Mascots! Mascots! MASCOTS!

While working at Randy Carfagno Productions, I've worked on many different projects, but our bread and butter lies in mascots.  Yes-in-deedee-do, we build those fabulously furry lovable characters that romp around your favorite sports team's field.  I've worked on many aspects of them from foam under sculpture, to creating eyes, and even styling their hair doos.

Here's a few examples to grace your ocular nerves:

The Phantom Beaver!  I admit, he's a bit goofy, but I'm sure he'd give Space Ghost a run for his puck out on the ice.  This hockey team mascot was a fun challenge, since his fur posed the problem of masking the sculpt underneath.  Our solution was to not only exaggerate the foam sculpt, but to 'sculpt' the hair as well.  I built the head, created his eyes, and trimmed his facial fur to not turn him into a giant furball.

Built to be the mascot for a news station that sees it all, this here is C. Moore.  As you can plainly see, he's mostly eyes.  This is particularly interesting, since this is one of the few mascots we've built that literally sees through its own eyes!  They were formed using a moldable net, which was covered by a very very fine fabric net to allow for a nicely painted iris and pupil.  I created the eyes, the foam sculpt, and his oversized shoes.

Angel the Crab is one of four large mascots we built for the Miami Marlins.  Normally, we would classify this specific build as a "backpack mascot", since their size requires a harness with a metal support frame on the inside.  Most of these are portraits, but the Marlins asked for something special: aquatic animals! After I worked out the patterns, I built the foam sculpt and installed the metal frame that supports the body.  

The second tallest of the Miami Marlins mascots, Bob the Shark stands over 9 feet tall.  His open mouth can actually fit a human torso inside, but hopefully they feed him regularly at the stadium to prevent any "incidents."  I created the foam patterns, built the sculpt, installed the metal support frame, and gave him the captivating smile that intrigues the Marlins' fans today.