A couple of months ago, one of the people I work with was in our break area, and he casually asked the room if anyone knew a puppeteer. "I'm one," I bravely replied without the benefit of knowing what he actually wanted. It turns out he was doing a small independent film parody of the Charlie Brown stories, and he needed a kite eating tree. "Sure," I said, "I can make you one." He sent me his concept art. "Yikes!" I thought. He had a great deal of detail and a lot of personality packed into one tree. I went ahead and took the challenge.

First, a bit of a disclaimer on the tree puppet. One, I hadn't built a puppet from scratch in a LONG time! Two, I had no pattern, so I made this up as I went. Three, I had no time to build him. The film's director needed him almost immediately, so I literally had no time to do a lot of hiding seams or hand stitching. I also had no time to wait for materials in the mail and he had a tight (no) budget, so he's built with a stretchy material that was on sale, upholstery foam, and such. I ended up skimping on eyes and just using painted felt since I was out of time and over budget already.

All that being said, he didn't turn out too badly! 

I think things turned out great. This is a good example of using what materials you have at hand and putting them to good use.

Billy D.

Well those kinds of challenges are always the best ones because they are the ones that truly test not only our ingenuity skills, but also our patience. You did a great job I think, especially considering the situation.

I also had no time to wait for materials in the mail and he had a tight (no) budget,

   I didn't know there was another way! LOL  That is how I have made all my puppets - no time - no money.

I wish I had quality materials and money to spend but, I just work with what I have.

Your tree looks really good!  I love him!

Angel in TX

I think he will work out perfectly for the kite eating tree! Thanks for sharing!!  AND for showing us what can be done with minimal supplies and expense!! GREAT JOB!

Good job.

I love him. I really like puppets that animate inanimate objects like rocks, trees, and so on. I want to see this guy eat a tree.

Wow!!!...great job with minimum resources...I love the
tree...it has some character.

Bhanu

Nice work on the tree time limits and budget are sometimes a nice challenge......thanks for sharing.

Daryl H