#im not familiar with seasme street but they probbaly have the simple-cute look down

[ragnars-tooth]

Ok I picture the general vibe of the clay dragons being just very Generally Creaturey?? Like maybe you don't immediately think 'clay' or 'dragon', but you do understand that these are living things that also double as ornaments. They could go more stuffed toy in appearance for that like 'childish'/fake vibe. A lot of the understanding that these characters are made of clay would come from context clues (i.e that liz is a potter and we see her make them) rather than the texture of the puppets.

They'd still have to articulate like puppets so the dragons can talk and do actions, but it would be much more muppety in nature - hands on sticks or wires, and the head is just a big sock puppet. Think how kermit the frog emotes and moves. The idea here is just simple character design. It might even look like liz or lucy are puppeting them at points - its just quite clear that these things need external help to move, though the pupeteers wouldnt be visible on screen.

The goblins in labyrinth are all very simple mechanically, but visually more complex. They actually look like something unlike the muppets I chose lmao. You could maybe get more personality in the dragons this way. This group in particular is just how the pennykettle dragons are <3

The scale of a lot of the dark crystal puppets is super unnecessary for this but stay with me 💀

This style would work really well especially for any living dragons (should this real adaptation hit book 5) and I think that could echo down in the clay dragons and grockle (foreshadowing innit 😎). (An aside for anyone unfamiliar: these puppets are man sized, they are fucking huge. Iirc the skesis were 2 people per costume, they're a lot more like human actors in their mannerisms etc.)

Post ✨️David believing✨️ the clay dragons get more complex. They're still small, but they're not so obviously hand operated anymore - the ideal would be for them to look like they aren't puppeted at all. More articulation - actual fingers? (Claws, rather) Their wings get segmentation instead of being flat felt pinned to the body, etc. The eyes actually move where they're looking and the puppets breathe. Still stylised of course, but noticeably different from book one.

I will be honest I've run out of steam but can elaborate at a later date!

Aside: bonny is either a really shit puppet for maximum comedy or the only real animal (also for maximum comedy). I don't know if its funnier for him to be a rug with googly eyes or just a real life cat.

I would truly be happy with any tldc adaptation but in my heart it's made by the Henson company and the dragons are all elaborate dark crystal/labyrinth style puppets. Maybe they get a bit muppety in their clay form/before David and the audience ✨️believe✨️ but then they become more detailed. The polar bears are just like. Real though (realistic stage puppets like war horse.... or real ass bears, pick your poison this isn't happening anyway)