Search results

Coat hangers are fine...I have puppets I made 20 years ago that had coat hanger rods and they're still perfect (the puppets are a different story). Most puppet rods are built with music wire or wire rods bought in hobby stores (most hobby shops will have a rack of different sized metal rods and...

The correct answer is...all of the above. There really isn't one right way, it really depends on what works best for the puppet you are building, what materials you have available and how much you're willing to spend. Cast/molded plastic is great when you have the time, money and equipment...

I just realized that I got this slightly wrong...Peter is doing a talk, but he's not teaching the on-camera workshop (Greg Ballora is teaching the workshop).

Also running that weekend in Santa Barbara is the Puppeteers of America Southwest Regional Festival (two different puppet festivals, same city, same weekend). Peter Linz is teaching on camera puppetry and doing a "fireside chat" at the PofA Festival -...

One more update...here's a revised link because I added an Excel version of the spreadsheet for anyone who has issues opening .ODS (open document spreadsheets).

I've been in the process of switching domains and my web site has been offline for awhile, but since several people have asked here's a link to the Puppet Pricing Calculator on Dropbox.

The back legs work almost exactly like regular puppet arms, they are just positioned differently on the puppet's body. The key to performing a puppet like this is that it takes 2-3 puppeteers to do it properly, which is probably one of the reasons you don't see characters like this very often on...

I would second what Bear Man was saying above about memory foam, it tends to be very dense and heavy. I would also stay away from eggcrate foam unless you already have some lying around and just want to experiment with it. Many puppet builders like to use reticulated foam, which can be hard to...

Antron fleece can be shaved - and usually is - and it also used to be manufactured in different weights, some with a higher pile (essentially, thicker) than others. That might be the difference you've noticed. It's also worth noting that in the 1970s, some of the Muppets were carved foam that...

It's unfortunate that they do that now. Facebook is similar. It's free and pretty easy to sign up on Pinterest though, and they don't vaccum up your personal info like Facebook does. :sympathy:

Generally, you should design the whole puppet first so the scale and look of both the head and the beak are correct. Typically, for a bird, I would pattern the skull and the two halves of the beak as three separate pieces. The two halves of the beak are attached via the mouth plate and the top...

You might have more luck asking on the Magic Cafe, which has a Vent board in its forum, or try one of the Facebook groups devoted to Ventriloquism. There are a lot of very knowledgeable Ventriloquists hanging out on Facebook, you just need to seek them out. There is a Facebook Group devoted to...

This is probably one of the methods D'Snowth alluded to, but I suspect it's a really simple thing done with a spring, wire and/or some kind of tubing. Most mechanisms - well, most well made ones - are incredibly simple. The fact that different puppet designers envision different methods just...

Something else to keep in mind is that depending on the leather, you may have remove whatever it is coated with before you paint it. You can usually do that with acetone.

What kind of leather is it? The type of leather that you are working with sometimes makes a big difference. A really good all purpose option for leather until recently was Meltonian's Nu-Life spray paint, which was primarily made for Cobblers to use in shoe repair. It's fantastic, but the...

This is a good beginner's guide to making patterns.

I don't usually do much trimming or shaving of fur, but I keep a pair of hair stylist shears (scissors) in my kit in case I ever need to. They are just a cheap pair I have had for years, but I have them professionally sharpened once and awhile so they cut really well. I also have electric...

You should make sure that you stretch properly...if your hand is cramping up within seconds that could be part of the problem. In terms of exercises, you could try hand grip strengtheners (you can find these ebay for $10 or less), but probably the best thing to do is just puppeteer often. The...

This is actually a very, very old puppetry technique...the Muppets have been using variations of it since the 1960s. Stage puppeteers have been doing variations of this live using special lighting and black curtains for at least a century. Here's a neat video of Paul McGuiness, Eric Wright...

That's really good for a first attempt. The eyes are a nice touch, congrats!