#puppet making

[poodlepincushion]

La La La La La La

[starlingpuppets]

Aliens might be my favorite type of character to make, hehe

[komakesthings]

Introducing my new Robin replica! After remaking my Kermit earlier this year I knew I'd be getting around to making an F3 fleece Robin eventually. Granted, I didn't think it's take me two whole seasons to get around to Robin... but hey, that just means I got to take some fun winter shots with him, which contrast nicely against the summer shots I got with Kermit.

I did have to add the snowflakes in with Photoshop in these pictures. I had hoped to do a photoshoot with actual falling snow, but the weather wasn't cooperating and I was getting tired of waiting for a perfect snowfall (Watch as we get one right after I post this). 

Robin is decked out in some American Girl doll clothes, which was a decent fit from the get-go but I did have to take in the shoulders a bit. Feels kinda funny seeing him in a winter coat and sweater, but no boots! 

If the weather cooperates I'm hoping to get a few more shots of Robin outside enjoying the snow. (Hopefully next time I don't forget my snowpants, my behind was pretty frosty after the first photoshoot). I didn't take many pictures while making Robin because I mentally just needed a project where I didn't worry about documenting the build process, but I'll include a few pics I did take below:

My Robin is essentially a stuffed plush with some wire inside to pose him. He started off as a green peanut, before getting his arms and limbs attached. Fun fact, I sewed on his arms/legs a total of 7 times because I'd sew a limb on and only realise afterwards it was crooked or asymmetrical. In fact, one of his arms is still wrong, but I was tired of sewing so that'll be something for future me to fix one day.

The last pic in this batch of photos has a weird ol' wire sticking out the back of Robin... I though "Oh maybe I can just make a thin wire stand that'll wrap around Robin and be nearly invisible in the snow". But that ended up just being a big pain in my butt that didn't work out, so I made a white stand with a wooden dowel plugged into a wood circle. Painted white, and covered with some extra snow, that wooden stand blended in beautifully with the scenery (And only required a tiny bit of editing to remove from the final pics).

Below is the unglamourous "Behind the scenes" shot from Robin's photoshoot which I always like to include because I think it's proof how much the right lighting (And a bit of photoshop magic) really make or break a prop photoshoot. If you're not happy with how your prop photos are turning out, try learning a bit of photography! It's really helped me see the full potential of every prop I've made.

[juliaanoia]

I was really quite touched about how much love and kind comments puppet-Ned received. So here are some more pictures of him and how he was made.

Chilling in his cardboard box:

This creepy thing is his skeleton, so to speak:

I already had it lying around, leftover from the days when I took a stop motion class. Sadly I don't have any pictures on how I made this, but you can probably find tons of info online if you search for stop motion puppet building. It's made of aluminum wire, twisted together and epoxy putty for the 'bones'. Plus some foam and fabric strips to give it some volume. (Those nasty yellow stains are glue)

Now, for his clothes: I don't sew and knew from the get-go that it was impossible for me to make a perfect shirt and guernsey and his beloved greatcoats etc, BUT I had to put something on him lest he looked like a glue leaking mummy. So I got some Ken™-clothes (which we're way too big), cut them up and hot-glued them together. He wears a ribbon scarf to hide the gap between neck and body.

For the boots I took Ken-shoes, plus a strip from the Ken leather coat for the shafts. I filled them with hot glue and stuck them on his legs.

As a last-minute edition I made little band patches from the Ken clothes fabric. I simply cut them up, drew on them with markers and hot-glued them in place.

Now for the fun part: His head, hands and lemon are made of super sculpy. I really enjoyed sculpting his whiskers! Everything is painted with acrylic paint. I put tiny magnets in his hands so he'd be able to hold stuff, but those ended up migrating to his wrists a bit. Oh and the bulk of his head is alumininum foil, to make it less heavy.

So yeah, that's how Nedward was made. I didn't document the process all that well, but you get the Idea, I hope.

If you are looking for encouragement to build yourself a tiny blorbo, let this be it.

[virulentvoidarts]

UPDATE VIDEO AS WELL RAAAAH

[thesquiddealer]

EDWORM!! :) New worm!

Edworm likes scurrying around on rocks and biting things :)

He is a fleece worm with a tubular shape and i think could be a fantastic starter puppet. This guys head shape is very standard and with ears and arms he could be a whole different critter.

The learning curve for making a worm is practically flat too and in a couple hours you go from having a sheet of foam and some fleece and end up with an entire Guy with its own personality and expression

[braveburattino]

Holy crap this had a murderous start.

Shake your old acrylic bottles folks.

[rowdy-rumble]

Finally took a nice video of meow wow in action!

He's made from upholstery foam and boning for the neck. He has jointed legs so he can, an eye blink mechanism and a magnet in his tongue so he can have treats. The magnet also acts as a weight so his tongue has a bit of secondary movement! I need to learn how to work this guy properly I look a little awkward