Hello everyone,
My name is Shawn. I am a part-time clown and decided to expand into puppeteering. I am currently unemployed and I thought since I now have the time I would like to get more involved into my clowning and thought a puppet would work great a part of an clown act for kids birthday parties.

Does anyone here have any good suggestions where to begin?

I would suggest an animal puppet.  Kids are drawn most to animal puppets, then the people puppets and last to objects.  Stick with something cuddly or cute.  You don't have to be a ventriloquist to incorporate a puppet into your act.  My rabbit in the hat puppet is still one of the favorites when I perform and the hat is perfect for storing props and other comedy items which would fit what you do as a clown.  You could also simply have a cat meow, (easy to do ventriloquially) or a dog could bark etc and you could interpret what it is saying.  Or you could have the puppet whisper to you. But always remember that the puppet is the star not the puppeteer! That can be a challenge for a clown to pull off successfully since the clown character is supposed to be the "funny guy" not the "straight man".  (Usually the ventriloquist is the "straight man" and the puppet is the "funny guy".) It will take some thought but it can be done. There are lots of places to get simple puppets to begin with! HAVE FUN!!! And welcome to Puppets and Stuff!!!

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking of a puppet something along the lines of Rod Hulls Emu. But I don't want a Emu, but the fun of a bird under the arm of something else would be hilarious.
Since I am an August clown, the August clown is usually the brunt of most jokes, so it can easily be added.

I am also thinking of just doing puppet shows too, during the off season for clowns which tend to be most winter months, but I don't have a clue where to begin.

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff Shawn!  I too would suggest an animal.  Don't get caught up in haveing to be a ventriloquist.  It is an an that takes some time and practice to perfect.  I never really was able to get the hang of it but still preformed with a puppet by my side much like Wayland did with Madame and never worried that my lips moved. The audience never seemed to care.   Actually you can make a joke of your lips moving if you want.

Thank you for welcoming me to this exciting adventure. I think I want to do an ostrich for the animal. Now I need to figure out what type of puppet it should be. I've been reading at puppetproject.com about some of their patterns and was thinking of using the glorified sock puppet pattern for the basis of the character.
What do you suggest as the first puppet to make? I want to do this myself instead of buying one.

Welcome MoeDum!  Love the costume.  This is a real basic animal pattern.  http://www.onewaystreet.com/product/564/puppet_building

If you've never built a puppet I'd recommend the www.projectpuppet.com patterns for the basic information; gluing, cutting foam, mouth plates etc.  As well as searching the gallery here or building topics.  There are great photos to help you get the idea of facial shapes.  Also......ask questions here.  Everyone is really great about helping.

Julie

sounds like you have an adventure on your hands!!

I think an ostrich puppet is a great idea for a clown, there are so many possibilities and many jokes you could do with it. project puppet is a fantastic place to start your puppet, there are awesome patterns and if you are thinking of using the glorified sock puppet pattern, then you will probably need to enlarge it a few notches, but it is a great pattern and so easy to use.

My suggestion is that you make an understructure of foam on the mouthplate to help give a better 'beak' shape, i usually make an 'arrow head' shape piece out of quarter inch foam, larger than the mouthplate, so that you can fold it down the center to create an upside-down 'v' shape (obviously the deeper v is the back of the beak and where your hand would enter the mouth) put some hot glue gun glue down the center crease and press together for a few moments to help hold the upside-down v shape, then glue the foam onto the mouth plate (two pieces, both mouth plates need a foam understructure, the bottom one should be slightly smaller) then cover with the glorified sock puppet pattern and you have a more beak-like shape, as if you don't put some sort of shape below the fabric, the head of the puppet will be more round and 'lemon' shaped, not like an ostrich!!

if you need a pattern for the foam, then i can email you a copy of mine, its so incredibly easy once you do it, also, if you need a photo to see what on earth on babbling on about, then just say and ill post some pix up!!!

well done for deciding to make it yourself, its always more satisfying to use something you have made yourself, and this is the place to get advice on all of this, there are some amazing puppet builders on here, its like a well of knowledge!!!

Good luck,

Ben.

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff............................ look at Axtell's pictures of Birds to get some ideas

http://www.axtell.com/birds.html

sounds like you have an adventure on your hands!!

I think an ostrich puppet is a great idea for a clown, there are so many possibilities and many jokes you could do with it. project puppet is a fantastic place to start your puppet, there are awesome patterns and if you are thinking of using the glorified sock puppet pattern, then you will probably need to enlarge it a few notches, but it is a great pattern and so easy to use.

My suggestion is that you make an understructure of foam on the mouthplate to help give a better 'beak' shape, i usually make an 'arrow head' shape piece out of quarter inch foam, larger than the mouthplate, so that you can fold it down the center to create an upside-down 'v' shape (obviously the deeper v is the back of the beak and where your hand would enter the mouth) put some hot glue gun glue down the center crease and press together for a few moments to help hold the upside-down v shape, then glue the foam onto the mouth plate (two pieces, both mouth plates need a foam understructure, the bottom one should be slightly smaller) then cover with the glorified sock puppet pattern and you have a more beak-like shape, as if you don't put some sort of shape below the fabric, the head of the puppet will be more round and 'lemon' shaped, not like an ostrich!!

if you need a pattern for the foam, then i can email you a copy of mine, its so incredibly easy once you do it, also, if you need a photo to see what on earth on babbling on about, then just say and ill post some pix up!!!

well done for deciding to make it yourself, its always more satisfying to use something you have made yourself, and this is the place to get advice on all of this, there are some amazing puppet builders on here, its like a well of knowledge!!!

Good luck,

Ben.

Ben,
Can you post up a photo for me. Also I would love to get the pattern for the foam; my email is shown in my profile.

will do moedum, ill post up a picture of my bird puppet toodles to give you some idea of what i mean. ill email you a copy of my foam pattern but you will have to play around with the sizing to make it work with the glorified sock puppet pattern (remember you will have to enlarge the pattern, i guarantee it will be too small for you hands otherwise) unless you would also like a copy of toodles fabric head pattern, its all in the fun of creating a beautiful puppet!!!
Ben.