Jim Henson and the Realm of Froud are two worlds that are closely connected.
For Jim's fantasy films, he was inspired by the art of fantasy artist Brian Froud and the pair worked together to produce the world of THE DARK CRYSTAL and LABYRINTH.
Unlike Henson's other work (his comical, over the top Muppets), these fantasy films made CREATURES - realistic things and organisms that could actually live in this land.
The materials they used for these creatures weren't Henson's signature fun fur and felts, but materials that matched the real skins and textures of beasts.
Above is Ludo, one of my favourite characters from Labyrinth. He's a believable monster but he's also loveable. It's incredible to see the translation from Brian's sketches to the HENSON creation, and interesting to see how this relationship works.
I will be taking on the roles of both Jim and Brian, so I need to understand how they worked in harmony to invent these incredible films worlds.
The body suit for Ludo is made from foam latex, a rubber-like material that is quite light so can be moved easily by the actor (although, with a beast as big as this the finished Ludo was DEFINITELY NOT LIGHT). The hair of Ludo is laid individually, each strand attached to the creature's skin.
These creatures took hours of work to produce and a lot of effort from an entire creature shop team, so I'm going to be working on a much smaller scale in order to make something even a fraction of the quality of these legends!
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