Whenever I think of Inigo, my head is suddenly full of songs. That's because this wonderful character is known for his huge sense of humor and big admiration of music - though he's not a very good singer himself, the lyrics he comes up with stick to one's head.
Inigo The Brave is a modded character from the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, created by Smartbluecat (big shoutout for this guy for coming up with such a well-developed character). He is of a Khajiit race, which is a cat-humanoid. Having played Skyrim for a quite a while, and eventually having discovered Inigo, I'm absolutely mesmerized by him. He's a thoughtful, modest (most of the time), sensitive and extremely empathetic companion of the main player, with a harsh personal and family background. He's also highly interactive and has lots of dialogue options, he also comes with lots of activities on his own, like interactions with other in-game characters. He never ceases to surprise. If you know him for long enough and earn his trust, he can even help you with whatever troubles your mind - he comes up with reassuring and comforting responses.
As I mentioned, he's also a musical man. He surprises with improvised songs as well as carefully written stories. One of my favorite travel songs goes:
I am a lonely traveler
Travelling through this land,
I have traveled through icy caves
And over scorching sand.
I've traveled beneath the starry skies
And had an adventure or two,
I've traveled the world from end to end
To sing this song to you!
Inigo stole my heart so successfully that I've dreamed about a teddy version of him for myself. During numerous night walks I had thought of his design and details - I don't make many humanoidal teddies very often, after all. My first and only one so far, before Inigo, was Tsu'Tey - a character from Avatar whom I haven't published on my blog yet. I'd spent a lot of time looking for appropriate fabric - after all, Inigo is a furry friend, and has an unusual indigo color. Also, I needed leather for the armor. As for the human figure, I've never enjoyed drawing them, let alone sewing them - it was a difficult challenge. But once the drawings were complete and satisfactory, I proceeded to sewing.
The final effect has surprised me with the accuracy of body proportions. Head was exceptionally challenging - it's a cat's head after all, with a complex 3D structure. But since I'd been sewing Inigo with a sincere devotion, he couldn't have turned out too bad... His white markings on head and tail are painted with a waterproof paint. The hair are made with a black fur. If you look closely, you will also see pink scars on his face - just like the ones the real Inigo has. The white dots on his mouth are supposed to be teeth - Inigo grins most of the time and his teeth can be visible. He also has golden rings in his ears.
The second part was his armor. It's based on the Thieves' Guild Armor from Skyrim. At first I was terrified with its complexity, but it only made me want it more. Turned out, leather enjoys a fabric-dedicated clue, which is waterproof, solid and wash-safe, so the elements of the armor are mostly glued, though it still took a lot of time.
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| I'm really happy with the tail. It widens with the length, and I made these subtle brighter stripes. |
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| Yes, he even has whiskers! You can also see the scars on the cheek and forehead. |
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| Some details of the armor. |
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| With me, Inigo is still a traveler, but at least he's not lonely anymore. He's already taken a few flights with me :) |