Drawing Muppets at NYCC

There are two fundamental things that I have loved my entire life: The Muppets and comics. So when my dear friend and ToughPigs Editor–in–Chief, Joe Hennes asked if I wanted to draw Muppets at a panel for New York Comic Con back in October of last year, it was a complete no–brainer. Remember that for later!

From left to right (starting at the podium): Joe Hennes, Jay Fosgitt, Richard Gomez, Dave Hulteen (Hi!), and Christopher “Smig” Smigliano

Wizard World Philadelphia, 2003

Let’s talk real quick about Comic Con and Comic Con panels. In short, they’re great! Moving on! Oh okay, fine. A comic book convention is the ultimate fan experience. Whether it’s in the basement of a VFW or a sprawling convention center in a major metropolitan city, comic cons are safe, fun spaces where people are encouraged to nerd it up and be fanatical. Panels are the glue to that experience. In my personal opinion, there are two types of panels: functional and absurd. Both are so much fun but represent different experiences.

Functional panels are like live interactive updates. They usually feature creators connected to a fandom talking about upcoming story arcs, characters, and news. These panels can become news worthy like when the Avengers cast members first come together before you see them assembled on the big screen in full costume. It’s a great opportunity for fans to come face to face with their heroes and ask them burning questions that only matter to them.

Sam and Friends panel from NYCC, 2022

Functional panels can also be informative or educational. Ever wonder how your favorite voice actor comes up with how they want a character from a video game to sound? They can tell you! Want to write and publish a book? There’s a writer’s panel that has tips! Maybe you just want to hear music from your favorite YouTube creator. There’s a concert in Ballroom 7!

Absurd panels are everything else and they are my favorite. Want to see the most offensive cartoons from the 60s? There’s a panel for that! Have you ever contemplated the religious nature of the Smurfs? No, neither have I, but if you wanted to see a bunch of Tough Pigs guys draw obscure Muppets for an hour, Room 408 at the Javit’s Center is the place for you!

Now ToughPigs themselves have written about this entire event in much better detail that you can read about here. If you don’t want to read about it though, you can just watch the whole panel for yourself!

Panel art I created for promotional materials

So enough has already been covered about the event, but I want to expand on the experience from a more personal standpoint. The main takeaway being that I was by far the low man on the totem pole. I’m not disparaging myself so much as building everyone else up, but drawing well and drawing quickly are two very different and distinct traits, and I only have the former. The other guys though? They’re powerhouses! And they’re really fast.

Just to give an overview; Joe would turn to the panel audience for suggestions, but the overall concept was to give us artists a prompt, and then we’d get to work and crank out something in around a minute.

With Richard Gomez

Richard Gomez might have been the youngest on the panel, but he’s clearly the heart. Richard has grown in prominence a lot over the last couple years and it’s so easy to see why. Aside from being exceptionally talented, he brings a whimsical element that elevates everyone else. A talented puppet builder as well, Richard sees the world around him in a unique and colorful way. Whether it’s turning a paper towel roll into a singing sensation or converting the ELMO brand projector into Elmo; Richard is brilliantly imaginative. He’s also really fast!

An old comic strip I drew of myself, Smig, & Joe (2016)

Chris “Smig” Smigliano is ToughPigs resident artist and is easily the funniest artist on the dais. Smig was the cartoonist for the Salem News where he developed a keen ability to visually tell a gag with limited space. Also an avid fan of MAD Magazine, Smig harnessed his inner Don Martin to create very funny comics that easily leaned right up against the line of being inappropriate without actually crossing it. Smig is so fast that the amount of art he produces is just as staggering as how fast he created it. I have always admired Smig, but he stepped up his entire game for this panel and truly showed he has exceptional comedic chops.

With Jay Fosgitt at San Diego Comic Con, 2014

The biggest name on the panel though was Jay Fosgitt. If ever there was an artist that this panel was made for, it’s Jay. As a professional comic artist and writer, Jay consistently drew really funny and crisp illustrations. Truth be told, if he was the only artist on the panel, the event would have been just as great as it already was. Jay’s take on classic characters is distinct, well refined, and just perfect. Jay has the added bonus of being able to draw really obscure characters from memory. Like the others, Jay is also really fast, but Jay is fast because that’s his job. I know that Jay has self doubts and concerns that every artist has, but to watch him draw is a treat that would convince you he could do it in is sleep. Watching the entire time he was up there was magical. He would take a beat to compose his idea before laying it down effortlessly. If this were a game, Jay would have been the MVP every single round.

From left to right: Shane Keating, Joe Hennes, Bruce Connelly, Chris Smigliano, Will Carroll (Will was the alternate for our panel), Matthew Soberman, Richard Gomez, and Dave Hulteen (me!) after our panel, October 2023.

As an added bonus, in the audience was Bruce Connelly, Muppet performer of Sesame Street’s Barkley the dog since 1993! So it was very apropos when Joe suggested we each draw the lovable pooch in honor of having Bruce at our panel. Afterwards, ToughPigs staff handed out all the illustrations we did to people who attended the panel. Bruce wanted the drawing I had created of Barkley holding a banner that said, “We love you, Bruce!” but it had been picked by someone else already. My brother–in–law and I had met Bruce 9 years earlier at NYCC when we were promoting our own YouTube production of The Bang and Bump Show which Bruce was very supportive of. So I promised him I would draw a better version of my Barkley tribute—this time at my own speed and not in front of a live audience (I know my weaknesses). Six months later and I finally sent it to him too!

Bang and Bump at NYCC, 2014

I had the best time with my friends at Comic Con even if that particular setting wasn’t the best match for me (alternate Will Carroll can cover for me in 2024!). I don’t know if we’ll do another panel this year, but I do plan to be at NYCC again. In the mean time, I’ve got some more posts planned for this blog, so stay tuned and follow me on Instagram too!

My art proper created for Bruce Connelly

Celebrating Jim Henson the BEST Way!

Back in September on Jim Henson’s birthday, I got to be a part of a fantastic fan celebration with wonderful people, puppets, and music. Today I’m sharing those memories!

Joe Hennes with Heather Henson—our guides for the day.

Pulitzer Fountain at Grand Army Plaza with Bergdorf Goodman on the left and the Plaza Hotel on the right, as seen in The Muppets Take Manhattan. (MuppetWiki)

The day started out meeting up with Heather Henson from Ibex Puppetry (and Jim’s youngest daughter) at the Plaza Hotel just across the street from Central Park. The exterior of the building facing Grand Army Plaza was featured in The Muppets Take Manhattan for the scene where Miss Piggy spies on Kermit the Frog and Jenny after Kermit pitches Manhattan Melodies to Leonard Winesop. After Piggy is harassed by a trio of cat-callers, she returns to her job next door at Bergdorf Goodman (from the MuppetWiki).

Will Carroll helps Heather Henson show various clips that were filmed on location.

Heather Henson & Joe Hennes.

We then headed into Central Park where numerous Muppet related projects were filmed like the previously mentioned The Muppets Take Manhattan, a National Wildlife Federation spot starring Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear, and various segments from Sesame Street.

Heather takes a selfie in front of her dad’s bench

John Papovitch and his pal with yours truly

Jim’s bench all decked out!

A motley crew of Muppet fans!

Eventually we all made our way to the mall section of Central Park, specifically along Literary Walk—a wonderful spot I’ve visited numerous times before that has benches remembering many great historic figures. Legendary Sesame Street director Jon Stone has a bench right next to one for Jim. All of us decorated the benches with flowers, puppets (built by Richard Gomez), and chalk drawings before joining in an impromptu performance singing Happy Birthday and The Rainbow Connection. It was magical, or as our fearless leader Joe put it, “You all just had your own New York moment!”

The townhouse at 117 East 69th Street. As you can see, this is a holy place for us fans.

Heather draws an outline of Kermit’s feet just beyond the still visible foot prints.

We left Central Park and made our way past the old Henson Townhouse and the old Henson Workshop which is now a gym. However, as Heather pointed out, the impression of Kermit’s heels are still partially visible on the sidewalk!

Will Carroll, Lucas Ross, and Richard Gomez.

From left to right: Me, Heather Henson, Lucas Ross, and Joe Hennes. Heather & Joe’s shirts also designed by the talented Richard Gomez!

Oh look! Promotional items for Craig Shemin’s book, Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show!

Next we all filed into the Henson Carriage House where we ate lunch, mingled, and geeked out to the extreme over our shared fandom. It was then that Lucas Ross—oh yeah, did I mention he was there too?!—played his banjo and had us all singing and laughing.

Front row: Will Carroll and myself. 2nd row: Tau Bennett, Richard Gomez, Joe Hennes, and Gav. 3rd row: Tori from Muppets No Context, Chris Stulz from Muppet Stuff, and John Papovitch.

Lucas Ross performing various Muppet fan favorite songs.

With Tori from Muppets No Context and Will Carroll.

With Chris Stulz from Muppet Stuff

Lucas Ross and Kermit read the Sam and Friends book while Shane Keating contemplates all of this.

After we left the Carriage House, the real party started over at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens—a place I’ve referred to as the mecca of Muppet fandom—where Craig Shemin showed an amazing collection of clips featuring Rowlf on The Jimmy Dean Show!

It was an incredibly magical and wonderful day and a reminder how much I not only love being a part of this fandom, but how much I love all its fans too. Special thanks to Ibex Puppetry, Lucas Ross, Joe Hennes, Chris Stulz, Will Carroll, and everyone else who took and shared photos with me. Follow me on Instagram and thanks for stopping by!

With Kenny Durkin at The Museum of the Moving Image. Kenny wasn’t at this event, but him and I did visit two weeks earlier and I wanted to share that here!

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Whether it’s freelance or work from my day job, I usually work for one client per job or with a very small team. This allows for good collaboration but without causing too many unnecessary problems. A couple weeks ago I wrote in depth about how unnecessary opinions from other peoples can influence a client, especially when they’re not even directly involved with the project to begin with. 

Occasionally I will work on a project that has to go before a committee for final approval. Where I work, they are known as “the cabinet.“ The cabinet is a substantive collection of management that needs to review larger projects that will have a national or even international audience. Fortunately, by the time a project goes before them, they aren’t necessarily making changes or suggesting frivolous design choices, but rather ticking off all the boxes to make sure the project is ready for final approval. Things like making sure there is proper representation, a clear message, that there’s no misinterpretation, and that it includes all necessary information. Of course there have been a couple nightmare situations in the past, but for the most part, the cabinet exists as a good eye for checks and balances.

“The Cabinet” sounds like an NBC crime drama series, right?

Joe Hennes and Cookie Monster

As I love to do, I reached out to some creative professionals to see if anyone had any unique stories when it came to dealing with a situation where there were just too many cooks in the kitchen as the old axiom goes. Writer extraordinaire, co–owner & editor of ToughPigs, and my dear friend, Joe Hennes responded with the penultimate and quite literal interpretive telling of having too many cooks in the kitchen. Here’s his fantastic story:

I have very rarely been a project-based "work for hire" type. For most of the projects I've been involved with, I've either created it for my own needs or been a part of a larger, corporate production company. For the latter, it can be very difficult—and yet, very easy—to get a creative project off the ground. Confusing!

There's an unspoken rule on the business side of production that creative choices should be left to the creatives, especially if we're paying them money for their talents. Sure, there are internal think tanks and approval processes, but it's surprisingly difficult to scratch that creative itch when those responsibilities are handed off to the artists. On the flip side, being on the other side of the table means that you have a better idea of what's possible and what's not, what the company really wants, and how to cut every cost before an idea gets too big.

Back in 2014, I was working in an administrative role at Sesame Workshop, and constantly trying to find ways to be a part of creative projects. A truly bizarre viral video hit the internet that year - "Too Many Cooks", an 11-minute long spoof of sitcom opening sequences that originally aired on Adult Swim. And as all viral videos do, it was the hottest thing for a few days.

Part of my (unofficial) role at Sesame Workshop was to try and brainstorm fun content for grownup fans like myself. Very few of my pitches came to fruition (the most notable being "Big Birdman" - a spoof of the Oscar-winning film "Birdman", starring Caroll Spinney), but when "Too Many Cooks" hit our radars, it seemed like it'd be a HUGE opportunity to develop a "Too Many Cookies" spoof starring Cookie Monster. I mean, the joke was right there in the name!!

Joe with Big Bird & Oscar the Grouch performer Caroll Spinney

This is where that "business side of creative" stuff comes into play. What's the pecking order for getting something like this approved and made? As always, money comes first. Since this would be aimed toward adults, that meant it would be released on social media, so that division of the Marketing Department would be paying for it. I pitched the idea to the head of the social media group, and he agreed that we should do it. But he also recognized that there's no predicting how long things can be viral, so we had to act FAST.

Literally running down the hallway, we went to the Production Department, as they'd be the ones actually putting the video together. The Executive Producer wasn't in her office, but since time was of the essence, one colleague volunteered to start pulling videos of Cookie Monster and editing them together. Once this thing was approved, at least the work would have already started.

Our next stop was with Curriculum & Research, as all things at Sesame Workshop need to be approved through them. It took some convincing (there was literally nothing educational about what we wanted to make), but since there was nothing harmful, and the video would be aimed primarily toward adults, they reluctantly gave us the go-ahead.

Looping back around to Production, the Executive Producer was still absent. We couldn't do anything without her approval, and the clock was ticking. By the end of the day, we couldn't get in touch with her and the social media director made the call to cancel the project. Understandably, if we couldn't get it all approved and created by the end of the day, there was no guarantee that this little video would still be relevant 24 hours later.

Feeling a little dejected, I went home that evening and realized that there was no reason I couldn't keep moving forward with the project on a smaller level. I wouldn't have the resources of a big production company, but that's never stopped me before. I quickly wrote lyrics for a spoof of the "Too Many Cooks" song and recorded myself playing it on the ukulele while my wife Sarah sang. I ripped some videos of Cookie Monster off of YouTube and edited a short video together. (In case you were wondering, I figured out that the original "Too Many Cooks" video featured the "Full House" font.)

In the end, we were right - the video needed to go up at that exact time to benefit from the viral buzz. "Too Many Cookies" currently has over 74k views, almost all of which came in those first few days. Naturally, those numbers would probably be in the millions if Sesame had created it, but I got to keep all that attention for myself. Sure, I didn't make any money off of it, and it didn't do much to help increase my clout at work, but it just goes to show that when the kitchen truly has too many cooks, it just takes one absent sous chef to bring the whole thing crashing down.

For what it's worth, the next day the missing Executive Producer said that she absolutely would've greenlit the project. Oh well!!

Me, my daughter, and Joe, January 29, 2022

What a blast! Joe busts his hump over at ToughPigs, so I am very grateful he took the time to retell his experience here. Make sure you are following ToughPigs everywhere: on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube! If you like, you can also me on Twitter and Instagram and check back every Friday to this blog!

[Nearly] Every Instance of Kermit the Frog I've Ever Drawn [More Or Less... I Think]

Confession: This week’s blog was supposed to be a tribute to vintage advertising art, but that fell through and I was hard pressed to scrape through my ideas list which had little to nothing I could just slap together. The problem then became, “What the heck do I write about?!” The answer came when I realized this past week was Kermit the Frog’s 67th birthday. Not exactly a milestone year, but then @StarmansArt Tweeted this incredibly sweet shout–out.

Thanks, Richard!

I am a huge Muppet fan, and Kermit is my personal patron saint of sanity and my true north example when it comes to good leadership. Plus, I get a significant and disproportionate amount of likes when I post Muppet stuff so I thought I’d try and see how much Kermit the Frog art I’ve done that I can find. Let’s do this!

Now I drew Kermit a lot as a child, like a lot. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find anything before the 90s, so we’re starting there. Kermit appeared more in tribute rather than in focal portraiture back then because you didn’t get a lot of girls phone numbers like that. Lesson learned though: everybody digs the frog.

Top left: Kermit (and Robin—not that Robin) drawn with a mouse in Microsoft Paint, circa 1995. Bottom left: My Commercial Art semester final illustration in graphite, 1996. Right: Kermit makes a cameo in front of Wayne & Garth whilst I pretend to take notes in Community College, 1997.

2000–2008

Oofa, okay, please understand that every illustrator likes to experiment, especially when they are learning Photoshop for the first time and fresh from graduating. I was an avid member on the Muppet Central forums way back in the early aughts and was anxious to share some fan art. I was having a bit of an identity crisis as a Muppet fan and wanted to stand out so I drew a lot of weird shit. I’m sorry to curse, but you can see for yourself, even I didn’t know what I was trying to pull off.

I was huge into Anime and wanted to desperately mash that with the Muppets. The kawaii Kermit front and center was the pinnacle of those efforts. I was so darn proud of him (I still am now that I think of it). It was the halcyon days of online interactivity, Photoshop held no serious or practical value, and i can has cheezburger was a staple of daily life.

Keeping with the Anime vibe, I pushed hard on this idea. 2008

2009–2012

Commissioned work from Joe’s wife, Sarah.

It was around this time I actually started to try and learn how to properly use the tools I had at my disposal to create art that was actually, you know; good. Adobe Illustrator was fast becoming a tool that I relied on heavily, but it also was a time that I got to know a very amazing human being by the name of Joe Hennes; Co–owner and editor at ToughPigs.com. Joe was instrumental in not only getting me online exposure (something I am eternally grateful for and remind him of regularly) but also to actually draw, you know; good.

Despite being over a decade old, The Immaculate Jim, 2010 remains one of my favorite pieces of fan art I’ve ever done.

In 2012, my wife and I went on a cruise. She said to me, “I want this vacation to be really romantic!” so I drew several cards that I gave to her each night. This was one of them (and my favorite). See? Ladies totally dig the frog.

The Muppet Madness Tournament kicked off in 2010 and it was a huge collaborative effort between myself, Joe Hennes, Ryan Roe, Steve Swanson, and Ryan Dosier. It also got decent press online, so understanding my work would be seen by a ton of people, I brought my A game to the table.

It was during this time I started using the full capacity of the Adobe Creative Suite to push my illustrative work further. Kermit was the natural guinea pig to test different techniques on.

Some of the attention the tournament got.

2013–2014

It was during this point in time that I was starting to get noticed. I don’t mean popular because that still hasn’t happened. I mean that actual Muppet people and Muppet adjacent people would make my acquaintance. It was an exciting time, and I was fully immersed in the fandom as I never had been before. The Muppets—I mean the actual people involved with the Muppets—started to know who I was, and I was getting opportunities to know them too.

Transitioning back to working almost exclusively in Illustrator again, I began keeping a consistent color palette for all the Muppets.

I always had a full bin of ideas, but many of them never made it to fruition. One day I plan to finish a tribute to Dan Jurgens Superman the Man of Steel # 37 (DC, 1994) Zero Hour comic cover.

One hundred thousand years ago in 2013, there was a very brief moment in time where an app called Draw Something rivaled the popularity of even Wordle today. I used every opportunity I had to draw the Muppets.

2015

In 2015, I began to steer more towards drawing Kermit my own way rather than on model. Now that didn’t necessarily set a precedent from there on out, but it marked a moment where I considered my fandom and my relationship with it completely my own. In many ways, I had arrived… Exactly where? I can’t say but it smelled a lot nicer and people stopped trying to trip me when I went to the mall.

At this point, I was also creating all Muppet art with the express purpose of showcasing it on ToughPigs.

The most exciting thing about 2015 was being commissioned by Bill Barretta to create individual pieces as gifts for the cast of The Muppets ABC television series. I’ve never ever shared any of those pieces until now. This was done for Steve Whitmire.

2016–2018

At this point I learned that drawing Kermit was becoming gratuitous. I knew if I posted an illustration of him, I’d get attention, so admittedly I was throwing stuff at the wall just to see what would stick.

The bottom right illustration was a thank you gift to Mike Quinn, the performer of Nien Nunb from Star Wars and Kermit’s regular “right hander.”

2019–Present

When I draw Kermit nowadays, it’s usually a therapeutic exercise. Drawing him off model or otherworldly is the next evolutionary step most of the time. My friend and fellow Muppet cupcake enthusiast Zach Woliner commissioned me to do a bunch of Kermits as various pop culture movie iterations for his KermDubs YouTube channel.

Muptober eventually replaced Inktober for me.

If this makes you uncomfortable, then I accomplished what I was setting out to do!

So that’s every Kermit I’ve drawn… that I could find… and “slap together a blog post” that effectively took 12 hours to create. If you want to see more illustrations of Kermit, please follow me on Instagram and Twitter and stay tuned to this blog!

You can’t get a better model than this. 2016

Also, a big thank you to Richard for inspiring this post and being so kind. I’m more than twice his age and I’d wager he’s already drawn Kermit more than I have!

Dave's Muppet Collection 2.0

Unless you’re completely unfamiliar with me or my work (in which case, welcome to my blog and thank you so much for visiting!), I’m a huge Muppet fan. Well, that’s not exactly accurate, I’m a fan of Jim Henson, easily the most influential person to me as a creative professional and dreamer. That being said, I think “Muppet fan” is an acceptable blanket term for me and all my fellow fans, so we don’t take offense. Naturally, as a fan of anything, a collection of merchandise and memorabilia is one of the more defining traits every enthusiast of some form or another has.

Me and all around amazing human Ryan Dosier at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY for a tribute to Muppet Performer Jerry Nelson, October 27, 2012

Ten years ago (oh my God, TEN years ago?!) I made a nifty little video of my complete collection of Muppet things for my friend Ryan Dosier; then the founder and owner of The Muppet Mindset. I thought I’d cringe at it (more) today, but I’m still pretty proud of that video. It’s moot however, as I have almost none of it in my possession anymore. That’s not to say I don’t have any Muppet collectibles today, in fact I’d argue what I do have is more valuable, even if that value is more personal and sentimental.

Jerome Green, Lisa Bober, and I visit Puppet Kitchen’s Monitor Night with Paul McGinnis. A great time and experience with so many other fans! Photo by Michael Schupbach. December 6, 2016

First let me address what I don’t have and why. I’m willing to bet that most collectors tend to get pigeonholed by their friends and family in regards to their fandom. Not that loved ones define you by your specific likes—even if they are a domineering factor in life—but come birthdays and gift–giving holidays, things from said fandom are very easy go–to’s in that regard. In my aforementioned Muppet collection video, I’d guess that 60–80% of my collection from that time were given to me by very sweet and good intentioned people who love me. I’m very grateful for those things too, and they increased the size of my collection tremendously. The problem is displaying anything—especially a lot of things—can be difficult and impractical. The Muppets in particular are a brand that have had difficulty finding their footing over the last twenty years, so merchandise can be execrable or subpar at best. Yes, that paltry painted, bendable Gonzo dressed in an exercise unitard was very thoughtful, but my limited shelf space isn’t exactly where it should go. I want people to admire my collection, not turn my wall into a bargain basement curio shop. So most of that late 90s/early 21st century stuff (the bulk of my collection) went on eBay or to the Thrift Store. Thanks, I hate it!

J.C. Penniey in 1976. Photo from Birmingham’s Century Plaza

J.C. Penney at Monmouth Mall. Photo from Wikipedia Commons

One of the more prominent pieces I had were the Sesame Street mannequins formerly on display in J.C. Pennies back in the 70s and 80s. So a quick recap here as well; I was hired to work in the art department at the J.C. Pennies at Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, New Jersey back in the mid 90s. Early on we had to clean out the old display storage area which had these life size Sesame characters of Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird (Big Bird being smaller than life size as he was only moderately taller than the other three). I took them all home with me (they were destined for the trash!) which was quite the sight as heads and limbs stuck way out the windows and trunk of my car. Cookie Monster and Big Bird were almost immediately damaged from a water leak in my parent’s basement but Bert & Ernie were fine. I even began to restore them, but it became clear very quickly that this was a skill that needed to be left to a professional. They then went up in my parents attic where they waited patiently for 18 years. My parent’s house is (to this day) possessed by water demons, and moisture damage ruined pretty much everything in their attic also, including the iconic duo.

We had fun placing the old pals all over my parent’s house on Memorial Day weekend back in 2010 before they headed back up into the attic

I was heartbroken. My goal was to eventually put them on display at Christmastime for everyone to see, but now I felt like I was also being a really bad fan having let two more very rare treasures succumb to irreparable damage. I reached out to a professional to see if they even could be repaired, but not only would it be costly, the black mold that had developed inside their heads just wouldn’t be worth the trouble. I think about them often as now I finally own a home and think how neat it would be for my daughter and the rest of my neighborhood (which is flush with kids) to see and enjoy something so special from over 40 years ago.

Five years later cleaning out our parent’s attic, my siblings and I discovered extensive moisture damage, July 2015

The stuff I kept are all things deemed high quality merchandise. My Palisades figures, books and toys from the 70s and 80s, and a few plush Kermits as well will be cherished forever. I’ve even added to that with vintage stuff from online auctions and good finds elsewhere. I still have my prized possession, my original Fisher Price Kermit the Frog doll that I’ve owned since childhood, but I also found one still in the box that I got at San Diego Comic Con! Talk about precious! Occasionally I’ll pick up something smaller and kitschy but that’s exceptionally rare. The last big Muppet item I bought was ironically the nail in the coffin for collecting physical merchandise for me. The Diamond Select bust of Animal is gorgeous and looks so great on my office bookcase, but it was also expensive, and as soon as I opened it up, I realized getting it was more exciting than having it.

Getting a pristine Fisher Price Kermit at San Diego Comic Con, July 23, 2014

It’s cool, but that’s about it

It was at that moment I fully realized what I had been partially aware of for a few years: experiences are more valuable collectibles than material ones. Getting to be on set with and even commissioned by Muppet performers and production & crew members is way more satisfying and special. Now this could be a 21st century mindset in a day and age where we take pictures of everything for proof of the moment, but while there’s definitely credence to that, I think it’s a little more nuanced. The memories I have of my Muppet experiences are far more special because the photos just can’t encompass everything. For starters, they’re shared experiences. The people I was with make them memorable. Whether it was goofing off on the subway on the way to someplace or dinner afterwards; the full day from start to finish is precious. I don’t want to be pretentious here, and all of those experiences are not just dreams–come–true but also personal. That’s why I’m not littering this post with tons of pictures of me and Muppets. They are mine and they are so special.

On set with my best friends, Hollywood, CA, February 4, 2016

Heading to a puppetry class by Muppet performer Marty Robinson with new found friends, September 20, 2014. Photo by Mike Slawinski Jr.

It’s not just direct Muppet and Henson interactions either, but especially fan occasions that are really fulfilling. The Great Muppet Mural alone is a perfect example of this. Not only is my physical print arguably the nicest collectible I have, but getting to know and work with so many other fans was the penultimate venture. The Museum of The Moving Image in Queens is sort of a Muppet Fan Mecca where I’ve been able to spend so much time with so many incredible people. Yes, it’s always a chance to meet your heroes, but it’s the shared moments with people just as fanatic as you that really make those instances unforgettable.

Inside the Museum of The Moving Image for A Tribute to Jerry Nelson, October 27, 2012

Hanging with Austin Michael Costello (and Artie) at The Museum of the Moving Image for Brian Jay Jones’ biography on Jim Henson. October 1, 2013

All that being said, there’s one special anecdote I will share because the total experience is a sweet story. Back in 2013, Gene Barretta took me and my future brother–in–law to the set of Sesame Street for his son’s birthday. Again, truly an epic day that I have tons of pictures and video of but I’m not going to flaunt them. All I will say is that Gene gave me an adventure I am truly grateful for. Before we left, performer Ryan Dillon rushed over handing me one of Big Bird’s feathers that had fallen off (this happens a lot apparently) that he picked from the set floor. Wow, what a treasure! I held on to it tight and was relieved to have a place for it when we stopped at Midtown Comics on the way back home (another high note adding to the personal nature of the day) and placed it in the brown paper bag with the comics I bought.

With Gene Barretta, his son Ben, and Jerome Green just outside of Midtown Comics after a great day. December 4, 2013

The whole day was crammed with truly humongous moments so I was exhausted when I got home and crashed. The next day I was rushing around, straightening up our apartment and still riding on cloud nine. Just a few days later, I decided I wanted to find a way to display my Big Bird feather… now where did I put it? I looked everywhere and started to panic. Did it fall behind my dresser? Did a rogue breeze from an open window blow it away? Had a cat burglar stole it away in the night as I slept? I tried to think back. I had shown it repeatedly to my wife and everyone else that came by and then… then what? I would put it back in the brown paper bag with the comics. Yes! It’s still in the brown paper bag with my comics! Only my comics had since been removed and put in a long box and the bag, the bag had been thrown away! That was days ago! I ran out to our dumpster tearing open garbage bags furiously but that was futile because the waste management company had already emptied it. My Big Bird feather, the physical totem of that wonderful day was now lost and gone forever. Man was I crushed.

Over a year later for my birthday, my wife surprised me with a very special gift. She had pulled some strings and managed to get a hold of a brand new authentic Big Bird feather! The source confirmed it was just like the previous one—felled from a day of shooting and plucked from the floor of the set. The whole point of this being that the story of how I got the feather is just as remarkable to me as the feather itself. That’s not something a manufacturer can create in resin from a mold or sell on Amazon. True, there are still some collectibles I’m gunning for, but the potential for making more and new memories have been opened wide, and as a result, I just don’t think a Fozzie PEZ dispenser will hold up anymore.

My Big Bird feather and 4’ wide print of The Great Muppet Mural in my home office

So as cheesy as it sounds, it’s being able to exist in the world with the Muppets and other fans rather than collect whatever the Disney store deems marketable. And if I’m being really honest, I think I’ve always known that was the case. When I was a kid, my Muppet fandom was practically what defined me. In the late 90s, early 2000s when the internet became a more community driven vehicle, I was initially upset to learn that not only were there so many more Muppet fans, but that a lot of them rivaled my own fandom and I had a temporary identity crisis! Thanks in part to that breech, my fandom has been brought to a new level and my fellow fans and the niche corner we all exist in has not only introduced me to some really amazing people, but I’ve also formed genuine close friendships and been able to do actual work for the frog and some of his associates!

Hanging with Tough Pigs Ryan Roe & Joe Hennes and Unboxing cool stuff at the Jim Henson Company in Queens NY, with Karen Falk and Cheryl Henson. March 13, 2015.

I have a lot more Muppet stories that I’ll share in the future, so make sure you follow me on Instagram and Twitter and stay tuned to this blog!

Everything I Learned About Making A Documentary

Or The Making of The Making of The Great Muppet Mural

I aspire to be a good storyteller and have a relatively decent understanding of structure so I admit that initially I thought making a documentary—something I’d never done—would more or less hit all the familiar beats of other video essays and projects I’d done before. First, there’s the realization or desire to create something; inspiration is an old friend we all know well… And that’s about as far as I got before understanding this was a very different kind of project.

So here’s a quick rundown to catch everyone up. In January 2021, my very dear friend Jamie and I were looking to collaborate on a project with another couple talented artists (Kenny Durkin & Stuart Reeves) and settled on creating a massive mural featuring as many characters from the various worlds of the late Jim Henson as possible. This would act as the penultimate celebratory centerpiece for fan site ToughPigs.com. That’s as much as I’ll divulge on that as you can literally watch the entire story in the documentary that this article is referring to. To try and get as much mileage as possible out of the project and generate even more content for ToughPigs, it was suggested we try and show the process of how the mural was being made as we were already neck deep in everything and recognized how much effort was being put into it. We were all in a Zoom meeting and I instinctively started to record us. This fortuitously turned into a moment I used in the opening credits where co–owner and editor–in–chief Joe Hennes talks about sharing our story. Here’s an extended version of that clip:

My main focus at that time was obviously on the production of the mural itself, but I took notes here and there and saved various odds and ends I assumed would be useful in making a documentary, but didn’t really start to focus on anything seriously until we were nearly finished and ready to present the final art. I asked Joe to reach out with a couple additional requests for materials from the artists who contributed and was pleased with what was submitted afterwards. I then realized the story needed an actual narrative, so I began interviewing those closest to the project. This was primarily Jamie and Joe at first. We had tons of fun rehashing everything, but I was still really stuck on how to tell this story. I also realized that when a group of friends talk together, it’s off–the–cuff and spontaneous. A blast for us but it lacked the chronological qualities I knew was needed to tell an actual story. I had to have a narrator, but that meant I needed a script and I didn’t have a clue about how to get either.

I knew I couldn’t narrate it. My voice was already too prominent in the interviewing process and I wanted the tone of the underlying story to be consistent. I felt asking the audience to differentiate between “your old buddy Dave who’s cracking jokes and waxing poetic onscreen” and “omniscient voice of off–screen Dave” was undesirable. Shortly before The Great Muppet Mural was presented to the public however, I got an early Christmas gift from a man I’ve admired for awhile. Lucas Ross is exceptionally funny, super talented, and truly one of the most kind and beautifully spirited people I’ve ever met. Trust me, I am not saying this simply because he contributed to this project in a major way. I am genuinely in awe of this guy and I wish with all my heart the world had a few more just like him.

I was so stunned, I forgot how language works.

Lucas reached out wanting to be a part of anything related to the mural, and when I mentioned I needed a narrator, he jumped at the notion. Keep in mind, at this point in time, the only thing I really had was the idea for a documentary, a folder of recorded Zoom & Skype calls, and a couple of rough sketches. This would not be the last time serendipity intervened, but it was proof I needed to really start to dig in and make this thing. I figured I could get it done in about a month.

I was interviewing Joe in early September when I hit upon the idea of telling the story in three parts or acts like an actual stage play or movie. From there I was able to make a rough layout of the film and then direct my interview process better. I realize this seems like a no–brainer, but when you work on something and just move through everything because time is linear, you deal with things as they happen. Even with the mural finished it takes real introspection to compartmentalize things. The artists we worked with, the problems we dealt with, managing our team; these are all things that happened sporadically or all at once so categorizing them was a huge epiphany for me and that’s when things really started to fall into place.

It doesn’t look like much, but this unlocked everything for me.

Suddenly I not only knew what I wanted and needed, but how I wanted and needed it. First things first though, I had to manage the interviews I had done and continued to do in a way that could actually tell my story. As I mentioned before, our chats were conversational, so if we didn’t make the point the way I wanted to or there was an excess of “uhs” and “ums” or we beat around the bush too long or stuttered; that’s when I could clearly write out what needed to be said and have Lucas deliver it with full confidence and in an even cadence.

Turns out it’s a good time to present a documentary as seen in the genre’s rise in popularity creatively shown in this infographic by Bo McCready

Again, this is way easier said than done. I wanted to rely on telling our story firsthand as much as possible, and that meant going through 10 hours, 44 minutes, and 49 seconds of interviews and team meetings, 1 hour, 50 minutes, and 5 seconds of artist submitted clips, 50 minutes and 38 seconds of time lapse process videos, and approximately 5 hours of miscellaneous stuff like web screen recordings, stock footage, animation, vodcasts, and old Tough Pigs interviews. Added up, that’s nearly a full day of footage alone, and that doesn’t even include Lucas’ scratch tracks and onscreen footage! That arbitrary month long deadline was dead in the water.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned when it comes to cinematography of any kind, there is absolutely no such thing as too much B–roll. For those not–in–the–know, B–roll is secondary (usually background) footage that helps keep a film interesting and brings context. For example, if Jamie and I are talking about artist Peter Savieri's amazing work, rather than just having us two onscreen chatting him up, it would be visually more appealing (handsome as we may be) to show some of Peter’s work. That’s B–roll. I was provided with a lot of great stuff, but it never felt like it was enough. I had the brilliant idea to not use any photos of the Muppets or Jim Henson at all, instead choosing to showcase some of the contributing artists’ previous works. I asked everybody for everything and was not disappointed at all. Everyone came through and I’m so grateful I could pester them weeks and months later for stuff and they always delivered.

The insanely talented work of Peter Savieri

Credit Where Credit Is Due

The next big lesson I learned was simpatico with that same idea, and that is that I needed a lot of help. I had a very big and clear picture (eventually) of what I wanted this thing to be, but there was some stuff I just didn’t know how to do or how to do well. Again, I was very lucky to have friends to step in and dig me out of the hole I was in. Amanda Duncan facilitated almost all the music and also helped set the tone when I didn’t know how. Jerome Green hammered down the sound which fluctuated wildly, especially between the artists who took the time to record themselves. He also color corrected the film; a nightmare when none of us were in a studio with any sort of proper lighting and on a split screen more often than not as well! Recording websites is tedious and can be jerky, so James Smith thankfully took that burden from me as well.

I need to sing Lucas’ praise a bit more as well. Lacking in B–roll and understanding his comedic sensibilities plus the fact that he works in a television studio, I reworked the script to give him some onscreen time as well and encouraged him to do whatever he liked and have fun with it. He surprised me to no end when he sent me all of his onscreen dialog with himself placed within the background of the mural! Even he couldn’t have done all that by himself either and relied on his staff at NBC, KFOR-TV Oklahoma City. Man, he was just so perfect, and I really mean it when I say if Morgan Freeman himself approached me to be our narrative voice, I would still easily choose Lucas and I’m so grateful to everyone who stepped up and pitched in.

Along with those directly involved with helping to make the documentary, I am very fortunate to have such an incredibly strong support structure. I will never take 100% credit for anything, even something I worked on by myself. I firmly believe that I owe credit to the people that support me and have helped blossom my abilities and creative drive, even if they weren’t directly involved in the actual process. My dad and grandmother lovingly fostered my love for the Muppets and my mom encouraged my artistic endeavors throughout my life. In regards to this particular project, I was overwhelmed with the excitement and encouragement from my family, friends, and neighbors. People were genuinely excited that I was working on such a unique project.

My sister Morgan made her own version of the mural (with compositional help from Jerome) for my birthday. My mom cried happy tears when I showed her a rough cut and my dad has been proudly sharing it all over Facebook. My wife has always been my biggest fan and supporter and never sugarcoats anything. Not only was she extremely supportive of this project, she gave me honest and helpful feedback. Coincidentally, she was my target audience. I wanted to make something that someone like her—limited knowledge or appreciation of the fandom or creative process—could watch and even enjoy. I was overwhelmed when she reacted with so much pride over the film. Bottom line: any passion project with such a demanding workload requires mental and emotional support. It will make whatever you are doing less burdensome and even more worthwhile.

My sister Morgan—A multi–gold medalist gymnast for The Special Olympics, NJ—surprises me with a very special birthday gift.

Hurdles

There are a few things I wish I had thought to do or have known better. Promotion for one thing somehow became a last minute realization. This was really my baby and Tough Pigs was providing the platform to show it off. In other words, I wanted to help them any way I could as opposed to completing the thing, handing it over, and saying, “It’s your problem now!” That meant creating lots of promotional material. I’m a visual guy, so my go to were fun images and clips from the film. Creating those things, helping to schedule them, and work out the best way to send them out through social media was a huge job in and of itself. I think I began to understand on another level the reasoning behind these massive theatrical releases in regards to their advertising and why there are whole divisions within studios that spend millions upon millions of dollars. It would have definitely benefited us to reach out to someone with more understanding of online marketing as well.

I relied heavily on Tough Pigs pushing everything as they have the bigger audience, but they were also covering the Fraggle Rock revival series, and their attention was understandably split. Jamie helped pick up the slack, but the biggest surprise was Lucas himself who not only posted his own content but even plugged the documentary on his morning show on Central Oklahoma’s NBC affiliate, KFOR–TV!

The other problem I had with promotion is that I never felt that I was engaging properly. This goes hand in hand with being more social media savvy, but rather than promoting something, I started to feel like I was beating people over the head with, “COME LOOK AT THIS!” The people that wanted to see this were going to see it regardless. Trying to extend that to an audience who wasn’t aware felt out of reach. The benefit of this smaller world is communicating to a niche group, but ultimately that can prevent you from targeting a larger and more diverse group. I’d like to claim I was shadow banned but I don’t think that was the case, despite abusing #muppets over and over and over again.

Putting faces with the art was by far my favorite thing to do.

I certainly learned my way through Adobe Premier a lot better too. I was acceptable at best before. Now I’m much more hyper–aware of its tools and how to better organize everything. A documentary uses a lot more assets than a few video clips. My interest to learn After Effects and other video media programs has also peaked and fleshed out some unique resolutions for the new year. Finally, speaking towards that ridiculous one month deadline I foolishly gave myself, I learned time management on something like this can never ever be underestimated.

In the end, I can’t say that the way I went about crafting The Making of The Great Muppet Mural was the right or even the best way, but it sure was the most satisfying way. Every tiny thing I figured out or problem I solved felt like it was just meant to be. It became this giant jigsaw puzzle with millions of pieces that eventually all fit together and man am I so proud of it. I tried really hard to not let my ego get in the way, be respectful of everyone’s input, and above all else; tell an interesting story that people who have little to no knowledge of any of the subject matter would enjoy.

Please check out The Making of The Great Muppet Mural and as always, follow me on Instagram and Twitter!

The Making of The Great Muppet Mural

Have you ever had a really big project that you’re working on that you’re extremely excited about and proud of? Has that project ever taken up so much of your time that you haven’t had a chance to do much of anything else? And has that same project been either a secret or required you to sign a Non–Disclosure Agreement (NDA) so you can’t even tell the world about it?

Awhile back, I was involved with The Great Muppet Mural and I checked off all three of those boxes and was super–hyped when it was finally time to share it online with everyone. Here’s the clincher—I’m still not done with it! Yes, ToughPigs 20th Anniversary has come and gone, and while people are still singing the mural’s praises, that moment has more or less passed too, but there’s actually more of the mural to share!

Let’s go off on a tangent first, okay? Earlier this year, ToughPigs spotlighted (spotlit?) some of my Muppet fan art again, and like an ego–maniacal lurker, I dipped in on the forums to see what people thought of my stuff. Everyone is always so kind and says wonderful things, but one post really hit me hard.

I used to be very descriptive whenever I would post anything anywhere; whether it was on social media, a featured spotlight, or even a concept to a client. Then, between a combination of being lazy and assuming people just didn’t care, I took a page from the book of minimalism and stopped saying anything. So when I saw Scott and my boy Joe (of all people!) call me out, I was infuriated and surprised at how on point they both were.

So now we get back to the present and The Great Muppet Mural. Early on, I had the idea that there was more to tell about this huge project other than the fact it had, “lots of Muppets and took a lot of work from a lot of people.” That thought was shared and encouraged by ToughPigs co–owner Joe Hennes (yes, that same Joe who put me on blast back in May!), and for the last several months, I’ve been making a documentary about the whole project!

I’ve ignored a lot of other things that should have been a priority, and I basically quit on Inktober; but so many great people and artists got excited about this project and helped contribute to it that I think (when it’s finished) you will get a real kick out of it. The very talented and funny actor/banjo playing, Lucas Ross is also narrating the short film and my Hulgreen bro Jerome Green is cleaning up all the audio, so it’s going to have a pretty nice professional varnish over top when it’s done!

So when is it going to be done? The best answer I can give you is “soon.” I have some professional video editing experience, but a documentary is a very different beast. That being said, the lion share of the work is done, and I’m neck deep in final post production. There’s more I could share, but I really want to hold off until it can be promoted properly. In the meantime, here’s the title card and a promise that a very good story beyond “artist made a thing” will be coming soon with all sorts of fun times attached too!

The Great Muppet Mural

Over six dozen artists came together to create The (amazing, humongous, colorful, diverse, fun) Great Muppet Mural for ToughPigs.com 20th anniversary. My good friend Jamie Carroll headed up the massive project and I was honored to be the assistant art director as well as a contributor.

I really can’t explain just how big of a project this was… but I’m currently trying by putting together a documentary about the whole thing! So stay tuned.

I want to also thank Kenny Durkin and Joe Hennes and all the other fantastic talent we had working on this. Please also check out the artist spotlights of all of them on ToughPigs.com!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3