They looks nice.  By the way, to respond about puppet building using a combination of fur and clay can work, but it may not be the best for you.  Check out my Beowulf movie, so you can see for yourself.  The fur sometimes got mixed in with the clay which can be irritating, but I felt it turned out pretty well.  Here's the link for my movie:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g1S9X-E6tU

sorry, had to shrink to post... thanks