The Spadasheo puppet builder



All of my memories have been flooding back since I found that Spadasheo picture. The first thing I noticed about the puppets from Spadasheo was the shading and the variety of colours they had. They didn't look like other puppets I had seen before. I could see that the builder had used an airbrush and markers to add depth and shading to the puppets. It was an unusual effect.



It was something I had never see before, but it was all in a days work for the builder. You see it is just a part of the amazing style of puppet builder Matt Ficner. You may or may not have heard of him, but most would agree that his work is unforgettable.




He was the builder of the puppets for the Spadasheo pilot, and his style is quite distinct. He has used his artistic eye and combined that with an intelligent curiosity to use a variety of found items when he makes his puppets. Where some builders choose to make slight changes to pre-existing puppet patterns and call them custom puppets, Matt is truly a custom puppet builder. He starts from the ground up and uses whatever he can find to make it work. Latex, springs, plastic pieces, cut up Halloween masks, mouse pads, you name it and you just might find it on one of his puppets.

The amazing thing is that as strange as these object may seem to have on a puppet, they are seamlessly a part of the entire puppet aesthetic.

Matt has his own company called Matt Ficner Productions, Inc. Check it out.