Other muppet fabrics?

[shtick]

Are there any there fabrics used by the Henson workshop for characters' other than fleece and fur? What are the whatnots covered in?

 

[HauntedPuppet]

I dont know what other fabrics that Henson Co. used but just about any fabric can be used.

I have used a combination of Faux Leather (fake alligator) and fleece to make a rather convincing gecko and many other fabrics to gain a desired effect.

The way to approach it is to have a look at unique fabrics out there and see how it inspires you. There might be a particular fabric that strikes you as suitable for fairy skin or wings (the translucent stuff) or some kind of crepe material that might give you the impression of elderly skin / flaky skin / bad skin / swamp monster skin / etc etc etc.

Basically your imagination is the only thing that can limit you in this so I would suggest taking a walk around your favorite fabric store and just seeing what sparks your imagination.

Some of my best puppets have been made from rather random materials and not always what I expected to use and sometimes sourced from shops or places that I least expect.

Peace

 

[SesameKermie]

Also don't necessarily rule out graphically patterned fabrics. I found some fur-like fabric that had mooses (meese?) and pine trees on it, but with some creative cutting, I used it for ears on a dog puppet I made, and the designs just became mottled light and dark areas resembling fur markings.

 

[HauntedPuppet]

I was not going to say this because it is a secret I have kept for a long time.

Making a puppet can be pretty expensive, especially when making a fully fur or mostly fur puppet. However there is a way to make it a lot cheaper . . . .

I quite often go into second hand clothing "brik-a-brak" or "Op Shop" style shops and see what fur jackets, old materials and fleece sweaters / jumpers as well as any other unique material that may be on a garment.

These garments are quite often very cheap and I have gotten some great furs, leathers, fleeces and textured materials for great prices. Sure I supplement these material supplies with retail materials from bolts but there is a lot of great fabrics out there to be gotten cheaply from places like that.

I can usually buy a nice colored fur jacket for around $2 to $10 AUD rather than $30 to $100 AUD per meter / yard from retail material stores.

Peace

 

[shtick]

I love the look of this guy

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Fat_Blue

I would like to build something similar, but it doesn't look like Anton.

 

[HauntedPuppet]

Antron, Polar, Sapphire, Kingston etc etc, there are many varieties of fleece with different pile heights and anti-piling properties.

Then there are felts which were also used. Part wool and full wool felts. They are normally a little more expensive though. To me, some of those pics looked like they were felt (and perhaps a puppet or two out of foam).

Peace .