Converting 2-d sketches into 3-d puppets

[SesameKermie]

I have a question about puppet building/design. How do you get the 2-d character sketches of puppet designs to accurately reflect the final character? Or rather, how do you make the puppet resemble what you drew? Take Jarrod's "Old man/Villain" puppet that he is creating. That character looks very much like the sketch.

However, my sketches don't come out looking very much like the sketch I made at all. I'm not talking about the refining and editing that goes on with every character, but the fact that my character sketches look like a young child drew them and my puppets look "craft-project"-y. It's one of those "Well if you kinda squint your eyes, and tilt your head...Maybe..." resemblances.

So I guess I have a multipart question:

1. How do you make great looking character sketches?
2. How do you turn those sketches into patterns?
3. how do you reproduce the shapes and patterns to create a great looking puppet?
4. Is this just a practice thing and I'm trying to run before I can walk?

Thanks!

 

[Jinx]

Dave Privett has a really great video on how to make a puppet pattern from your sketch. It is not a 1-2-3 and you're done kind of thing, there are a lot of steps involved, and it (like anything worthwhile) takes much practice. There really is a lot to be said for walking before running.

You can order the DVD here. I highly recommend it.

 

[biblebetty]

I got that DVD too & it was worth every penny. It also gave me a lot of ideas.