Realistic Full Body Bear Drawing

	To design the pattern for a naturalistic bear, it is best if you don�t use a common teddy pattern as a base. Get photos picturing the whole bear in profile. Take transparent paper and draw the outline. Try to find out the shape of the thighs as well.
In order to design the bear's head in a correct way, you also need photographs showing the head from the front. For the picture in the middle I have adjusted two photographs making sure, the nose line has the same length. For the final head pattern keep in mind the edge of the head will be bent and will shorten the profile by this. To get the proportions of the head as shown on the photographs you have to add this lost length to the headside and the gusset as well.
Yow you�ve got the base pattern for your bear�s pattern, the proportions ought to be right by now. For the final pattern you�ve got the remember that a bear is not flat, i.e. add a little to the body and the legs for volume. Either design a suitable head gusset or work with darts. For small bears it will not make a big difference, but the larger the bear will be, the more volume you have to add. To illustrate this I made a paper roll as "body". It looks nearly as wide as the pattern on left, but if I make it flat it is wider as you see in the right picture.

If you make a simple paper model, you will see, if the pattern works the way you want and if the proportions are correct.For example you can see now the head was designed too short, because I had forgotten to add the width of the snout as shown above.