Needle Felted Sea Turtle Time Lapse

Find my online video course at courses.stephan...
This time lapse edit of the making of my Sea Turtle felted wool sculpture compresses 19 hours of stabby needle felting into 6 minutes of video. This quick view will give a good sense of the order of operations I use for a complex felt sculpture like this one. I start with a simple outline drawing to track relative scale of the parts, and work through making the shell and limbs and spend a good deal of time sculpting the face. I test how the pieces fit together and make changes, then add color and details before joining the component parts together. I insert a wire armature when the piece is nearly complete, then do a little more detailing before mounting it onto a simple base.
I go much further in depth with this project in my online video-based workshop 'Sculptural Needle Felting: The Comprehensive Guide.' The Sea Turtle is a "Bonus Project" at the end of the techniques-based class; it is one of six projects that follow me from start to finish with a needle-felted sculpture. This one is notable because I focus on working from photographs (since I don't happen to have access to an actual sea turtle), using (and mixing) color, and embedding a wire armature in the felted sculpture.
Learn more at courses.stephan...
Let me know what you think!
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[@staciejean]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beautiful work!

[@HardyBrothersOutdoors]

Amazing to see how this sculpture came to be and really enjoyed seeing it in person! Thanks so much for the studio tour, we really had a great time! Hope to see you all again soon! - Josh

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

It was great showing you my workspace and process- thank YOU for being a wonderful audience. Miss you already and hope to see you soon too!

[@a.k.7424]

This is incredibly detailed and lovely-- you captured the markings so well! I particularly love the shape of the hind feet :) May I ask, do you use finer wool like merino for the surface colors and markings?

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

@@a.k.7424 , Thanks for your kind words! I don't often use Merino, even for surface markings- I find it to be almost too fine. In this piece I just used dyed Corrriedale wool- my favorite- for the coloration.

[@towardthewithin]

That's truly inspiring! Beautiful turtle and the mounting was really smart too!

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Thank you!

[@marajokegr]

Beautiful artwork.

[@AkilahOsa]

Truly, your love for you're craft really shines through. The amount of effort put into this piece is astonishing. 😁👍

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Thanks for saying so-- I know this process seems way too long and boring for some, but I love it; there are so many possibilities!

[@AkilahOsa]

@@StephanieMetzSculpture I agree wholeheartedly, I also love needlefelting, unfortunately I don't have much time to properly finish a piece. Which is why, watching your start to finish process is so inspiring😍🥰. I'm currently not financially stable, otherwise I would totally be taking your classes.😑

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

@@AkilahOsa I so wish I could work at timelapse speed! It's good for videos since no one would sit through actual felting time. : ) As for the class, the first part about tools is free on my KZbin channel (if that helps), and there is a payment plan option for the class. It'll continue to be available, since the info isn't going to go out of style or anything, so if you need to come back to it in the future it'll be there.

[@everfluctuating]

so beautiful. i thought it was a real life turtle at first!

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Thank you!

[@someshit7663]

The amount of patience you have is remarkable. ☺️

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

For some things, but definitely not in ALL realms of my life. Listening to audiobooks while I work is key! 👍

[@clairemann7300]

Incredible 😍

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Thank you!

[@caronspurway3792]

Amazing work, thank you for sharing. We recently saw turtles in the wild at Mon Repos (Queensland, Australia) guided by rangers, researchers and volunteers. We saw females digging holes laying their eggs and we also saw hatchlings emerging from other egg clusters and we helped guide them to the water. I have wanted to make a turtle since then and have been looking for a good tutorial on how to do it. I'm glad I found yours.

[@meme-du8xj]

I'm in awe

[@jag5798]

Timelapse is a great idea for people like myself who don’t have patience to watch a whole video.

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Yes- and this process takes SO long I don't know anyone who would watch it all live! 😁

[@lilyotv9767]

Excellent - thank you!

[@adelecain1163]

I am loving that confidence to cut into the piece to adjust flipper position and to add the armature. But, of course!! It felts back together!! Ha!!

[@jenniferrice1304]

Wow! That's a lot of work! Looks so realistic. Beautiful.

[@aFreakingSpongebobReference]

That's beautiful! You are amazingly talented! You have a lot of patience attaching the pieces, I find it easier to leave some looser fluff on the ends rather than cutting it. Cutting wool shortens the fibers and makes it much harder to felt.

[@aliciadupuy9228]

Beautiful creation. I love this video style.

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Thank you!

[@beverleylavender4214]

Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing ❤

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Thanks for watching and teaching out! 🥰

[@gabrielegille9264]

Das ist unglaublich 😲😍🤩 Wo kann mann denn sowas lernen?

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Ich lehre es! Ich habe eine Online-Video-Meisterklasse, aber sie ist auf Englisch. Sie finden es unter courses.stephaniemetz.com . Oder kaufen Sie einfach ein paar Vorräte, fangen Sie an, Wolle zu stochern, und passen Sie auf, während Sie gehen. Es gibt auch viele Videos online.

[@gabrielegille9264]

Schade ich kann leider kein Englisch aber Dankeschön für die Tipps. 😃

[@jacquelinegabriel3872]

Do you sell theses beautiful works of art?

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

I do; when they are available I often post them on the shop section of my website, www.stephaniemetz.com/shop-1 . Thanks for asking!

[@khangtrieu369]

nice video

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Thank you!

[@ratmansimulator]

hi! could i ask which needle sizes you are using for each step and what type of wool you are using on top of the core wool? Also. what size needle do you use to sculpt the deep lines? thanks!

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

I use a 38 gauge triangle needle almost all the time, and occasionally a fine 40 gauge for tiny details. I prefer Corriedale wool, and that's what I use throughout- to build the form, and then dyed Corrriedale for the color. 👍

[@ratmansimulator]

@@StephanieMetzSculpture thanks so much!

[@moonspiritartbycindyhill1084]

Wow

[@StephanieMetzSculpture]

Thanks!