Do you need custom puppets and you don’t know where to start? Whether it's a feature film, commercial, streaming series, music video, YouTube video, theatrical production, live performance and more Swazzle can create original puppets for your project. Swazzle was hired to design and build a young fox puppet character for a client, in this article we’ll use that project as an example to outline our puppet building process. You’ll learn about every step including puppet design, puppet mockup and the final puppet build.
Request a Quote
By now you’ve probably already visited swazzle.com, clicked on the custom puppet link and filled out the “request a custom puppet quote” form. If not visit this link here: REQUEST A QUOTE. The “request a custom puppet quote” form gives us the basic information we need to start the puppet building process, like your name and contact info. It also gives us other essential information like a description of the puppets you need, how the puppets will be used and what the deadline is?
You can even tell us if you need any additional items like costumes, eye blink mechs or 3D printed elements. Of course let us know if you need puppeteers!
Once the form is filled out you’ll receive an email form us that will outline a basic price range based on the details you’ve provided. Keep in mind, Swazzle’s puppets are custom handmade creations that could take weeks to design and build, so they will cost more than a mass produced puppet. That being said, if you have a quick deadline and a tight budget we’ll try to accommodate, if possible. If we have further questions we may schedule a Zoom call to discuss the details. If a few days have passed and you haven’t received an email from us, be sure to check your spam box.
Once you understand the general price range, we’ll send you a bid, schedule and if you decide to move forward with the project an agreement and invoice.
Bid, Schedule & Agreement
The bid will lay out the estimated price of the puppet with a detailed breakdown. We may also include prices for optional items like duplicate puppets or armatured poser puppets. We’ll also propose a production schedule and outline the puppet building process and materials we expect to use. Once the bid is approved, we’ll send you an agreement to sign. Once the agreement is signed we’ll send you a deposit invoice. Half the payment is due upfront, however, we may take more depending upon the scale of the project. Once we receive your first payment, the project goes on our production calendar and the fun can begin!
Puppet Design
Once the agreement is signed and the deposit is paid the design phase can begin. The design phase is broken up into three parts: rough design, final design, and color design.
At Swazzle, we can build puppets based on original designs provided by you the client. We can build puppets based on existing IP - provided it’s official - we don’t make fan puppets based on other people’s characters. We can also build puppets from a design that we create based on your ideas. We like to allow one to two weeks for the puppet design process. This allows time for client feedback and revisions. If you need to get feedback from multiple parties you may want to allow for more time. We like to say, we’ll move as fast as you do.
Rough Design
We start the rough design phase by creating ten black and white drawings based on the information and inspiration you’ve provided. For example, our client wanted to make a young fox puppet. During the rough design phase we explored a variety of directions that the puppet could go. We provide the client with lots of options, what if the puppet had big eyes or small eyes, a long snout or a short snout, and other possibilities.
Refined Design
Once the roughs are done, it’s time for you to weigh in with your feedback. We’ll use that feedback to create the final black and white design.
For the fox puppet, the client liked this rough design…
but with the boxy head of this design.
So we took those two ideas and drew this design.
Color Design
Once the final design is approved it’s time to add color. If your color ideas are wide open, we’ll explore a variety of possibilities to help you narrow down your vision. For the fox, the client wanted to keep the puppet in the warm color family so we came up with some possibilities from red to golden to orange.
For your puppet, you’ll give us some feedback on the color and we’ll use it to create the final color design.
Final Color Design
This is the final color design the client selected for the fox puppet.
Once the character design is complete it’s time to move on to the puppet building process which consists of three steps: mock- up, material selection and the final puppet build.
Puppet Mock-Up
During the mock-up phase we take your two dimensional puppet design and transform it into a three dimensional puppet. Swazzle’s puppet builders will workshop materials, refine the shapes and test the puppet’s functionality. The mock-up phase lasts about two or three weeks.
As Swazzle transforms a two dimensional drawing into a three dimensional puppet we may make some discoveries. For example the arms may need to be longer or shorter, the neck may need to be thicker or the whole puppet may need to be scaled up or down. We also pay special attention to the puppet’s functionality. How does the puppet work - is it easy to manipulate? Can it perform in the way you want it to?
There’s always some interpretation involved when moving from a flat drawing to a three dimensional puppet. For the fox puppet mock-up we made the arms a little longer so it could perform as desired, and we scaled up the body a bit so that the puppet could fit more comfortably on the puppeteer’s arm.
Once the mock-up is done we’ll provide you with turn-around photos and a demo video so you can weigh in with any notes or feedback. If there are notes, we’ll address them and then the mock-up will be ready for you to sign off on. With the mock-up complete, it’s time to review your material options.
Selecting Puppet Materials
These are the different material options we presented for the fox puppet.
Puppets can be made from a variety of materials like faux fur, fleece, fabric and more. Selecting the right materials to cover your puppet is critical to realizing your vision. Ask yourself, do you want your puppet to be furry, smooth, or something completely different? Based on the final design we’ll either shop for materials or pull from our stock of puppet building furs and fabrics. As the client, you’ll weigh in and approve the materials that you like best.
Something to consider, because this is a real world object, and we are using real world materials, some of the faux furs and other fabrics available might not perfectly match your design. There are techniques we can use to get the material as close to the design as possible like, over dying, boiling, trimming, and more. Some materials like puppet fleece can be custom dyed to just about any color you can dream up. So that we’re all on the same page, we’ll provide you with Pantone numbers that best match the materials.
The client selected option “A” for the head and body, which was kept long in some places, and trimmed in others. The client also selected a white fur for the body and a custom dyed puppet fleece for the inside of the ears.
Now that you have made your material selection, it’s time for the final puppet build to begin!
Final Puppet Build
The final puppet build is the most organic part of the process, and it may take three to four weeks depending on your design. During this time, you might not hear from us unless we have a specific question or concern we’d like you to weigh in on. Even though you might not hear from us, rest assured our puppet builders are busy cutting foam, gluing seams, dying fabric, trimming fur, sanding wood, making eyes and sewing fleece.
Some clients want regular updates, to keep everyone on the team informed. This is something we are happy to do, but it could add some time to the building process. Like we said, we can move as fast as you can.
Show-and-Tell
Once the puppet build is complete, we’ll do a final show-and-tell. We’ll send you turn around pictures and a demo video of the final puppet in action. If, at this time you have any minor notes, we can make adjustments. If you have a major change, like: on second thought, let’s make it blue instead of orange. - we’d be happy to make the adjustment, but it will take more time and we’ll have to charge you for it.
After all final notes are addressed, you’ll sign off on the completed puppet and make your final payment. Once the payment is received your puppet is ready to ship.
Here is the final fox puppet!
That’s how Swazzle can make custom puppets for you from start to finish. We hope you found this article helpful. If you’re ready to begin the puppet building process please fill out the REQUEST A QUOTE form and we look forward to bringing your puppet creation to life!
