I just made a salmon

[scarylarrywolf]

Hey fellow builders/puppeteers. I just finished building and performing a 9-foot salmon puppet-costume and thought I'd share some photos with you all. My photo stream includes some scans of concept drawings, shots of the building process, and photos of the puppet on location.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31470569@N08/sets/72157621659503521/

This has all been commissioned for a local commercial by Salmon Safe, a non-profit organization that helps farms create eco-friendly surroundings for spawning salmon. Their website is here:

http://www.salmonsafe.org/

 

[muppetfan89]

that's terrific! how did you make it?

 

[scarylarrywolf]

I made the head of L-200 foam, and the body out of some sheets of 1/2" "ethafoam" that I got from Tap Plastics. The fins are made of black crepon — a light-weight, see-through, dense mesh fabric. After giving the body two coats of latex paint to minimize chipping, I just used some different matte and metallic spray paints over the foam. It picks up a nice shimmer in the sunlight and keeps the costume light weight compared to using a fabric covering.

The whole thing is harnessed to the performer's body via a baby backpack modified with some PVC pipe extensions that attach back in the tail section. The mouth, front fins, and pupils are operable, and the tail swings side to side as the performer walks.

I will post some video in the following weeks as it becomes available.

 

[keithallison]

that's awesome! great job, very creative use of materials!

 

[mr3urious]

Now that is a realistic salmon! Great work!

 

[Beauregard]

Congratulations! It's a...Salmon...

 

[shtick]

VERY cool!

 

[alfers1985]

That is Awesome.

 

[D'Snowth]

Yay! Scarylarrywolf is back... again!

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Yay! Scarylarrywolf is back... again!

I'm in and out