Next project I am tackling is an idea I have had for awhile.  A baby dragon still in its shell.  The body will be an egg shell that covers my head with one of the puppet's arms and both legs protruding from the shell.  His head and neck will be my right arm.  I am using the Glorified Sock Puppet pattern as a foam base, than will be adding to it.  Plan to use liquid latex for the skin.  A bunch of firsts for me to attempt

Started with a paper mockup to see if it was feasible:




Certain views was giving it a predator bird/ostrich look, so I used my awesome paint skills to see what it might look like:



Looks a little better, but I can see that I will have to do some additions.  However, I am satisfied enough to start work.  Cut the foam pattern out, than added some extensions on the snout to make it longer:



Tomorrow I will be adding some 1 inch foam behind the extension, and that is where the large eyes will go.  Also will start trimming the pieces to make them flow a little better, and may add the neck. 

The eyes have been added.  Learned that I really need to get the mouthplate in for added support.  Not doing great at lining things up.

Coming along nicely!

So, as I am adding things I am really noticing how hodge podgy he is.  Starting to wonder if fabric if a better choice than latex, as I think fabric will hide things better.  Also thinking fabric may help hold the thing together better :D  While I understand the process of making a pattern from tape, I have yet to be successful with it.  Any additional tips?

I wouldn't make a pattern out of tape in this instance, I would simply use the draping method.  That means you take some fabric and drape or lay it over your form. Then start taking tucks in the fabric.  For something like this I would start with some cheap fabric that is like the one I want to use for final. I would use that to drape and get my pattern then go to the final more expensive fabric. See if you can find some really cheap fleece or even just plain old cotton.  Cotton will not stretch like fleece that is what I normally use. Also pick up some batting.  It is used in quilts.  You can lay a thin layer over the forms to soften edges and fill in gaps before you cover in fabric. Example on the cheeks it could help blend them in with the rest of the face.

My attempt at draping didn't go as planned, but not too horrible.  Fixed what I could by adding polyfoam.





Though, the cheeks look better in person than in the pictures.  I think....  Going to add a furry mohawk, and light padding around my arm to flesh out the neck.  Currently looking for eyes as well.  One of the problems I ran into is that the mouth plate sort of isn't.  I need to add finger support as there is too much room for my hand.  Also, the mouth doesn't close very well, so looking at options there.  The other mystery will be the shell itself.  I will need something that can break down for traveling.  How does foam glue to PVC?  Thinking of making the shell into 4 parts with the foam cracks using velcro to connect.  But need something sturdier on the inside to attach a backpack to. 

I think your draping turned out pretty good. Instead of adding foam to your arm which is going to restrict movement you might modify your "pattern" on the neck.  Make the top where it connects to the head flare out a bit. you can cut some slits in the top of the tub and add in some triangles or half football shapes to do this. Then attach the neck farther out on the head maybe even up to the back of the cheek. In fact you might simply start by cutting the slits and then seeing where opening up takes you on the head. If you don't want to do this direct on the fur make a tube the same out of cotton and use that to to test and get a pattern for cutting the fur.

You can use contact cement to glue to PVC but I normally reinforce this with a fabric or leather strap glued over the tube to the foam where I want the connection. If you want the PVC to be removable you can glue velcro loops that you can close around the tubing where you need it to connect. Holds pretty well and then you can take the tubing out.  A lot of body charecters are made this way. There are round hoops of tubing inside that can be taken out for transport.

Thanks for the tips Shawn, the wider neck helps quite a bit!

Yes much nicer!

Cool. Did you have to gather the cloth on the cheeks to get it to go around the sphere? I tried something similar recently and it did not work as well as I would have hoped. Yours went  quite well I think.