They look pretty great to me

I think so, too: hardly anybodys face it totally even. And you did one heck of a job with those colours!

I really like the airbrush shading on these guys. Very nice. 

I always struggle with the whole balanced prefect face thing. You know what though the puppets I end up liking the best down the road are the ones that are unbalanced.  

I think they both look fantastic. Don't beat yourself up too much.

Thanks guys. I think my disappointment is less with the puppets themselves than it is with my lack of control of the materials and process. It's not that I mind the asymmetry of the puppet. It's that it's not what I was trying for. I think my biggest mistake was starting these two without a clear picture in my head of what I wanted them to be. I was trying to formulate an image in my head while trying to learn the process and it may have been a bit much. And I still have a long way to go with my sewing skills. But the experience with these two has gone a long way to help me understand the process and I'm looking forward to doing more and refining my skill set to the point where I feel comfortable with puppetmaking. And it's great to be able to share the journey with like minded people here.
Chris

If this is messing up puppet, then i like the messed up puppet look, there is absolutely nothing wrong with them and im sure there are alot of us that would love to be able to mess a puppet up and still have it come out as great looking as yours have!!! they are totally awesome and i love the airbrushing you have done on them, maybe some tips on what you did to airbrush the features would be valuable on this site!!

I think most of us here work without a proper plan of attack - experimentation is what it's all about! And you're right, you'll get better the more experience you have.

I'll second the airbrushing tips. It's not something I'll ever have access to, but I'm might curious to know how it works.

New puppet. He's a slimy double-crossing underhanded eel with a Peter Lorre kind of personality;


The airbrushing is a little heavy-handed. Airbrushing on soft and fuzzy materials is a bit of a challenge. But the vast majority of this was done today, so I feel like I'm getting a handle on things.
Airbrushing is pretty simple, but it does require the right equipment and practice. You need an airbrush, a source for air pressure (compressor or air tank) and some paint. It's just like using a can of spray paint, just much finer and more controllable. The kids puppets used three colors; sienna, red and black. The eel only used blue and black. There are plenty of online airbrushing tutorials that can explain it and show you much better than I ever could. I think it adds another dimension to the puppets. Not sure whether it's always applicable or not, though.
Chris

What type paints do you use with your air brushing?

I like the paint job. It certainly doesn't look any different than other painted puppets, so I think it's safe to say your ability to airbrush is pretty darn good. With practice it sounds easy to pick up?

I love those eyes!