Hey P&S, I have been busy doing nothing this whole summer!  Well like always I get spontaneous ideas and boy did I get one this week! I decided "Hey, I have foam lying around, and some baby blue fabric, Why not try to make Rod from Avenue Q right before I start school on Tuesday?!?!" So I started this about Thursday September 3rd, 2009. I finished by that Saturday. At first I hated it! Why? I didn't use a pattern so all was eye balling! The head was way to "fat" for lack of a better word, and the chin was ugly!!!! But with a little Nip/Tuck I was able to straighten most of his head out. I had to get the eyes from a stuff bear, and my sister was non too happy! The only thing that I didn't have was the hair! Of course my "friend" Joann, fabric store, had some weird wool stuff. So I thought why not?! I added it to the cart along with more foam for another project, and better fleece for a future Rod. I also found cool doll eyes in a variety of sizes for only $.99. Anyways, I made my very first attempt at a replica! I'm going to try to make another better version later when I have time from school! Here are my pictures!!! He is wearing my glasses BTW! lol
So now I leave the judging to you all! Please be blunt because with me honesty is the best policy!!!

Not Bad ! There are some fine tuning in places around the mouth and nose that you could be a little cleaner but overall great job.
I still have areas that don't come out perfect on my puppets. Keep at it.

Billy D.

Well after I figured that he wasn't going to look the way I wanted him to, I let my work get a little sloppy. But your right. I was just trying to finish this and feel like I kinda sorta got something usefull done!

Well after I figured that he wasn't going to look the way I wanted him to, I let my work get a little sloppy. But your right. I was just trying to finish this and feel like I kinda sorta got something usefull done!

I have great admiration for you younger puppet builders. You are so talented and have so many resources available to you  these days. Keep striving for the best and you will be the best.

Billy D.

Wow..looks cool..congrats you have done so well.
I like the eyes...

Like Billy me too admire young puppet builders who
could do wonders with latest materials. Keep
it going ...

Bhanu

Defiantly a great start on you first puppet replica.....congratulations.  I agree with Billy that you need some fine tuning around the nose and eyes.  FYI the eyes on a puppet are (personally) the most important thing on the whole puppet....that is why I spend more time in the eyes than any other part of the puppet.....so take your time on those eyes!...lol

As well it looks like it is a very LARGE head expertly compared to your head.....I like to remind people that the smaller the puppet is the better control you have over them at expressing emotions and such.....plus you save on materials.  The Muppet's are very small as much as people think that they are very large.

I can't wait to see the next one keep up the great work.

Daryl H

I just realized that I forgot to add his darn eyebrows! So Ill have to add them later tonight because I don't have time today, Post those pics soon!

I think you captured the essence of Rod.  I knew right away who he was.  Granted there are some differences but the "soul" is there.  I really like the hair.  How did you attach it.  I ask because normally "weird wool stuff" is just a big loose clump and can be hard to control and attach. I always like to hear how folks overcome such things.

It was actually folded really well. It was way more than what I was expecting which is always good, I shaped the hair to the style I thought he uses and there was alot of it left over the top so I cut it and attched it from the bottom up. This was the "up" do comes from the bottom and the over the top. I just applied Fabri-tac from Johann's every few in. and kept it intect so that it looks likes its all attached. For the next one Ill cut it piece by piece and attach them in individual groups. The Fabric-tac was 4 oz. (118 ml) was $6.99 while the one I got was 8 oz. for $9.99.

That's an excellent likeness! There are some areas that need refining, like around the mouth, but the best thing is that as soon as I looked at the puppet I knew exactly who it was.

(I think us glasses-wearing builders are particularly good when making puppets who wear spectacles - we always seem to have a spare pair to donate to our puppets! I did it too with one of mine)