How to make a muppet-type puppet?
Making muppet-types isn't difficult; in fact, once you have a couple of tries, you will find that you can soon create beautiful, professional looking muppet-types. But unfortunately, the process is not something that makes good blogging fodder, as it is too long and as these types of puppets can range from humans to animals to furry things, it would be wrong to provide a step-by-step guide which may not suit your purposes.
However, I can suggest two things:
Resource One
I highly, highly, recommend buying a copy of The Foam Book. I have this in my personal library, and with it I made three muppet-types. Without ever having made them before. Here's one of them, at right (see other puppets here and here, and you can read about the build process of Doc starting here). This book explains the process so well, it is something that any new or professional puppet maker will use time and time again. It is well worth the investment. The book explains everything, from how to make the mouth, to different techniques of building the head, from making the body to covering it with material, from mechanisms of operation to recommended materials and tools. You can also use it to build both human and non-human creatures. With a little imagination, and this resource, you too can build a muppet-type puppet! It should be noted that this book does not provide you with patterns, just a flexible guide; for those who need more structured instructions, read on. You can read my review of this book here.
The Foam Book : An Easy Guide to Building Polyfoam Puppets by Donald Devet, Drew Allison
Resource Two
I highly recommend starting a muppet-type build using some patterns bought (or obtained for free) from Project Puppet.com. This site offers professional standard muppet-type patterns, some for a fee, and some for free. You can also check out their blog, where they often have additional tutorials on making muppet-type parts. This site is extremely popular, and regularly have contests for people who have used their patterns to make puppets. So you can also check out what kind of muppet-types people are making, before you commit your money to the patterns. Also, you may want to check out my list of free puppet patterns for muppet-types. Project Puppet.com is very much for those who want to learn via a pattern, and is especially useful for those who have never made any kind of puppet before. The book above is excellent for those who want a less structured guide to making muppet-types.
Final thoughts
There are also a number of other resources out there on the net, and you might want to check out any puppet tutorials on Youtube, or similar sites. Armed with the above book, and/or patterns from Project Puppet.com, you can learn to make your own muppet-types from your own designs. In fact, based on my own previous experience, I can now say that I can make muppet-types without the book, it is that easy.
Still want to know more about how to make a muppet-type? You should check out the post about the basics of puppet design, why there are no Sesame St/Muppet patterns, buying Avenue Q replicas, what materials to use for muppet building, or just leave a comment and I'll try and point you in the right direction! Did you know? You can now buy moppet eyes for your next puppet build from my online store! Check it out here!
Want more? Help build a puppet!
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3 comments
There's a reason why I haven't gone into specifics on my blog as to how to make a muppet. It mostly has to do with character design. For instance, you may want a round-headed puppet or you may want a square shape - you may want to use fur, or fleece. You may be making a human character, or a 'monster' character. You may be making a male character... the list goes on.
There's also the fact that you may want to use a range of materials and colours. More information about what kind of materials to use can be found here.
Although as mentioned in the post, this is by no means definitive. Different puppet makers experiment with materials that they can not only afford, but can find. On Puppets and Stuff.com, you can find several threads where professional puppet makers even have different methods and materials just for making the mouth: so it also depends on your preferred methodology as well.
Muppets, while not necessarily difficult to make, do have a lot of steps to create - it takes me about three hours to make a mouth, let alone create a pattern for the head, build it, etc. This is why it is so expensive to buy muppets, as they are quite laborious, and one full-bodied muppet could take me up to three or four weeks to build. ... In other words, too long a process to have in a blog entry. This is also the reason why you won't find many free muppet patterns on the net. To make a professional, TV-quality muppet, it does take a lot of work.
I suggested two resources (The Foam Book, and Project Puppet.com) because they are both excellent things for muppet information. The Foam Book is very much for people who want to dive in and create something without a pattern; Project Puppet is more for people who need step-by-step instructions - more of a paint-by-numbers pattern.
I'm sorry that I can't be more specific, but unless I know what kind of muppet character you're after, I can't tell you more about how to make it.
Having said all of that, if you'd like, you could give me a bit more information and I could work up a pattern for you - free of charge. I'm actually half-way through making a pattern to make available on my site, so it's not that difficult for me to edit it to provide you with some easy-to-follow instructions to go along with the pattern.
Do let me know if you'd like a pattern, and we can discuss more about what you want the muppet to look like.
Regards,
Naomi
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