Animal Costume from the Muppets

Bring the party with this Animal costume! I strongly suggest starting by finding every relevant picture from the web you can to use as reference. Here are some of the other things you'll need.

Head:
Paper Mache (Flour, Water, Salt, and Paper)
Large 17" Balloon
Fleece
Felt (Red, Pink, and Black)
Clear Plastic Christmas Ornaments
Yarn (Red, Pink, and Orange)
White closed cell hard foam
Black Skrim
Construction Hard Hat

Clothes:
Orange Long Sleeve Shirt
Orange Knee High Soccer Socks
Orange Gloves
Brown Pants
Hemp Rope Belt
Punk Rock T-Shirt

Accessories:
Sintra Plastic
Fake Plastic Chain
Foam Spikes
Drum Sticks

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Step 1: Paper Mache

Paper Mache
1 part flour, 2 parts water, add some salt to help make it stronger and last longer (or so I've been told)

This process can be a little messy, so put down some plastic and wear an apron.

1) Blow up the balloon and tape it to a base that will keep it upright.

2) Rip some recycled paper into 2" strips. Ripping helps make a good edge for bonding, and you should prepare all the paper you'll need before getting your hands dirty.

3) Go to town, making sure to completely cover the balloon evenly. I did about 5-7 total layers to make it really strong and easy to handle later on.

You will need to let it cure completely, which might take a couple days, before you pop the balloon and start cutting!

Super_-_Sonic says: May 4, 2012. 9:32 AM

Being a Canadian resident, I'm not sure I can get my hands on Sintra Plastic.

What else can I use for this step? Also, what else can be used in place of rivets for attaching the Hard Hat to the mache core? What kind of "hoop" will I need as well. I'm going to attempt this and want as much knowledge as possible before I embark on this task.

peacenag says: Nov 1, 2011. 12:35 PM

Just wanted to tell u-your animal costume ROCKs!---so much i attemtped to follow your pattern....best i could....first time wtih paper mache...etc...didnt' think i could do...but your input was GREAT!!!

ThomasJGreen (author) says: Nov 1, 2011. 2:45 PM

That group shot is amazing. Well done!!

Woody71 says: Nov 1, 2011. 7:22 AM

Well, I did it! I'd never used paper mache or hot glue before but your 'ible was so awesome that the costume came together flawlessly. My kids were skeptical at the beginning of the project and jealous once it was finished. Now they want me to make next year's costumes for them. Mission success!

ThomasJGreen (author) says: Nov 1, 2011. 8:25 AM

Fantastic! Well done, but you've pointed out the real challenge...topping it next year! Good luck!

normanthybeast says: Sep 8, 2011. 8:26 AM

Hey man, you inspired me to craft my own one as soon as i seen this. I didn't quite follow all of your instructions..... but if it wasn't for this guide i wouldn't even of made one in the first place :P lol.

I have attached a picture of the finished Mask.

Thanks again!

pablopeillard says: Oct 30, 2011. 7:59 PM

lol, I like the foam idea much better. Just because I'm very impatient with paper mache. Does yours get too hot after wearing for a long time? (im just guessing cause the foam would get hotter than paper... usually..)

normanthybeast says: Oct 31, 2011. 5:41 AM

Thanks for the message. Yeah the Mask does tend to heat up a bit especially with all the extra hair (wool) that gets added to it, although with winter fast approaching it does keep the face warm,lol.

I have since uploaded an instructable on here detailing how i achieved this:

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Muppet-Man-Project/

But as mentioned credit has to go to Thomas here for his instrucable \m/, hope he doesn't mind me adding a link to my page? (If so let me know and i can remove it man)

Thanks, Nath

skulipeg says: Oct 28, 2011. 11:45 AM

Thanks so much for all the detailed instructions. We slightly modified them, and the result was a perfect animal costume for our 9-year old daughter. Couldn't have done it without your help!

ThomasJGreen (author) says: Oct 28, 2011. 1:00 PM

That is FANTASTIC, and makes me so very happy! You are welcome and thank you for sharing this!

Woody71 says: Oct 21, 2011. 9:56 AM

Awesome 'ible!

What did you use for the mouth hoop?

ThomasJGreen (author) says: Oct 21, 2011. 11:00 AM

The mouth hoop was some scavenged plastic from a baby carriage that had a flexible sun shade on top.

Woody71 says: Oct 24, 2011. 8:28 PM

gotcha! i'll post pics when i'm done.

i'm trying to draw up some kind of internal mechanism to move the mouth and eyebrows for added effect but it'll likely have to wait until after halloween....dang it all!

thanks for the help and, again, really great 'ible.

nycnyusa says: Oct 20, 2011. 12:05 PM

I love it, but how do you see?

ThomasJGreen (author) says: Oct 21, 2011. 10:57 AM

The back of the mouth is covered with skrim fabric. It is see-thru when up close, but opaque from further away.

nycnyusa says: Oct 22, 2011. 8:43 AM

Ok, thanks!

lukev2 says: Apr 26, 2011. 12:33 PM

dude u inspired me for my halloween party costume, my band is playing at my halloween party and we are making costumes and dressing up as electric mayhem now!