Forest Spirit Plush

Written By Erin Lisette

In early 2019 I began discussions with Dual Wield Studio to develop a plush of my favorite forest spirit character, named Tarsey. Throughout 2019 we went through many iterations of the plush design. Tarsey is covered in many leaves so we had to figure out how to turn a very detailed drawing of a forest spirit into a more simplified plush. By the end of 2019 we did it!

It took three rounds of sampling and a lot of tweaking on the plush design to get to sample #3, which was the final sample before production.

It was on sample three that we made the gradient between the layers of green in Tarsey’s “mane” more drastic. The top layer was made more into a lime green. Also we added bangs!

In the end, when covid hit in 2020, this project was halted indefinitely. I hope that it can be revived in the future. At least all the leg work has been done! So it won’t be difficult to get this plush back up and running when the time is right.

Here are a few pics from the plush photoshoot to keep us company for now!

P.S.

I also drew an updated Incomplete Field Guide to go with this plush. Check out the line art for a few pages below:

 

UPDATE AUGUST 2024

WE DID IT!

In Spring 2023 I got into Small Press Expo (SPX). A few months later I would also learn that I was moved up from the waitlist of MICE (Massachusetts Indie Comic Expo) and would be vending at that convention as well. These two conventions would both happen in September, SPX at the beginning of the month and MICE at the very end of the month.

I had not had an opportunity like this before, to sell my work at two conventions almost back to back and I knew that my art got the most hype and attention during convention season. All that to say, I knew this was a “now or never” moment to launch the crowdfunding campaign for the plush, SO I DID!

I launched the crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter, which is the most popular choice amongst creators who need help funding their projects. The average Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign lasts 30 days which was perfect considering the two conventions happened within a 30 day period. I would get the most bang for my buck launching the Kickstarter just before SPX and having it end just after MICE, getting loads of attention for the campaign while displaying the sample plush that was created years prior.

The plush was not the only reward available on the kickstarter! I also offered an Incomplete sticker sheet, a new and improved field guide comic, and a cute little trading card I designed, amongst other little freebie goodies!

Kickstarter Campaigns are A LOT!

One of the reasons why it took me so long to finally re-visit the plush project is because I knew it would be a lot of work to create the crowdfunding page, promote the Kickstarter, raise thousands of dollars, and follow through on the production and shipping of everyone’s rewards by myself. All that said it was the most rewarding experience I’ve had to date in my art career. I knew I would look back on it and be filled with pride!

30 Days of Campaigning!

One thing I would tell myself in hindsight is to have a well laid marketing plan ready before you start! I knew if I was going to revive this project I would only have about 2 months to do it, so marketing materials were not top-of-mind, but next time it will be!

Note to self: Have social media posts ready, or at least templates to put quick announcements together. And be ready to spam your social media with all sorts of advertisements for your Kickstarter. On average I feel like people will finally read about your Kickstarter after the 4th or 5th time you’ve posted about it.

Don’t be afraid to offer as many platforms as needed to collect funds, especially from people who are not familiar or comfortable giving their payment information to Kickstarter.

Below are some photos of the process, including the plush on display at conventions, social media advertisements, and a few photos of the boxes and boxes of plushes that would eventually arrive at my mom’s house (thank you mom!).

Kickstarter Success!

After 30 days of non-stop advertising, conventions, emails, social media posts, and networking WE DID IT!

The Kickstarter raised over $8k to bring these little plushes to life! And what I love most is that the Kickstarter page forever lives and can be revisited long after it ended. Check out the campaign video below and click the Kickstarter “K” in the top left corner to be taken to the archived campaign page!

I also put together a “Thank you” video featuring people who sent in photos and videos of their plushes when they arrived in the mail! Click below to see the video on Instagram.

5 Years in the Making

In the end the plush project spanned over about 5 years, from 2019 when I first started drawing the designs, to 2023 when the successful Kickstarter campaign sealed the deal for them to come to life, to 2024 when the plushes, comics, and sticker sheets would be shipped to all the people who supported the project and made it happen!

Over that time 7 samples came into being. The first 3 were with Dual Wield in 2019, the last 4 from when I revived the project in 2024 and sampled with a few manufacturers of varying skills before I finally found the one for me!

The most important feature that I pushed for was the hole in the Incomplete’s chest, which is a major part of their anatomy and lore! Many manufacturers said it could not be done, but with a bit of determination and negotiating on my part I got my cute leafy plush with his funky little chest hole just like I dreamed! It’s large enough to fit a stick of chapstick or a jolly rancher :)

Would I do it again?

Short answer is “Yes!”. Longer answer is “Yes, but not for a while”. It was a lot of work for me to do on my own. I had so much help and support along the way and would love to do something like this again but I will need some time to relax before jumping back into the plushie fray.

I do want to make a sample of another Incomplete character that’s near and dear to my heart soon. Their name is Asper and I think they would make a very pretty plush! Maybe if I get the sample made and have many months (years?) to look at it eventually the spark to do another campaign will hit!

Until then I’m going to hug my little Tarsey plush, sip a matcha latte, and curl up on the couch with my drawing supplies to get to work on the next installment of the Incomplete Origins comic ^_^

Thanks so much for reading! Until next time <3

Erin Lisette
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“Love Bites” Patches