This guy is finally done and he looks great! I custom made some huge, fun eyes for this guy in my vacuum form machine and gave him some massive pupils. All of his fun features and his texture really make him unique. I am so glad I got the chance to build this guy. Check out the video in the link to see him in action along with other puppets that I am currently working on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWH1Wfd-GF0
Steve the Alien is one of my first original puppet character creations. I created Steve to be an interesting alien puppet from another world. He was going to be a sweetly demeanor ed creature with a thirst for adventure and a taste for interesting earth objects that he collects through dumpster diving.
I built Steve in Novembr of 2007, right in the middle of my freshman year of high school. I worked tirelesly in the garage watching Futurama out in that cold den of concrete. In the Spring of the following year, Steve got to show off in public for the first time. I was part of a Theater 1 class and was instructed to use my acting skills to interestingly tell a story to the rest of the class. My mind was made. I practiced with Steve until I had my story and my voice down pat. I sewed two small finger puppets out of felt and pipe cleaners. They were an ant and a grasshopper. I placed them on Steve’s fingers, and in front of the whole class, Steve the Alien gave a puppet show to the class and told the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper, all while I was crouched behind an overturned folding table.
These are some of the videos that launched my puppet career, and I had so much fun with them all. All starring Steve the Alien of course. I feel very passionate when I get to use him.
I love the character and really enjoy seeing him on camera. In 2012, I was tasked with building a reworked version of Steve for a commercial contest spot for AOL.com. I built him with my increased knowledge of techniques and materials. I worked so long and hard on him, only to be disappointed that he was not the real Steve the Alien.
On the last days of 2013, I started to rebuild Steve exactly the way I wanted. I was so excited. Everything had to be perfect; the best I could do. Right down to a wonderfully comfortable mouth grip.
I painstakingly patterned gloved hands that would fit comfortably and give the impression of shorter fingers.
Finally, I began to see Steve again. It made me so happy to see him look his best. Even if, for a time, he was bald.
My beautiful creation was complete at last. And thankfully, I got to use him on the set of a short puppet film slated for release next Christmas.
For three years in high school, I did a puppet show every summer for the local library. I found the audience appreciative and always loving the fun characters that I brought. One year I decided that I would build a pink bunny rabbit and a blue bunny rabbit for the coming summer show. The blue rabbit was to be performed by my friend and puppet partner at the time, and I would operate the pink rabbit. Check out these two videos of the bunnies, and myself, in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP_b4nvW_eM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBKZEiamfQ0
Six years later, I still have the puppet , though the new puppy ensured that the rabbit had seen better days. Its tooth and little purple nose had been obliterated by the chihuahua.
I plan to finish the new one in my free time over the coming months.
He is not far from finished. I need to let the molds I made for his eyes dry before I can vacuum form them. I took a wide toothed comb and gently brushed some of his fur out to make it less curly and to make it all blend better. I also did a little surgery on his dome to make it a bit shorter and more rounded.
This is Lyle. He is going to the same client as Marko (see previous post). As opposed to Marko, Lyle was based on idea straight from the client and I’ve been working hard to make sure he turns out very unique.
I love the HUGE mouth and head shape on the small, conical body. I decided to texture this puppet’s fur to differentiate him from his green counterpart. Here, you can see I boiled the fur very carefully to give it a more matted, textured look.
Here are the head and body pieces assembled. I can’t wait to build his hands and feet! He will also have removable legs like Marko.
