My choco-mog! It is done!!! Check it out!!! Exclamation mark!!!

[VirtualGirl's ChocoMog is f***ing sweet. That's really all there is to say about it. Check out the gallery for the full-on spectacle of her work in the gallery. I must see this in person. Some day... -- DMV]

So its done! My choco-mog is complete! For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, I am taking sculpture this semester in school. For our first project we were required to make something that combined two animals, using sheet metal and rods. Right away I tried to figure out how to make this project something I could put in my game room, and I thought it would be uber cute to mix a chocobo and a moogle together.

After getting permission from my professor to use imaginary creatures instead of real ones, I started by creating the sculpture out of paper. When I had that all mapped out, I moved on to the real deal. I have NEVER welded before in my life, so getting started was a little difficult, but after a few false starts, I got used to it and it went much smoother. I did burn my face with a braising rod once, but other than that, I avoided major injury.

The whole project took me 25+ hours, not including all the waiting time between the 10 coats of paint. I really wanted the whole thing to fit the “kawaii” style of Japanese design that is so cute, so I made the mog wings and the ball glittery, and stuck to the bright yellow paint for the chocobo body.

I also included a spiraled rod of metal around the body of the chocobo, glittery like the wings, to help show movement in the sculpture. In reality, it is supposed to be the chocobo attack, but I think my choco-mog is too cute to attack anyone. Overall I am really happy with it! I hope you guys like it too! I still have two more projects to go, one with plaster and one with wood, so I will be asking for some cool ideas from you guys before to long!