Mouth plates

[mupcollector1]

I've always wondered this? In terms of television / film puppets, how are the mouth plates made? Are they rubbery or more light cardboardish?

 

[kumakami]

the anwser is, yes! The more expressive mouths tend to be made of gasket rubber (it comes in sheets). while stiff mouths tend to be things like cardboard or more likely corigated plastic sheets

 

[mupcollector1]

So which ones do The Jim Henson Creature Shop (meaning what used to be The Muppet Workshop) and Puppet Heap uses?

 

[Animal31]

I believe for Elmo and Ernie, they actually use wood. Kevin Clash has mentioned this a few times. For Kermit and Fraggles, gasket rubber would be the way to go, but every puppet is different.....

 

[Slackbot]

I'm making a puppet with a very wide mouth. I first used gasket rubber, which worked so nicely for my Fraggle. However, the mouth was wide enough that the rubber bent in the middle, making it look just terrible when closed. So I got a clear plastic storage container--the kind you can buy at Target for a few bucks--and cut the mouthplates out of thatPresto, they worked like a charm!

 

[mupcollector1]

I believe for Elmo and Ernie, they actually use wood. Kevin Clash has mentioned this a few times. For Kermit and Fraggles, gasket rubber would be the way to go, but every puppet is different.....

Really Wood? Hmm, never would have thought.

 

[D'Snowth]

My concern about the wood is wouldn't it be easily breakable? Like, if it's balsa wood or something? Cardboard can bend without breaking (for the most part), not so much with balsa wood.

And Slackbot, I've had similar problems with gasket rubber myself... one common problem I've run into is that for some reason, the foam rubber likes to pull on the rubber, especially the jaw, so it results in the puppets looking like they have double-sided sneers. It kind of worked well with an elf puppet I built, because the character was meant to be sort of sassy and sarcastic, but not so much for others.

 

[Melonpool]

Use 1/8 inch aircraft plywood. You won't need much. It doesn't splinter and is light and durable. I prefer to use Sintra for the upper plate (to give it stability) and gasket rubber for the lower (to give it flexibility). Also, make sure that your fleece or other skin fabric isn't too tight. If it is, it will giv you that weird frown, no matter what you do.

 

[Slackbot]

Hmm, I almost has that sneer problem with Janken, as his "skin" is tight, but his mouth is small enough that the extra thickness of the fleece "lip" makes up for it.

Things to fix in version 2.0...

 

[The Llama]

I don't recommend cardboard for a mouthplate. Overtime it will break down with the sweat from your hands.