I was sent a character turnaround sheet (showing Shell in various stages of rotation) which allowed me to plan out where to start, as well as the rough size of the plushie.
I made a rough template of the fleece parts out of sticky notes, to see what would work best to avoid wasting fleece fabric. Once my sticky note Shell was working, I began cutting out the bits of fabric, making sure to double stitch each seam (haven't got a sewing machine with me on campus) to make sure its secure. I then basically proceeded like that, starting with the body, then face, then legs. Once that was done, I took some photos to send to Thomas to see if he wanted anything tweaked before I finished Shell up and stuffed him.
Once I'd finished making the adjustments (adding extra eye highlights and blunting his leg tips a little), I then stuffed Shell, using the stuffing in the cheap ASDA own brand pillows which is less expensive than buying stuffing on its own, yet just as effective.
I then took these pictures next to a diet coke can, to give whoevers looking an idea of the Shell plushies size.
The reason I was happy to take on this project so close to deadlines was because I've been a fan of Shell and Paddy for some time. When I came for the interview to try and get into Falmouth University I was lucky enough to talk to Joe and Thomas, and they showed me the animatic for the first Shell and Paddy episode, which was essentially what made me decide that I really wanted to end up at Falmouth Uni.
Recently they released another Shell and Paddy episode, titled 'Bath-Time Troubles. I showed it to my cousins (aged from 12 to 20) via facebook and asked them for feedback. The majority of them believed it was a cartoon episode I'd seen on Cartoon Network, or CBBC, and were shocked when I told them it was made by previous students from Uni.
In particular, Shell's reaction to being caught bathing seemed to be the unanimous favoured moment of the episode, followed closely by Paddy being 'converted' into an inflatable toy. The older relatives (four of which were aged 15-20) stated that these particular moments were popular due to the combination of the characters actions in time with the music and sound effects.
Overall though, they seemed to enjoy the fact it was a 2D cartoon, as opposed to 3D. It seems they were more forgiving of 2D character exaggerations in movements and behaviour than with 3D characters, such as in the cartoon show 'Bernard'. This leads me to believe that the current childrens entertainment channels available on normal digital tv (namely CBBC and CITV) has been over saturated with 3D generated or live action shows, leaving few newer or original 2D cartoons to be developed or shown on the channels. I think the creators of Shell and Paddy could use this to their advantage, as those under 10 would enjoy the slapstick comedy elements of the cartoon, and those in their teens would not only enjoy the plot, but find the actual medium of the show to be nostalgic.
And so you can judge for yourselves, heres the episode of Shell and Paddy itself. Enjoy.
Shell and Paddy: Bath time trouble
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