Freedmeep1964
Active Member
This looks better than the Rudolph used in the official 4D film. Absolutely fantastic!
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This looks better than the Rudolph used in the official 4D film. Absolutely fantastic!
santa looks so much taller on TVI would estimate close to 9" for Santa, but maybe 5" for Rudolph.
Pumpernickel
There! I fixed that for you!The cycle has been that I make him around Christmas, think he's good enough, put him on the shelf for a year...and then decide I can do better the following Christmas. (The upside being that one of the old ones will make a handy gift for MOVIEFREAK!)
He looks perfect to me !!Hey all! I've been on a journey the last four years or so trying to create my own replica of Rudolph. I make models of characters from films and video games and such by sculpting them out of styrofoam, mostly, and then covering them with felt. (With some additional materials like pipecleaners, dowel rods, craft foam, etc, for specific shapes and textures.)
It occurred to me some time ago that Rudolph would look very good as one of my models, since I could pretty accurately match the look of the real stop-motion puppet.
What I didn't know is how much of a little nemesis project he would turn out to be! Over the last four years, I've actually made four models of Rudolph (and countless false starts.) The cycle has been that I make him around Christmas, think he's good enough, put him on the shelf for a year...and then decide I can do better the following Christmas. (The upside being that the old ones have made handy gifts for my family!)
Throughout my endeavors I've enjoyed reading this thread, so I thought I would show off my latest attempt at creating everyone's favorite misfit. He stands about six inches tall, so I figure he's reasonably close to being the size of the real thing. I'm not guaranteeing that I won't end up remaking him yet again next year, but this is by far my best Rudolph to date.
Thank you!He looks perfect to me !!
I'm hardly an expert on the history of the special, but it looks to me like at least two Rudolph puppets were used in the special, just from comparing how he appears across different scenes. I would imagine they may have done that to allow production on more than one scene at once?I have a pretty interesting theory. The Rudolph and Santa puppets that are here in America are not the screen used puppets. They are puppets made specifically for advertising purposes. They were made by MOM productions (they were the ones who made the puppets used in the special). However these ones were made cheaper because they were not made to be animated. They were made with wire instead of ball and socket armatures. They were sent down to America to be posed for magazines and newspapers and next to GE products for some advertising.
These puppets were the ones given to the Rankin/Bass secretary and were the puppets that melted in her attic.
That's why the Santa at the Tad Mochinaga exhibit looks closer to the one seen in the special. Because it is the one in the special. And the one here in America was just made for advertising purposes.
-Also I find it interesting that there were a few Sam puppets made. Each one looks a bit different. In size, texture, and small details.
But what are your thoughts?
Finding out that there are multiple puppets for a character gives me hope that they are still out there in Japan somewhere. Most likely in someone's private collection under great care.I'm hardly an expert on the history of the special, but it looks to me like at least two Rudolph puppets were used in the special, just from comparing how he appears across different scenes. I would imagine they may have done that to allow production on more than one scene at once?
The puppet most frequently seen in the special doesn't look to be the one that still exists in America. The shape of the head looks to be fairly different, and it looks to me like his hooves are larger, too. That one is seen in most of the scenes at the North Pole, such as everything from the reindeer games through singing We're a Couple of Misfits. It also shows up in a few scenes on the Island of Misfit Toys, and the brief montage of Rudolph on his own just before he grows up. In my opinion, this is the better looking of the two.
The second puppet, which is less frequently seen, seems to match the one in America and most of the those ads you posted. It looks a little smaller and rounder, to my eye, and the brown rim around his eyes looks to be less pronounced. This one is seen during the sequences where they are chased by the Bumble and first meet Yukon Cornelius, some parts on the Island of Misfit Toys, and during the scenes where Rudolph leaves the island on his own.
I can't claim any of that definitively, but that's how it looks to me, based on countless viewings. It's most noticeable from a forward-facing view. The puppets seem to look reasonably similar from the side. Apologies for the horrifying photo of un-restored Rudolph below, but you can see how the second puppet there seems to match that puppet, while the first does not. The main giveaway being his little antler bumps, as the left one is slightly more crooked on that puppet.
Just my (incredibly long winded) two cents.
Some good news: Center for Puppetry Arts gets original figures from ‘Rudolph’ cartoon
The anonymous donor bought them for $368,000 at auction on November 13th and gave them to the center on semi-permanent loan.
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Welcome back to the Center for Puppetry Arts, Rudolph and Santa!
These are incredible replicas. I’ve seen the original blue print for Rudolph but not Santa. Do you know if one is out there? I’ve contacted a marionette puppet maker to make a Santa for me as they can properly carve Santa’s head. Do you mind sharing what you paid for Santa and Rudolph? Would your artist make another? I’ve been on this journey a while searching for someone with an eye for detail like yours. I find it interesting that there arnt more artist created replicas for sale out there. I’d love a Bumble with the original wiry type fur and little hand stitched feet and hands. Thank you so much for sharing your pictures!This is an awesome thread about Rudolph, seeing different replicas that alot of you guys have made....I figured I would share pics of my collection of Rudolph replicas....A very talented felt artist friend of mine and her son who is a sculptor made all of these for me except for the Bumble and tree....The Bumble was made so well several years ago by a company that made Rudolph action figures that I didn't think he needed to be re-done to fit in with these guys....Let me know what you guys think...I just got Santa and Yukon Cornelius today.
Amazing work. Very impressive.Hey all! I've been on a journey the last four years or so trying to create my own replica of Rudolph. I make models of characters from films and video games and such by sculpting them out of styrofoam, mostly, and then covering them with felt. (With some additional materials like pipecleaners, dowel rods, craft foam, etc, for specific shapes and textures.)
It occurred to me some time ago that Rudolph would look very good as one of my models, since I could pretty accurately match the look of the real stop-motion puppet.
What I didn't know is how much of a little nemesis project he would turn out to be! Over the last four years, I've actually made four models of Rudolph (and countless false starts.) The cycle has been that I make him around Christmas, think he's good enough, put him on the shelf for a year...and then decide I can do better the following Christmas. (The upside being that the old ones have made handy gifts for my family!)
Throughout my endeavors I've enjoyed reading this thread, so I thought I would show off my latest attempt at creating everyone's favorite misfit. He stands about six inches tall, so I figure he's reasonably close to being the size of the real thing. I'm not guaranteeing that I won't end up remaking him yet again next year, but this is by far my best Rudolph to date.
I had no idea how some of these felt puppets were made. This is an interesting YouTube video on needle felting which I’m guessing is one of the many techniques used. Since I’m new to this site I’d love to hear of any references you all may used in make your puppets. Thank you
Is that your Rudolph or the dreamworks Rudolph? Very nice work if it is yours.The original Rudolph puppets when it came to the Riendeer we're made of wood, felt, and wire. I use needle felting over my carved wood pieces for most of my Rudolph builds. My first attempt was to sew felt over the wood, but it ended up looking hideous. I threw it out and spent months trying to figure out a way to make a Rudolph that looked good. I remember seeing an image at Denny's back in 2016 when the DreamWorks partnership was still going on. It was a new Rudolph render or photo (I can't tell if it was CGI or a real puppet).
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It was hard to see any seams on this one so I figured if it was a real puppet it was probably needle felted. I went with that method on my newborn Rudolph replica. I needle felted over my wood carvings and sewed some other parts. I really liked the way it came out. Needle felting is a very old technique that has been around for years, Long before Rankin/Bass made Rudolph. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if they're used this for some parts of their Riendeer puppets when it came to Rudolph. Probably for the necks and legs. I definitely recommend giving it a try.