Total Time: About 8 hours
Total Pipe Cleaners: About 80
Cost in Materials: About $4.50
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Process
Materials
I purchased some orange pipe cleaners in different shades. I also got some white and black, as well as some pink (for small details) and one giant Chenille pipe cleaner. I got these from the craft store, which uses heavier wire. Some stores sell very flimsy pipe cleaners, which aren't good for making sculptures. Each package costs about 99 cents and holds 25 pipe cleaners. I spent about $12, but I bought way more than I needed, just to be sure I'd have enough.
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References
I used pictures of tigers from the top and side view. I also found pictures of just the head from front and side view.
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The Head
I started with the basic shape of the head (which looked more like a cobra at this point). I made the top jaw in orange and the bottom jaw in white. I also started wrapping white around the front portion of the top jaw to fill out the mouth.
Once I had the mouth and the nose filled out, I started working on the face, going from the outside and working in to make the eye sockets.
Adding the stripes and the white around the eyes
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The Body
I started with the body by making the basic shape from the side view.
Then I made the basic shape from the top view.
Here I'm adding more support to the body, so the final sculpture will be strong and the body will hold it's shape as I'm filling in the details. The body is the weakest part of the sculpture, so the more support it has, the stronger the tiger will be in the end.
At this point, I stopped working on the body and made the tiger's eyes, because if I don't now, it would be hard to add them in later. I made each eye by stringing a yellow pipe cleaner through a black one, then I added them in through the inside of the tiger's head.
Adding even more support to the body, I've also started fleshing out the back of the neck.
Now I'm fleshing out the top of the body, I do this by attaching the end of a pipe cleaner to the side support and weaving it back and fourth over the rest of the frame.
Now the white part
I added in some yellow down the side to break up the shape, so the line separating the orange from the white isn't so harsh.
Next I made the stripes for the body. I started with the black stripe that runs down the length of the spine, that really helped to give the other stripes something to grab onto. I also finished the tail.
My cat sabotaging me, he does this so often, he's pretty much part of the process now.
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The Legs
I'm starting with the basic shape of the back leg and checking it against the Tiger's body to make sure it's the right size.
The process for making the legs is pretty much repeating the same steps four times.
Making feet and repeating for the other leg
Adding in the orange of the feet, repeating for the other leg
One leg becomes a left leg, the other becomes a right.
Adding in the stripes
Attaching the back legs to the tiger, I used black on the top and white on the underside.
The front legs are made pretty much the same as the back legs with a little change in shape.
Attaching the front legs to the body, the same way as the back legs
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Final Touches
I've added pink to the inside of the ears and the nose, I've also trimmed off sharp ends and weird fuzz tufts.
I cut the giant Chenille pipe cleaner to give me enough extra fur for the face and the chest. The Chenille pipe cleaner had a really heavy wire, so instead of attaching it directly to the tiger, I tied it to a regular white pipe cleaner and attached that to the tiger instead.
