Mystical Moose

More Magical Cloak

2009-10-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

Mystical Moose has a more magical cloak. Random twirls and Zodiac Signs have been added to his cloak.
Gold and Red Sparkle not apparent from a distance appear and disappear as the viewer moves around him.

New Wand

2009-10-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

Mystical Moose has a new magic wand. This one is an improvement over the old one which was damaged by an enthusiastic fan.

New Collar Colors

2009-10-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

Because several people thought he was Santa Claus, his collar and shirt were changed to take out the green. This collar has much richer colors, plus gems.

How He Came To Be

2009-10-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

When the idea first came up for doing another moose, I hesitated because I could not think of a concept that was at least as engrossing as my previous moose, Moosewood, a moose that was half tree, half moose, borrowed from the “Greenman” of Irish myth.

Ideas of Father Time and a Wizard suggested themselves. Anthropomorphizing an animal opens the door to many engaging and whimsical ideas, capturing the imagination and appealing to the child in all of us.

The design needed to be accessible, detailed, and fun to look at.

There is a richer background of Wizards than Father Time as illustrations, so a wizard was chosen. What would a wizard that was also a moose look like and wear?

Some famous wizards are Merlin, Gandalf, Dumbledore and Mickey Mouse. Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings is a wizard icon who wears boring homespun. Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series is probably the most famous Wizard and he has a great wardrobe but wears a strange cap. Mickey Mouse illustrates the iconic crumpled hat in the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Mystical Moose is mostly modeled from Dumbledore He gathers his beard in a ring, and in an early movie, wears a red robe with multiple cuffs. He also carries a book mentioned in a Harry Potter book.

Being a moose besides a wizard, it would be likely that animals would enjoy his company, so birds nest in his beard and mice hide in his clothes.

I hope you enjoy my version of a wizardly moose!

2009-04-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

2009-04-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

2009-04-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

2009-04-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

2009-04-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

2009-03-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Many cans of 'Great Stuff' were used. The foot was foamed and then trimmed to make the shoe.

The liner of the cloak was foamed to make it firmer.

2009-03-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

Bondo was applied in many coats and sanded off, sometimes too much.

2009-03-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

The beard was started with fabric glued to the base, then foam and bondo added, finally it was covered with cloth, and covered with surface bonding concrete. The top picture shows a mixture of surface bonding concrete and cement applied and textured onto the surface

2009-03-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

The eyebrows started out as foam, then covered up with cloth and bondo, finally with plaster of paris.

They were too big, so off they went followed by just plaster eyebrows.

They were too big and too close together on his nose, so off they went.

The pince-nez is made of clothes hanger wire wound together and covered with bondo. It is physically attached to the body.

2009-03-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

Bondo was applied to stiffened fabric.

He is starting to look like a statue.

Note the collar and trim on the bottom.

Adding foam on his back hooves to make shoes.

2009-03-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

His tail sticks through his cloak, (it's more comfortable that way)

2009-03-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

The moose wears 23 yards of cloth.

The cloak is made of two pieces of cloth pinned in the center of his back

2009-03-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

Putting on the pants.

Foam was added to his legs to fill out the pant legs,

Then cloth was glued and pinned onto the foam, also foam added behind the legs and belly, as wizards are frequently well fed.

The last picture shows foam on his back placed where the fabric would have folds. Most of that was removed before the fabric was placed.

Collar at the neck was made of foam and covered with cloth. It was removed in favor of a cloth collar.

2009-03-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

When the foam hardened it was trimmed with a knife to smooth off any rough edges.

2009-03-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

The bare back.
The drop was too abrupt behind the hump, so filler was added, to make the fabric drape more smoothly.

2009-03-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

Hat after the foam was cut away, fabric and resin added. A cut was then taken off of both sides to make it look older and softer.

2009-03-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

Foam hat. A ring of cardboard was placed on his head for the brim, and insulating foam added a little bit at a time as it hardened to make the shape. His ears are meant to pass through the brim.

2009-03-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

Bare head

2009-03-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

The bare moose. He was lightly sanded, the green fiberglass showing through. The first foam is seen on his back

2009-03-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

There was no place to work on the moose, so a "greenhouse" was built from 3/4" pvc pipe. The wind showed how frail this was by removing most of the plastic the first day.

2009-03-13T19:28:00.000-07:00