In early spring of 2021, singer Daniel East contacted me, to ask if I could make a puppet that looks like him, when he is a tribute singer to Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran’s puppet was created for his music video ‘Sing’, and Daniel wanted a small scale puppet that could be animated and filmed, to use as a backdrop when he is on stage, on tours, worldwide.

Using my skills in puppet construction, I created a wire skeleton out of aluminium animation wire and sprung steel, which I then padded with wool stuffing, and needle sculpted the form. The head, face and arms are covered in jersey, and stitched to form the features, with fine liner pens used to replicate Ed Sheeran’s tattoos.

Daniel now has his puppet ‘Ned’ and is ready to film with him, so watch this space!