Benedict the Chimpanzee and Jack the Macaw

Another month, another couple of Ed's Animals off the hook.

I love these animals, I really do.  I was given both books for Christmas last year and I've steadily been working my way through them.  Most of them are with new owners, who seem to thoroughly approve of them, it really is a pleasure to make something for someone which they like.

The chimp and macaw are presents for family friends - they've been entrusted to Royal Mail and I hope they make it to their new homes by Christmas!  Benedict wasn't terribly exciting to make, but that does mean he was quite quick.  His arms are longer than his legs, so he can swing about easily.

I definitely prefer the birds to the mammals, both in terms of making them and in terms of how they look when finished.  Jack's feet were an absolute pain and very fiddly, but I can't praise these books highly enough - the explanations provided were clear, with good photos, so even though I didn't enjoy the process of making the feet, the book did talk me through it successfully.  Something from which many other designers could take note!  You can't really see from this photo, but he has two sets of feathers for his tail, the blue on top of the yellow.  He is rather handsome.