It’s been a while since I updated this blog and a lot has been done in that time! In this post I will show the rest of my process of making my first puppet who has now been named ‘Snotty’.
After creating armature, padding out the body and carving out a foam head for the puppet, the next step was to add hands and facial features. I made the hands out of wire covered with hot glue which made them flexible before painting over them with colour. I then used paint to add lots of nice colour to Snotty’s face and stuck on some elements like eyebrows and eyelids to give him more character. The idea is that he is congested and fed up with having a cold.
Hands made from wire and hot glue Face painting with acrylic
The next step was to make some clothes for my character so I went to the costume store on campus and found some material to create a jumper with. I have no experience in sewing and have never made clothes before but by following a YouTube tutorial I was able to create exactly what I had wanted! I cut out a pattern and used hot glue to fit it to the puppet’s body, then I created the turtle neck and cuffs for added detail.
I made trousers following the same method. I was so pleased with how the outfit turned out, and I really loved the process of making it! I also fashioned the shoes out of foam which was probably the trickiest thing to do out of everything and took several attempts. I painted them with some latex to give them texture.
Finally I made this little beanie hat out of felt. Again, I followed a YouTube tutorial to make this and it was very easy. I sewed the top part of the hat to create a bobble and glued the hem around the bottom. I had to try a couple of times to get the right fit but it came out looking perfect.
And here is the final result! The final details included painting the shoes black and painting the fingers with an ombre effect to simulate cold hands! Even though I had made eyebrows, I found that just the way in which the hat was positioned could show different emotions which was fun to play around with.
Overall, I absolutely loved my first puppet-making experience and I look forward to this class every week. I’m really happy with the character I made and think he already has a lot of personality so I can’t wait to animate him.