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<\/p>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ve been doing these Peep collections for several years now, and it might be time to explain myself. Friends have generously called them art projects, which feels a little ridiculous given that I\u2019m making tiny clothes and weapons for seasonal marshmallow candy. However, it does take some effort, creativity, and photo editing skills to get the results I want, so I\u2019ll take it. Basically, adulthood has not included as many Arts & Crafts as I would like, so I make my own opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat did you do this weekend?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI made a teensy sniper scope for my Peep-sized rifle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is weird. Why do you do this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I think it\u2019s really funny. That\u2019s the main driver, although I love when other people also enjoy my work. In the last few years, I\u2019ve started posting them to fan groups of whatever media property I\u2019m peeping, which has been largely positive but also does generate some questions about my process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This whole thing started with an office prank where I took a bunch of photos of Peeps gallivanting around our workspace, making a mess of our supplies, microwaving each other during tragic games of Truth or Dare, and playing with the toys and games on my coworkers\u2019 desks. The first time I put them in a movie, it was Mad Max: Fury Road, and I can\u2019t even remember why I thought the world needed a Furiosa Peep. I just loved the movie and wanted to do something<\/em> with it, and from that, an annual tradition was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It seems like every year there\u2019s at least one film or TV show that catches my attention in a big way. It\u2019s a bit like the Thunderbolt from The Godfather<\/em> when I come across something that\u2019s going to eventually be Peeped\u2026 I\u2019m immediately entranced and spiral into consuming as much peripheral content as I can find: Behind the Scenes vignettes, interviews with the writers, directors, and actors, podcasts, fandoms, everything I can find. Making Peep images of a show or movie allows me to immerse myself in the details that make it beautiful. I always intend it as a show of respect, even though it\u2019s absurd and meant to be funny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I only Peep what I love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Casting Call<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Peeps can be a bit divisive as food, but I assure you that if they must carry backpacks, wear clothes, or face off against a giant sand worm, it\u2019s better to let them get a little stale first. As soon as Peeps show up on store shelves, I keep an eye out for good packs. Centered face placement, even sugar coverage, well-shaped ears, and bodies that aren\u2019t too poofed. I can fix a lot of problems in post-production (Photoshop), but I try to support Peep body positivity when I can and just keep \u2018em natural. The month of March generally means a corner of my kitchen table is covered with neat rows of Peeps drying out and firming up, all hoping to make it into The Big Show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bunnies vs Chicks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Peep chicks are clearly prey animals, with their low, skittish crouch and eyes on the sides of their head for a wider field of vision. They\u2019re tough to photograph, though, and a challenge to dress well, so I mostly focus on the bunnies. My style has evolved over the years, but the blank stares and chubby, limbless bodies just make the bunnies ideal for situational comedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set Design<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once I\u2019ve chosen something to Peep (or it has chosen me, which is what it feels like), I think about the most iconic moments, scenes, and characters. I also search for what images the media associates with the content, and notably, which scenes I can find in a decently high-resolution photograph online. I start collecting images and evaluating them for Peepability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before I can insert a Peep, I need to remove the actors (Peeps are much shorter than people), so I check out the background to figure out if I can Photoshop the humans away. Scenes focused on hands, feet, or facial expressions tend to not work well either, as Peeps are completely lacking in those areas. I try to find more shots than I expect to use, because inevitably there are some that don\u2019t work out, either because the humans are too hard to erase, or the starting image isn\u2019t crisp enough, or the costume\/props end up being too difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Costumes and Makeup<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once I have some scenes chosen, I start cruising craft stores looking for just the right colors\/textures to make the tiny outfits. This part actually takes quite a while, but I love craft and fabric stores, so it\u2019s leisurely fun. Modeling clay also works as a pinch hitter when I can\u2019t get fabric to behave on the scale I need. For example, Peep pants are tough because Peeps have no legs and no waist. A thin clay wrap around the bottom half of that little sugary lump not only stays in place, it also helps with getting them to stand up when it\u2019s time to photograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of the size and nature of Peeps, I have to distill a character to find the simplest identifiers that will translate (especially when placed in the scene). Peeps have no expressions, no hairstyles, no limbs. There is less than one square inch of real estate on the front of the body, so whatever I use needs to read easily.<\/p>\n\n\n I love the practical side of cutting, gluing (there\u2019s just no way I could sew three-dimensional clothes this small), resizing, adjusting, and then grabbing my tweezers to add those littlest details that fellow fans will recognize. One year I created Avenger Peeps, but I relied almost entirely on editing Peep faces into the real costumes, and it just wasn\u2019t as entertaining. Somehow, the more effort I put into this ridiculous goal, the funnier it becomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lighting and Camera<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once I\u2019ve chosen the Peep model and refined the wardrobe, it\u2019s time for the photoshoot. I look at the real image and make note of the body position and angle of the actor, and especially of the lighting in the scene. There\u2019s probably a way to adjust a directional light source in Photoshop, but I don\u2019t know how to do it, so it\u2019s easier if I capture the lighting in the photo. When there\u2019s firelight in a scene, I use candles to get that warm amber glow on the sugar faces. The more accurate I can make the source photo, the less work I\u2019ll have to do to blend it into the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Post Production<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first time I ever saw Photoshop in action, I was watching a friend paste Bill Gates\u2019 face onto Darth Vader\u2019s body\/helmet in 1997, and it blew my mind. \u201cThey just let random people use this software?! It\u2019s so dangerous!! So easy to deceive people!!\u201d And here I am, decades later, using it to cast shadows from an opium fire onto marshmallow bunnies dressed as hatchet men for a Chinese tong in the late 1800\u2019s. What a world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I paste my disembodied Peep characters into the scene and begin adjusting the color, saturation, and light to make them match the surroundings. I always keep the original image on a hidden layer so that I can click back and forth between the actor and the Peep and try to match the look and details on my lil marshmallow buddy. It also gives me the opportunity to clean up my own work, like blurring my fingerprints out of clay pants and smoothing\/shaping the edges of a leather backpack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With necks that don\u2019t articulate, Peeps tend to only look straight into the middle distance, which doesn\u2019t always work for the scene overall. I occasionally nudge those little carnauba wax dots a few pixels one way or another to make a Peep gaze in a particular direction. The best part of the Photoshop work is that I zoom way in and focus on pixels and shadows and layering and kind of lose track of the forest for the trees. Then when I zoom back out to look at the overall image, I crack up again and remember why I\u2019m doing this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I put them out into the world because I hope they make you laugh, too. Even if they don\u2019t, though, I\u2019ll do it again next year for the simple joy of creating them. And sometimes a really beautiful, heartbreaking TV show about a post-apocalyptic zombie world full of loss, suffering, and fear just needs some levity. And sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/bGO1i9b0Qj68zTdRMQZId55RG5tuQXhH6NlB4-Fz-IDIcLB-myut4gd8W5sEmBMpUDPBoz_eRL4-jnUjnSUqbT67TJyC-d7lYAR-dTNIn_WVqqVHf8qLXWxqkMNhmlVgThK-bA8mKwDzVdJu73pqYe0\")
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