Production Concept: Puppet Design

After receiving quotes from a professional puppeteer which were way out of our budget, I decided that as part of our package I definitely wanted to build a puppet as  production design and prop making was something which I would definitely like to specialise in in the future. This was going to be a mammoth task but was something I wanted to do.

I started to do some research into what sorts of materials I might need. I wrote up a list of the materials I would need to build Sally.

Body - 

1/2" Foam
Felt (Skin, Mouth, Nose)
Wadding (Stuffing)
Eye Materials
Wool (Hair)


Costume -

Suede Fabric (Waistcoat)
White Shirt


Accessories -

Glasses & Chain
Jewellery for Costume


Stages of Puppet Building -

1 - Building the Foam Head

After Cutting out the shapes in foam for the necessary parts for the head, I began to glue each part, moulding it to the correct shape. Getting her the right size meant enlarging some templates I had drawn up.

2 - Sewing the Skin

Once the foam head was complete, I then had to cut shapes to build the skin of the puppet. I then began to sew each shape together using a sewing machine to ensure that the stitches were neat and professional. The final skin shape had to be just the right size to house her head, making this too small would mean that the skin would have to be completely re-made and sewn again which is very time consuming.

3 - Inserting the Head

Once the skin was finished, it was then time to insert the head which was extremely tricky to do with stretching the felt skin as it was such a tight fit. Once it was in, it was then that I had to glue the skin to the mouth plate leaving ample material for the puppet to be used without stretching or tearing the felt.

4 - Building the Arms

This part of the process is extremely difficult as it means sewing in reverse and turning the sewn arm inside out. After cutting the shape from the template, it was then time to double up and sew. This is a very difficult part to the process as it is so tricky to sew neatly around the fingers of the puppet. once, reversed, the arm is then ready to be stuffed. I have stuffed Sally's arms stiff as she is a prototype. If she was to be used professionally, her arms would be looser for flexibility and movement.

5 - Making the Clothes

The clothes for Sally were something that were essential to her character. We had to purpose built her  a tan waistcoat and sourced a shirt suitable for her style and size. although time consuming, it was also very satisfying knowing that she had the perfect clothes that she needed.

6 - Finishing her Features

Once the clothes for 'Sally" were finished, I had to start adding her facial features, her hair and eyes and nose really brought her to life, adding eyelashes and mascara to make her more feminine. I added the brooch to her collar and finally her glasses. I am really pleased with the final outcome of the puppet and she's exactly what we wanted for the show.

Production Concept: Alternate Artwork - Fusing the logos

Looking at the samples I received from matt for logo design, I really liked one of the typefaces he had created for me. It really suited the project and the audience. I was really happy with the final logo which I had already chosen but wanted to experiment with the new font for an alternate logo I could include within my package. I sent the font to my contributor Rio, who was able drop in the puppet cartoon for sally and incorporate it into the text. I really liked this logo and if been given it earlier, I would have probably chosen to use it instead of the one I have chosen. Nevertheless, I am happy with the design I have chosen and still believe it suits the show perfectly! The final version of this logo is printed my Alternate Artwork book. Here are some different version which Rio made for me, One with layers within the text, one without, one in colour and one faded to white with the image.

Production Concept: Alternate Artwork

As I already had my logo finished and set to be printed, I was sent some sample logos from a friend of mine who is a graphic designer. He was only able to mock up some ideas quickly for me as he is very busy working full-time as a freelancer designer. luckily he was able to create some text designs for me which as samples for me to use. His name is Matthew Pomorski. Here is a link to his website which shows some samples of other work he has created. http://www.matthewpomorski.co.uk


These are some of the PNG Samples he created for me...

Production Concept: Getting the Designs Printed

As part of the presentation of the project, Gabby and decide dot buy a suitcase which would look like an authentic prop from the set. Gabby is going to present her scripts in a hardback book, so I wanted to present my designs in a different way.

I went and spoke to a designer and printer at a local shop 'Absolute Creative Print' in Maidstone. They were more than happy to help me print some of my artwork for my package. I decided that I wanted 3 A2 posters printed each focusing on the three main design parts I had finished - Set design, Puppet design and Logo design. These three posters would be printed on high gloss quality paper and I would present them as three scrolls within the suitcase. I also wanted some of the original sketches to be delivered as part of the package so had some small A5 prints made of the Set Design, Puppet Designs and also some text design.  Also I wanted to have some merchandise printed as part of the package to mock-up some ideas which could be used or branding. I decided to have a children's T-sirt printed with the logo and also a keyring with the brand image on it. Also, I had some alternate artwork which was designed for me very last minute by a graphic designer. these were really lovely text ideas for the logo so didn't want them not to be included in the package. I designed a small 8 page book with the alternate artwork in that I could also present with my package. And finally, of course, Sally herself.

Production Concept: Final Designs

Here are the final designs for all three aspects... Set, Logo and Puppet Designs!