Octavia Woodwork

Ladies and gentlemen, performing for you tonight is a pony, undoubtedly the most famous of all pony cellists. This is Miss Octavia, in a custom piece for . (Did that sound classy enough?)

Octavia is done in walnut, a nice gray wood that's close enough to her natural coat to work for me. It's also one of my favorite woods to work because it handles fabulously with my tools and is nice and solid. I had quite a bit of trouble positioning her arms, or forelegs, or whatever, but in the end I'm pretty satisfied. I really didn't want to do a real fabric collar and bowtie; my sewing skills not being up to much, especially not that small, so this time I just embossed them and painted them. I think it's what I'll do for an upcoming Fluttershy in gala wear, so it's good practice.
Her mane was a special trial for me. It's one of the played-on points of her fanon character: she's fastidious about her appearance. I very seriously considered ordering in some ebony and trying to make some solid hair, but I'm feeling a bit strapped for time right now, so I went with old and familiar. I think it turned out all right, given the hairstyle. A bit Hitler-y, but not so much that it's the first thing to jump to mind. Anyway I have a lot of Luna's coming up (3 or 4 I think) and ebony is expensive, so I'm hoarding mine right now.
The cello was...interesting. Not my favorite prop by a long way, but it turned out ok I suppose. No one will ever call me Stradivarius, that's for certain, but it is beautifully unique in it's own way; shaped and cut and curved specifically to fit a solid figurines body and still be removable. It also gave me an insight into the aging process of my woods. I've only been working wood for about two years now, so I haven't had time to watch any of my wood age, but the cello, I'm given to believe, is made entirely from bloodwood. The body is made from a new plank, part of the same wood that made Big Mac, while the neck and the base are made from a piece of aged bloodwood, I'm told five or six years old. I never realized it would get that dark, just that it would get darker. Makes you wonder what all of these pieces will look like in a few years.

Feel like seeing more pictures of Octavia? Then please check out her expanded gallery over at My Little Woodcraft.

Octavia and My Little Pony belong to Hasbro.