Meet Miss Mabel! She’s a feisty, hardened old mouse whose passion is training her favorite animals- tigers. She’s small and a bit ragged from years of working with the big cats, but she’s just as fierce as ever!

This character design is based off of Mabel Stark, a famous female tiger trainer. She had an extremely interesting life, and was very devoted to her tigers. I wanted to portray her as a mouse to emphasize the power dynamic of her career, as well as in her old age to depict her history with big cats. Her pose is commanding yet delicate, referencing her past career as a dancer.

The sculpture was created with firm sculpey clay. Check down below for process photos and sketches!