Puppets, Print Books, and Part-baked Ideas (October 2025 Newsletter)!

Plus, Changes are Afoot- Please Read to the End!

Image description: A stuffed dragon puppet sits on a table at the 2025 Hillsboro Public Library Local Author Expo. Surrounding it are copies of Tokens & Spheres (Vol. 1) to sell, as well as flyers with QR codes for payment and august primeval websites.

Since a tender age, I've had an affinity for scavenging crafting materials from recycle bins, experimenting and building models and puppets of creatures from many realms- of geologic time and the imagination.

I began with paper and origami before adding fabric stuffed animal and wood carven creations once I learned and gathered the proper tools and techniques: the use of a sewing machine and basic carving techniques.

Each puppet is a sort of "sketch in reverse": many characters in my stories originate as puppets I make just because.

This article will be a brief overview- the first of many to come as I create more puppets and performances.

Paper and Origami

Though I've always worked with whatever material is available, I now also choose materials that best match the personality and physicality of the character. For example, the patterns of bird plumage lend themselves well to angular, geometric origami outlines as dromaeosaurs Asher and Boden demonstrate below.

Smoldering Fury dromeosaurs Asher and their son Boden learn to enjoy the last of the summer. For more on Smoldering Furies, visit the august beasts webpage!

I seek materials from sources easy to overlook. The reflective catchlights in Asher and Boden’s eyes are from gold lettering on cardboard packaging for chocolates.

Fabric Stuffed Animals

Others lend themselves to softer, bulkier media- someone to lean on and hold close like Everett the Estemmenosuchus.

Image Description: A stuffed animal puppet of Everett, an Estemmenosuchus, sewn mostly of fleece fabric and large enough to fill the seat of a sofa.

Image Description: A cut paper, pen, and marker illustration: August Primeval, a boy, and Everett, an Estemmenosuchus, nap in the shade of a magnolia tree. Sprawling on his back, August pulls a wide-brim hat over his face and puts his legs up on Everett’s side. He wears cargo shorts and his glasses, on a lanyard around his neck, rest on his chest. A Sharovipteryx, a lizard-like gliding reptile with wings for hindlimbs, watches curiously from a nearby branch.

Wood

At the time of writing, I have made one wooden puppet (video below!) and have several more in the works.

The major advantage of wooden puppets is their ability to perform in outdoor spaces with less concern of damage than with paper or stuffed animal models. I plan to build wooden puppets of all characters I wrote of above and more!

I leap at the chance to make multiple puppets of the same character of different designs and materials. This enables me to present in a variety of settings and in a variety of forms- generally as a large, colorful stuffed animal or paper puppet indoors or a more compact rugged wooden puppet in a forest.

Image description: A wooden puppet of a spinosaur-like dragon with a whale's tail rests by a peaceful lake.

To introduce the dragon form in the video above- how to do so?

This dragon form is a way I present in a form that feels more true- rather like a selkie's skin.

In Celtic mythologies, a selkie spends most of its life as a seal, but can shed their sealskin and live a while as human. In this state, however, they are vulnerable: anyone wicked or unscrupulous enough to steal the selkie’s skin holds them in bondage. All versions of the myth I’ve heard imply their seal form is the most true- the sea is their home where they are free, their skin their unmasked being…

I digress, however- more on this in future letters!

For more performances (and readings from Tokens & Spheres Vol. 1!), visit August Primeval Creature Co. on YouTube!

P.S. Another tangent:

Puppetry seems to translate across species, as evidenced by the (albeit flawed) role of California condor puppets in rearing captive-bred chicks. One may even make so bold as to interpret types of mimicry among other animals- such as caterpillars with snake-like eyespots- as a form of puppetry.

I think also of the opening monologue to the recent Ryan Coogler film Sinners- of music so true it can conjure spirits from the past and future. Perhaps this be true of other forms of storytelling.

Perhaps the creatures I build of scrap are a way to commune with beings from across the eons.

~august primeval

neurodiverse natural history and queer science fantasy!

stories of subversive solace!

creature comforts against cruel times!

spells to smite small strongmen

and curse their cruel, cowardly cronies!

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In Vain the Ocean: a Kaiju Fairytale- New Book in the Works!

...is a new book I have in the works! Kaiju Sea Blat and Kildacroc and inter dimensional Cthulhu-being Madame deVonian must survive and defeat a deadly warship. I've recently added Procreate to my suite of tools and media, and have been quite enjoying the results. Sample pages below!

Image Description: Sea Blat, a giant marine reptile, has a barrel-shaped body, large, round flippers, a small platypus-like head, and ten round bony plates in a line down her back. Her eyes open suddenly and fearfully. She raises her head in alarm, the dream-silhouette of a naval warship looming in her mind. On the seabed surrounding her, stands of kelp sway and urchins and sea stars crawl.

Image Description: Resting on the ocean floor, Sea Blat gazes up fearfully. A gray whale mother and calf, diminutive by comparison, glide just above her broad back as though it too were seafloor. On the seamounts surrounding the kaiju, kelp forests bloom. Anemones, sea stars, and urchins go about their slow lives.

When finished, In Vain the Ocean will publish for print-on-demand on Lulu.com, where you can order more neurodiverse natural history and queer science fantasy in the meantime! 

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Changes are Afoot- Please Read!

It's hard to believe five years have passed since I began exploring the business side of art. Of late, I've taken the opportunity to clear away extra projects I've taken on since- some of which have not brought in business, others I simply no longer enjoy, and still others I am repurposing.

 The august beasts creature design zine is no longer on Patreon. Though some illustrations have aged well, I’m no longer satisfied with the zine’s overall quality- so I’m repurposing it, updating the webpage on my home site to include a couple sentences and an illustration on each creature. This is to be a living document to which I will add new creatures through time. Thus far, it's turning out amazing- I encourage you to visit here. Furthermore, Tokens & Spheres- monthly neurodiverse natural history and queer science fantasy micro fiction- is still available for subscription!

I've closed down my Creator Spring storefront- anyone who navigates there will find it blank. Though I thought putting up some extra designs there would be a cute way to bring in business in the short term while writing books, I've since learned of the platform's more underhanded and exploitative practices. Not only do they expect creators to do their own marketing, defeating the purpose, closing an account requires a form submission, after which the creator loses access- but the company presumably does not, as the storefront remains active. As is, I made all listings private and removed them from my Spring storefront.

I also no longer plan to publish on Webtoon, though I'm leaving up any comic pages I've put there in the past. Not only am I prioritizing writing print books and preparing puppet shows to spread the word, Webtoon’s maturity ratings system has become rather Puritanical. When required to rate my work on their platform their form stated that even showing a human character in a swimsuit was a “young adult” level of nudity- a capitulation, perhaps, to the lowest common denominator in a country where some have made infamous and public kerfuffle over Michaelanglo’s David. It also stated any depictions of bullying would be rated similarly- a concern for the author who plans to even acknowledge a problem far too many pre-teen readers face.

At the time of writing I'm editing past articles on this blog and renovating the august primeval home site.

Many thanks for understanding. As an autistic artist, storyteller, and overall dragon-in-a-human-centric-world, I've been slowly learning the limits of my mental energy and how to prioritize that which is most worth it: writing books (of course!); building, filming, and showing puppets (also a life-long love!); and attending live author and queer resource events (quite exciting!).

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about the creator

august tian

he/him/they

Image description: A boy in shorts, glasses, and a wide-brim hat stands casting the shadow of a scarred spinosaur-like dragon with a whale's tail.

Attention: august primeval is at large. Though they have thus far presented as their human form August Tian, and containment algorithms have limited their spread online, authorities urge the public to be on guard. Signs of their presence include recycling bins raided of crafting materials and resulting depictions of prehistoric and fictional life-forms. 

Authorities urge caution around gatherings of flora and avifauna ("plants" and "birds"), which the entity appears drawn to. Any member of the public found aiding and abetting the spread of august primeval- through online or physical media- will be subject to penalty including, but not limited to, glares of condescension. 

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES may any member of the public visit the entity's online presence: augustprimeval Home.

© 2025 August Tian