Newb here with a question

[Jmahon]

Hey everyone. Going to introduce myself and ask a question in the same post of that is ok.

I am a cartoonist looking to bring some of my characters to life. Been a Muppet fan since I sat down as an impressionable six year old and watched the debut of a quirky show with puppets called "Sesame Street". In the seventies, I experimented with ventriloquism with a Charlie McCarthy dummy, and also had some store bought muppets (Bert & Ernie, and The Count) that I would perform shows for the family. I've never wanted to pursue it as a career until recently.

I've always been a fan of stopmotion, but find the artform too tedious for my nature. I've cartooned a couple of animal characters and I'm thinking muppet style puppets would better suit their style.

Saying that, I've been experimenting and find making puppets fairly easy with a high satisfaction level so on with my questions:

I want to make my mongoose character but am undecided on using fleece or a very short fake fur. I don't want it to look like a stuffed animal, so I am leaning towards fleece unless there is another fabric I can use that will look like short fur without losing the muppet look. Another negative with the fake fur is it's lack of drape and the course backing associated with stuffed animals. Any suggestions?

Another one of my characters is a duck and need to make a hard plastic looking stylized beak. I did a search here and read recommendations for paper mache. Just wondering if there is a standard everyone is using?

I have a ton more questions, but will start with these two.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

I don't know about the second question. But it seems that for your mongoose fleece might be a good way to go. I don't think the fur itself would make it look like a stuffed animal, I think that depends more on the style. But also, fleece sometimes is a little easier to work with.
This is just what I'm familiar with though so someone else might have a better opinion.

 

[LiveHand]

As for the second question, I believe carving foam, and then coating it with Plasti-Dip (basically rubber in a can) could achieve the look you're after.
Plasti-Dip comes in a few different colors (or you could purchase a create-your-color-kit) and is available at many hardware stores.