Orc & Troll "monsters" oh my!

Many people have crafted cool WoW-themed items for their friends and families. We've seen cool WoW cakes, nifty paper non-combat pets, We've even seen different takes on people's characters. Recently, I was gifted with a "monster doll" of my own character -- the Troll Rogue on the right. She now sits above my monitor, protecting my desk from any bad guys who decide to raid it. (Sadly, my dear little monster Rogue is not terribly effective at staving off the dreaded Housecattus Napimus though.)

In the interest of sharing some of the neat things dreamed up by the WoW community that are out there, I sat down with the artist, Nicole, to find out more about these WoW 'monster' dolls!

WoW Insider: How did you wind up playing World of Warcraft?

Nicole: I had known about EQ and would watch friends play. When World of Warcraft was released, I delayed getting into WoW simply because I knew I would be drawn in and spend quite a bit of time there. What attracted me to get in a year after its release was knowing real life friends that played. I felt more comfortable playing online with people I knew and having the ability to keep in touch with long distance friends.

WI: I can relate to that. I really enjoy being able to close the distances via playing together. Many people have commented on the little Rogue you made me. Have you made any others than the Troll Rogue and Orc Shaman as yet? What inspired you to make dolls of WoW characters for friends?

N: I haven't made any other dolls yet, but they're so easy and fun to do.I wanted to make something personal for friends, and what better than a doll of their favorite character?

WI: The style is really cute and unique -- stylized, even. (Kind of like WoW itself!) Where did you develop the idea for the style and feel of these little dolls?

N: I joined a livejournal group called Monsterswap. This community is set up for people to make and exchange monsters with other people who sign up. It gives a Q and A on how to make a monster. I have found it to be a nice way to meet others and give me inspiration to get creative. I didn't learn how to make a monster [only] from this community -- I have been a self-taught seamstress since the age of 14.

WI: About how long do these monster dolls take to make, and what kind of materials do you use for their construction?

N: They took about an hour each. Based on my experience of making monsters, I used felt for the bodies, various bits of scrap fabric that I had, buttons for the eyes, yarn and ribbon for the hair and fun foam for the weapons.

WI: Someone is probably going to ask: would you consider taking commissions to make WoW character monsters for other people?

N: I would be willing to do a couple of dolls for people. I think it would be fun to have a one week open request for anyone interested in having a doll made of their character. I might limit the number depending on how many people responded, though.

Thanks for taking the time out to share your nifty crafted WoW dolls with us, Nicole! For those of you interested, you can contact her at chaverta@gmail.com to see about getting your very own handcrafted WoW Monster doll.

For those out there who'd like to show off their WoW-themed crafts, feel free to drop us a line with some information about the cool WoW-themed crafts/costumes/etc you've made. You never know, your cool crafts could be spotlighted next for the Insider community to enjoy!