Cookie Monster Replica

[ashkent]

Since making my replica of Animal, which was a working puppet but due to me going a bit large is better suited as a poser, I didn't know which well known puppet to have a go at next.

My 1 year old decided for me as she fell in love with Cookie Monster after I let her watch Share it Maybe on YouTube.

So...Having gone though about a dozen different blue fur fabrics - none of which match Cookie's fur exactly - I found a tight curly fur that with a bit of a brush is still a bit short but isn't too bad. Just as hard to match was the colour. I'm 30 so I remember Cookie before he became a vivid royal blue colour, so after a little bit of old footage hunting I found the really old Cookie, who was a greyish colour, and then "my" Cookie, who was a dull blue.

Based on all that, my replica is similar to the new build, with more defined head shape and rounder jaw, but the colour of the older Cookie's.

I've taken a couple of photos but they haven't come out too well...There's also a very quick rough video which at least shows his shape better although it was taken tonight with the house lights on so again it doesn't show his colour too well and i also realised that I made the classic mistake of saying "I" instead of "me" when doing the voice. I'll do something a bit better soon.

Hope you like him...he's the reason I finally decided to start my own puppet business in the UK and will be selling original professional puppets and other creations there soon. Watch out for the website coming soon at www.oldenoughtoknowbetterpuppets.com

"

 

[vic]

Hi
Could you tell me where you got the fabric from?

Thanks!

 

[ashkent]

Hi,
I bought it on ebay as a 10 metre roll end which worked out at £10 a metre. To get the whole puppet it took about a metre and a half to get a decent length body and another half metre to make the head and other little bits. If you wanted to buy some for that price I have more than enough that i would be willing to sell on - i bought so much as I know it will come in for some of my other puppet designs, but I definitely have some that i could spare if you struggle. I'm sure I searched for curly blue fur rather than shaggy on ebay when i found it.

 

[vic]

This is great to know, I might buy a couple of meters from you, I will let you know.. Ps.. Nice job making cookie

Thanks!

 

[Plaid Fraggle]

I really like the Cookie voice XD He looks awesome! Great job! I personally get worried about finding fabric on the internet, and it's been very difficult for me to find the right stuff in craft stores I'd say your selection was dang close!

Also, I've looked up how Cookie Monster's eyes work about a million times, but I have yet to actually understand it. Did you find a video about it or something?

 

[Bliffenstimmers]

I really like the Cookie voice XD He looks awesome! Great job! I personally get worried about finding fabric on the internet, and it's been very difficult for me to find the right stuff in craft stores I'd say your selection was dang close!

Also, I've looked up how Cookie Monster's eyes work about a million times, but I have yet to actually understand it. Did you find a video about it or something?

I've heard the pupils of Cookie's eyes are "loosely pinned on" to give it that rolly googly effect.

 

[Slackbot]

Also, I've looked up how Cookie Monster's eyes work about a million times, but I have yet to actually understand it. Did you find a video about it or something?

The pupil is a disc that is attached to the eye by a small black screw. It can spin freely on the screw for that googly look.

This year at Dragon*Con, when talking about the puppets, Peter Linz remarked that Cookie Monster's mouth was made from a cut-up football. I would never have thought of something like that.

 

[Plaid Fraggle]

I've heard the pupils of Cookie's eyes are "loosely pinned on" to give it that rolly googly effect.

The pupil is a disc that is attached to the eye by a small black screw. It can spin freely on the screw for that googly look.

That's definitely the information I'd always found. I just couldn't picture it! Thanks!

I actually found a video on YouTube just now where I got a GOOOOOD close-up of the eyes. I actually saw the screws! Hooray! Another life mystery solved!
(*hides after calling Cookie Monster's eyes a 'life mystery'*)

 

[ashkent]

yes I think most of what I would have said has been covered off. I think it was a post on a forum here that first mentioned the pin and disc for cookies eyes and on close ups you can see it. One thing I did was to put the pin through then glue it into a piece of cork in the back so there was freedom for the discs to spin but also something to make sure it wouldn't just fall out. I think rather than the tiddlywink type disc I used this time I would use something more like a thin plastic film next time as the heavy one rattles a bit.
with the fabrics I literally had a dozen samples or more. But I really haven't found anything as good as ebay for obscure fabrics at reasonable prices. The company I have used quite a bit is based in Israel and they have been great. One of the fabrics I got from them was a Tibet fur...if I could find it in blue it would actually be the perfect cookie monster fur when it was trimmed to the right length. With it being acrylic it can be a pain to get dyed though.

 

[ashkent]

A couple more pictures of this replica. I am planning a rebuild of the head in the next month or so to sort out the noisy eyes, widen the neck and to change the head shape. I originally based the shape on the newer Cookie Monster, but I have decided that as well as the less vivid colour, I'm old school Cookie all the way. For now though, these are the latest images.