Saturday, October 2, 2010

Contest Results!

Hey everyone! So you may know that the Top Ten was announced yesterday! So, also, the winners of the of the Kids Competition were announced. Unfortunately, Super Baby and I didn't win, but it was my first foam head puppet ever and I'm just glad I got to participate! Hopefully better luck next year :) So congrats to the grand prize winner Adam Gowan and ZATARIA:
And the First Runner Up, Joel Brown and Dr. Eyegor
And congratualtions to all the other kids who entered!!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Making of Super Baby!

Here are some pictures and explanations of how i made Super Baby! So the first thing I did was i dyed 1 yard of anti-pill fleece that i got at Joanns to a nice, light skin tone. By the way, for anyone dyeing fleece for the first time, don't be confused if the dye bath looks bright red when you're going for a skin tone, it somehow works out in the end!
Then i did all of the work on the foam core and the mouth, gluing the foam head and body with contact cement, and attaching the mouth (made of foam board, with foam and elastic grips) to the foam head.
And basically i followed the pattern for the fabric head and body, sewed the head and body together, added hair (some shag fur from Mendels Fabrics) and added eyes (large round self adhesive felt pads, used for furniture legs) and ears (just little sewn on pieces of fleece). I also added a little belly button, but i won't reveal how i did it, I'll let you figure out different ways to do it yourself :). Lastly, my puppet costume designer and sewing specialist (AKA, my Mom) made an aWsome cape and a diaper for my little guy, and then he was totally done! Sound easy enough? So why not make a puppet yourself! Project Puppet has some wonderful patterns available and are great for beginning puppet builders. Also, if you want to learn more about building puppets, joing Puppets and Stuff where you can ask questions, and recieve helpful answers from puppet geniuses, such as Billy Fuller or Shawn Sorrel! And let me just leave you with some words of advice, if your making your first puppet, and something isn't working out, don't give up! Making a puppet for the first time can be a little discouraging, but believe me, once you get past that first time, not only will you feel great, but everytime in the future will be a little bit easier.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Super Baby: My Contest Entry

So as a posted about before, the anual Project Puppet Building contest was announced about a month ago, and the deadline is tonite, and i just posted my character to the 'Cosmically Cool Kids Contest'. All the entries are displayed on the contest website. I encourage you all to vote for your favorites in the adult competion, and wish my entry luck in the Kid's contest.  May the best puppet builder win! So here is a sneak peak at the entry!!

As soon as Toby started day care as a newborn, he knew that he was different from other babies. He was stupendously strong, and could fly! Toby knew that he had a special gift,  and decided he should use his powers to protect mankind. So, whenever Toby’s parents would lay him down for a nap, he would soar out of the window and become SUPER BABY!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Project Puppet: Puppet Building Contest!!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to post about Project Puppets fifth anual puppet building contest! This year's theme is 'Heroes and Villains' The entry deadline is September 17th, so if this is the first time you hear of this, i think your out of luck :/ But hopefully those who are planning on entering are making good progress and will finish in time. I'm working on a character that I'm going to enter in the 'Cosmically Cool Kids Contest' for builders 15 years old or younger. So, I wish all who enter good luck, and may the best Hero/Villain win!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Karrat: My first puppet

Say hello to my very first puppet, Karrat! Let me tell you a little bit about Karrat and his origins. I made Karrat because I was Jim Henson for my school's biography project, and really wanted to go all out. And also i was just very interested in puppets and wanted my own. Karrat is a very fun character, with a very high voice quite similair to Elmo. In the picture he has no hair, but i did give him a fluffy red doo. His name is Karrat because he is color blind and believes that his body is orange, and his hair is green.

Below is a picture of Karrat in progress. I just traced out a pattern of the shape i wanted him to be, head, body, and arms all together, cut them out on two pieces of fleece, and sewed them together. It was very badly traced, he is very assymetrical, one side of head rounder than the other, one arm longer than the other, the fingers just totally messed up. So in all, he was a very faulty design. Although, for a first attempt I'm very proud of him.

New Blog!

Hi! Pretty much my whole life I have been a huge Muppet fan, whether it be Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and so on. In the last few months, I have become fascinated with puppets, how they are made, and how they are performed. Sort of for a school project and sort of for fun, I built my first puppet, who i will post about next. Ever since that I have been hooked and cannot get enough knowledge of puppetry and puppet building. I hope you all enjoy my blog and all the cool stuff I will post in it.