I Made a Baby Toothless Puppet!

Are we surprised that, in my self-entitled "Puppet Era", that I made another little guy??
ANYWHO. I got the itch to make another dragon puppet, and this time I really wanted to make a little baby version of Toothless from 'How to Train Your Dragon'!
Boy oh BOY, was this project a journey. I tested out methods I've never done, tried making some mechanisms, chopped up fake limbs, and crawled around on the floor (oh wait I always do that)
I hope you enjoy this chaotic journey! I am so grateful for every single one of you. Enjoy!!

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:13 The Design
02:08 Carving the Foam Body!
07:29 Wrapping the Limbs
10:08 Blinking Eye Mechanism
12:30 My Nightmare Child
14:22 The Teeth
15:50 Back to the Eyes!
16:59 Gratuitous Frog Footage
17:10 Some Complications
19:17 Super Sad Disappointment Time
20:05 The FINAL Day
21:35 Fake Arm Shenanigans
22:59 Plasti-dip!
22:25 Midnight Scales
24:34 The Reveal
25:10 Wrap-up & Bloopz

#puppetry #toothless #howtotrainyourdragon

[rachelmaksy]

Howdy partners! Captions are out for transcription and should be up shortly! LOVE YOU, enjoy this chaotic journey!

[xingcat]

A quick suggestion from a puppeteer...think backwards with mechanisms like eyes and jaws. Puppet jaws should be open by default (usually, the palate is made from something flexible that stays open, like binder folder plastic), as it's easier to make a closing motion with your thumb than to pull open. Also, that allows you to sew the entire head as one piece and fit the mouth in, sort of like you'd ease a sleeve into a shirt.

With the eyes and retractable jaw, a spring that keeps the eyes closed and/or the teeth down, where you press to open/retract would make it easier to deploy, than trying to get eyes that open AND close by your finger manipulation behind the mechanism. If the teeth are in by default, you can press on a lever to have them retract, if that makes sense.

A gorgeous, CUTE AS HECK puppet!! I really love it when people make their own puppets.

[lauraslittlelife]

VIDEO IDEA: There's a guy on YT who painted tiny things in inconspicuous places all over his parents home until they noticed, such as a bumblebee on a wall, a peephole on a door, a puzzle piece inside of a drawer, a tiny person rapelling off a doorframe ... His paintings are tiny and whimsical and basically the cutest thing ever. Rachel could do something similar and paint tiny things all over her house until her husband notices. It seems like the kind of chaotic good prank she'd enjoy and she obv enjoys adding whimsical details to her home.

[inacatt]

I'm not joking when you said the GOT puppet was a YEAR ago it shook me to my core! I swear I thought that was just a couple months ago-

[becky]

Honestly, I enjoy seeing the parts that don't work out. So many youtubers make it look like things go perfectly all the time and it can be daunting

[roxiepoe]

Hot glue threads magically disappear when one shoots them with a hair dryer. Knowing this frees one so much in the creation process, and I have never had it fail. This was really fun for me. :) Thank you.

[GinnyEvergreen]

Girl a blinking eye AND teeth popping out mechanism in just, what, a week? Without any previous experience? Please don't be disappointed that this didn't work, that stuff is advanced puppetry and that you got that far is amazing!! Also, please don't feel like you need to make your projects that extravagant for our viewing pleasure. Your creations don't have to take you to the edge of insanity for is to love watching it! We LOVE your content for you as a person, and it will be amazing no matter how 'simple' it is (which it isn't cause making a puppet from scratch is hard!!) Be kind to yourself Rachel❤

[carinaw]

„If only Michael Angelo could see me now, he would probably say: ‚oh my god where am I? Hello??“ dawg this KILLED me 😂😂😂

[christinh]

This turned out so good! And in my opinion, him only having gums just adds to his baby-ness!

[joanderson]

If you still have those Astrid and Hiccup cosplays that you made for yourself and Nick, you could do a little photoshoot, that would be so cute! What a little lad, we have no choice but to stan <3

[tessapal]

How to Train Your Dragon has so many amputees that you can get away with the missing arm! I love those movies and Toothless 🐉

[beenwandering]

also wanted to say that a chill video like sewing a regular shirt you want to wear or making something decorative for your home (cough hobbit wreath cough) is just as enjoyable as these big multi-day projects and not to run yourself ragged.

[jamiebressler]

Pro puppet builder and huge fan here! You have nothing to feel disappointed by. Mechs are HARD! ESPECIALLY a double eye blink. They take so much time and precision. The fact you got one eye working is a success in my book! I almost always go to an expert to build mine. If you ever have any questions, I’d be happy to help!

[erinrising]

I think if you want to add a fake arm back in, it should be gloved like a falconer, because you wouldn't want your arm to get scratched up by his wee little talons

[JennyOliver-dramaqueen]

I have 80 odd puppets in my collection, and I do not NEED any more. But I have never WANTED another one so much. Rachel, you are my enabler and I appreciate it.

[ellatheenchanted]

Literally all of this is so cute I can't deal, but your husband calling you and giving you specific instructions to make sure 1) you were able to see a doe friend and 2) you didn't startle her 🥺🥺🥺💕😭😭

[TSIRKLAND]

I made a puppet a few years back: I really really wanted to give the eyes a side-to-side motion (like Sam the Eagle, for you Muppet fans). I tried this technique and that technique and so many materials and many trials and a whole lotta errors! Like your project, I eventually had to give up, and just have static forward-looking eyes, with no movement. I was sad, but sometimes you gotta make the project happen. I was very happy with the way it turned out in the end, even without the movement mechanism.

I will say that almost any mechanical mechanism will benefit from something solid to work against. Carved foam is very soft and squishy: any mechanical force is likely to just smoosh the foam, rather than apply an equal force in the opposite direction, to allow the mechanics to function. So giving your puppet some kind of under-skull (plastic, fiberglass, rigid epoxy sculpt, whatever you have that is a rigid material you can work with well) will give your mechanics something solid to work with. That presents a whole host of challenges of its own- it solves some problems, while presenting different ones. Such is the life of us creative people, amiright?

If you can make the blinking mechanism with a single trigger for both eyes, that will give you a single motion, rather than two separate blinking eyes, which can look drunk or stoned.

For the teeth: I saw you carving individual teeth and attaching them to something. If you attempt this again, consider carving all of the teeth in a single row out of EVA foam- like a single flat saw blade- then bending the whole thing into the U shape of the gumline. That might make a cleaner single piece to work with. The teeth mechanism bumping into the eyes: in that child-like face, with big eyes and a small "nose, " there's not a lot of room, to be sure. I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions for that challenge.

As you continue making more puppets, you might want to try your hand at fabricating with sheet foam, rather than bulk carving. Carving has some advantages, in certain situations, but has its limitations, as well. Using sheet foam can be lighter weight, less material (cheaper!) and the surface is much cleaner: no carving bumps! There are many puppet-making tutorials available online, for making heads, bodies, etc. out of sheet upholstery foam and contact cement. It has many similarities to 'draping' fabric in dress-making, as far as how to make the pattern, and piece it together. It might be a challenge at first- but a good one, which I bet you would pick up pretty quickly.

As always, despite the many challenges and set-backs, your reveal was super cute, super whimsical, your interaction with him was adorable. You always pull things together in the end. Love to see it. Can't wait 'til your next project. Good luck in your upcoming travels!

[koalafication]

There are so many creators that make "cozy-chaos" videos (including Rachel) that cozy chaos needs to be its own category

[margodavison]

Rachel you should do a video going down memory lane of all your lil guys you’ve made over the years. It would be so cute to see them all in the same room together 😋

[Remmemory]

I am loving this era of just serotonin making 'lil guys'. It brings me so much joy even just to see these lil guys come to life!