#thereby making the body slightly narrower and with smaller gaps

[cookies-and-creamless]

Balloon Art Day 11

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Day 6 - Day 7 - Day 8 - Day 9 - Day 10

41. Crab - Ortencia

I really wanted to make something yesterday, but it wasn't coming along well, so I scrapped it. Instead, I got this crab done today! The tutorial that this piece is based on had a total of eight legs, but I wanted mine to be more true to life, with ten legs. Little did I know that this would disproportionately increase the length of time I would work on it! Apparently the choice to give it eight legs wasn't one made lightly, and the introduction of another set of legs with no other modifications makes it significantly harder to get everything lined up and in place. I also chose to skip a step in the process of putting the legs in, which would be to tie each of the middle three legs to the one on the opposite side. This would hold them more firmly in place and apply a pressure to the main body that would make it slightly more compact. I mostly held off because I was having trouble getting my fingers to do what I needed them to, but I think that it would have caused more problems than it would solve for my ten-legged design. I think it's a great touch for the original, though. Since it worked out in the end, I'm quite pleased with my variation! If it hadn't worked, I probably would have just taken out a pair of legs and held my desire for realism in check. Hopefully my next piece won't have this much delay behind it, but if I make something I like this much, I won't mind all that much how long it takes.