Character Design
Grade 5
Do you recognize these characters?
Where did they come from?
An idea!
• Every work of art starts as someone’s idea • The Muppets were Jim Henson’s idea
“I came to puppetry more through the art side of it. Usually I would start with drawings and then turn them into puppets.”
Pepe the prawn
—Jim Henson
Jim Henson
• His grandma taught him how to sew • He taught himself how to make puppets using books from the library • Jim got his first job as a puppeteer on a TV show when he was only 18 • He got ideas from other TV shows, Disney movies, and commercials • He used his puppet-making skills for adult TV shows and commercials before working on Sesame Street and other kids’ shows
Muppet Ideas:
• Jim Henson used different ideas to make each muppet character individual • Some characters are based on animals, monsters, made-up creatures, and even humans!
Who did these sketches become?
Bert & Ernie!
Muppets based on ANIMALS
Barkley
Kermit
Sprocket
Rowlf Big Bird Captain Vegetable
Muppets based on MONSTERS
Cookie Monster, Grover, Maurice, Telly, and Harry Monster
Elmo
Sweetums
MADE-UP Creature Muppets
Animal
Gonzo Snuffy
Martians Fraggles
Mahna Mahna & Snowths
Muppets based on HUMANS
Statler & Waldorf
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew & Beaker Jim Henson!
Bert & Ernie
Scooter
Guy Smiley
Salvador Dada
What will your character look like?
Idea worksheet!