I de-lurked a few months ago to ask for tips about facial features and then never had a chance to come back. So, sharing the project I used the tips on! I haven't gotten to the project I was actually ASKING about, so when I do that I will take progress photos since I know I personally find those crazy helpful.

So here is Sam Winchester from the TV show Supernatural. I do all original stuff in my "real job" designing plush so I let myself have some fandom fun. He's still a WIP but he was finished enough to go to Dragon*Con with me, where he was lovely company, a good icebreaker, AND met Red and Mokey Fraggle. Apparently the likeness isn't half bad since a LOT of people recognized him in the halls. The moose antlers are a sort of in-joke about the actor's height and build, and are removable.







This is my first human puppet with a full foam head; I did draft the pattern for the head and body, but got lazy on the arms and used a PP pattern so they're a bit short and need to be redone. Fortunately they're removable; I couldn't get supplies I needed so brainstormed magnetic purse closures. Those, incidentally, are easy to attach and move very well; but not great if you flail the puppets arms too much (flying arms are a risk). Size-wise he's midway between the Simple and Forma PP series at about 19.5"; I find the Forma size too large for me and Simple is kinda small to do detail. He's only my 4th puppet actually (not counting some fabric-only cheesy ones years ago) so *learning curve*.

I'm not happy with the obviousness of the seams! I use the "Henson stitch" all the time on plush and it never shows; no idea what happened on the Antron?! Tips welcome. I'm also using the PP removable arm rod method with the internal tube, and the rods are constantly falling out and driving me mad. Things to work on for future builds I guess.

I had the same problem with the rods dropping out of the tubes on my puppets. I found two ways to keep this from happening. The first and less elegant way was to wrap tape around the rod until it made a tighter fit. I didn't like the look of that method so I redid them. I used plasti-dip. I just kept adding coats of plasti-dip until it was thick enough to provide a snug fit.

Ah, that's an excellent idea! Especially since I have some unopened Plasti-dip lying around. Thanks!

He's fabulous!

Hey great job! I can see Sam in your creation. Hair style and chin help quite a bit. Speaking of chin, really nicely done. In fact everything is very professional looking. Did you pick out the seams?  The one I do see looks pretty even and clean so I think if you just take the tip of needle or pin and pull the fibers from the seam it should be pretty unnoticeable.

In regards to the removable arms. Daryl of Stiqpuppets has a really nice method he shared in video. It is in three parts.

Lizzies Lair: thank you!

Shawn:  Thanks very much! I spent a lot of time on that chin, hah! Felt a little goofy obsessing over it. Yes, Stiqpuppet's videos are an excellent resource. That's the method I was going to use, but I found out I can't get the bushing/flange piece in a large enough size. Joys of small towns. :P Presumably I can track them down online.

Great puppet!   And the chin IS really good, I am currently working on my first human looking puppet and I have completely wrecked the chin, but am continuing with the project for the practice.  What did you use for the hair on Sam?  It looks great.

This is an *awesome* puppet build! Love the detail, hair and overall look. Very professional look, nice work!

Fantastic likeness. I love so many of the details. The hair is fantastic, and I love the eyes and chin too.
Did you dye the fleece or is that a pale flesh tone fleece you found?

I like the pointy side burns best. Good work.