#willow plush

[kaiju-wolfdragon]

If every got the willow plush

[plushaboom]

Willow is my favorite playable character in Don't Starve, a new indie survival game by Klei Entertainment (available in beta on Chrome & Steam). I've already maxed out on XP and have unlocked all the other players, but I still think Willow is your best shot at making it through the night. She lights spontaneous fires in the dark! She'll torch an entire forest and toot "YES! BURN!" while watching it go down (for those who don't know: DS substitutes wind instruments & subtitles for voice acting--the effect is HIGHLY ADORABLE)! Every other character is susceptible to ambush when left in the dark. This is no good when your HP is dangerously low after a spider battle and you've lost your protective Logsuit. Not to mention the precious resources you use up on the other players, who constantly need fresh Torches made. AND she's got the best hair (Wilson comes in close second). I do love the Librarian for her brain (she enters the world with more knowledge of how to make gadgets), but when it comes to stayin' alive, I say Willow's the way to go!

Initially I made her head in 3D, but mucked it up when I tried using this remnant-bin fake fur for her hair, which shed like crazy and was rather inflexible. I also wasn't 100% pleased with the head pattern itself: Don't Starve is hand-drawn and mostly 2D, but everything has three views--front, back & side--so I was trying to be faithful to those dimensions. I didn't feel it looked successful, so in the interests of gettin' her done, I started over with a two-piece head. I also made her arms too thick, so I intend to revisit my 3D pattern-making skills and make a bigger, better Willow someday soon: I want to give her articulated, wired fingers so she can hold props (axes, matches, ice picks) just like in the game!

Really, I'd love a shelf full of these vacant-eyed puppies. Wendy (the Bereaved) shares Willow's hollow peepers and has hilarious one-liners like "All things must die" (in response to chopped trees) and "I will take you to the other side!" (her battle cry), so I just might make her next. Wes the Mime is also cute, but woefully inept as a player (he dishes less damage and takes even more). Yet my favorite character design of all belongs to the mysterious Maxwell (the elusive narrator/overseer/we're not really sure yet, like I said--game's in beta), so he's on my Must-Sew List.

Willow's body, head & boots are made of anti-pill fleece; her hair of something like velour; her skirt from a ripped pair of leggings. Face painted with Tulip fabric paint. Pigtails wired with pipe cleaners for support. Machine & hand sewn with the help of Fabri-Tac glue.

& if you haven't played Don't Starve yet...get the demo now, yo!

[plushaboom]

The usual carnage - featuring Willow, who I haven’t yet properly photographed. (Feel like she needs s’more lines under her eyes first.)

Willow the Firestarter is a playable character from the game Don’t Starve (available in beta on Chrome & Steam), to which I am currently utterly addicted. It’s hand-drawn, adorable, & full of mysteries. Your basic objective is to survive in this wilderness full of bonkers creatures. An Insanity gauge feature was just introduced. It’s all a bit hard to explain in brief…so you should just play it!