Posing Your Kermit Replica

Hat Sharpener

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I've seen some pretty terrible photos of the Kermit Replica out there - most on the MR site. I've also seen a ton of really great photos (mostly from people here). I did a lot of experimenting, and thought I would pass on advice to everyone else, and see if people had other ideas to help.

1. Lean him forward.


The best advice I found for making Kermit look real came from the three best experts themselves - Jim, Frank and Michael (Frith).

In this YouTube video (at about 3:50) they talk about how Muppets are almost always tilted far forward at the angle of the performer's forearm - almost 45 degrees.

It's night-and-day when you lean your Kermit Replica forward enough... it seems weird at first, and you really have to bend those hip joints far when he's sitting, but makes a huge difference, expecially in the shape of his face.

It's a major problem in the little News Items on the MR homepage where they have Kermit visiting different places. It also really makes me understand the lean of the Palisades Kermit figure a bit more.

2. Don't use a flash.
I've learned this from people on this board. Somehow the fleece they used is VERY reflective and photos with your camera's flash come out looking almost plastic and shiny.

3. Don't always have his mouth open.
Most of the time Kermit is watching the craziness around him. He rarely has his mouth open unless he's talking or smiling. He somehow looks more real to me with his mouth closed unelss he's mugging for a photo.

4. He looks best from an angle.
Head-on shots looking into the camera just don't come out quite right. I think that has something to do with what Jim, Frank and Michael talk about at the end of that clip - Kermit's expressions are made be whether he's looking up aove the camer, or down below it, or to the side. Somehow, looking straight at it doesn't really work. Even the slighted tilt helps a ton.

Any other pointers?

Here's Kermit reviewing my pointers before I post.
 

KermieBaby47

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Great thread idea! I've got something to add to your #2, use good natural light. And something else to consider - don't forget to pose his collar as well, to get the stiffer look. Also, I wouldn't discourage too much from head-on shots, he can look pretty good as long as you're able to get everything else to come together.

It took me a while, but I was able to go through all the Kermit threads and gather up the pictures with links that still worked. AntonyDavanzo, your pics are notably absent cuz they were posted on the now defunct Yahoo! Photos, so please give us a link to your wonderful pics! I've also included links to the original threads if anyone wants to read 'em, kinda interesting.

Original MR Kermit Thread: http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=22866
Secondary MR Kermit Thread: http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=29008

All linkable pics remaining, enjoy!

KermieBaby47: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6, Pic 7, Pic 8, Pic 9, Pic 10, Pic 11, Pic 12, Pic 13, Pic 14

Boba Lynn: Pic 1, Pic 2

Bein Green: Pic 1

KermieUK: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6, Pic 7, Pic 8

A Mickey Muppet: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6, Pic 7

Davina: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6

VaderDentist: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6, Pic 7, Pic 8

Lab Rat: Slideshow

rexcrk: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3

MisterSuperstar: Pic 1, Pic 2

Teenager's: Pic 1, Pic 2

Was Once Ernie: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4

Erine81981: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6

frogman: Pic 1, Pic 2

BigDumbWookie: Pic 1, Pic 2

MuppetCaper: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3

RKUNKLER: Pic 1

FrogBoy4: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5

Fozzie Bear: Slideshow

FennShysa: Pic 1

Drudo: Pic 1, Pic 2

Beauregard: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Pic 6, Pic 7

EDIT: Could a mod please add any more pics posted into this post so they're always together in one place?

Just a thought, Cheers!
:smile:
Anthony
 

antonydavanzo

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Great tips, its also nice to see all of the pictures. 2 yrs from now and we will have a great collection of group shots!
 

MuppetCaper

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Wow Anthony, that must took a lot of work getting all of those. I could not emagine trying to find all those. Great Job.


Now we need to do one of Animal, then Gonzo....and most of all Fozzie!


Oh no, that would be more work LOL.

I love it though! :smile:
 

KermieBaby47

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Antony, thanks for the PM, but I guess it's been too long for me to edit my post! Wierd, but in any case, here's the links you gave me. Maybe a mod can add 'em to my above post.

AntonyDavanzo: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Video


Cheers all!
:smile:
Anthony
 

frogboy4

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Wow, Anthony. Didn't know you collected so many of those. It's cool to see everybody's interpretation of how Kermit should be posed. By the way, one of mine is posed with my Muppet Newsflash fan art entry. He he. And ugh, that horrible picture of me with Kermit. The frog looks pretty good, but man, I looked pretty ratty and in need of a haircut!
 

KermieBaby47

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Here's the real links to Antony's pics. :stick_out_tongue: I goofed before.

AntonyDavanzo: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Pic 4, Pic 5, Video

Oh, and to Jamie: I didn't keep these, I actually went through every single page of all the MR Kermit threads, tested every single link, and then copy & pasted! AAAAAAAAUGH! :crazy: It wasn't too bad though, interesting to read our early critiques & compare them to the final outcome.
 

Ignohippo

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This is the greatest thread ever! Thanks for all of your hard work KermieBaby. What a fantastic resource. MR should be posting some of these pics on the Kermit sales page!
 

dwmckim

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Okay now here's a rarity: a tip on posing a Kermit replica from someone who doesn't HAVE a Kermit replica! (As much as i would dearly love the Muppet replicas in words i can't describe, the financial **** i've been in the last couple years makes purchasing anything over $50 really stretching it, and anything over $100 definately out of the question)

But still, i have a tip that may be valuable anyway. You know how many of us aren't all that crazy about the photo poser Muppets (esp the Kermit) because they have that "flat" look? I've always preferred photos of the real deal because it makes such a tremendous difference when there's a hand in the puppet giving the puppet a genuine expression. Well, having recently seen the Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit, i can appreciate this all the more. Among the just over a dozen puppets they had on display was an early 70's Kermit. Now the early 70's was a great time for Kermit since this was before they started doing the posers in photos and the material he was made of made for an even more malleable frog and his expressions were always so golden. Yet, they had him stuffed inside so much for display purposes that it gave him that artificial poser puppet look...even in the booklet for the exhibit they had a photo of this Kermit (looking straight at the camera) that totally ended up making him look like one of the posers. That made me appreciate all the more the difference it makes as to having a "spirit" (in the form of a puppeteer's hand) giving a Muppet its expression...there's something about the way it fits on a Muppeteer's hand that can't be duplicated.

So back to posing your Kermit...obviously these are modeled after the posers as opposed to being puppets and i certainly wouldn't suggest performing surgery on your puppet to allow a hand to go in there...but you can still scrunch it enough to where the stuffing's not all evenly distributed and bunched up making it look flat lifeless and artificial, maybe even consider where the natural curves of a hand would be if there was one inside and work toward trying to get the stuffing to match that as closely as you can.

I almost wanted to cry seeing one of the most expressive Kermits being made to look like one of those posers that i can't stand to look at! Seeing these Muppets up close where you can really examine them really made appreciate the sheer artistry that goes into the crafting of them...but part of the craft is also acheived by what's on the interior of the puppet as well, not just the exterior...and overdoing the stuffing on a puppet that was always supposed to have a natural fit on a hand really messes up the look like you can't believe!
 
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