Building The Earl

I spent odd moments over the weekend developing the Earl of Rone puppet. I managed to complete his head and found some cushion covers which work well for his costume material. His hood (think i might need to re-work that) and body is cut and part sewn. Just need to figure out arms and hands, legs and feet..... then put it all together. It's getting there, somehow i'm bumbling my way through it!

Polyfilla over a paper pulp and polyfilla mix. features very roughly placed. There's a polystyrene ball at the heart of it, with the finger hole scooped out.

Roughly sanded the polyfilla and added a base coat, a nice deep red. The Earl is coming!

Main coat of paint applied, his expression is formed and the surface has just the right quality i was after.

The final paint job. I thickened the red stripes on his cheeks, gave the eyes some life and a few other subtle touches.

A quick test of the fabric i found whilst out at the weekend, £1.50 cushion covers in a charity shop.

Here he is with his finished head and a rough hood and body, just to get a feel for where i'm at with him now.

Below, was how his face was initially going to look, a bit more sinister and aggressive. I just tested it on his head before the polyfilla coat went on. It's funny how things change as they develop and grow, taking on their own character. You can never quite plan how something is going to want to be. As i worked his face up, he just naturally softened and he developed a slightly glazed/ shell-shocked look. A man lost in the woods, a deer in the headlights, a desperate man (the most dangerous type?). This is his calm...