What gives you motivation/inspiration?

I'm not making money off of the crafts that i do. So, money really doesn't push me to build puppets. So, for me, "wow i have this bill to pay... i have to start building again" or "i need to get a gig going this week so i can have some extra cash for the cruise i'm going on at the end of the month."

For me, i build because an idea comes to me. But sometimes that one idea isn't enough to keep me motivated to finishing the project at hand. So, when i say, "i gotta get this little guy done" i pop in a DVD as i'm finishing up my characters.

What Dvds do i turn to? Typically Follow that Bird works for me. The Sesame crew is a crazy group, and to me, more enjoyable. It keeps the kid in me alive. The characters i tend to create attract the child in people, but i gear them towards Teen age humor. So, I like the bright colored characters and happy moods... although i do have one REALLY angry character... not to be confused with a Grouch, but my lil guy flips out and just becomes so aggravated with all the crazy characters that live around him. Hes the "i just want to be left alone and relax, but if i turn my back for a sec, they'll blow up the world" and they probably could.

The Muppet movie is a 2nd. This would have to be my 2nd fav puppet movie, again, its the characters. Where as i've always felt the Muppets are more so grown up... Which shouldn't be a shock since that was the goal audience Jim was reaching out to. More grown up, but they're crazy. And i love origin films. No, this may not be the Official story, but its neat how they come together in this film.

The least watch dvds would depend on the time of year. Winter, i may pop in Christmas Carol. Summer, i may pop in Treasure Island or Big Bird in China is another. Not saying i go with the weather.

I almost always have something playing in the background while I'm working. Sometimes I'll go with a directly inspirational piece (like Muppets From Space for zaniness) but usually it's just something to create some background noise. I will usually pick something that I really enjoy, is at least mostly upbeat in mood, and that I know almost completely by heart. That last point is particularly important because I want my focus to be 99.9% on what I'm doing and if it's some movie or TV series I love but haven't seen in a really long time I'm likely to become distracted. So lately I've used the direct streaming ability of Netflix to watch things like The Office, Better Off Ted, 30 Rock, News Radio, and stuff like that. I'll often pop in various animated films like Over the Hedge, or Meet the Robinsons.

This is something I'm used to doing from owning a video store for 13 years. I was always popping in movies (G or PG ratings only) to play in the background at the store and after a while you kind of end up playing the same 20 or 30 movies over and over again. So I've seen Ferris Beuller's Day Off like 100 times or so.

I too will change things up with the seasons. Have to watch the Quiet Man every March, and I usually go for the Burbs, and It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown every October, and there's a whole slew of Christmas movies I work through.

great thread cookie!

for me its the actual muppet shows...always something different...always something inspiring... always trying to figure out this and that and how it was done so high in the air...lol

ever since i was a kid i just couldnt enjoy stuff for the simple story...i had to always try and figure stuff out...

cc

yea i think the whole desire to figure things out, is kind of essential. I've always felt that good puppetry is magic. Bringing to life something thats not, and creating illusions by any means to make the audience second guess if the puppet is alive or not.

I try to avoid anything puppet-related for inspiration (that's not a hard and fast rule though) and try to read a lot of non-fiction on everything from history to animation to rap music. I find that when you look outside puppetry for inspiration, you end up discovering new things about puppetry.

I usually end up blogging a lot of the inspiring things that I come across...there's an archive of them here.

I try to only watch movies that have the words "Star" or "Trek" in the title.

I have to agree with this part here. I too do the same. When i play video games, or writing a story... and in this case, building puppets. I want my full attention on the project at hand.

I agree with Andrew -- I think if puppeteers only look to other puppeteers for inspiration, there's a danger of just repeating, rather than creating something new. I get inspiration from aboriginal art, the Firesign Theatre, webcomics, Aardman Animations, Douglas Adams, books about museums, behind-the-scenes features on just about any movie you can think of, and John Mayer covers of Radiohead songs.

It's like Terry Pratchett once said -- your brain is like a cup, and if you pour enough stuff into it, stuff will eventually start overflowing out of it.

That said, I have gotten some good ideas from other puppeteers, not in the sense of "I can do what he did" but rather "I can take the solution that he applied to his problem and apply it to my completely different problem". I like to expose myself to puppetry from as wide a diversity of styles and techniques as I can; although I work within the Muppet style, I get a lot of inspiration from seeing puppeteers who don't.

Well, I pretty much use puppetry as a hobby more than a potential future career, but I find that some of the same things for freewriting work for me with puppetry. (For example, one idea from a "writing guide for kids/teens"-type book was to get a notebook and start writing a "journal" through the perspective of a character.) Also, reading books of odd and unusual fun facts and urban legends can help with thinking up ideas for character quirks and traits.

In general I have an unnatural drive to build things. Its almost like a drug. And its not even that I want what it is that I'm building when its done. I just want to make.

Inspiration for TVTV comes from the desperate desire to outlast my mortal coil... yes, it really is like a mid-life crisis! But its also fueled by discovery. Every time we do something NEW it totally energizes me to keep going. Every time we release a new web episode, I get totally jazzed to make more.

I also find inspiration in all of the other puppet web shows. not so much on the creative end, as I try to avoid being like anybody else's work, but in the fact that there are so many other people who think that NOW is a good time to explore puppet entertainment on the web. That meme lets me know that I'm in a good groove. Reminds me that what I'm doing struck someone else as a good idea too. i am highly encouraged by all the puppet stuff I see on the web.

-G

Wow Gordon! That's exactly how I feel about building. Even when I'm not building, I think about it all of the time. And unfinished projects drive me crazy... not that you'd ever know that about me. Sometimes it seems that all I have are partially-completed projects!

But it feels incredibly good to be in the thick of something big again!

woohoo im back


anyways...when i was in college, every now and then on certain weekends id come home....i remember i used to watch the Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson and it would inspire me to continue what i was doing, even in bad times. i dont know why but i guess his story of how he lived and how the muppets gather to find out who jim henson was touhed me in the right way

Frogpuppeteer... i'm just so used to Facebook's "like" button that i would so click it, if MC had one for me to click on your post


As for Inspiration... I find that EVERYWHERE. As i mentioned in the first post, watching how the Sesame crew is performed and how their characters are delivered are what motivates me to continue my work. However, the inspiration for what i write and design really come from everything. I mainly use situations i take part in and observe in life. Like how Carol came up with Oscar, i do with character i puppeteer and also when i do non puppet stage performances.

Wow ,I have to try that form of writing.
Ive been making a journal with my aproach to a character.It's filled with my desighns ,bad spelling ,and pictures.It looks verry mouch like a scrap book.I love making it, it takes alot less time than actually making the puppet itself.I think I'll have to try writing it from the perspective of the character and my point of veiw,wich is kind of um.......rediculas because um.....oh well atleast it helps me exsplore the character.
Thank you!

Just to add to that, which was an EXCELLENT idea... i also suggest, while in the car, judgeing songs or anything you see, as your character. If its a street you've been down for years, become that character discovering it for the first time. If you work with a group of people, try this with them too. Find out how your character will react to another character's discovery of the street. This also helps to see the chemistry between these characters

But i dont want to stray from the topic here lol

I get my insparation so many ways!example:If i watch a good movie my characters start to look more like the characters from that movie,not the same thing ,but in the same style.When ever I realy like something I've seen like a theater costume ,or puppet my mind just can't get away from it and it comes out in my drawings or witing.
Thank you