Sounds like a good starting point.

Just did a quick mockup, and I think it should work. 

With longer beaks or snouts, the issue is always the weight, they will bend at a certain point. Last year I made a CoCo puppets from Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, for the beak I glued floral wire into the foam snout. It was great for both stability and I could then bend the beak into CoCo's crazy shape. Big Bird I believe has a wooden palette because of this issue...

Look closer at the shape of BB's beak from the top angle. See how it spreads out to corners of the face? You want to do the same with your proto type. This means that your beak foam needs to follow the same curve as the head and extend back to the corners of the mouth. Also you are going to want to have your hand inside the beak more.

Good point Shawn, that was a quick 10 minute put together, but I didn't catch the mouth in my paint job.  So, the top and bottom of the head will become beak.  Meaning the eyes will go directly on the "skull" and I will put a foam..uhm..frill right behind the eyes for the face feathers.  I have a scrap roly poly 2.5x foam head that I was going to experiment with today.  Hopefully I can cut a 2x GSP out of it. 

Animal31, the pallette is wood?  That makes sense, looking at the pictures the bottom beak seems like it is just some stiffened board.  Floral wire sounds like a great idea.  Was thinking plastic canvas, but not sure of its stability. 

So...if my crudimentary measurements are correct, GSP printed at 125% will get the beak/head.  That does seem small.

Honestly, I think the size of the head part would be perfect as is. I think where it needs some tweeks is in the beak itself. Think of it this way, the puppet head technically IS the beak, the eyes just sit on top of it. A better way to judge size is to google images of BB near a human character, maybe the beak is as long as an adult forearm? he pictures will help to judge this.

I would even maybe try finding pics of the original Bird before they puffed him up, the pattern was never really changed, just more feathers , but this will help you see the actual shape of the head much clearer...

I think I have the head figured out, need to pick up some more foam before I can test it:



Regarding the eyes, is there a good method in covering a round ping pong ball with felt?  Although, looking at pics, seems like they use more of a rubbery material.

Regarding the eyes, is there a good method in covering a round ping pong ball with felt?  Although, looking at pics, seems like they use more of a rubbery material.

You should be able to use a variation of the method seen in these pics.


Replace the cotton batting with your ping pong ball. Also remember that if you wet felt you can kind of stretch it around things and then when it dries it shrinks and molds it self to what you are forming it around.

that's an interesting point about the  felt. I might try that.