How can I build my own Muppet?
October 24, 2006 11:19 AM
How can I build my own Muppet? Are there any guides, tutorials or other online resources that can detail crafting my own Muppet style puppet?
Not a hand-puppet, but this has been linked to in an earlier halloween costume askmefi. (While I assume you're initially after ways to make a classic hand-puppet style muppet, the muppet show consists of just about any and every way you could animate something/anything to make it into a character, so depending on your goals, you might not want to limit yourself to hand puppets - I think a lot of the muppet designs may have come out of "what would happen if we did this...?"
posted by -harlequin- at 12:15 PM on October 24, 2006
posted by -harlequin- at 12:15 PM on October 24, 2006
Patterns and info here. The blog shows photos of various puppets under construction.
The Muppet Central forum has lots of discussion on the subject.
posted by jheiz at 12:19 PM on October 24, 2006
The Muppet Central forum has lots of discussion on the subject.
posted by jheiz at 12:19 PM on October 24, 2006
The Project Puppet blog looks like a treasure trove of information. Check out the sidebar for all kinds of useful stuff.
posted by O9scar at 12:28 PM on October 24, 2006
posted by O9scar at 12:28 PM on October 24, 2006
I second the Muppet Central forum. It isn't super organized, but it's chock full of information. On first glance, I saw a thread telling how to dye puppet foam.
This page gives some design "secrets" for Muppets. Although it gives no specific construction advice, it does give some design principles used in current Muppets. One of the puppets has a plastic grape covered in fur for a nose!
This page gives a step-by-step walkthrough of the author's adventures into Muppet-style puppet-making. The end result, a fishy thing, looks pretty awesome to me. :)
The author of the previous page said they were inspired by The Foam Book. Here is the book's page; however, you can find used copies of the book on Amazon for $16.45 With the same search, a bunch of other puppety books popped up. You may be able to find these books at your local library. Heck, you could even do an Interlibrary Loan.
This page has a list of links of puppet-making books and sites. This site explains some of the inner workings of foam latex puppets. (I like the praying mantis puppet at the top.) This page gives a detailed tutorial on making a nun puppet from foam. It's well-organized and chock full of photos.
The tutorial board of the Puppets and Stuff forum is a great resource. There's lots of fun stuff here.
I really like this blog, as it offers an ongoing resource of links in the puppet-making world. It even links a couple of the sites I've mentioned.
This page gives a tutorial (sadly without pictures!) for making puppets with foam latex. According to the site, "Jim Henson was the first to use foam latex puppets on a large scale." If you search for "'how to make' 'foam latex' puppet," you might find some other good sites.
Whew! Hope that helps. :)
(Lastly, just for fun, here's a bunch of artists' renditions of Muppets. They're amusing.)
posted by ElectricBlue at 1:21 PM on October 24, 2006
This page gives some design "secrets" for Muppets. Although it gives no specific construction advice, it does give some design principles used in current Muppets. One of the puppets has a plastic grape covered in fur for a nose!
This page gives a step-by-step walkthrough of the author's adventures into Muppet-style puppet-making. The end result, a fishy thing, looks pretty awesome to me. :)
The author of the previous page said they were inspired by The Foam Book. Here is the book's page; however, you can find used copies of the book on Amazon for $16.45 With the same search, a bunch of other puppety books popped up. You may be able to find these books at your local library. Heck, you could even do an Interlibrary Loan.
This page has a list of links of puppet-making books and sites. This site explains some of the inner workings of foam latex puppets. (I like the praying mantis puppet at the top.) This page gives a detailed tutorial on making a nun puppet from foam. It's well-organized and chock full of photos.
The tutorial board of the Puppets and Stuff forum is a great resource. There's lots of fun stuff here.
I really like this blog, as it offers an ongoing resource of links in the puppet-making world. It even links a couple of the sites I've mentioned.
This page gives a tutorial (sadly without pictures!) for making puppets with foam latex. According to the site, "Jim Henson was the first to use foam latex puppets on a large scale." If you search for "'how to make' 'foam latex' puppet," you might find some other good sites.
Whew! Hope that helps. :)
(Lastly, just for fun, here's a bunch of artists' renditions of Muppets. They're amusing.)
posted by ElectricBlue at 1:21 PM on October 24, 2006
Excellent. Great links everyone, thank-you so much. My daughter will be very happy.
posted by Hanover Phist at 6:00 AM on October 25, 2006
posted by Hanover Phist at 6:00 AM on October 25, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
This is a wiki article about Don Sahlin that describes some of the guiding design principles. This wiki is a mine of information about muppets.
I tried to find a Butterick pattern that I used to make a furry gopher hand puppet, but I couldn't find it online.
One trick I've done in the past is to craft a head and hands using thickish foam rubber (3/4" - 1") and contact cement to glue pieces up. It can be a bit of a challenge to make the pattern to glue up. When you have a shape you like, spray paint the foam for color.
posted by plinth at 12:09 PM on October 24, 2006