My muppet style puppet build. (pic heavy)

Jeebee25

Active Member
Hey all! This is a build I thought I would share (that's outside of my Proton Pack and Ghostbusters props wheelhouse) so it was a fun experience. I just moved to the Seattle area and am an improviser from Chicago, so I was thinking of how I could produce a show that would not be a fixture in every theater but might make use of my improv AND building skills. While watching Elmo with my girls it occurred to me that an improvised puppet show might be cool. So I quickly found this video -


Using this as my starting point and cruising the muppet central forum (which still has not approved me to post? Very odd...) I found enough info to get started. If this puppet came out good, then I decided I would build four more. I wanted the standard "Any Muppet" monster.

I followed the video and ripped apart an old baseball cap to get the pattern for this -

oJGfoMj.jpg


From there I used my arm as a gauge and wrapped some foam around it, I then folded over the bottom to get a beveled edge for comfort.

NHjrvIe.jpg

**Bless the Maker and His water. Bless the coming and going of Him.May His passage cleanse the world**

Arms and hands -

RawZSQ4.jpg


dJj2clo.jpg


rCiUm5M.jpg


Sewing.. I'm not that good at it...

B8U6CKP.jpg


POOZsUC.jpg


p24YxlJ.jpg


The fur isn't as vibrant a color as I wanted, but it was $5 a yard and I didn't want to blow a bunch of money if I could not make this work.

Made a patten for the head -

rVX7zE4.jpg


QyruxZx.jpg


H8yyRMi.jpg


RfdQafJ.jpg


wlf8uPh.jpg


MVA7REd.jpg


Later I took a pin and rubbed the edge across the seams to coax out the fur. I studied the "Henson Stitch" and decided to try that later.

**WORM SIGN! A BIG ONE!** Making the pattern for the body.

5d3xpAn.jpg


And finishing the arm rods. The next one I will attach one arm to the bod and just use one rod.

5lDRFlk.jpg


Arms, hands and body attached!

Of3tEBQ.jpg


Used some EVA foam from his nose -

Z8f2Cwu.jpg


KPj79BE.jpg


3ZI5IdL.jpg


bEuBtXO.jpg


QXp425i.jpg


Ping Pong balls for eyes, but I backed them in Loctite two part putty so they are hard and won't dent.

9pr0DAb.jpg


R5P9S6I.jpg


pzc2AsW.jpg


wGjDvYf.jpg


BO8GVq1.jpg


eQZUveM.jpg


Added fleece and EVA eyelashes.

Le26P4h.jpg


Positioning the eyes

msaj2mQ.jpg


AND! DONE!!!

scPJTxQ.jpg


My girls decided his name is "Tacoroni" and I like it.
 

Attachments

  • oJGfoMj.jpg
    oJGfoMj.jpg
    24.8 KB · Views: 90
  • NHjrvIe.jpg
    NHjrvIe.jpg
    50.9 KB · Views: 90
  • RawZSQ4.jpg
    RawZSQ4.jpg
    48 KB · Views: 88
  • dJj2clo.jpg
    dJj2clo.jpg
    59.2 KB · Views: 88
  • rCiUm5M.jpg
    rCiUm5M.jpg
    57.9 KB · Views: 62
  • B8U6CKP.jpg
    B8U6CKP.jpg
    113.1 KB · Views: 94
  • POOZsUC.jpg
    POOZsUC.jpg
    65.5 KB · Views: 90
  • p24YxlJ.jpg
    p24YxlJ.jpg
    60.3 KB · Views: 96
  • rVX7zE4.jpg
    rVX7zE4.jpg
    73.2 KB · Views: 85
  • QyruxZx.jpg
    QyruxZx.jpg
    77.8 KB · Views: 88
  • H8yyRMi.jpg
    H8yyRMi.jpg
    46.3 KB · Views: 94
  • RfdQafJ.jpg
    RfdQafJ.jpg
    65.3 KB · Views: 87
  • wlf8uPh.jpg
    wlf8uPh.jpg
    79 KB · Views: 94
  • MVA7REd.jpg
    MVA7REd.jpg
    49.9 KB · Views: 91
  • 5d3xpAn.jpg
    5d3xpAn.jpg
    89.4 KB · Views: 90
  • 5lDRFlk.jpg
    5lDRFlk.jpg
    67.4 KB · Views: 82
  • Of3tEBQ.jpg
    Of3tEBQ.jpg
    79.2 KB · Views: 77
  • Z8f2Cwu.jpg
    Z8f2Cwu.jpg
    59.4 KB · Views: 86
  • KPj79BE.jpg
    KPj79BE.jpg
    77.6 KB · Views: 91
  • 3ZI5IdL.jpg
    3ZI5IdL.jpg
    58.1 KB · Views: 94
  • bEuBtXO.jpg
    bEuBtXO.jpg
    63.8 KB · Views: 104
  • QXp425i.jpg
    QXp425i.jpg
    65 KB · Views: 85
  • 9pr0DAb.jpg
    9pr0DAb.jpg
    91.7 KB · Views: 98
  • R5P9S6I.jpg
    R5P9S6I.jpg
    96 KB · Views: 89
  • pzc2AsW.jpg
    pzc2AsW.jpg
    49.4 KB · Views: 85
  • wGjDvYf.jpg
    wGjDvYf.jpg
    37.2 KB · Views: 85
  • BO8GVq1.jpg
    BO8GVq1.jpg
    49.1 KB · Views: 83
  • eQZUveM.jpg
    eQZUveM.jpg
    81.9 KB · Views: 89
  • Le26P4h.jpg
    Le26P4h.jpg
    49.6 KB · Views: 85
  • msaj2mQ.jpg
    msaj2mQ.jpg
    61.5 KB · Views: 85
  • scPJTxQ.jpg
    scPJTxQ.jpg
    99.2 KB · Views: 95
Last edited by a moderator:
Great job! I've built a few over the years and it's not easy! getting the pattern right is pretty daunting but it looks like you nailed it!
 
So, I've been playing with this puppet for the last few days and I'm discovering that using two arm rods while moving a puppet around and talking is not easy! I'm thinking that I might cut one of the rods off and tag the hand to his belly so that I only have to deal with one. Any puppeteirs out there with some sage advice?
 
that's a great job on the puppet jeebee!

now you could sew him up some different costumes to wear...then he'd be a customizable puppet!:cool
 
So, I've been playing with this puppet for the last few days and I'm discovering that using two arm rods while moving a puppet around and talking is not easy! I'm thinking that I might cut one of the rods off and tag the hand to his belly so that I only have to deal with one. Any puppeteirs out there with some sage advice?

Here's one of my puppets with double arm rods. Try this little idea I came up with. I've never seen anyone else do this but it works very well for me. Skip to about 1 minute in.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nicely done. If you aren't already there (I haven't visited in a long while) the PuppetsnStuff forum might appreciate this :)

Gotta love a muppet style puppet, nice work on replicating the Muppet eye house style.
 
I'll check it out! Muppet Central still hasn't enabled my profile to post, so it would be nice to find a community to be a part of. (Besides this wonderful site of course!)
 
I neglected to mention Muppet Central, just incase RPF had a problem with other forum mentions :p

Looking forward to seeing any more you make :)
 
I can't seem to get my profile approved to post. I've talked with one person and they said they would do it for me ASAP and then never did. I just gave up on them.
 
Just checked, my profile is still sick with a "you do not have sufficient privilege to post."

Kind of frustrating to be honest.
 
This thread is more than 8 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top