Here is the beginning of my first puppet Steveo



His body right now is a little tight for my arm so I'm thinking of letting the seam out a little. Do you guys think his head is too big? I still have time to cut it down. Please critique :D

 

It would help if we had a drawing or plan of what the final product is supposed to look like. It is difficult to say if the head is to big in perportion. Can you show us a drawing of where you are going with this?

Really, a puppets head can never be too big. In fact often they are exaggerated in size compared to the body.  If you increase the size of your body to be a better fit I am sure you'll be happy with the size of the head.

Ditto to what Shawn said. I am looking at your puppet's head more in relation to your own, rather than the puppet's body, and it seems to me that it is about the same size as most of my puppets' heads. It sounds like you are already contemplating a somewhat larger body, in order to make it easier to get your arm into it.

Consider the Muppet, Animal. http://www.amazon.com/Corgi-DS155-Animal-Photo-Puppet/dp/B000RLDNJC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1249657966&sr=8-1. His head seems to be about twice as wide as his body. So the relationship between head and body size depends on what you want. Animal is a character of amazing energy and power, in spite of his very skinny body and arms. That's part of what makes the character fun.

Shawn and Chris are the experts. I'm sure they have thousands of puppet designs tied into their heads. They can change as they go. Me, I have to have a plan. But even with a well thought out plan, the puppet never looks like its original drawing because as you go along, it starts to take on a 3 dimensional personality and you get creative. (is it crazy to say the puppet starts to talk to you?)

Shawn and Chris are the experts. I'm sure they have thousands of puppet designs tied into their heads. They can change as they go. Me, I have to have a plan. But even with a well thought out plan, the puppet never looks like its original drawing because as you go along, it starts to take on a 3 dimensional personality and you get creative. (is it crazy to say the puppet starts to talk to you?)

I think it is great to get in the habit of working from a design. I just kind of jump in and go for it with the idea being in my head.

Billy D.

For the record: I have only once built a puppet without a written plan (my very first one)  The plan gets built in my head for at least three months. When transferred to paper (translated by computer graphics program) it gets adjusted. During construction, due to new ideas, or klutzy errors, more changes occur. When it is complete it's amazing how much it has changed yet again.

Personally, if my puppet doesn't start talking to me, I haven't conceptualized it enough to make it properly. 

(And I most strenuously, but without offense, deny the title of expert.) 

Hi Rich, I think your puppet can have alot of potential as it is, like it would be just as good if it would have a bigger body. If you are not satisfied with something, change it. You dont like the body, you find it uncomfortable, change it. That is the joy in puppeteering, we can change our ideas as we go along. Each puppeteer has his or her own way of doing things. I sometimes do a sketch, but for me, its just fun to try new ideas as I go along in my project.

Keep us up to date on the progress of your puppet. We love pictures!!!

I have learnt through both experience and other puppeteers that the smaller the puppet the better/more expression it will relay.  As I said....I have experienced it through both building and performing with puppets.....the Muppets are very small snuggly fit the hands of the puppeteers with little room in the head and there bodies fit snug over the arms and fall fairly short on the arm....I own three based on original patterns Muppet photo replicas basically they are the Muppets with no entrance hole for a hand just stuffed.  They have been legally obtained.....I own Kermit, Gonzo and Animal they are all pretty small than what I thought and with this knowledge I started to make my puppets smaller in size and they do bring on more expression and life.  But that is my 2 cents worth on this topic.....lol  .....

.....I digress....Rich it looks great so far keep it going and yeah try to fix the body the puppet should fit snug not tight....this will leave it move freely......thanks for sharing and can't wait to see the end result.....all the best.
Daryl H