Avenue Q Puppet Building

(Please read Disclaimer at the end of this post for any inquires regarding these puppets or eyes.)

The rights to preform Avenue Q is now available to high schools and such through MTI Because of this the guys at Swazzle decided to build a set of rentable puppets for anyone preforming the show that might need them.

Three sets later my coworker and I were hired to build set four due to major rental business at the Swazzle shop. Avenue Q is the new hot musical and EVERYONE wants puppets.

So,

Foam bodies were assembled,

Fur and Fleece were traced, cut and sewn together.

fleeceoutline — Tracing patterns on to puppet fleece.

IMAG0165 — Box full of puppet hands ready to be attached.

Fun Fact: The majority of each puppets outer detail is hand sewn. For this project, sewing machines were used to increase the durability of arms and hands, but usually on any other puppet build theses things would all be hand sewn. Television cameras are very good at picking out seams on puppets, but a theater show not so much.

Now for some final details!

qeyes — Something is always watching me when I’m puppet building…

katemonster — Kate Monster getting some final details and wig attached.

Some days I was a dinosaur.

Other days not…

Between finishing some final details on set 3 and all of set 4’s foam, fur, fleece and other assorted pieces, we basically knocked out 24 plus puppets in about two months. We had a much easier time given all the patterns were already made and faster shortcuts were found along the way, but still, pretty impressive for mostly two people.

Check out these finished pictures!

420257_10150593431718358_1860973193_n — Trekkie Monster! “The Internet is for…”

522016_10150647213743358_411669991_n-001 — The Bad Idea Bears, YAAAAAAAAY!

For more information about Avenue Q click here.

Disclaimer

I do not own these puppets. Please email Swazzle at contact@swazzle.com or call them at (866) 792-9953 if you have any questions.

I am not currently set up to make and sell Puppet Eyes at the moment. Please refer to the comment section for answers to eye related questions.

17 Responses to "Avenue Q Puppet Building"

Måns billgren says:

January 12, 2022 at 9:16 am

Hi, I wonder if it is possible to bud a puppet?

Reply
Estella Terry says:

February 9, 2018 at 6:52 pm

How do I order eyes for my puppets ?

Reply
1. Allison says:
  
  February 22, 2018 at 5:46 pm
  
  Hello! Thanks for visiting! Sorry for the late reply I started a new job and it’s been taking up a lot of time.
  
  I am not currently set up to make and sell eyes at the moment as I do not own a Vacuform machine, maybe one day!
  
  In the mean time I’ve made eyes from plastic spoons, ping pong balls, soup ladles (with the handle but off), fishing bobbers and plastic Easter eggs for the main part of the puppet eye and round self stick furniture pads, round Velcro pads, craft eyes (sold in many colors) and even acrylic paint for the iris and pupils of the eyes. I’ve used both hot glue and contact cement to attach them to the puppet heads.
  
  Also you can sometimes find people that sell eyes on websites such as ETSY.COM.
  I hope this helps you in your search for eyes, good luck!
  
  Reply
monica billgren says:

June 24, 2017 at 11:37 am

I like the puppets very much. They are so nice. I would like to have alll of them – is it possible to buy them some where else?

Reply
1. Allison says:
  
  November 29, 2017 at 3:52 pm
  
  Hello! Thanks for visiting! Sorry for the late reply, i’ll have to fix the way I get updated about comments.
  
  I am not currently set up to make and sell eyes at the moment as I do not own a Vacuform machine, maybe one day!
  
  In the mean time I’ve made eyes from plastic spoons, ping pong balls, soup ladles (with the handle but off), fishing bobbers and plastic Easter eggs for the main part of the puppet eye and round self stick furniture pads, round Velcro pads, craft eyes (sold in many colors) and even acrylic paint for the iris and pupils of the eyes. I’ve used both hot glue and contact cement to attach them to the puppet heads.
  
  Also you can sometimes find people that sell eyes on websites such as ETSY.COM.
  I hope this helps you in your search for eyes, good luck!
  
  Reply
  1. Emily Moody says:
    
    July 31, 2019 at 9:00 am
    
    Which method did you use for Kate Monster eyes please?
    
    Reply
    1. Allison says:
      
      August 8, 2019 at 9:09 pm
      
      Hi Emily! Thanks for visiting my website.
      
      Kate Monsters eyes are made of a polystyrene plastic. A vacuform machine is used to heat and shape the plastic around a custom made wooden mold of the puppet eyes. After the plastic has cooled the shape is then cut out and in this case an awl was used to punch a hole to attach the finished craft eyes with a plastic washer. I believe these craft eyes were purchased from Suncatcher Eyes but I have also seen them in craft stores under the name Animal Eyes with Plastic Washers.
      
      If you don’t have access to a vacuform machine, plastic Easter eggs (painted or not painted), ping pong balls, plastic spoons, large buttons, and really anything you imagine to look like eyes for your puppet creation can work. 🙂 You might also want to check Etsy.com or your local craft store for puppet or doll eyes as well.
      
      Reply
James says:

January 9, 2017 at 5:54 pm

Awesome work on the set, any tips on how to make that style nose? Is the core covered in the fleece a solid foam “ball” or a patterned and glued hollow piece?

Reply
1. Allison says:
  
  January 12, 2017 at 2:32 am
  
  Hello! Thanks for visiting!
  
  The noses that I helped construct were hollow and made of vacuform plastic since the shop I was working for had a Vacuform machine. It made making parts for eyes and noses super quick.
  
  If access to a Vacuform machine isn’t available and you want that clean tight fabric look I’d go with carving a shape out of a solid piece of foam and then cover it in fleece. HERE is an easy link that shows the process.
  
  Hope this helps, Happy Puppet Building!
  
  Reply
James says:

November 28, 2016 at 3:04 am

Hi Allison, these are amazing!
I’m an English teacher china and love using puppets in my classes.
Recently I met someone who works in the factory that made the FAO Schwarz Muppet Whatnot puppet bodies/blanks. Luckily, they had a few boxes still lying around so I was able to buy 58 of them super cheap. Now I’d like to make some noses and eyes to attach to each one. Do you know any good tutorials for making great puppet eyes? Hope to hear from you!

Reply
1. Allison says:
  
  December 2, 2016 at 4:19 am
  
  Hello! Thanks for visiting my website!
  
  Here is a great YouTube video tutorial about how to make puppets eyes from plastic spoons. You can watch this video HERE There are also some other examples of different types of eyes but this tutorial mostly concentrates on how to make eyes from plastic spoons. This tutorial uses hot glue as the adhesive but you can also use contact cement as an alternative gluing method. I prefer contact cement myself.
  
  If you want a different look or color for the pupils, you can use craft eyes as well. This person drilled a hole in a plastic spoon to attach the craft eye. See THIS WEBSITE for pictures.
  
  I’ve also used and seen other puppet builders use ping pong balls, fishing bobbers and plastic Easter eggs for the main part of the puppet eye and round self stick furniture pads, round Velcro pads and even acrylic paint for the iris and pupils of the eyes. If you paint any part of the eye make sure to coat the entire thing in a coat of clear lacquer to insure the paint doesn’t chip off.
  
  Also you can sometimes find people that sell eyes on websites such as ETSY.COM.
  
  Good Luck making all those sets of eyes! I’d love to see them when you’re all finished.
  
  Reply
Akeem Celestine says:

September 13, 2015 at 12:52 pm

Hello, I am doing a bit a research on the products used to make the Avenue Q puppets. My college is doing this musical in the Spring of 2016 and I was wondering if you could give me a few pointers on how you made your puppets. Thank you.

Reply
1. Allison says:
  
  September 22, 2015 at 12:45 am
  
  Hello, Thanks for your comment! Would you like suggestions on materials or general pointers on how to make puppets?
  
  Reply
Russ Scott says:

June 8, 2014 at 6:46 pm

What was the time frame on building the puppets? How much material used? Labor costs…etc.?

Reply
1. Allison says:
  
  June 17, 2014 at 6:36 am
  
  Hello! This set of Avenue Q puppets took about two months for my coworker and I to build. This was the third set of rentable Avenue Q puppets that Swazzle built so the patterns and materials needed in order to make these puppets was already set up for us when we arrived at the shop. We didn’t have to do anything time costly such as prototyping foam body shapes or pattern draping so the puppet fabricating went a lot faster overall.
  
  I know the Swazzle team spent a long time making their original prototypes until they finally came up with the final patterns and body shapes you see in my pictures. Much longer than the two months it took to build this set.
  
  Since the materials we used were pretty much ready to go upon our arrival at the shop I’m not quite sure the exact cost of the total materials. There are 22 puppets in this set, so the total was probably pretty costly given the expense of puppet fleece and the custom wigs that were purchased for some of the puppets.
  
  If you would like any more information about the making of or general questions about the Swazzle Avenue Q puppets feel free to email Swazzle at contact@swazzle.com or call 866-SWAZZLE (792-9953.
  
  You can also find them on Facebook too!
  
  Reply
Valita says:

April 29, 2013 at 11:02 am

Hi, I love the look of your puppet eyes, could you tell me what you have used to make the white part?

Reply
1. Allison says:
  
  May 2, 2013 at 6:22 am
  
  Hello there, thanks for the comment!
  
  The white parts of the eyes are made out of polystyrene plastic. A vacuform machine is used to heat and shape the plastic around a custom made mold of the puppet eye. After the plastic has cooled the shape is then cut out and in this case an awl was used to punch a hole to attach the finished eyes.
  
  If you don’t have access to a vacuform machine, plastic Easter eggs (painted or not painted), ping pong balls, plastic spoons, large buttons, and really anything you imagine to look like eyes for your puppet creation can work. 🙂 You might also want to check Etsy.com or your local craft store for puppet or doll eyes.
  
  Happy puppet building!
  
  Reply