. And before anyone asks, no never again. (A fabric one, maybe, someday. But not soon.)

The skeleton/armature is comprised of several wound heavy gauge steel wires and occasional flexible plastic rods. The armature itself was covered in felt to make the structure lighter, with the crocheted acrylic yarn more or less being built up around the structure and stuffed with polyfil as I went. Her beak and claws are made of epoxy clay, the beads on her tail are hemalyke, and her folding wing structure is composed mainly of plastic-coated wood, wire and steel. Her collar was an old bracelet of mine, but the tag was etched by EngraverSteve on Etsy. Her eyes are dichroic cabochons made by WillowGlass on Etsy.

Side notes: in Episode Duscae (the first FFXV demo), occasional encounters with black chocobos made them appear to have "sparkly eyes", I believe in part due to some light/reflection error. (Then again it might have been intentional, and that would make me happy.) So yes, I based the design more or less on the FFXV art book's "ancient black chocobo" concept art, with my own little touches. Her feet and legs are poseable, as well as her neck, and all of her tail feathers are wire with either soft or solid heavy gauge wire cores. Her jaw is hinged, the top of her crest is wired, and of course her wings either hang a bit loosely folded at her sides or opened; but due to the nature of the heavy yarn and the stability of the smaller materials needed, her wings can't stay in place when they're raised. That's why I'm including a very simple "wing support bar" that enables the wings to raise at her sides and stay supported. It must be said that her legs are made from a very solid but lightly "springy" wire, and getting her to stand just right may take a few little toe and leg adjustments. The tail itself is designed for better weight distribution, but sometimes she tilts a little. let her stand next to a friend when possible, okay?

All told, Sable wound up about 25 inches tall to the top of her head, and 17 inches from her chest to the very start of her tail. 28 inches long, including the tail. Her full extended wingspan is 27 inches, and she's about 16 inches wide with folded wings at her side. She also weighs in at roughly 6 pounds, so I'm pretty sure any effort made in lightening her frame is definitely looking like a good decision now.

This girl was auctioned at Desert Bus for Hope 2018 for an enormously generous $2,641.94 from ekimekim.
Chocobo Chicks 2.0

Chocobo Chicks 2.0

05 November 2017
As is usually the case with these sorts of things, I'd been meaning to try my hand at PAK-scale FFXV chocobo chicks. I finally decided, why not get a group of them together to give to the English chocobro voice actors and director just before EXPcon 2017 because I am not always altogether that intelligent when it comes to planning for time or effort?

I played with various types of similar-weight yarn, getting the basic body shape down. Then I promised myself that I would attempt some form of simplicity. I... mostly succeeded there, though each remains a multi-day process. The details aren't too extreme, even though they each took a great deal of time because I insisted on wired legs, feet and wings, as well as tail feathers and little bitty head crests. Making the wings a little smaller than they technically "ought to be" was a purposeful choice, because I was determining how large the wings should be, holding them up to the very plump bodies and... I mean, can you blame me? Adorable fluff-ness won. Their eyes are all artificial pearls, and I attempted to incorporate a little bit of their character's hair styles into the crests. Which was about as difficult as it sounds.

In presenting the chocobo chicks to each VA, I insisted that they pick the names themselves. I could not be happier with the results. The yellow chick was named "Orinthall" by Robbie Daymond, Prompto's VA. A good and fine name for a battle bird. The blue chick was named "Orin" by Ray Chase, Noctis' VA, which was entirely too smooth but appreciated. The purple chick was named "Purple Verve" by Adam Croasdell, Ignis' VA, after asking for an additional day to come up with a name. I remain pleased. The green chick was named "Ray" by Chris Parson, Gladiolus' VA, which will continue to make me laugh. The black chick was named "Henlay" by Keythe Farley, the English voice director, having taken up until the last signing to choose. I spotted the chick on his table at that point and was hopefully able to make words goodly at that point because hg;afljghfjdg.