Video tutorials are always nice since you can show more of the "action" of what is going on but even a photo tutorial would be great.

I use a material that is called Doe Suede (not real suede) it never wears....covers nicely....thin as well......I have it in both black and red since these are the most common colours.....I also make my tongues out of sculpted reticulated foam dyed in red or pink....they also don't wear but you can use fun foam for tongues as well......hope this helps if you check out my you tube (click the buttons under my picture on the left side) there should be a video of Doe Suede to give you an idea of what it looks like.

BTW you can get Doe Suede at most textile shops.

Daryl H

Mouths - I use the same fabric (fleece) as the puppets.

Tongues - felt /usually the stiff felt.

Stiff felt is always an option, i usually use it on the sock puppets i make as the mouth. it has yet to fail me and is such a cheap alternative to gasket rubber. i can show you guys how i make them if you want (yay 100th post!)

I don't think I've made 2 mouthplates the same. Foam, fleece, low trimmed fur, vinyl, felt, stiffened felt, etc.. You name it.. If I can buy it somewhere locally I've probably attempted to make a mouthplate structure and covering out of it Just keep working with the local supplies you can find and what feels good on your hand. Both weight and balance is a factor for the final mouthplate for some creatures so that may be a determining factor in your design too..

I used red and pink felt on my first puppet to give him a tounge and a colored inside. the problem is that its thickness does interfere with closing the mouth.

I think you can solve it in a other way if you have a problem with closing the mouth --- whilst you're preparing a mouthplate do not make it out from just one piece. You can cut two halves of your mouthplate and then glue them on a fabric leaving a space between them. It gives you a better movement of the mouth as well as better closing whatever the felt thickness is.