PUPPETS!

As some of you may know, I love the Muppets, and I've been promosing myself to build my very own.  Well, my first prototype will soon be with us.  My original plan was to base him on my "Frankie" character....

 

For those who've never seen him before, Frankie was my Frankenstein's Monster - a wise cracking hamster with a large brain, who featured in my short lived "It's Alive" comic...

 So a few weeks back,  I grabbed a pattern, some brown fur and upholstery foam, and started work - and here is the result....

 

This first view, shows the puppet face on.  As you can see, there are no eyes yet, just the body and mouth...

 

I learned quite a bit doing just this basic puppet.  The first mistake was the mouth - you'll notice there is a ridge of felt rising up - that's because I used spray glue - great stuff, but far too strong and quick setting.  Next time, I'll use hi-tack fabric glue - gives me a bit of setting time and doesn't give me headaches (the fumes of the spray glue nearly blew my head off)...

The second mistake was the stitching.  Not only did I do it too loosely, but the stitch I used allowed the fabric to pull apart.  Later on tonight, I'll start re-stitching it using the puppet stitch...

 

The good news is that the little guy has a LOT of character!  Once I've restitched him, I'll be looking at his eyes, ears, nose and teeth next

 

 

The really interesting thing is... strange.  I put the puppet on, and it's really wierd, but he started to develop a character right there - and it wasn't Frankie.  This guy comes across as cool-smart, rather than sassy.  He may not even BE Frankie!  I won't know until he's further along.