ecl's Kermit the Frog Puppet Replica (later builds, using my newest patterns)

[Tomvzand0q01]

Hi im new and i have been trying to make a kermit for a while but i can’t find good patterns and i don’t live in us so im kind of hoping one of you guys could help me out. At least i have ecl his earlier patterns but i don’t have them on a good scale i
Think.

 

[Marc Wagner]

I NEED THIS!!!! I have been wanting to build a Kermit for ever!

 

[Cammioh]

Is there any way you'd be willing to show a nice side-view pattern of his head? I can't seem to get the smile correct. I left (what I thought) extra material for this, but he just doesn't have that natural smile on mine.
Thanks!

 

[directorwho]

hey ecl, its been a while since I've done anything with my Kermit. But I am finally working on him again! Something I am still a little foggy about are his feet. I've referenced your drawings and understand that I have to layer felt then styrene then some stuffing then the fleece. But when I attempted this last time the styrene warped and did not really give a nice outline on the feet. Any help is much appreciated.

 

[ecl]

hey ecl, its been a while since I've done anything with my Kermit. But I am finally working on him again! Something I am still a little foggy about are his feet. I've referenced your drawings and understand that I have to layer felt then styrene then some stuffing then the fleece. But when I attempted this last time the styrene warped and did not really give a nice outline on the feet. Any help is much appreciated.

I can’t remember if I‘d posted this quick drawing of how I have the feet assembled, but I’ll post it below:

What you describe is essentially correct. Though one thing I should probably edit is Not using styrene—that is, if you’re using contact cement to glue it to the felt feet bottoms first. I’ve found that there is a kind of chemical reaction between the glue and the styrene, which can cause it to warp. Basically it seems the glue starts to dissolve the styrene somewhat. That happened on one of my earlier builds, and I’ve since been using a thin piece of cardstock that I’ve found on a few sketchbooks here. Like the flexible type of covers you might see on some moleskine notebooks. They seem to work pretty well. The ovalish outline that you see on the bottom of his feet is essentially where the felt is glued to the top fleece part of his foot—the ledge that forms around the oval cardstock insert After it’s glued together. The foot is a bit finicky to put together—I’m sure there are other ways to do it, but this way has worked for my previous builds so far.

 

[ecl]

Not sure if i’d posted my latest build (from early this year), but here he is

 

[ecl]

New photos of the Kermit puppet I made earlier this year that’s sitting in my collection! I made some changes to the display method. To keep his head up, I now use a cylindrical piece of foam that is placed inside and rests under the bottom of his mouth. Looks more natural this way, while reducing the puffy neck look that sometimes happens with the stuffing that I used to use.

Also note that this Kermit here was made earlier this year, and I used the earlier 15oz fleece from Puppet Pelts. They no longer offer that; but now offer a 14oz version that has a slightly different look. It’s not as fuzzy looking as above—more smooth—and is also a very subtle shade of darker green.

 

[LTsmash1200]

I know I've already said this multiple times, but man, your Kermits are absolutely stunning.

 

[bean]

Hi!

I’ve been wanting to make a Kermit for many years now and I’ve finally decided to go out and do it. Your threads have been very helpful and your replicas are amazing! I’ve tried making a random dinosaur a few months back and it turned out well so I’m quite hopeful about Kermit, though I’ve heard he’s pretty hard to make.

I’ll probably start out making him with normal fleece to make sure I know what I’m doing, then make him again with the antron once I’m satisfied since it’s expensive and I want to keep my mistakes as minimal as possible.

My question is how did you apply the contact cement? Did you brush it on or use a squeeze bottle directly to the pieces?
Also, for the fingers, is it just the wires and fleece or did you keep the cardstock in there?

Thank you

 

[Kam1024]

I just finished up my 4th Kermit Puppet build. It never seems to end, as I'm always seeing things that need to be improved. This time, it was the shape and material of the mouth-plate that motivated me to make this one, along with a scale modification after I spent some time studying an original Kermit up close in an exhibition here early this year. Kermit looked surprisingly small in person--not much bigger than the MR replicas Kermit. I redid most of my patterns, especially the head, as this time I used rubber as the mouth-plate material, giving him a wider range of emotions. Overall, this Kermit is also slightly smaller than my earlier builds--even closer to the original I observed. Even then, he is still just over two feet in height. Materials used, except for the rubber mouth-plate, are the same as previous builds: antron fleece from "Puppet Pelts" (a great shop), black adhesive velvet, ultrasuede (red), jewelry wire (fingers), felt, 35mm domes (Puppet Pelts).


I'll start with the pics of the final result:

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Some progress photos below! I'm not releasing the new patterns for this build, as it just took far too much work on them to get to this point, however, the modifications were done to the patterns I've previously posted on my earlier Kermit build. I'll eventually write up a few tips/tutorials on how to customize the head pattern to your own hand.


Pattern Bag: It took me 6 different designs to arrive at the head that you see on this build. Most of the changes were small, but made big differences!

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The feet are based more on the iconic Kermit feet than the earlier flat looking style that I used on my previous build.

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Arm/hands patterns were upgraded by combining the palm with the arm (like the MR pattern). A bit more streamlined than my earlier pattern.

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Styrene "palm" insert. The finger wires were hooked and then epoxied into the plate for more security.

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The eyes are 35mm domes (scaled down from the 40mm ping pongs I'd used on my previous builds), purchased from "Puppet Pelts", and then painted. I also modified the attachment in the back with a nylon screw and nut, as I wanted them to be removable. At some point I may sand down the profile of the nut so that it is less intrusive on the performer's hand.

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Giving the felt a slightly yellow tint. I wanted the felt to have a slightly more lime appearance with a hint of yellow, to make it look more like some of the earlier Kermits. The exhibition one I saw had a collar similar to this color:

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I'll update more with some tutorial drawings and tips!

This is so cool! I have been wanting to make one for a long time but I have never been able to figure out the patterns. Do you think I could have copies of yours? If you want to contact me here is my email: kamau1024@gmail.com.

 

[ecl]

Hi!

I’ve been wanting to make a Kermit for many years now and I’ve finally decided to go out and do it. Your threads have been very helpful and your replicas are amazing! I’ve tried making a random dinosaur a few months back and it turned out well so I’m quite hopeful about Kermit, though I’ve heard he’s pretty hard to make.

I’ll probably start out making him with normal fleece to make sure I know what I’m doing, then make him again with the antron once I’m satisfied since it’s expensive and I want to keep my mistakes as minimal as possible.

My question is how did you apply the contact cement? Did you brush it on or use a squeeze bottle directly to the pieces?
Also, for the fingers, is it just the wires and fleece or did you keep the cardstock in there?

Thank you

Thanks! That’s a good way to go about it. The Antron fleece is actually easier to work with than regular fleece—in my opinion—but indeed more pricey. Once you feel comfortable with the regular fleece, I think you’re going to enjoy working with the Antron.

As for applying contact cement, for larger areas, I just use the built in brush from the small contact cement bottles. But for more detailed work, I will sometimes use a toothpick to apply it. The fingers only have wiring in them; the wires being attached to small styrene plates in his hands.

here’s a sketch I did that generally shows how the hand can be constructed:

This is so cool! I have been wanting to make one for a long time but I have never been able to figure out the patterns. Do you think I could have copies of yours? If you want to contact me here is my email: kamau1024@gmail.com.

I used to post my old patterns on the thread, but don’t have them up anymore. I can send you a link to my early patterns through PM when I‘m back at my computer!

 

[Kam1024]

Thanks! That’s a good way to go about it. The Antron fleece is actually easier to work with than regular fleece—in my opinion—but indeed more pricey. Once you feel comfortable with the regular fleece, I think you’re going to enjoy working with the Antron.

As for applying contact cement, for larger areas, I just use the built in brush from the small contact cement bottles. But for more detailed work, I will sometimes use a toothpick to apply it. The fingers only have wiring in them; the wires being attached to small styrene plates in his hands.

here’s a sketch I did that generally shows how the hand can be constructed:

View attachment 1258845





I used to post my old patterns on the thread, but don’t have them up anymore. I can send you a link to my early patterns through PM when I‘m back at my computer!

Thanks so much!

 

[Kam1024]

Thanks so much!

Thank you so much!

 

[Boulilives]

Big favour..coronavirus is keeping the social interacts to a minimum here in Japan. This seems like a great project to stave off the insanity! Could I please get the link to the patterns also? Thanks!

 

[midnightrocket]

Hey ecl

I meant to post this months ago but time really gets away from us! I wanted to thank you so much for your thorough walkthrough and materials you used. I made my kermit for San Diego Comic-Con last year for our Muppet Show skit in the masquerade. (We won Best Presentation btw, if you're interested in seeing it, skit # 1 ah ah ah ah:

)

This was my first ever puppet build and I received many complements from professional puppeteers at Comicon. I wouldn't have been able to do it without your generous gift of knowledge and enthusiasm.

 

[ecl]

Midnightrocket— That is so amazing!! Thanks very much for sharing your experience and the video; great performance and your Kermit has a lot of character! Great job on your build! I always like seeing how every Kermit build is unique, despite being based on the same character (even the original Kermits varied from each other!). I haven’t been back to SDCC in years, looks so fun!

 

[midnightrocket]

Midnightrocket— That is so amazing!! Thanks very much for sharing your experience and the video; great performance and your Kermit has a lot of character! Great job on your build! I always like seeing how every Kermit build is unique, despite being based on the same character (even the original Kermits varied from each other!). I haven’t been back to SDCC in years, looks so fun!

Thank you so much!

The only things I really changed around was I used my cricut to cut the black felt for his eyes and mouth which saved me the painstaking task of cutting corners into those rounded eyes but I used your pattern to program the die cutter.

And I just used regular fleece and felt from the fabric store since antron fleece and wool felt were not in my budget. ^^;

I also used small worbla plates for his hands since you can just heat up the worbla and mush it around the finger wires and then when it cools down they're locked in place.

I opted to buy the eyes from puppetpelts and do not regret the decision. Worth the $10 for the eyes. I would highly recommend.

 

[Jordan9364]

Hi, I've been looking everywhere for a Kermit as good as this. I don't suppose you happen to have one for sale - or do you know someone who might, and what the average price would be? Thank you very much

 

[Omri Avital]

ecl
In these difficult days, when most of us at home, some unemployed (like myself): maybe as an act of kindness and empathy you can share with us your most updated Kermit patterns? What you do you say?

 

[Gophertee]

I have some similar patterns some are slightly modified. I will upload a photo of my Kermit and if you like let me know and I would be more than happy to share.