Do you paint the shading in? What type of paint do you use? He looks GREAT!

I use fabric pastels.  You can get them at Hobby Lobby.  Brush the pastels on with paint brushes.  That way you can control the lines or the build up of color.   I've only done a very small amount of painting on fabric, but would really like to learn air brushing.  A little intimidating. 

Thanks everyone for the sweet comments.  I just love what I get to do everyday!

Julie

Julie, I really want to do airbrushing too! Just haven't made that investment.  Also, when you put the fleece over the sculpted foam do you use spray adhesive to make it stick and smooth out?

Okay...had photos taken, but it will be a while before the are finished....photographer was leaving for vacation and just squeezed us in.  I've added the photos I took of the other two puppets.  Enjoy.  They're off to their new home.

Julie, I really want to do airbrushing too! Just haven't made that investment.  Also, when you put the fleece over the sculpted foam do you use spray adhesive to make it stick and smooth out?

No, I don't use the adhesive in that fashion.  I first lay out the fabric pieces on the foam as show in the first few photos.  Then I sew together the pieces,  For this one I believe I started on the underside of the snout, then tip of the snout, corners of the mouth, darts in cheeks, snout to face, I skip sewing the front of face to back of head until I have the front of the face glued in place, dart in lower jaw then lower jaw to top jaw and back of neck.  I first start by hot gluing the corners of the mouth and center points on mouth making sure there is not to much fabric so to cause to much wrinkling on the mouth.  If so, then I would have taken a small dart to pull up the fabric on the lip area. 

Next I pull back the face skin and start hot gluing at the point where the snout and cheek joint the mouth.  You'll want to just use a small amount of hot glue on both sides  of the snout working quickly fold the fabric back into place and hold the glued areas until they are cooled.  I use a fan.  Then you will repeat the process working up towards the top of the head.  I only secure the areas around the cheeks, snout, into the brows not the whole face.  Just the areas where you want the definition of lines.  Each time I fold the fabric back up in place I make sure it has not stretched to much, changed position etc.  Make sure not to glue the fabric down where you are going to join/sew a seam like front face to back of head.  You will want to do your sewing first.  There is no gluing on the bottom jaw except in the corners of his mouth.  The Antron makes this technique nice to use, but you can do it with regular fleece also.  What I have found is you can use a smaller piece of antron and stretch it into place without as many darts as with using regular fleece.

So you use hot glue, for instance, to make the nostrils indent? Or is that just an illusion of the shading?  It looks great however you did it!

You are correct. I cut out a small amount of foam in the snout before I covered it, then hot glued the fabric into the indention.  I also used a darker shade of fleece to glue into the indention.  Then shaded with the pastels also to tie in the edges.  It's hard to see well on the cow, but the edges of his stomach are shaded to give the illusion that the fabrics/cow hid are one continues flow.  

Toemas that I did a few years ago I used regular cans of spray paint to make his stripes along with a straight edge of cardboard.  I think the airbrushing would be much easier once I learned how, but as you say it's an investment of $ and time.  

This tree face is the same gluing concept only with regular fleece.  

WOW! They are great! Thanks for sharing!! Maybe someday I will have the privilege of owning one of your puppets!

Your sweet LJ.  It would be MY privilege.

Julie

Did you hand sew everything?

On the Pig yes everything was hand sewn, Cow some: nose, patch around eye, neck sleeve, inset color on ears, Rabbit I think only the front to back head and neck sleeve.