And for my first puppet...Animal!

[ashkent]

A fan of the Muppets since childhood, as I grew older and began collecting memorabilia - models, statues, busts - of various things, not just Muppets, I found one thing frustrating me for around a decade. The fact that I could not get replica of Animal that was a) true to all of the variations there have been of Animal over the years - from the very pink and fluffy original, to the less hairy and somewhat elongated version used in the upcoming Muppet movie - b) could actually be used as a puppet and not just sit there, and c) not cost so much I needed to take out a new mortgage to buy it.

I know many people have said how they like the MR Animal, but for me, there is still something lacking in it that I can't quite put my finger on but basically it is not my Animal. I think when anyone is asked to think of Animal in particular, everyone thinks of the version they first saw.

So with all that in mind, I set out with two doxen Animal images, a few YouTube and DVD clips, and materials costing around £60 including 1/2 inch foam, over 7000 individual spines from Ostrich feathers, some felt, some craft foam, stuffing and a red sponge ball. Oh, and a couple of clear balls that come in two halves and are usually used to make decorative Christmas baubles.

I should point out that I had never made a puppet before. This was the ultimate baptism of fire. Creating a near accurate replica of one of the most iconic Muppet's to have come from Jim Henson's brilliant mind and actually do it justice. All I will say is, it has taken two months and has been one of the biggest but most worthwhile challenges of my life.

I have gathered together a few pictures of the process and the final head - body is still under construction - and once they upload I will post them here. (I have posted this elsewhere, but it's full of links to the pictures, here i'll actually post the pictures in order)

 

[ashkent]

These are the photos from the initial cutouts to the final head. I'm currently making two bodies - one as a half body puppet and the other as a full body with legs and capable of sitting on its own. I've basically attached velcro to neck section so it can interchange between bodies. I'll post those shots when it is finished.

 

[gojira54rules]

Nice Job! He's Coming Along Nicely.

 

[The Shoe Fairy]

I can tell you now he looks absolutely fantastic. For a first puppet, I think this blows most of, if not all first puppet builds I've seen before, and he's not even finished!

 

[ashkent]

Thanks for that. I think the hardest part is that there are so many variations of Animal anyway - and I think the first one I ever saw as a kid was from around the time of The Muppet Movie so that's the one i've always thought of whenever anyone mentioned Animal. That's the one I was trying to make, but with colours more like the original one from Series 1 of the Muppet Show.

Because the "skull" was being completely covered then it was more getting the proportions right than being neat...and putting 7000 individual feathers into the headpiece almost killed me and brought on early arthritis! lol. All definitely worth it though.

 

[charlie bird]

This is exstreamely good!How did you put on the feathers?coooooooooooooool!

 

[callmemilo]

7000 hairs? Are you serious?! That's crazy! But **** impressive

 

[ashkent]

This is exstreamely good!How did you put on the feathers?coooooooooooooool!

Originally it was just pink fur, but it was too short and didn't move anywhere near as well as the feathers. I just threaded five into a needle at a time and punched them through, building them up and gluing them on the underside as I went.

7000 hairs? Are you serious?! That's crazy! But **** impressive

And yes...it's obviously not exactly that but going off the average spines I was getting off the big ostrich feathers it worked out between 6500-7000 including the chin and top lip ones. It was definitely worth it over using just fur - he moves brilliantly in the breeze.

 

[Animal31]

What did you use for the mouth plate?

 

[ashkent]

I was originally looking for plastic but had none to hand so I took an old strong cardboard box, cut the shape and for durability I covered it with duct tape. Also I made the hand grips from a strip of 1/2 inch foam wrapped in tape - makes it strong but also quite comfortable. Then the side that was on display was obviously covered in black felt.

I did notice in some videos of Animal he seems to have a quite flexible mouth and other times it is rigid. If I was making him again (7000 feathers again, not on your life!) the only thing I would change would be to try and find something that would add that bit of flexibility and expression more than the rigid mouth.