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CLICK HERE TO SEE AN EXCELLENT VIRTUAL PUPPET It's above the menu on the linked page. The future of puppetmastery will include virtual (existing only on-screen) and robotic puppets, controlled wirelessly by voice and hand gestures. Here I offer four nano-tributes to this evolution. I met the...

There are countless ways to manipulate cables. Here's one as an example. In the case of an animated Halloween mask, only a few combinations of cables (out of dozens perhaps) would be used at one time, but some extras could be included for occasional effects or electrical switches or ribbon...

Armatures that support doll limbs so well are hollow. In fact they're mostly manufactured as stiff but flexible hoses. The industrial version is called "Loc-Line", available here. At the bottom of that page you'll see a doll frame example. Click here to see a company selling small gauge pieces...

The earliest cable-puppets I grew up with and have been able to find date back to the 1940s and appeared European or Asian in style. Kohner toys patented them in 1947 and called them "push-button puppets", but others refer to them as press action toys, collapsing puppets, thumb puppets, 3-D...

Now that Sis is off in college, she doesn't mind her dollhouse being converted into a HAUNTED HOUSE filled with tiny cable-puppets. And behind the haunted house is a very curious maze of fish line and rings for control. Move the ring, it tugs the line, and things ... happen ... among tiny...

Magnificent. Great photos of his creation as well. A future version could have some fine cables (fish-line and teflon spaghetti) to animate his eyes and possibly enable him to smile. If you don't already have a website for him, note that awardspace.com is offering $6/year for unlimited space...

HD cameras are great, but a "webcam" could suffice, tenfold less expensive, and supported by low cost and free graphic software. It will provide a fair impression of your show and can be easily recorded and edited. You can check that option out in any good computer store. If you get the kind...

Hi Casey. I'm new and need to note the dates on posts here, thank you. I'm grateful to this forum for not locking-up topics after a short time like another forum I abandoned for that reason. This was the most advanced and lively topic I found here so far on puppet mechanisms. The relevance...

An inspiring topic. So much is possible that is rarely tried. Randy, you can drill a hole from the mouth to the back of the solid head, and thread a light cable (heavy fishing line works) with a ring on the finger side and fasten the other to the jaw in any number of clever ways as suggested...

Buck Beaver, thanks for the link to Puppet Vision Blog at puppetvision.info, one of the best links I've seen yet on the subject. I also noticed that the excellent domain "puppetmaster.info" is available for $12, I can't afford at this time. I like the editor on this BBS very much, except that...

I've used Sculpey and Fimo for creature design, but not yet the new "Super Sculpey" or "Green Stuff" and probably others worth trying to creatively prototype original designs. Once a design exists, one could use the new affordable 3d printers should be useful in designing and duplicating heads...

Another kind of local store usually worth finding is your local ham radio operators' parts store, often something beyond Radio Shack. They sell Teflon "spaghetti", intended for electrical insulation but ideal for threading a fishing line with low friction. This isn't shrink-wrap, which is not...

In California we have Tap Plastics, supplier of a wide range of goodies suitable for inventors. "Delrin" plastic flexes a zillion times, and they make strong "piano hinges" from that nylon-like plastic. Many Henson jaws are hinge-like, the link below is fish-like. One could emulate the physics...

A golden Labyrinth theater poster is beautiful on my wall, worthy of praise. I did see one miniature Labyrinth set up close at Industrial Light & Magic. I should also mention I contracted with Disney and I.L.M. in the early 1980s, but nothing high profile. I never aspired to be a star, always...

Maybe you already have this. A book with the tunes that you can plink into any MIDI program and then play with sound of Xylophone, flute, tuned drums, etc. etc. The Hums of Pooh by A. A. Milne, music by H. Frasier-Simson, published by E.P Dutton, New Yoork, ©1930, 1939 Titles: Isn't it Funny...

Sorry, no ready-to-go sources to offer, but I do think everyone designing mouth and jaw structures should be aware of "3D Printing" allowing concepts to be realized with little or no drilling, sanding, or sculpting. I'll bet we could find a CAD designer in that community enthusiastic about the...

This got me thinking about how many puppet theaters could be used like television studios, now that digital movie cameras and editing are practical. Having the advantages of editing plus changing camera viewpoint, sound overdub, and the equivalent of blue-screen backgrounds, would really work...

What a great time to be into these things. For those handy with electronics, there are companies like www.parallax.com (I do not work for them or any other company I recommend) which has fast USB interfacing to I/O. Any older computer can be used via its printer (Centronics) parallel port...

That's interesting, Lectric Ave. With so many rooms, you could re-use space. Between brief curtain intermissions, or a distracting lighting change, it could switch to a hallway scene with an elegant elevator at one end, and the doors numbered (changeable for different floors). Fast scene...

1984-5 when I was employed by Lucasfilm Computer Div. (doing games at that time), I made most of the scrolling background graphics for their "Labyrinth" game based on the David Bowie movie. Though not much of a fan of David Bowie or the movie, my lifelong interest in puppets and robotics and...