The Dark Crystal

Jim Henson is one of my greatest inspirations in terms of 3D art. While he is best known for his work with The Muppets/Sesame Street, my favorite example of his work is The Dark Crystal. The Dark Crystal is a dark fantasy film set in a world of puppets. Henson spent over five years on the project, collaborating with other creators such as Frank Oz, Gary Kurtz, and Brian Froud to build an epic fantasy world inhabited by creatures of all shapes and sizes. Recently, the Henson company produced a prequel series, combining both the traditional use of puppetry with more modern elements to create a new and exciting story.

The puppets are the life of the story, ranging from the cruel, vulture-like Skeksis to the wise and mysterious Mystics and everything else in between. It was very interesting to see the changes in quality from the puppets in the original movie to the prequel series. The range of mystical creates inspires me to want to pursue puppetry on my own.




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