Finished Ernie Replica

[ToodlesTeam]

Here are some pictures of my finished Ernie Replica Puppet. He's not perfect, and there's a few little details I'm not completely pleased with (right hand, I'm mostly looking in your direction...), but overall I think the likeness turned out really nice and he's a ton of fun to operate.

http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx96/ToodlesTeam/ernie1.jpg
http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx96/ToodlesTeam/ernie2.jpg
http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx96/ToodlesTeam/ernie3.jpg

And here's Ernie sitting on a table, so you can see the whole puppet:
http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx96/ToodlesTeam/P6260110.jpg
Ernie wasn't quite complete in that picture, as his shirt didn't have the yellow trim on the bottom yet.

Again, he's not the best or most accurate replica ever, but I'm quite happy with him!

 

[Melonpool]

That looks great!

If you wanted to "fix" that right hand, you could try putting wire inside of the fingers to make it a little more articuated -- that way you pose it in a realistic way.

I think it looks great as it is, though! When do you think you'll start Bert? Ernie looks awfully lonely!

 

[Melonpool]

One question -- how did you do his collar and cuffs? Did you find a quilted fabric somewhere, or did you do that from scratch? I have to do that sort of thing for some of the wardrobe on some of my puppets and I'd love to be able to buy it off the shelf instead of having to make a bunch of collars by hand (or machine).

 

[TML]

He came out so good. I love him. Now it makes me want to make an Ernie. Great job!

 

[ToodlesTeam]

One question -- how did you do his collar and cuffs? Did you find a quilted fabric somewhere, or did you do that from scratch? I have to do that sort of thing for some of the wardrobe on some of my puppets and I'd love to be able to buy it off the shelf instead of having to make a bunch of collars by hand (or machine).

My mother crochets, so she made the yellow trim. I couldn't find any sort of fabric that had the right look myself.

Also, as of right now, I have no plans to make Bert, since I can't do his voice at all. In addition, I plan to make an original character next, rather than another replica.

Also, thanks! I'm glad you all like him!

 

[ToodlesTeam]

Turns out, I lied about not doing another replica yet, because I remembered one more character I wanted to do, and he seemed pretty simple so I decided to have at it. I'll make a new topic when he's all done, but here's a little preview of what I've finished so far:

http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx96/ToodlesTeam/P7150126.jpg
http://i745.photobucket.com/albums/xx96/ToodlesTeam/P7150132.jpg

The construction is a little crude (especially since the eyes are styrofoam) but the likeness is unmistakable!

 

[unheard]

woo beaker my favorite character.

please will you be write a tutorial please ?

would love be see them eyes light up. lol

please can you tell me what fleece you used ?

 

[ToodlesTeam]

There's not much to say really. Beaker's construction is really simple. He's made out of two Quaker Oats cans duck taped together. The mouth is cut out of the bottom of the first tube, with a foam mouth-plate of sorts inside. The fleece was just some generic fleece I found at Wal-Mart that was the right color, and his hair came from a local craft store.

His eyes are styrofoam balls covered in a cheap white fabric, so they won't be lighting up. Of course, that's not how the real Beaker's eyes are made, but I already had some styrofoam balls the right size, so they worked well enough for me. His nose is a styrofoam egg covered with orange fleece left over from Ernie.

 

[unheard]

please can you tell me the mm size of the eye's and the Quaker Oats cans as we don't have them in the uk.

i cant wait to see him when he is complete.

thank you

 

[ToodlesTeam]

please can you tell me the mm size of the eye's and the Quaker Oats cans as we don't have them in the uk.

i cant wait to see him when he is complete.

thank you

They're 4 inch diameter tubes. I'm not sure how large that is in millimeters, but given how many products come in cans and tubes of that size, I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to track down something that would work. The most important things are that your hand can comfortably fit inside and that they can be cut without falling apart.

The eyes were 2-inch balls, but obviously, that size would depend on the size of the tubes you use. Each of Beaker's eyes are approximately half the width of the head, sometimes a little larger, depending on the puppet.