How to Make a Dragon

I've been busy making a new puppet for the lovely Jo Empson, and thought I would share the process with you. (And me, as I sometimes forget how I did things!)

I was to be re-creating the head of the dragon from the above illustration (copyright Jo Empson), from her picture book "Never Ever", to go with the girl character I made last year.

I decided to make this puppet using the "foam and fleece" method, as is used for the Muppets. Most of the puppets I have made before were either fully textile, or papier mache, but as this puppet needed to be large I thought this would be nice and light, and also look bold and child-friendly.  So - here we go!

1. First, I assembled my chosen studio companions.

(For future reference, note to self - try to choose companions that don't poo on the floor. Bea, I'm looking at you. Don't think I didn't notice, because I did.)


2. I made a pattern from paper for the puppet's mouth plate.

3. I cut the mouth plate out from cardboard. This isn't the best material to use actually - some kind of plastic would be better but I didn't have anything large enough. Then I covered the cardboard with red fabric. I used a kind of wincyette because that's what I had, but a lot of puppet makers use felt. Also most people glue the fabric to the board or use self adhesive felt. But I find sewing less scary as it's undo-able!

4. I made a black "hole" and a pink tongue from felt and glued them on. I used fabric glue…but more about glue later.

5.  The mouth plate started to crease, so I strengthened it by gluing on some jersey fabric, painting on fabric stiffener, and adding a piece of card.

 You can see above that at this stage I made some foam finger holes, because I intended this to be a glove puppet. However, later on it became clear it was too long and weighty to be worked with one hand, so I removed them and made hand holes instead. Here I also started the top of the head by putting the mouth plate on a piece of 1" foam and drawing round it with a large border to allow for shaping it.


6.  I started putting notches in the foam to sculpt it. The black line you can see is the size and shape of the mouth plate.

7. Then I glued the notches together using the hot glue gun. I did the same with the bottom jaw afterwards. (The bottom jaw is 1/2" foam.)

 Throughout all these pics you will notice a range of different glues which I bought and tried and failed with during this process. I even glued my own hands with Gorilla Glue, which swells up. (And, NB, doesn't stick foam). It made my hands so sticky that I couldn't sew afterwards for ages. I used so many chemicals trying to get it off I think I actually took the top layer of skin off. I tried Copydex and PVA, but settled on the hot glue gun which does stick foam very well.

(Most painful place to burn self with hot glue gun? Crook of thumb.)

8. Now to cover the foam with fleece. Die hard Muppet makers use Antron Fleece, but this is just ordinary polar fleece, available online. I draped the fleece over the foam, pinned it in place and made pleats where necessary to smooth it out. I intended to cut away the excess and join the edges. But eventually I decided to sculpt the pleats into nostrils, which you will see later.

Online there are many tutorials and tips for sewing fleece to foam. Some people make a pattern from other fabric, transfer it to fleece and then sew it inside out. As this puppet is quite quirkily shaped and large, I just trimmed and stitched as I went along.


9. I sewed the mouth plate to the fleece. Some puppet makers glue it in. I used a kind of whip stitch. There are several stitches you can use including "Henson Stitch".  Fleece seems to be quite forgiving and the stitches do sink in quite nicely. You can fluff up the stitched line with the tip of the needle and this hides them even more.

10. I was using polystyrene balls for eyes. It's possible to use ping pong balls or fishing floats too. I drew the pupils on with a Sharpie. I then made a strap with fleece to sew onto the puppet. Then with another semicircle of fleece, I made eyelids which I sewed on.

 You can see the nostrils here too.

11. Now for the final embellishments. I made teeth by cutting out foam, covering it with white fleece and sewing them in place.

12. Then, I made coloured spots from other scrap fabric, and a couple of spikes from 1/2" foam covered with red towelling. I glued on the spots using fabric glue and sewed on the spikes.

Voila! And here he is in action at the Wychwood Festival. The children certainly seemed to like him!

I used plenty of websites and books to help me with this process. I will compile a list of them and put it on the side (if I can work out how!). Puppet making is fun!

Albert

Here's a cover I designed for an e-book. It's just pencil, as part of my attempt to keep life as simple as possible.

I am today mourning the loss of Albert, my lovely little apple tree, who yesterday was savagely murdered by the Mr with a strimmer. He hasn't officially been pronounced dead yet but The Internet tells me that as the bark is damaged all the way round, it is inevitable. My buddleia was also wiped out.

Goodbye Albert, I used to enjoy talking to you and watching you grow, and I am sorry it had to end this way. You never even got to make an apple.

Healthy Eating

I've been thinking about our family diet, and decided that it falls short of healthy. Trouble is I don't really have the time or money to prepare everything fresh and from scratch. So I'm going to hire a chef to prepare delicious yet nutritious meals,  and personal trainers for all of us.

Not really. I'm just going to have to make more bloomin' effort. Sigh.

Nurse Nancy

I was sitting here thinking, and suddenly The Four Marys popped into my head. It was a strip from Bunty, one of the many comics I read as a little girl. If I remember rightly all the Marys went to a posh boarding school but one of them was working class (she must have got a scholarship). 

That got me remembering Twinkle, which was the highlight of my week as a five-ish year old, and featured a strip called Nurse Nancy. Nancy had the life of my dreams, seemingly spending all her time mending dolls and teddies and putting them in nice little beds. Not to mention her very impressive uniform. 

Nancy must have made a deep impression on me, because my first job after leaving school was in a Dolls' Hospital. Disappointingly though, there were no uniforms, or tiny beds.  

(Also I am now married to a real, live nurse). 

In A Flap

Here's a little snippet of something I have been working on. Very,very slowly I might add.

The last few weeks have mainly involved coursework to do with fostering, so it was nice to get into my studio today and do something which had nothing whatsoever to do with the Children's Act (1989).

Items not completed on my "to do" list today included starting a dragon puppet, planting two periwinkles and cleaning the bathroom.

One Year On

My sister Linda took this photo on the beach in Spain this morning. A sunrise; beautiful like our Mum was.

High Five!

Sorry for my long absence! After probably the busiest couple of months of my life, (during which I became the Mrs of The Mr and we very happily acquired a new addition to the family) I finally dusted the cobwebs off my studio door handle and went inside! This is just a little illustration I did for our fostering agency. More to come.

How are you, anyway?

Doodles and Pooches

My dear friends Sandie and Kate came over today. Illustration is a solitary activity and that suits me fine most of the time...but when you feel a bit stuck or stale it's just the ticket to get together with someone creative to get the inspiration flowing again! Here's a little character I've been developing.

Kate drew the new addition to our family...Posy! She is a rescue dog and is very timid at the moment, but very pretty I'm sure you'll agree!

Yet another bird...

 I've only ever used Photoshop to clean stuff up etc; but since getting a Mac (secondhand but I love it!) and a scanner/printer, I've been able to try out using it more creatively. It's been fun! I'm looking forward to using these birds for a new project. I've got another one involving people too...I just can't not draw people! During my MA, we had to do an observational project and some of the group would go to any lengths to avoid drawing people. But I was the opposite - I had to be forced to put them in a setting of any sort!

More Birdy Love

Been doodling birds of my own for a story I'm developing.  More to come soon hopefully!

Also, on the bird front, check out Nicky Fijalkowska's blog, Knit For Victory, for details of Worthing Bird Art Trail -  including her wonderful knitted birds (yes that's KNITTED birds - how much better can life get!?) which are currently on display in Worthing's Wool Bar, Warwick Street.

Must fly!

Loving Matt Sewell

I really do badly want this book. But my book buying has got out of control recently so I am at least going to wait until payday.

But...it's SO lovely!

But it's been out for ages and I didn't even know about it, so surely I can live without it a few more weeks.

But it's not THAT expensive!

But I'll be sorry when I'm broke.

Although the book would make me feel better.

But I don't really have room for it.

But I do like birds very much indeed.

And it will be nice to look at with children too. And a nice bird book is missing from my collection.

Ooohhhhhh!!!!

Can't wait!

Tomi is one of my utter favourite illustrators. Hope this is going to be released in the UK!

Moonlight Serenade

I was messing about with paints at my friend's house and ended up with a moonlit sky. So when I got home I added these three chaps having a night time singsong!

Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine.

More exciting post....

Ooh, a game! I've received the soon-to-be-famous Matchbox Pictionary! I've had my go, but of course it's top secret until the game is over. Now to send it to the next player....

Just because I like it....

Loveliness through the post!

Exciting post is so much fun, and here's what plopped through my letterbox this morning...

What a treat! I went to uni with Gemma, and was lucky enough to see this book develop from the very beginning. Gemma is such a lovely, talented person and we were all absolutely thrilled when she won the Macmillan prize for this book.

The story is funny and touching, and the illustrations simply beautiful - I just love the anxiety on the crocodile's face.

It's a wonderful book for anyone who has ever had that feeling they don't quite fit in - or hasn't yet found their hidden talent! Get your copy here, or even better, at your local independent bookshop.

Storytime at Wychwood

Here are a few pics of the Wychwood Festival where Jo Empson and I had arty, musicky storyish fun.

Wychwood Festival!

Looking forward to a weekend at the Wychwood Festival in Cheltenham, where, as well as grooving to acts like Kate Nash and Public Service Broadcasting, me and the Mister will be helping Jo Empson with her storytelling/music and art-making extravaganza! Co-starring the puppet I made by the way!

Dry Eye

I was reading Grimm's Fairy Tales recently, and came across a great story about a girl whose wicked stepmother sent her out in the snow wearing a dress made of paper. Today the girl sprang up in my sketchbook, just for the hell of it!

In other news, I didn't once leave the premises today, not even to go to the shop. Instead I drew the above picture, made a puppet's wig and looked at new scanners and printers online until my eyes dried up.

Studio Capers and Exciting Things

Please excuse the massive break...I have finally moved into my new little studio in my garden, which I must say is wonderful.

The first thing I finished in there was a puppet for my friend Jo. Head on over to her blog where she can tell you about it herself!

I've also been doing some other exciting work... here's a little bit of it.

There are big changes all round actually, as well as completion of my studio; and very exciting ones. I have taken the difficult step of handing my notice in at the lovely nursing home I work in...because me and the Mister have actually been approved to become foster carers! We are very very excited and can't wait to get started. This change will also give me more time for my illustration career, so it's loveliness all round really.