Epico Update:

Colour Concepts:

The new foam has arrived, we have cleared space in the diary, the colour concepts are complete. From next Monday we go hell for leather on the final days of building, Epico is rushing toward completion. We will be posting regularly to celebrate very milestone so stay in touch.

From the Archive:

Our photographer finaaaallllly got back to us with the results of our December 2009 photo-shoot. We shot these in a park in the middle of a council estate whilst being harassed by the ASBO generation and a grandma convinced we were child abusers dressed as penguins preying on small children! Nice- just another morning taking culture to the masses.

Images available on request.

Epico Movement Test 2:

Here you can see the benefits of removing the back leg- pantomime horse approach in favour the one performer rig. Epico's facial movements are not cabled up here, but already you can see the extraordinary range of movement and emotion he's giving us. Go Epico!

Smaller, lighter, leaner:

Last week we took the big decision to scale Epico back from a two performer rig to a solo rig, slimming him down from 6m to 5m. This has had the effect of making him much more responsive and agile puppet, its also reduced our costs. Whilst we are sad to see the back legs go it does mean no one will get relegated to performing the dragons bum!

More photos to follow at the end of the week as we tackle the legs and the wings.

Baby Egbertah & Irving Mackrel Esq.

Just shot these pictures for the new Peter Johnson Catalogue. We are hoping the Penguin Family will be a big hit this Christmas complete with festive santa hats and sprigs of holly. They are also great for environmental events where Irving takes on the role of a climate change denier and Egbertah the eco activist. To request these shots just send us a mail.

Epico movement test 1:

First test footage of Epico's gyroscopic head mechanism, moving mouth, nose and eye brows!

Epico: New pictures.

With Jamie on holiday and Michael freelancing life in the shop has been quiet of late. So we thought we would post a few more pictures of our current work in progress. From a puppeteers perspective its nice to begin to see how Epico plays to the camera and how his movements suggest a psychology.

Introducing Epico.

Epico, first Look:

This photo shows the initial mock-up of Epico the Dragon and points to some of the challenges of realising a character on this scale. With the head extended 2 meters in front of the lead performer weight will be a critical issue. There is already a lovely movement quality within the head, neck, tail and spine. The challenge will be to retain these as the bulk of the beast increases.

Dragons Be Here!

In late March we conceived and began our most ambitious project to date, Epico the Dragon. Five meters of rippling foam, cable controlled, animatronic puppetry, the largest character we have ever constructed. Often as the scale of a character increases movement is reduced as the performers have to fight the bulk and weight of the materials. But inspired by the fluidity of movement we attained with the Penguins, Epico is being built from the movements out, we want him to move with all the playful bounce of a puppy and the feline grace of a cat.

Epico will be available to book from July. Accompanied by an errant knight or princess character he will perform a twenty minute mini-arena show, as well as being available for walkabout or parades.

Restoration:

Jamie was commissioned to restore a set of historic puppets from the former Cannon Hill Puppet Theatres production of The Magic Lamp. Having been stored in the basement of the Midland Arts Centre for 40 years they where all in need of some TLC. Missing limbs and hands were lovingly carved from lime, costume elements were reconstructed and all recieved a generous lick of paint. The finished characters were shipped off to Dreamscape Theatre in Croatia to begin a new life.

2010: New workshop, new era.

Following the successful launch of the Penguin Family, January saw us moving premises to a cleaner, brighter and warmer space. This new start brought a fresh impetus and energy to the company. In the first quarter we have refreshed our online presence, begun a promotional drive and set the direction for the coming year. We are building some amazing characters this season- truly our best work- so stay tuned.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!

We'll be online very soon!!! ....count down starting....