Muppet Parade Balloons - Pepe?

[Zack the Dog]

Yes i actuality saw these on tv like 3 years ago for i think an Easter parade and posted news about it. Some people were dumbfounded that i said that there was a Pepe balloon, but i had no proof! Thanks Frogboy!

 

[Luke]

They look great, if ever theres another Muppetfest these need to be there, hovering, lol

 

[Beauregard]

They look great, if ever theres another Muppetfest these need to be there, hovering, lol

Sooooo agreed! Can we get a Bill Baretta balloon too though?

 

[Luke]

We might have to make do with a giant muffin, but we could try! LOL

 

[Drtooth]

I don't buy into the fact that a Miss Piggy likeness is all that difficult in any form. Hair is difficult, but the rest should be cake! Mmmm...cake. But I digest. He he.

It really comes down to the Pig's central feature = it's a nose issue. The nose is too long and strangely shaped. One thing I have noticed with Muppet likenesses is that some artists go toward complicated designs rather than keeping solutions simple. The simpler you keep a Muppet design likeness the better it comes off. Overaccentuating features on Muppet characters doesn't work.

That ios a good point, though. It really shoudln't be that hard to capture her, but often times, you'll see something overexaggerated. And this is usually in the type of product that uses seams and sewing. Plush toys, and something like this. There's a lot of subtlety that works better in 3-D solid form that only sculpting can do justice.

Seems like seams are the trouble here on the face. And I will say, it's random she's on a flying carpet.

 

[frogboy4]

That ios a good point, though. It really shoudln't be that hard to capture her, but often times, you'll see something overexaggerated. And this is usually in the type of product that uses seams and sewing. Plush toys, and something like this. There's a lot of subtlety that works better in 3-D solid form that only sculpting can do justice.

Seems like seams are the trouble here on the face. And I will say, it's random she's on a flying carpet.

It's an artist and/or sculptor's inclination to exaggerate or accentuate features in order to capture likeness, but it should usually be diffused later on. Many times these product artists (for PVCs, balloons or whatever) are only referencing cartoon representations of the characters.

I actually have one of the licensor books that MR based the Mayhem figurines from. I can tell you they didn't look at the puppets once. That's why I've been particularly hard on them. Little actual creativity or care took place with those. Book or no book this sort of thing is easy to spot. It's like looking at a several generation Xerox of an image that has lost its spark and meaning.

It appears the Piggy balloon is an original design, but one that has been derived from cartoon conceptual art and not from the puppet. Thus, a facsimile of a cartoon approximation of a…

Yeah, and what's with the flying carpet pillow anyway? He he.

 

[Drtooth]

It appears the Piggy balloon is an original design, but one that has been derived from cartoon conceptual art and not from the puppet. Thus, a facsimile of a cartoon approximation of a…

The only real problem I've had with the Star Wars figures. They are clearly based on drawings, and not puppet like at all. Seems quite a bit of Muppet Merchandise throught the history of Muppet Merchandise was drawing related (Palisades being the most famous exception, working very closely with the puppets and such).

And it isn't just Muppet Show mercahandie, either. Sesame Street products are foamously cartoony lookinf. That's why Big Bird usually has a rounded off head, and Cookie has a fluffy as opposed to furry, likeness in some products.