Older Puppets

I don't really have anything new to show at the moment, though I've picked up some very nice new techniques in building.

I thought it might be fun to dip into the past a bit to see some of my earlier puppets, and how far I've come.

So, here are some of the first puppets I ever built.



I decided to make a puppet for my friend's birthday quite some time ago.  It had a fairly simple design, made to his specifications.  It's a bit crudely put together, but it's not fair to judge by my current standards.

 

All things considered though, I'd say it came out pretty well.

 

This was one of the earliest puppets of this kind that I had ever made.

What I learned in making this puppet, I applied in making Gertie: 

  

(She's on the left.)

She is very similar in shape.

Another puppet I made for a friend, was a replica of an even older puppet I had made:

 

...though I don't think I ever got a picture of it in finished form.  it doesn't seem to have hands, and it looks like the legs are pinned on.  However, it's not supposed to have eyes.  The original didn't either.  I decided to give this replica feet so you could tuck the sleeve in, and it would become a little doll-looking thing.

To see what I'm talking about, you'd have to travel way back.  Back to the very first puppets that I ever built.

These two were made out of old shirts.  The red one, "Red," as I took to calling it, gained a really big fan in one of my friends.  So, I made a more up-to-date version for them, also as a birthday present.  I kept the original for myself.

I'm sure I still have it somewhere.

Now, the blue fellow...  I wonder if anybody would make the connection...

Blue, horizontal stripes...  crazed eyes...

 It's Staniel.

Maybe it's not that obvious.

That old, old puppet there, is the first iteration of Staniel.

I grew attached to the character, and when I got to building new characters, I thought it would be nice to update him.  He got a total overhaul.  And among other things, moving eyebrows.

Around the same time as those two came around, I made my first big, foam-and-fur puppet:

That was quite an undertaking for someone who didn't know quite what they were doing.

It's also notable for being my first gloved-hand puppet.  The only problem with this was that the character's arms were so short.  He basically had hands sticking out of his body.

...which despite being what the design called for, it proved to make things difficult when operating the character.

I've come quite a way since then.  I learned new technique, how to better use my materials...  and to quit fussing too much over the details.  Sometimes, simpler is so much better.

At the time, I nitpicked these puppets to death.  Looking back, they're not perfect...  but how could they be?  They look good for what they are, they function fantastically, and have the spirit I wanted to give them in the first place.

You don't need amazing craftsmanship to make a puppet that is entertaining or endearing.  It's entirely possible to get an emotional response from a character that's just a bare hand.

Puppet Rack & Photos

Now they have a place where I can display them...  and they're out of the way.




I didn't realize until I put all this up that I have as many blank characters as finished characters.  sweet.

Floyd, now with 100% more tongue.

Staniel... posing, apparently.

Gertie is too close.

Erma wants you off her lawn. 

Staniel is up to something.

What started all this puppet business, anyway?

Years ago (high school), I had the idea to create a video series with some puppet characters.
I liked the idea, and always wanted to do something with puppets.

There were a few impediments preventing me from doing this, though.
First and foremost:  I didn't have any puppets.  I had no idea where I could find one that didn't look like a toy, and I didn't know the first thing about making them myself.

The short version of the story:  I still haven't gotten to that video series, but I managed to teach myself the ins-and-outs of puppet building.

As I was learning how to put puppet characters together, I ended up making a few characters for friends and family.  One thing lead to another, and I began offering my services selling custom puppets, which is why you're seeing this webpage right now.


I built a cast, then life hit me hard (college will do that), and I wasn't able to pursue video-making much.  I did make the occasional test here and there, though.

Such as this "gem" before all the characters were finished:

I started on a character that was perhaps a bit more ambitious than I should have attempted as a beginner.

I worked with materials that I could find, and made sure to save my patterns, in case I stumbled backwards into any "happy accidents" that I wouldn't be able to replicate later.









All things considered, this character turned out pretty good for a first attempt.  I've considered going back and giving it real eyes and teeth.











You can see it here, with a few of my other, very primitive early puppets:

I had even made plans for some more elaborate characters:

And eventually, I amassed enough of a "cast" to put some sort of videos together.  






But, like I said, life got in the way of that goal.  School demands attention, you know.

Around this time, I also made an attempt to sell some puppets, too, since I'd just learned a pretty interesting skill.
For a hobby-level, I did pretty well with that.

Which, eventually resulted in the webpage you are now reading, and the armfuls of puppets that we've built for people.
And, if you're interested, you can have a custom puppet from us.
Have a look at our custom information, and order form here.