My first two puppets-please tell me what you think

[trooper_trent]

Im sure the comments about the uneven mouth are not based soley on you puppets. I have seen MANY OWS puppets with the same problem. Even ones that was told were purchased. I think yours turned out quite nice. I especially like how you did the hair. Good job. I think we are all here to learn and I appreciate your attitude of humility when it comes to criticism. Thats how I feel. Im a beginner when it comes to building and I want people to tell me the honest truth so that I can learn from my mistakes. But like I said, your puppets turned out quite nice.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Just for clarification, the 'cheap-o' puppets I was referring to are practically sock puppets in dollar store easter baskets; wasn't referring to anything by OWS or puppets anybody here has made.

Trooper, Yahnke, and others: Don't expect the first to be the best ever--I'm STILL learning and practicing as I go along. These are great puppets that you've created here, and I hope you will take what you've learned from building these puppets and enhance them as you go along creating more puppets in the future!

 

[Whatever]

I really liked the girl puppet!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

If I refered to a "nice" puppet mouth (apparently I'm too lazy to go back and read my own post!) I meant that the fleece actually curves inside to meet the mouthplate, creating a lip of sorts. The mouthplate and fleece for the head do not meet *exactly* at the edge of the mouthplate.

I don't know if I explained this very well, but here's a picture with a puppet that sort of has the kind of mouth I'm talking about - http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/an...Finished+Puppets&.dnm=Original+Ned+Puppet.jpg - the mouth is open (I wish I had a shot of it closed) but that's sort of what I am talking about.

 

[Yahnke]

Buck and others,
thanks for the clarification on the mouth problem with my puppets. I agree. The girl was my first puppet ever, and the mouth plate construction is somewhat from my own design, because I didn't have the meterials or the brain power to understand what in the world OWS was asking me to do in their instructions. I wanted the fabric to curl over and create a lip as well, but that didn't happen. I tried to do it on the guy puppet, freddy, but it is uneven and jagged, but that's because i hot glued and didn't sew. I am decent at sewing but not good by any means..i taught myself how just so i could make puppets. My wife thinks it's great, because she doesn't sew...lucky me!

 

[HandySam]

Buck and others,
thanks for the clarification on the mouth problem with my puppets. I agree. The girl was my first puppet ever, and the mouth plate construction is somewhat from my own design, because I didn't have the meterials or the brain power to understand what in the world OWS was asking me to do in their instructions. I wanted the fabric to curl over and create a lip as well, but that didn't happen. I tried to do it on the guy puppet, freddy, but it is uneven and jagged, but that's because i hot glued and didn't sew. I am decent at sewing but not good by any means..i taught myself how just so i could make puppets. My wife thinks it's great, because she doesn't sew...lucky me!

Okay. I will tell you Yahnke my honest opinion. I think you did a wonderful job on both of these puppets, I did however notice in Freddies mouth that the lip seemed a little lumpy. Now I know that that is from you hot glueing it. I did like how you brought the lip into his mouth a bit . You did it different for brittney's mouth although hers doesnt seem to be lumpy like that. My personal preferance...I like to see the mouth a little smaller than OWS's pattern makes it. It just appears to grin from "ear to ear". I like Freddy's eyes better than Brittney's. It's the way they stand out from the rest of the head a little. This gives the illusion that they are looking at you even if you turn the head a bit. I thought the hair was done very well on both puppets and for having to adapt the pattern and translate it like you did, even though I am a novice here I'd say you did excellent. So there you have it.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Good point about the hot glue Sam! You really, really, really should not use hot glue for mouthplates, ever. It's just very lumpy. I'd even give regular `ol white glue a chance (which I do use sometimes) before hot glue. Personally, I use Lepage contact cement to do this, but it's pretty toxic stuff so you might want to try Super77 spray glue. It's still toxic (read the safety instructions before using it) but it's not as bad and would probably work very well.

 

[HandySam]

Okay. I will tell you Yahnke my honest opinion. I think you did a wonderful job on both of these puppets, I did however notice in Freddies mouth that the lip seemed a little lumpy. Now I know that that is from you hot glueing it. I did like how you brought the lip into his mouth a bit . You did it different for brittney's mouth although hers doesnt seem to be lumpy like that. My personal preferance...I like to see the mouth a little smaller than OWS's pattern makes it. It just appears to grin from "ear to ear". I like Freddy's eyes better than Brittney's. It's the way they stand out from the rest of the head a little. This gives the illusion that they are looking at you even if you turn the head a bit. I thought the hair was done very well on both puppets and for having to adapt the pattern and translate it like you did, even though I am a novice here I'd say you did excellent. So there you have it.

I'm trying to figure out how to make the mouth so the lips have just a bit of a smooth rounded puffyness on the inside of the mouth. Just a bumper for the plates to come together softly so they look more like lips is what im after. i was thinking of putting a small ridge of foam around on the inside of the mouthplates and wrapping the fleece around that ridge to be glued underneath it on the inside. (if that makes any sence) Whatcha think? Think it'll work? I might even try weather stripping for that ridge of foam. I think it might hold up better to the closing for the mouth, and the weather striping is self adhesive so it might help hold down the fleece a little in addition to super77.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Interior of Muley's mouth has always been hot glued until recently when I started using the Super 77 spray adhesives. It wasn't bad (the hot glue), but you have to work with it FAST to keep it from getting all lumpy on you.

Buck, you use like Elmer's glue? wow. I've NEVER liked it, not even on grade-school construction paper projects! It tastes good, though.

 

[DPuppets]

I have always used hot glue in the mouth. One way to keep it from getting lumping is to have a glue gun that a tube tip. This is a tip that sticks out about 2" and you can get into the corners and under the fleece. It gives you a smooth even coat.