Featured Artist: Daniel Byrne, Creative Director, Puppets Magic Studio - Combining Sculpture and Performance
While generative AI has increasingly made inroads into the visual entertainment industry, puppetry, and puppet making has one thing that keeps it relevant, the human component, both in the creative choices of design, and how each puppet is brought to life, according to Daniel Byrne, Creative Director of Puppets Magic Studio, who I had the opportunity to interview recently.
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TET: Hi Daniel, tell me a little bit about Puppets Magic Studio? Where is it based and what does the studio do?
Every project is different, so our work often combines traditional craftsmanship with modern design techniques to bring characters to life in the most effective way for the production.
TET: When did you realize you could turn Puppet making into a career? Your website suggests you set up Puppets Magic straight out of Art School and have never looked back (note: your site doesn't say when you founded the studio but, based on your blog, you and your team have been going since at least 2016 I believe). Is making puppets something you've always done or is it something you gravitated towards – in art school perhaps?
Puppetry has fascinated me since I was a child. I grew up watching shows like Sesame Street and was captivated by the physical, tactile quality of the puppets. I was always wondering how they were made. I'd sit close to the television studying the fabrics, trying to work out how I could recreate them myself. To me, puppetry felt like a magic trick - I knew there had to be a secret behind how these characters came to life, and I desperately wanted to discover it.
TET: When did you realize you could turn Puppet making into a career? Your website suggests you set up Puppets Magic straight out of Art School and have never looked back (note: your site doesn't say when you founded the studio but, based on your blog, you and your team have been going since at least 2016 I believe). Is making puppets something you've always done or is it something you gravitated towards – in art school perhaps?
Puppetry has fascinated me since I was a child. I grew up watching shows like Sesame Street and was captivated by the physical, tactile quality of the puppets. I was always wondering how they were made. I'd sit close to the television studying the fabrics, trying to work out how I could recreate them myself. To me, puppetry felt like a magic trick - I knew there had to be a secret behind how these characters came to life, and I desperately wanted to discover it.
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| Work in progress Lion's Head. |
Alongside puppetry, I always loved art and making things, so I decided to study Fine Art in London, first at Central Saint Martins and then at Goldsmiths. Throughout university I continued making puppets alongside my studies. While I enjoyed the contemporary art world, it was puppetry that I kept coming back to.
After graduating, I decided to take the leap and pursue puppet making full-time. I was fortunate that some early commissions gave me the opportunity to build a portfolio and establish Puppets Magic. From there, the studio grew organically as each project led to the next.
TET: Puppet Magic Studio has created quite a wide range of puppets for some fairly high profile clients, most recently Apple's holiday commercial 'A Critter Carol', for which you received a British Arrows Award. Those particular puppets were specifically designed to have a more 'handmade' feel. Have you found the use of real, physical puppets to be a growing trend in film and TV, noting that many recent productions big budget productions are moving away from CGI characters back toward real puppets?
Puppetry has been around for thousands of years, making it one of the oldest storytelling traditions. I think that's why we're naturally drawn to it. There's something uniquely engaging about a puppet's physical presence. When we see one on screen, we instinctively know it's a real object occupying real space, and that creates a connection that's difficult to replicate digitally.
After years of increasingly sophisticated CGI, I think audiences have developed a renewed appreciation for work that feels handmade and tangible. There's been a noticeable shift toward craft and authenticity, and many brands are recognising that. A handcrafted puppet carries evidence of the people who made it - the sculptor's decisions, the stitching, the materials. Those details give the work character and tell a story in their own right.
That's something audiences respond to, and I think it's one of the reasons we're seeing more productions choosing practical puppets alongside, or sometimes instead of, fully CGI characters. Rather than replacing visual effects, puppets offer something different: a physical performance gives audiences a stronger sense of presence and realism.
TET: Can you tell us a little bit about the process of designing your puppets? Do clients usually have an idea, or even a sketch, already in mind, or do you often get to start from a 'blank canvas'? Are there any special factors you have to consider when designing for film and TV over puppets designed for live performances? Do you think about materials from the very beginning or do you work this out once the initial design is complete? You also mention on the website that your team produces concept sketches as coloured digital artwork, 3D renders, and even has specialist knowledge in animation and digital character creation? How does that fit into your production workflow?
The design process varies from project to project. Some clients come to us with only a rough idea and want us to help develop the character from the ground up. Others already have finished illustrations or concept art that they need translating into a fully functioning puppet.
We're certainly seeing more AI-generated concept artwork at the moment. It allows people to explore ideas very quickly, and it can be useful as an early brainstorming tool. However, it almost always needs experienced designers to refine and interpret those ideas. AI can suggest shapes, textures or materials that simply aren't practical or even physically possible, so there's still a significant amount of creative problem-solving involved in turning those concepts into something that can actually be built and performed.
When we're creating a character from scratch, we usually begin with loose hand sketches before developing them into more detailed digital illustrations. From the earliest stages we're already thinking about materials, construction methods and performance. If a character is going to be made from textiles, for example, we'll consider what fabrics are available within the project's timeframe.
Just as important as how a puppet looks is how it performs. We design with the puppeteer in mind, making the character as lightweight and comfortable to operate as possible. If the puppet has a moving mouth, it needs to feel responsive and expressive. If it walks, the limbs need appropriate joints and access for control rods. We also consider practical details such as costumes, quick changes on set, maintenance and durability.
TET: Primarily your studio designs and creates puppets for commercial clients but you also can collaborate with clients on their productions sourcing puppeteers, puppet wranglers (to ensure puppets are always operational and looked after). Your studio can even design additional props and even entire puppet sets/stages. Is that side of the business equally rewarding and do you prefer productions that extend the collaboration beyond Puppet creation?
Absolutely. For us, puppet making and puppeteering go hand in hand. A beautifully made puppet is only half of the equation - the performance is what truly brings the character to life. We like to work closely with the puppeteers wherever possible, so we can understand how they intend to perform the character and incorporate their feedback into the build. Often, small adjustments can make a huge difference to how expressive or comfortable a puppet is to operate.
Puppet wrangling is another important part of what we do. Many puppets require constant care throughout filming. A faux-fur puppet, for example, needs regular grooming to maintain its appearance, much like a hair stylist looking after an actor on set. If a puppet contains animatronics or mechanical systems, these also need preparing, testing and maintaining between takes.
Being involved throughout production means we can ensure the puppets perform exactly as intended, while also supporting the wider creative team. It's incredibly rewarding to see a character we've built continue its journey beyond the workshop and come to life on screen or on stage.
TET: Where do you see the studio moving forward? Do you have plans to expand, or create your own shows etc. Do you feel puppets and puppetry have a bright future ahead despite generative AI making inroads into many creative fields?
Our main goal is to keep honing our craft. I don't think you ever stop learning - there's always a new technique to master or a better way to solve a problem. That constant process of learning and refining is what keeps the work exciting.
As we move forward, it's important to me that the studio stays relatively small so we can focus on making high-quality, handmade characters rather than chasing scale. We'd love to keep collaborating on great projects and, if the right opportunity comes along, develop more original work of our own.
AI is only going to improve and get better, but I personally believe artist-made characters - whether they're brought to life through puppetry or animation - will always have something AI can't truly replicate: the human touch. Every puppet carries the decisions, and personality of the people who made it. The same is true of animation, where every performance is shaped by artists making countless creative choices. Those imperfections, instincts, and emotional decisions are what give characters authenticity and soul. Technology will always be another tool, but I think people will continue to value characters that have been crafted by human hands and imaginations.
Find Puppets Magic Studio online at:
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After years of increasingly sophisticated CGI, I think audiences have developed a renewed appreciation for work that feels handmade and tangible. There's been a noticeable shift toward craft and authenticity, and many brands are recognising that. A handcrafted puppet carries evidence of the people who made it - the sculptor's decisions, the stitching, the materials. Those details give the work character and tell a story in their own right.
That's something audiences respond to, and I think it's one of the reasons we're seeing more productions choosing practical puppets alongside, or sometimes instead of, fully CGI characters. Rather than replacing visual effects, puppets offer something different: a physical performance gives audiences a stronger sense of presence and realism.
TET: Can you tell us a little bit about the process of designing your puppets? Do clients usually have an idea, or even a sketch, already in mind, or do you often get to start from a 'blank canvas'? Are there any special factors you have to consider when designing for film and TV over puppets designed for live performances? Do you think about materials from the very beginning or do you work this out once the initial design is complete? You also mention on the website that your team produces concept sketches as coloured digital artwork, 3D renders, and even has specialist knowledge in animation and digital character creation? How does that fit into your production workflow?
The design process varies from project to project. Some clients come to us with only a rough idea and want us to help develop the character from the ground up. Others already have finished illustrations or concept art that they need translating into a fully functioning puppet.
When we're creating a character from scratch, we usually begin with loose hand sketches before developing them into more detailed digital illustrations. From the earliest stages we're already thinking about materials, construction methods and performance. If a character is going to be made from textiles, for example, we'll consider what fabrics are available within the project's timeframe.
Just as important as how a puppet looks is how it performs. We design with the puppeteer in mind, making the character as lightweight and comfortable to operate as possible. If the puppet has a moving mouth, it needs to feel responsive and expressive. If it walks, the limbs need appropriate joints and access for control rods. We also consider practical details such as costumes, quick changes on set, maintenance and durability.
TET: Primarily your studio designs and creates puppets for commercial clients but you also can collaborate with clients on their productions sourcing puppeteers, puppet wranglers (to ensure puppets are always operational and looked after). Your studio can even design additional props and even entire puppet sets/stages. Is that side of the business equally rewarding and do you prefer productions that extend the collaboration beyond Puppet creation?
Absolutely. For us, puppet making and puppeteering go hand in hand. A beautifully made puppet is only half of the equation - the performance is what truly brings the character to life. We like to work closely with the puppeteers wherever possible, so we can understand how they intend to perform the character and incorporate their feedback into the build. Often, small adjustments can make a huge difference to how expressive or comfortable a puppet is to operate.
Being involved throughout production means we can ensure the puppets perform exactly as intended, while also supporting the wider creative team. It's incredibly rewarding to see a character we've built continue its journey beyond the workshop and come to life on screen or on stage.
TET: Where do you see the studio moving forward? Do you have plans to expand, or create your own shows etc. Do you feel puppets and puppetry have a bright future ahead despite generative AI making inroads into many creative fields?
Our main goal is to keep honing our craft. I don't think you ever stop learning - there's always a new technique to master or a better way to solve a problem. That constant process of learning and refining is what keeps the work exciting.
As we move forward, it's important to me that the studio stays relatively small so we can focus on making high-quality, handmade characters rather than chasing scale. We'd love to keep collaborating on great projects and, if the right opportunity comes along, develop more original work of our own.
AI is only going to improve and get better, but I personally believe artist-made characters - whether they're brought to life through puppetry or animation - will always have something AI can't truly replicate: the human touch. Every puppet carries the decisions, and personality of the people who made it. The same is true of animation, where every performance is shaped by artists making countless creative choices. Those imperfections, instincts, and emotional decisions are what give characters authenticity and soul. Technology will always be another tool, but I think people will continue to value characters that have been crafted by human hands and imaginations.
Find Puppets Magic Studio online at:
- Web: puppetsmagic.co.uk
- Instagram: @puppetsmagic
- X (Twitter): @PuppetsMagicUk
- Facebook: @PuppetsMagic
* All Images Copyright Puppets Magic Studio Ltd.
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