this was a lot of work! i think it might be the prettiest & strangest thing i've made yet. fyi it's felted wool on wire armature. the claws, teeth, and beak are painted modeling foam.
id: pictures of a needlefelted wool creature puppet. this creature is a chimera of flamboyant flamingo and majestic leopard. it's built bizarre and it has no apparent eyes. its torso is made of a leopard's face. the chin is its stomach, with a toothy maw yawning in its midsection. the torso-face's upper lip mimics the pecs of a chest, and attached to that is a set of strong arms with large paws. the cheeks of the torso-face mimic an addition chest, and attached to this is a set of wings. the creature has a second face. from the nose ridge of the torso-face stretches the neck, head, and beak of a flamingo, once again apparently eyeless. its coat is all bright pink with a paler pink undercoat and hundreds of purple spots. on the feathery wings, the spots elongate into rows of streaks. below its knees, its legs are purple with light lavender scales, its feet webbed, three-toed, and clawed. its tail is long, terminating in a feathery bouquet.