I am looking to make an owl puppet wondering if anyone has made one before or any ideas on where to start

Making an owl has been on my list for a while.  I have done some searching and found two puppets on line.  One was so realistic it looked like a real stuffed owl with feathers and the other was very simple slick body. As I collect pictures of real owls and sketches I found that most of them were scary looking.  For my use I want more of a characature of owl with a happy look because my audience is very young kids. What kind of owl are you looking for?  As far as movements I hope to have a head that pivots easily by not attaching it to the body with a sleeve down thru the body. Also having horns that will go up and down on the head to show different emotions.  Big eyelids that close would be good too, but finding happy looking big eyes will be key.

Philip over at Thistledown Puppets did an amazing owl once. I really loved the way he cut the fur in a zig zag on the chest to give it more of a 'feather' look. I found  this feather-style fur online intending to have an owl made for a show. I needed a more cartoony look for my owl and commissioned the build from the amazingly talented James Wojtal. Although I do build many of my own puppets, doing something without a pattern is generally outside of my creative ability. The first image below is the completed puppet before James shipped him to me. I'm partial to the suncatcher style creature eyes so, later did a touch-up on the eyes with new pupils as seen in the 2nd photo. The owl makes his debut as a background character but, James did such an incredible job that we've been discussing Owl being a lead character in his own show one day.

cool. Is the 'fur-feathers' stripey type fur fabric? It looks so feathery. Does it need any stuff to make it stay in place?

cool. Is the 'fur-feathers' stripey type fur fabric? It looks so feathery. Does it need any stuff to make it stay in place?

Hey pagestep - yes, it's a stripey fur. The flow of the fur looks great on the arms/ wings while the fur around the face and body have been stiffened to stay in place. Our local craft/fabric shops carry this product called Stiffen Quick which just firms it up like a starch spray would: http://bit.ly/VMablT It's great for a fur mustache as well.

OK , I did think some of it must have been stiffened, like the 'ears' Looks great anyway. When you say  he has a secondary role, and may have his own show later...  are you able to elaborate on that? Is that as in Live performances, or  video?

When you say  he has a secondary role, and may have his own show later...  are you able to elaborate on that? Is that as in Live performances, or  video?

Sure! I do mostly educational shows for the younger set, performing at schools, etc. The next show we're producing is called Bunny's Four Seasons which I hope will tour libraries in the Summer as well. We hope to have it up and running by late Spring/ early Summer. Owl is in the show for only a couple pages of dialogue and was built specifically for this show. We have no solid ideas for Owl's future but, he certainly looks like a strong lead character or even a narrator.

David,
Do you have a current web site for James?  He is a member here but has not visited for some time and the website listed in his profile is no longer valid.

David,
Do you have a current web site for James?  He is a member here but has not visited for some time and the website listed in his profile is no longer valid.

Hey Shawn - James was last posting on http://apuppetaday.tumblr.com/ and continues to post via the twitter associated with it https://twitter.com/Apuppetaday.

Checked out his blog and subscribed to his youtube site.  Nice stuff.  I also like the puppets on davidm1969s profile.