The new Skeksis would be constructed and performed much as the originals had been back in 1982. ![]() Jim Henson's Creature Shop would recreate the original Skeksis characters plus several new ones. From that workshop came the larger Skeksis design we know today. During a workshop to explore the possibilities of the characters, Froud said he wanted them to be bigger while Jim Henson had envisioned the Skeksis as hand puppets. Pete shares that Froud revealed how the original Skeksis came to be and how their designs would inform how they were operated. The originals had been designed by Brian Froud and for Age of Resistance, he would design several new Skeksis characters. Pete Brooke told SWSCA that the Skeksis were a gift to the creature makers. ![]() Instead of having mechanical hands like many of the other puppets on the show, Aughra's hands would be brought to life by a puppeteer's hands wearing gloves. The walk-around Aughra puppet would have foam fabricated parts covered in Lycra with weighted bags installed for her breasts, belly and hip areas. Because of Aughra's large head, a support backpack was manufactured that would help support the weight of the head but still allow the freedom of movement needed. That way the upper lip could be moved independently. For the mouth, the artists at Jim Henson's Creature Shop would create something similar to a floating palette, where the teeth and the interior of the mouth would be separate from the puppet's lips. This time, the sorceress' eye blinks and brows would be realized with servo controls. With the original puppet, facial movements were accomplished by cable control and Frank Oz's hand. ![]() Again, just like in the original movie, shots of Aughra walking were done using a performer inside a suit with a more articulated puppet used for close-ups. Pete says that they had to be careful not to add unnecessary weight to the large puppet head. To recreate the Aughra puppet, the artists at Jim Henson's Creature Shop would use reference material drawn from a pair of the original Aughra puppets that are currently on display in museums in Atlanta, Georgia and Astoria, New York. And then of course, Frank's performance." Aughra was primarily performed in the original film by Frank Oz. Pete says that everything about the Aughra character was, "pitch perfect." He goes on, "the sculpture, the costume. One of the iconic characters from The Dark Crystal in 1982 was the astronomer and sorceress Aughra.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |