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!

My Story with Sam and Friends, Part III

I was hired by Craig Shemin to work on promotional materials for his new book, Sam and Friends – The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show. Then he brought me on to fine tune the book’s cover. This week I’ll be talking about how it all ended up!

Right off the bat I need to be honest and tell you this post is rather self–serving as I will be gushing about how I got to be involved with some of the promotional events for the book, but I promise I’ll keep the arrogance level low… low–ish. Somewhat modest for sure. You know what? It will have nice pictures if you want to skip reading, deal?

Heading to the Museum of the Moving Image with my family, Sept. 24, 2022

I’ve written about my fan experiences and how the Museum of the Moving Image is kind of a mecca for Muppet fans, so when Craig asked if I would sign the Sam for President posters I created next to him at the book launch on Jim Henson’s birthday, I was ecstatic. For starters, being on the other side of the table was huge. Getting to have moments like meeting Bob McGrath, or chatting with other fans I only knew through Instagram or Twitter @’s was so much fun. I was also grateful to have my wife, daughter, sisters, and my parents all there as well.

Top left: Craig Shemin, bottom left: Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Heather Henson, top right: with Craig and Ryan Dillon, and meeting Bob McGrath

Top left to right: ToughPigs’ Shane Keating and Matthew Soberman, @gollygeemel and the beautiful Dr. Teeth key chain she gave me. Bottom Left to Right:Richard Gomez and the Snerf he built and gave me, Will Carroll, and finally Joe Hennes and Peter Savieri.

Two weeks later, I got to attend New York Comic Con and be on a panel with Craig, Muppet performer Ryan Dillon, and Henson Company Archivist Susie Tofte. Getting to chat with fans, fellow artists, and friends again tops finding any merchandise or rare treasure. It was a real blast and something I will never forget!

Please follow me on Instagram and Twitter and you should also totally buy Sam and Friends – The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show at Bear Manor Media in soft and hard cover.

My Story with Sam and Friends, Part II

I was fortunate enough to be hired by Craig Shemin to create promotional materials for his new book, Sam and Friends The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show. I wrote about it in–depth last week, so please check that out first.

While the work was very exciting and fun, it really was a distant secondary project to the book as the pieces were intended to be handed out at events like the launch at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. Other than that though, I wasn’t expecting any public connection to the book online, and that was fine because just getting to be a small part of Jim’s legacy by distant proxy was satisfying enough for me. However, that all changed a few months later when in July, Craig floated the idea that he would need me to polish up the book’s cover now as well.

On a book like Sam and Friends, there are a checklist of items that have to be met for legal purposes. Craig had created a mock up of the cover understanding it would need to be punched up later, but its main purpose was to get clearance from all the legal sides of The Jim Henson and Walt Disney Companies. However when he approached me about this new addition, there were several things I needed to be brought up to speed on.

The first was obvious, the mock up Craig had created was approved, so I wouldn’t be creating any new concepts. The job was to create a more refined version. Period. The second was a huge surprise to me: there was no high resolution graphic of the Sam and Friends title! This was one of those “seeing behind the curtain” scenarios where I had just assumed the assets were tucked away somewhere in the archives. Now I was responsible for creating that high resolution asset and beyond everything I had done, this felt the most significant to me. I had created something of this asset partially when I designed the campaign poster of Sam that was one of the original promotional items, but now I would fine tune it—purple swirls and all—for future use of the book and whatever else the Jim Henson Legacy saw fit for as well. The third was a later surprise, and that was that Craig’s mock up had been shown and announced back in early 2021 and now I was being announced as the cover artist! My 15 minutes had officially started.

Several color and effect variations of the title

The last thing was something a little more nuanced. The television set used to frame the photograph of Jim, Sam, Kermit, Yorick, and Harry was art Jim Henson himself had created for the show. Unlike the set design style illustrations I had created for the promotional items, or even the Sam and Friends title card, Craig felt the television set art needed to remain Jim’s and therefore would stay intact as is. As a fan, I wholeheartedly agreed. As a graphic designer, this was a massive problem.

NOTE: While this is the actual art of the original TV set, the colored photo of Jim is Photoshopped into the image.

If you’ve ever looked at a digital picture on your phone and just zoomed in as far as you possibly can, eventually you’ll start to see distortion to the image. This is because a digital image is made up of hundreds if not thousands of individual pixels. When you print a digital image, there has to be so many of those pixels crammed into one square inch so that it looks good whereas the numbers of pixels per inch (PPI or DPI–dots per inch) on a screen can be considerably fewer. If an image is too small and you then blow it up/enlarge it, those pixels will be more visible in a ruddy way that will look really bad. It’s a good rule of thumb to enlarge such an image only 130% at most. Anything beyond that will start to show the physical dimensions are of a much lower quality.

Craig had super high resolution scans of almost everything, but for this television set alone to be increased just for the book cover (never mind any promotional uses that would require it even larger), it would need to be blown up 10 times larger which means it would look terrible in print. I suggested letting me recreate the art so that we could avoid every conceivable problem I could think of, but Craig was understandably hesitant. Fortunately, he also trusted me (especially because I told him we could trash it if he wasn’t happy with it), and I digitally painted everything down to the tiniest detail including the speaker and its screen. I also allowed for a humongous bleed area so that the wood grain of the set could easily wrap around the hard cover’s extended borders. Not only was Craig pleased with the result, but now that I had organized every single part into its own unique layer in Photoshop, we could tweak everything for alignment as well as the additional promotional pieces that would come to be, like a standing retractable banner. If that wasn’t helpful enough, my new painting was 200% larger than the necessary size of the cover.

Craig’s mock–up, my illustrated design update, and the Photoshop layers

Fortunately, the scans for the back cover were of a high enough quality that I didn’t need to mess with them too much. Again, having all the high resolution scans from the show weren’t just easier to work with, but very cool to have something I could really look at and enjoy months before the book was published.

The old adage, “You can’t judge a book by its cover” is always a thorn in a graphic designer’s side because creating book covers is literally our job. Craig was the perfect client to work for. He was very clear in his directions yet open to my suggestions. I wasn’t just providing him with my ability to create stuff for him but my years of experience as well. I don’t know how much any of those things played into his generous offers to have me join him when he signed copies of his book in Queens or be on the panel at New York Comic Con, but I was about to experience a whirlwind of notoriety and respect and it was super exciting.

The lined area for the dials now extends to the TV frame and the speaker mesh was painstakingly drawn with precision in Adobe Illustrator. The frame was digitally painted with a dry brush texture, the set itself was overlaid with a wood grain texture while the knobs have a felt texture over top.

Tune in next Friday when I share the last and most personal part of this story! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter and thanks for stopping by!

My Story with Sam and Friends, Part I

I’ve been waiting to really break down a huge and wonderful experience I had and today is the day I finally (start to) talk about the work I did for Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson’s First Television Show. There’s a lot to cover so let’s start with some basics. As I have written about numerous times, I’m a huge fan of Jim Henson and all his creative works. Jim has always been my leading creative influence starting when I was a toddler all the way through to today. When Jim was a kid himself, he was fascinated with television and broke onto the scene with a black and white puppet series in 1955 on WRC–TV in Washington, DC. Craig Shemin—who I’ll also talk a whole lot more about in a bit—took on the huge task of writing a book about this particular introductory foray into Jim’s career, and would eventually bring me on to this fantastic adventure. But let’s slow it down now and get into more detail.

Images from the MuppetWiki

Every true Muppet fan knows who Craig Shemin is, but to the lay person, he’s a massive contributor to preserving the memory and legacy of Jim Henson. At his core, Craig is a writer who has written for television shows like The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola, Donna's Day, and Dog City. He's also written short stories, video game scripts, press interviews & appearances, text for licensed products, concert scripts, and liner notes. He's also hosted live events, screenings, & panels and prepared additional video content for such things. He has a ton of other credits like director, curator, and consultant as well as his current title of president of The Jim Henson Legacy. To say he is incredibly talented is putting it mildly, but he's also genuinely a wonderful person.

Sam and Friends saw the birth of a lot of what would be in store for Jim Henson's future including the unique and newly innovated techniques in puppetry for what would become the Muppets as we know them today. Chief amongst those Muppets would be Kermit the Frog who was only vaguely amphibian at the time. Jim Henson's complete creative collective would be splintered after his untimely death in 1990 with Kermit and his friends from The Muppet Show eventually being purchased by The Walt Disney Company, Sesame Street transitioning full ownership to Sesame Workshop, and things like Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, and The Dark Crystal remaining with the Henson Company. Sam and Friends would become known as a "frozen property" essentially meaning that nothing new can be developed with the characters. I'll expand on that later, but ultimately this is a long and convoluted way of saying that if you really want to know more about Sam and Friends, then you should absolutely buy the book.

So now we come to late April of this year when Craig reached out to me asking if I'd be interested in creating promotional materials for the book. There were a few things I was really excited about for this, but the main draw was that I was being hired to create printed materials that would look like Jim Henson had created them himself. This was huge and I was stoked and honored. Initially I had to create four pieces: a bookplate that Craig could sign at publicity events, a campaign poster that was inspired by a 1960 sketch where Sam ran for president, a sticker, and a bookmark.

Professor Madcliffe's Bookmark

Of all of these, the bookmark was the most ambitious. Professor Madcliffe's Manual Marking Machine for Books would be completely illustrated save for the character himself whom I meticulously but lovingly masked from a 1959 photograph. This was where I set some guidelines for myself from here on out. Because I was drawing every other element aside from the professor, I wanted this particular piece to look like it was actual set design that would have been painted on wood or cardboard much like Jim had done for the actual show. As a result, the pieces that would be further set deeper in the background would be out of focus slightly on camera, so layering everything in Photoshop not only allowed me to move everything freely and easier, but the depth of field was changed as well. A subtle film grain was also added.

I need to quickly add something here that I neglected to before. While Craig was the gatekeeper on what I did, everything had to then be approved by The Jim Henson Company. For the most part that meant just making sure nothing from the show was being used without proper permission from the lawyers, but it also had to meet merit as to how it looked comparatively to what Jim was doing back in the late 50s and early 60s. I've talked about how a committee can complicate this process sometimes but also how scrutinous it can be. Higher–ups tend to need very good visual representation, so early on I was advised to have more fully fleshed out illustrations as opposed to sketches. Again, I've walked down this road thousands of times, so this wasn't a huge ask. Some of the notes that came back though made me tighten up where I found my creative direction.

All the props I created for the bookmark including the rejected ones!

For example, while I used a fantastic (and now out of print) book called Imagination Illustrated by Head Archivist for The Jim Henson Company, Karen Falk for reference, I quickly realized there wasn't quite enough material to re–create Jim's aesthetic without directly plagiarizing it. I found most of my design inspiration from the classic Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. The mid century style was fun to create and a style I've enjoyed emulating for quite some time now.

Imagination Illustrated by Karen Falk and screenshots I took from Rocky & Bullwinkle

One of the notes that came back that I appreciated was the push to stray away from things like mechanical gloved hands and wooden signs as they were too reminiscent of the Looney Tunes, whereas Jim used more ornate and flowing designs as opposed to Warner Bros. more industrial style props. I did try and hide a few Easter eggs though. Here they are:

  • Professor Madcliffe's "Mirth–Meter" was changed from "Smiles per Second" to "Smiles per Page"

  • The wooden board is taken from a sketch where Chicken Liver plays a sheriff from the old west

  • A Wilkins Coffee cup (a main commercial entity who sponsored a lot of Jim's work) is obscured just enough to the left of Professor Madcliffe

  • The television EKG monitor, tape reals, machine with bulbs on it, and the odd phone looking device are all illustrations of things found from various Madcliffe sketches

  • The pickle jar is a reference to the campaign sketch from the Sam for President poster where the character Moldy Hay discovers there's no surplus of pickles

  • The red phone is my own tribute to the Muppet Newsman from The Muppet Show

  • The intricate round mirror on the back is a recreation of the frame used for their sponsor Esskay Meats

However, the best Easter eggs are the ones Craig created when I requested to label the dials, knobs, switches, and screens (much like Jim did on the show). Almost all of them are obscured, but he wrote so many great ones and then wrote more!

Paper Thickness
Ink Opacity
Avg. Read Speed (WPM)
Page Turn Count
Between the Lines Content
Font Definition
Binding Integrity
Indexing Index
Recycled paper content
Subtext Comprehension
Page Density
Chapter Adapter
Margin Marginalization
Hinge Protector
Colophonograph
Gutter Guard
Comprehension Override
Pulp Friction
Kerning Kompensation
Print Offset Offset
Paper Strength
Appendix Inflammation
Little to Big Word Ratio

Sam for President

The campaign poster seemed like it should be more straightforward and easy, but other campaign posters of the time were relatively bland. In 1960, the notable comparison was that of Kennedy and Nixon. To a modern audience though, it was important that Sam's poster looked nothing like favoring one political party over the other. I had varying degrees of making the poster look aged 60+ years, but the main goal was to reproduce (at least in aesthetic) how it would have looked printed from a 1950s press so I leaned heavily on exploiting its color halftone look.

I didn't realize it at the time, but just creating the "Sam for President" text (to match the Sam and Friends title card) would play a huge role later when I would design the cover, but I'll get more into that next week.

ToughPigs.com editor–in–chief and co–owner Joe Hennes and designer/illustrator extraordinaire Jamie Carroll (who frequently consults on classic Muppet character design for toy companies) became integral to me for notes and critiques. I relied heavily on their input to make sure everything I created here on out looked and felt authentic. When I say none of this stuff was created in a bubble, I genuinely mean it.

Sticker & Bookplate

The last two promotional pieces were the sticker and bookplate. As I mentioned before, Karen Falk's Imagination Illustrated was very helpful, particularly for these two pieces, especially because they really relied heavily on Jim's fanciful and fun, yet intricate border designs. Craig was insistent on having my art credit listed on all of these things primarily so no one thought Jim actually created them. This was one of the most appealing things for me because not only did I share legit credit with my hero, but a few people missed it and thought they actually were drawn by Jim.

Aside from a few non–specific looking creatures that may or may not evoke certain classic characters from all the Muppets, the only true Easter egg was my daughter's (and coincidentally, Craig's grandmother's) name in the first draft of the sticker's border that ultimately was removed.

Ironically, none of this is what I would be known for once the book's official release date was announced and I was then credited as the cover artist! But that's another story for part 2! Tune in next week when I discuss getting the honor to be a much bigger part of the history for Sam and Friends! In the meantime, follow me on Instagram and Twitter and you should also buy the book at Bear Manor Media in soft and hard cover.

Part 2

Part 3

Thanks, Jim

How you define yourself is such a personal thing and yet it’s something you also want to put on blast. “This is what I like, this is what interests me, this is who I am.” Only, how difficult is it to categorize all those complexities into just one thing? Father, artist, husband, illustrator, son, writer, brother, designer, friend, gamer, CIS gender male, cheese–based snack enthusiast… I’m all of these things but none of them exclusively. This is a real hot button topic that can also both interest and infuriate people and yet all of us across every spectrum of life consider these things and consider them consequential.

Let’s play a game though for just a brief second and pretend you absolutely have to boil all those things down so that you can at the very least point in a general direction to who you identify as and so you can write a manageable blog post. That’s why today I want to briefly highlight my personal admiration for Jim Henson. Good God, I mean I’ve indirectly and directly credited his influence on my life so many times that I don’t even know which past post would even suffice to make that point. Tomorrow however—Saturday, September 24, 2022—would have been his 86th birthday. Side note: Can someone please tell me if referring to someone’s upcoming birthday in the past tense due to their death is grammatically correct? Maybe strike “writer” from my previous list of defining monikers.

Illustrations © DaveHulteenDesign.com

Creatively, Jim is my ultimate true north. His sensibilities and ethos have all strongly influenced my own. When I was younger, I’d say, “If Jim started a religion, I’d convert.” A tongue–in–cheek joke even I wasn’t sure was true or not. But even that way of thinking was inspired by him.

Illustrations © DaveHulteenDesign.com

The reality though is that I can’t even express those thoughts into a cohesive post. Not because I lack the ability to convert those feelings to text, but because I honestly don’t even know where I would start. I know someone who can though, and I’ll turn it over to them in just a second. First I want to share how I’ll be celebrating that upcoming 86th birthday.

Illustrations © DaveHulteenDesign.com

I’ve teased about it, I’ve shared snippets on social media, but I’ve yet to actually talk about the work I’ve done for Craig Shemin on his newest book, Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson’s First Book. Part of this is because my involvement has evolved over the last few months, part of it is because it’s super gauche to discuss a project before it’s completed, and part of it is because this particular story isn’t quite complete yet. For the purposes of this post however, I’ll be at the Museum of the Moving Image with Craig and lots of other fans for the book’s release. Having been given that chance to be a part of this book has pulled my admiration full circle, and I’d like to believe that if Jim were still here and gearing up for this 86th party, he’d know my name—maybe even speak it out loud—and my Lord, what a euphoric, dopamine–inducing daydream that is!

It’s most likely moot at this point, but not being able to fully layout my thoughts on how to express what Jim did for me, all I can really do—and for the record—is say, “Thank you, Jim. Thank you for inspiring so many of us. You absolutely made this world a much much better place, and we are all so grateful that you did.”

Illustration © DaveHulteenDesign.com

Now while this post is an opportunity to share my thoughts and art that pays tribute to Jim, I have to turn it over to Julia Gaskill (I was going to label her a poet but as I mentioned before, we’re all so many different things and putting just one label on her would be a huge crime). Awhile back, she created an exceptional video entitled An Open Letter from Kermit the Frog to Jim Henson that just floored me. She said everything I wished I could in this post only so much better than I could have ever hoped to, and so, I’m extactic to give her the final word on this.

For more of Julia’s work, you absolutely must follow her on Instagram and Twitter @geekgirlgrownup. Also, if you haven’t ordered it yet, pick up Craig’s new book about Sam and Friends in either soft or hardcover and learn a little bit more about the guy who inspired so much for so many.

The Pros of Pigeonholing Popular Puppet Pencilers

“What the hell is up with that title?!” Yes, well it caught me off guard too and I’m the author. As has happened to me in the past however, I had an idea for a blog post that (in my mind) was very cut and dry. Then I reached out to a ton of very talented people who I was willing to bet paper money on would feel the same way I did, only to readjust my own thinking that was clearly just a pessimistic attitude. So if you don’t feel like reading this whole post, here’s the big spoiler: Muppet fan artists are the greatest human beings to ever walk the planet. Too bold? Okay, then read on.

If you know me or have read practically any post from this blog, you know I’m a big fan of Jim Henson. You’ll also know I draw a lot of Muppets, like a whole lot. So much so that there is a notable and huge difference in the amount of attention an illustration of Kermit the Frog gets over something like, say an illustration of a hotdog. Definitely not a good comparison but it’s really moot at this point. People love when I draw the Muppets, and care minimally when I draw anything else. Creatively it can feel stifling and push to create something absurd. That’s not just an opportunity to post a link to an old post, I’ve covered this purposely when I asked aloud “Why Did I Draw That?” and it inadvertently answers this question, I’d love if you checked it out.

So the hard line in the sand here is that while I do in fact love drawing the creative efforts of everyone involved with various Henson and Muppet adjacent projects, I have often felt obligated or at the very least pigeonholed into drawing them more than I normally would or even should. The basic retaliatory emotion that follows feeling pigeonholed is righteous indignation because the creative person in question feels like they can contribute more to the zeitgeist than what they are already expected to. Sure I appreciate the love and attention from that piece I did of Miss Piggy, but wouldn’t you guys also like to see this fun zombie kid? Or maybe these historical figures? Not so much? Ouch! My ego!

So with my personal gripes neatly arranged in a manila folder, I reached out to a bunch of other artists expecting to hear back nothing but, “Yeah! I feel that way as well!” only to feel the full ethos of Jim Henson personified that only true Muppet fans could deliver. I asked, “Do you ever feel pigeonholed to draw Muppets?” and here’s what these amazing people told me in response.

Toffe

I never feel pressured to only draw Muppets, it just happened to be the thing I want to draw most! But while it’s disheartening to see a personal art post flop in the Instagram algorithm, I always remember that 100–500 of my followers like this too! So I continue to draw and post whatever I want because someone out there likes everything I post. So I always keep that in mind.

Justin Piatt

If I post anything that's not Muppet related, it generally doesn't do well at all. That can include my own puppets. If I post anything with Uzzy, my main character, it gets zip. Other puppets do well, especially if I post a lot of pictures, but Muppet replicas and Muppet art seem to be the only things that really take off.

I'll give you an example—my last two posted drawings. One was the Muppets, one was [a commissioned] piece I did for the Girl Scouts. The Muppet drawing has 394 likes (and counting). The Girl Scout one, filled with cute little big eyed animals, has 55.

It does make me feel more obligated to draw Muppets. At the same time, I hate the impression that it gives. That I'm obsessed and that's all I think about. Because I have a lot of people who know me personally that follow me, and I don't want that to be all they know me for.

Danny Beckwith

I often feel that Muppet-based or inspired work is something that seems to get attention more often than not. If I fall down the chasing "likes" rabbit-hole/mindset, I will often come back to Muppets. But I don't really chase likes and have to remind myself that when I make Muppet art, it's sometimes for me. Perhaps I'll share it (I always do, lol) for others to enjoy. But I've recently realized that making art with Muppets should never be a chore or a contest. I only now do it when I have true inspiration or feel that the Muppets being including in my art matches my values but also the values of those characters and the theme of the piece.

Kenny Durkin

…If anyone tries to refer to me as strictly a “Muppet artist” I ignore it. When I post artwork I tend to rotate them. So I’ll post a Muppet thing and follow it up with something more caricature related, then I’ll do a Father of the Brood or something like that. I also do that to remind people that I’m not a one trick pony.

The time I did get pigeonholed was when I was doing Duck Dynasty stuff. I gained a lot of followers who thought that "redneck" artwork was all I did. I had to "break the cycle" by posting goofy monsters, or aliens, or Muppets probably, just to show them what ELSE I can do.

Noah Ginex

Noah has been doing a Drawing A Day primarily featuring the Muppets.

Yes. that's... what this whole year has been. There's at least two whole universes of original characters I have that I never draw any more. Not to mention an entire universe of other fandoms I'm into. I basically don't do any other art now, except commission work. In fact, several of the drawings this year have been birthday presents for people that I've only done because I needed t–shirt designs and stuff

I only pour “Drawing a Day” into the spaces around my normal life, so I'm often doing them quickly late at night. So really the thing that they're using up is sleep… or this morning… ha ha ha right now!

But to answer the question of do I mind, no I love it. My t–shirt sales have jumped a bunch too. The real trouble, honestly, is ideas. With rare exception I'm always fighting the clock on thinking of a new thing to do. That doesn’t make me seem like more of a crazy person than I know I already come off as, drawing the same frog and bear and pig every day.

Jonathan Brangwynne

I’m pretty self-conscious of how much fan art I do vs. original stuff. I think most online artists feel pressured into doing fan art so they can be seen, and it is pretty frustrating. I do maintain that any original work that you create is part of your identity, and whether you think it’s good or bad, you should still keep at it and try to mix it up. Ultimately, you’re doing it for yourself, if no one else, and you’ll be able to show more range in your art and have a diverse portfolio.

Nick Bondra

I kinda got pigeonholed on other subject matter I did years ago but I think that’s subsided now. It does kinda’ sting when I draw something more of my own creation instead of fan art and don’t get much response. Heck, people mostly react to my Gobo Fraggle photo poser pics. 

So, I do know where you’re coming from. I guess it just depends on how you feel about it. I’d only do it if it’s still fun for you. 

Dan Romens

It's my general lack of frequency that tends to cause the disproportion, as it pulls me out of the algorithm. At least that's my theory. In other feeds or accounts, when I was more frequent, I felt like I got more engagement on my random or original work.

In terms of the Muppets specifically, for as long as I remember, the Henson characters have always been my go–to subjects in moments of art block. They are familiar and drawing them or original characters inspired by them comes easy. So I don't mind in that regard. I also love the Muppet fan art community.

I think where pigeonholing comes into play may have more to do with fan art in general. Regardless of the platform, fan art has always gotten the most engagement, which makes total sense, but can also feel limiting or like I need to pander to some niche audience in order to be seen or acknowledged. Draw a great cartoon dog? Nothing. Draw a cartoon dog dressed as Doctor Who or some such thing, gang busters. Again, it makes sense, but c'mon guys.

Quentin Tracy

As an artist, I have never felt tied to the Muppets. I’m a big fan of them, and they have inspired me many times, but they’re only one of many inspirations of mine. On a more broad scale, I feel like fan art in general guarantees me a good reception from my fans. That fact has left me a little discouraged to work on original ideas of mine, in fear that I may pour my heart and soul into something not many other people will think much about or care for.

Mike Boon

I can put a bunch of work into a new design and get some likes/comments. But then I post an old Muppet one and it's about three times as popular with a faster response. I don't take it personally though—I know that the main reason most people even found me in the first place was because of one Muppet piece or another. It's a badge of honor to be part of this community. Plus, it is an extremely welcoming group to be part of.

I haven't spent enough time in the Muppet realm to really feel pigeonholed though. There are still some ideas kicking around that I would like to explore. But I do want to try to spread them out. Plus I like to think that if something appeals to a Muppet fan like me, it would appeal to other Muppet fans out there. It doesn't always pan out, but it's worth a shot. Ultimately, I do this just because I enjoy it. And if others enjoy it as well, it is just a welcome bonus.

Kevin Williams

I’ve never been one to really let myself feel pressured to do anything I didn’t want to. Nowadays I do leave sketches and napkin doodles’ around of Muley (my original character) with a Muppet or Peanuts character for attention. Even so, I’m surprised when someone finds my photos of napkin doodles online and says, “Woah, that was you? I took these home” or “I pinned them up in the kitchen of the restaurant.” It feels good. Though I wonder: would they have just kept Muley, or was his sketch kept because Oscar was on the napkin next to him? Looking back to when I would set up at conventions and festivals, I think one thing which hurt me was the decision to NOT draw or sell any other characters other than Muley the Mule and Friends. People asked if I would draw Peanuts, Muppets, Disney – anything other than Muley, but I would instead offer to draw Muley or his pals in those costumes. I felt it was important to my own self promotion to push my characters, not those which already had budget and promotion. Yet, I would see people flocking to booths where artists were selling their art of Batman and Scooby-Doo, Bugs Bunny and The Little Mermaid, and I would think, “Those aren’t even the actual artists or the real art. Why are they going there?” Stubbornly, I stuck only to my Mule. Many years now I’ve been out of the convention circuit. I look back and finally realized that people were buying those prints and visiting those artists because they enjoy the “retro memory” of the joy they felt watching or reading those characters, buying into familiarity rather than new, creator-owned properties. Looking back since I’ve been out of conventions the decision to stay away from other characters may have been a mistake. I could have used non–Muley characters to draw attention to my booth and thus more to Muley. If I could go back in time and do it all again I would add these other characters simply for the ‘draw.’ (Get it?)

Will Carroll

Often times it feels like all people wanna see from me and other artists is just one thing, over and over again. The most likes I usually get is my Muppet stuff, everything else gets very few likes as well. I draw what I wish and never think of the audience in mind.

Richard Gomez

I feel like this is an issue that follows all artists who gain popularity with a fan base. Usually I’m able to piggyback off of the Muppet wave with work that’s just Muppet inspired and more of the sort of thing that comes directly from my head…

But all my portraits of real people that aren’t connected to the Muppets almost always bomb. Sometimes, I don’t mind it. I know a lot of people are going to see my Muppet stuff, and only my close friends are going to see the sort of thing I make when I’m not thinking about the Muppets, and I like the intimacy that comes with that because virality is a little scary.

Final Thoughts

So to put a cap on all of this, there are three key things to remember here:

  1. A fan artist is not solely defined by their fandom but being recognized specifically as one is not the worst thing in the world. For starters, the Muppets are a fantastic fandom to be associated with. Heck, it’s even landed me and so many others good freelance work!

  2. If there’s a complaint, it’s that trying to come up with new ideas can be trying, but then again; what is a true artist without a challenge?

  3. Finally, if you really dig what someone does and you found them through your shared fandom, be a pal and subvert the algorithms expectations by seeking out their other work and double–tapping that screen!

Just like you should with all the incredible artists who contributed today! Man, what a treat to get so many fantastic and talented people to not only share their thoughts but some excellent art too! I can’t stress enough how great these artists are, I respect each of them so much. Please be sure to check all of them out and again, thanks so much to:

Toffe

Justin Piatt

Danny Beckwith

Kenny Durkin

Noah Ginex

Jonathan Brangwynne

Nick Bondra

Dan Romens

Quentin Tracy

Mike Boon

Kevin Williams

Will Carroll

Richard Gomez

And please follow me on Instagram and Twitter and check back here on Fridays for more Muppet and non–Muppet stuff!

[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!