I think you are on the right track.  It still looks to me like you have not put the back of the heads on yet.  That is going to change the shape also.

This is the mouth pattern I used for the two guys in the picture.

Sorry for the late response! This week's been really hectic and I haven't gotten around to updating my puppets, but I did have a bit of time today so I made some progress.


Here's Joel's pattern with just a rough sketch of Nicky's face on it.

It's a little sharp on the edges, not really like Nicky's head, so I might have to make some adjustments somehow.

Top view of Joel's pattern

Here's VW's pattern... which is abnormally large.. again.. and it's shaped weirdly. I haven't glued it yet, but i pinned it together just to see how it is going to look and..

It's still a little weird...

Again, any suggestions/advice are great appreciated!

If the edges are sharp after pinching, try flipping it inside-out.

Also,are you cutting with scissors?  Try a single blade like a utility knife or that kind used for scraping stickers.  It made a huge difference with how clean my edges turned out.

VW's pattern only looks weird because it' flattened. Once you attach a mouth and the rest of the head, it will actually balloon out into the correct shape - that happens with the patterns for my muppet-type puppets as well.

I agree with Na that the addition of a mouth-plate will change the shape of VW's pattern. I do think that the darts in the pattern may need to be just a bit deeper.

Don't worry to much about the "sharp edges" that you may see in the foam at the darts.  One the fabric itself helps to soften these once you cover the head and even if they still seem to sharp you can always use a thine layer of poly batting between the foam and fabric. That is the stuff they use inside quilts, so it is really easy to get at the craft and fabric store.

If the edges are sharp after pinching, try flipping it inside-out.

Also,are you cutting with scissors?  Try a single blade like a utility knife or that kind used for scraping stickers.  It made a huge difference with how clean my edges turned out.

Yeah, I am cutting with scissors - I guess I'll try again with a utility knife sometime soon.

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Shawn & Na,

Either way it's still abnormally large, so I'll have to redo that one again.

Ugh! I'm starting to question whether or not I should use sheet foam or if I should just try to carve it out of a foam block.... This is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.

Hang in there with sheet foam. Once you get it down you'll like it.   Working with patterns and sheet foam is more common, and I think easier, then carving out of a foam block. If you carve out of a block you still have to carve out the insides also so you kind of end up with what you have with sheet foam only it takes a lot longer.

I agree with Shawn.  Hang in there.  I promise the sheet foam shapes "smooth out" and can change a bit when the mouthplates are in, and the fabric is on.  Why don't you use some inexpensive fleece and go ahead and complete a trial puppet?  You might be surprised how much you like it after all!

UGH! Sorry again for the late reply. Life's been so hectic recently!

I e-mailed Rick Lyon (yes, THE creator of the AVENUE Q puppets  ) and he was kind enough to e-mail me back and give me some info about Nicky.

"Kevin,

There is no one right or wrong way to make a mouth puppet. What works for you is what's important.

But let me give you some guidance - do not think of Nicky's head as a sphere. Nicky's head, which is actually a very complex, compound shape, that took me a long time to pattern, is most like a squat egg shape.

Hope that helps!"

Anyway, that was after I completed the trial puppet's head. It's much more of Rod's head shape so I guess we're getting somewhere. Back to square 1?