Stromple the puppet is half way finished. The head was, and usually is, the hardest part of the puppet. It involved making a basic pattern, gluing together and then cutting wedges out to achieve the correct shape. I was happy to see that I was able to replicate the original illustration closer than I planned. Stromple will look very similar to his children’s book counterpart. Puppets always go this way using the “cut and tuck” method; you do just as much sketching with the foam as you do on paper. Even for a skilled puppet maker, it can be a lot of trial and error.

I have all of the basic body parts finished. I have Stromple’s head, his body and his arms. The only part I am missing are his feet. I will make those when I do his skin. The following are a few pictures of his head from an angle and from the side. Also you will see a tube that will be his legs. and one that will be his arms.

Stromple's head from side and from front angle.

Stromple's body (top, hole is the neck) and amrs/legs (bottom)

Doesn’t look like much, but the foundation is there. The head will get some of it’s shape from the skin. I will smooth out and manipulate the shape where needed using poly fill. I will also smooth out the edges by cutting them off with a knife. The legs and arms will be jointed and then covered. The body still needs the hole in the back for an arm to go in. The next step will be to skin the whole thing with fleece. This is where the puppet will start to take shape and where he will gain structural integrity.

Other parts are coming along as well. I have been searching for a perfect pair of shorts for him but had no luck. Today I found a skort that is the perfect color. I will have to do some alterations to make it into shorts but they match nicely with the original illustration. Just don’t tell Stromple that his shorts use to be a article of girl’s clothing…he might have a tantrum.