Puppets and Stop-Motion
The puppet community is a small world and one job usually leads to the next. Sometimes you need to be in the right place a the right time!
I was so happy to get hired on to The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance a couple of summers ago. I was assigned to the Skeksi crew where I got to re-create the costume for Ritual Master. Additionally, I draped the General and sewed for the Scroll Keeper. And I got to work with the nicest people on the planet.
With Crank Yankers, I began working professionally in the world of puppets. I am usually making the puppet costumes, which can be a challenge. Puppets have odd body proportions.
I learned puppet building on the job at Crank Yankers and it was a natural fit with my background in pattern making.
My experience as a puppet builder led me into wrangling for the Muppets, which involves preparing puppets for on camera appearances. I will dress and prep characters as needed, rod their hands and rig props.
I also make tiny costumes for stop-motion animation. I apply the same patterning principles as human costumes, but the construction techniques are very different. Due to the tiny scale (I made a sleeve the size of my thumb nail), these costumes have to be engineered with a combination of sewing, glue, and other wizardry. Many of the costumes are also rigged with wires or lined in black foil for animation purposes.