I finally got a lot of the photos together in one place so you all can see some of what is happening over here so far. I won’t show everything (I’m a lady), but I will show what I can. Hope you all enjoy as much as I enjoy doing this!
~Preston
Promoting the LGBTQueerstory Kickstarter at SF Pride 2014
Early Lysa sketch. Later in this gallery is Lysa’s armature sketch. You can see how much she changed from the early rough sketches.
Early Garon sketch that ended up being final design. I pretty much knew what I wanted him to look like from the beginning. I tried another design with more pointed, elongated features, but this one worked much better with the other characters and for the character I needed.
Early Bombala sketch
Early Trace sketch. Possibly rough draft #2 of 200 million. I had a hard time getting her face perfect.
Sydney armature sketch. I knew what I wanted him to look like from the beginning.
Early Quentin sketch
The next several photos take you through the entire puppet making process for the Kickstarter promo video version of Quentin. I use other methods as well, but this is specifically how I made this puppet. Here is Quentin’s armature (puppet skeleton) and his master head sculpt.
About to make a mold of the Kickstarter version Quentin master head. I made a mold because I thought that this would be the final version. His design changed slightly though.
Kickstarter Quentin master head with mold.
Next up, I start fleshing out the armature with underwrap, cotton, & rubber cement.
I use more underwrap, cotton, and foam (think sofa cushion foam) to give the puppet the shape I need.
This step is crucial. ALWAYS be sure to pause for a photo op.
Attach the head using JB Weld and plumber’s epoxy.
I almost always use paper towels when making puppet clothes. They are super easy to work with and make making puppet clothes go a whole lot faster.
Panel for Quentin’s Leigh Bowery promo outfit.
This is the unpainted puppet with outfit.
Here he is almost done.
Here are some of the replacement mouths used in the Kickstarter video.
Here he is on a naked stage. He is all done other than his fingers’ clay getting added.
On stage with unfilled feet and fingers.
Here is the complete puppet on stage and ready for his close up.
I had a lot of fun building him. These guys take some time to build, but totally worth it.
Take post-shoot photo with new buddy.
This is the mold of the original head I had designed for Garon. I got as far as sculpting it and even molding it before deciding to redesign him.
Originally, I had planned for Garon to be a slacker/ surfer/ stoner type character with elongated, pointed features. That ended up not working with the direction I took things, so I scrapped the head.
Part of the problem with the original Garon design was its similarity to the already built Mortimer Archibald Washington.
This is Quentin’s other half, Mortimer Archibald Washington, the 33 year old old man.
He is basically a bust with arms. Since his lower body won’t be seen, there is no reason to sculpt it.
This is Bufford the hairless cat. Well this is his tail. If you want to see the rest of him, you’ll have to get on the floor where he is. He cannot be bothered to climb all the way up onto a countertop just so he can be gawked at. I mean…
This is the news room kitchen set.
That kitchen bar or counter took some time. I had fun building it. Stained popsicle sticks and balsa mostly.
I love making paper puppets. These are just piles of different textured papers, ribbons, and maybe some fabrics that were used to make the paper puppets for the Kickstarter “thank you” card graphic.
I ended up mounting and framing it.
Image from front of “thank you” cards.
Quentin’s bio card image to be sent with some of the dvds.
Bio card image for Bombala or BB which will be included in the bio card packs in some of the dvds.
I drew, painted, and sculpted Trace more than any other character. I kept getting close to what I wanted her to look like, but couldn’t quite find her face. This is one of the sculpted studies for her.
Garon naked armature
Bombala naked armature
This is the beginning of Bombala’s armature build up.
This is the armature sketch for Lysa. You can see how much she changed from the original rough sketch.
Here is a partially dressed Lysa.
This is Sydney’s armature sketch and the beginning of his armature.
Unlike the Kickstarter Quentin, I made these armatures with removable arms, legs, and head. When using armatures made of wire, sometimes the wires snap and need to be replaced. Having everything detachable helps with this.
Starting Sydney’s build up.
Here is his complete armature minus hands and feet.
For Sydney, I wanted to make a cardigan. Since I cannot knit much less knit tiny, I bought this small knit sweater from a thrift shop and made one of his 3 cardigans from it’s sleeve.
Here is Sydney’s finished body minus hands.
Sydney with shoes on and almost complete.
This is the final master version of Quentin’s head.
These are the mock ups for all the characters. Final versions will not have clay hair and will not be totally white.
LGBTQueerstory main cast final head mock-ups. (TL-BR: Garon, Sydney, Quentin, Bombala, Trace, Lysa)
These next few are sculptures I did for some of the Kickstarter backers. For Quentin as Leigh Bowery, I use balled up foil for armature and filler in sculptures to add stability and use far less clay. The master cast is then molded, cast in resin, and painted.
One of the Kickstarter rewards for backers is a sculpture of the character of your choice. This Leigh Bowery Quentin is starting to take shape.
The Leigh Bowery glasses and mouth plate are detachable so you can have either face showing. This was the single most tedious paint job I think I have ever done. Tiny checkerboard is exhausting but worth it.
Those ruffles!
The animated version will have some color on his skin. This version is super pale because of the resource material.
One Garon of Finland fresh from the toaster oven.
Master of Garon backer sculpture #1.
Garon in his mold.
This Garon Sculpture is in the style of Tom of Finland. His naval shirt and the base are detachable.
This is another master sculpt partially finished. You can see the foil armature is still exposed at this point.
Hairless Bufford Films 