Carving head, freezing upholstery foam?

[mereii]

Hi! I'm planning to make a puppet that involves a shaped head for the first time and I really am not sure what to do. I have a plasticene maquette of what I want the head to look like, and a block of upholstery foam the right size, but I have a question I wondered if anyone could help me with!

Basically, I don't know how I'm going to carve the foam to any level of accuracy, as it is squishy and seems like it would yield away from the blade of a knife or scissors. I thought of soaking the foam in water and freezing it so it's hard enough to carve with an exacto knife and grater- would that work?

 

[ivanjams]

I just went through a similar thing. I carved the head from a foam block using a bread cutter from my knife block for the big stuff and then used the longest exacto type blade I could find at Home Depot. They were some type of break away blade type deal. Then I used a regular razor blade for the detailed stuff.

I did however tell myself to just do half the head next time and mirror that as best I can. It will make draping and figuring out the fleece pattern faster and easier. Not sure about freezing. Sounds kinda cool. Let me know if it helps any if you try it.

Best of luck!

 

[Muppetlab]

Im guessing that if you soak the foam in water then freeze it, the foam will expand? If you carve the expanded foam it might distort the final result once it thaws and regains its shape... Im ony guessing here tho :-/

Good quality razors (and plenty of them as foam eats through blades pretty quick) and patience and practise are the key

Keep us posted on what method you use tho

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I have never heard of anyone freezing foam before sculpting it. I am not saying it won't work, but I don't understand what the benefit of that would be. Foam is a relatively inert synthetic material, it shouldn't expand when frozen.

Carving foam is like carving wood. The basic techniques are the same, but the tools and material are different. Try looking at carving tutorials on YouTube and then give it a shot. Just remember that your first attempt may not come out 100% the way you envision. People who are very good at carving have done it dozens or even hundreds of times!

 

[WillyThePig]

Usually when carving foam, I use a sharpie to outline the front shape of the head and the profile on the other side, and then cut both shapes out with a sharp bread knife, then round the details out with a big pair of scissors that I find myself having to sharpen frequently. I like to cut small pieces at a time do if I mess up Its not a huge deal. The only thing I can say is make sure when you make the big cuts that you keep it moderately straight and try to keep it symmetrical. And don't putt too much pressure when cutting because it will squish the foam then when you let go the foam will expand and it usually isn't the shape you hoped it would be

 

[puppetface]

I want to carve a head and I have an idea how to do it but I'm not sure how to cover it with my own fleece pattern, does anyone have any tips? or any steps for the whole process?

 

[WillyThePig]

I want to carve a head and I have an idea how to do it but I'm not sure how to cover it with my own fleece pattern, does anyone have any tips? or any steps for the whole process?

yes, I can help I will be doing this tomorrow. if you want, email me and I will take pictures of the whole thing and walk you thought the steps of it...it's actually pretty easy. My email is martinanthony18@gmail.com . Please email me as soon as possible so I can know if you want me to do this for you.

 

[WillyThePig]

Im guessing that if you soak the foam in water then freeze it, the foam will expand? If you carve the expanded foam it might distort the final result once it thaws and regains its shape... Im ony guessing here tho :-/

Good quality razors (and plenty of them as foam eats through blades pretty quick) and patience and practise are the key

Keep us posted on what method you use tho

I would be more afraid of the foam cracking or chipping or possibly becoming fragile after it thaws.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I want to carve a head and I have an idea how to do it but I'm not sure how to cover it with my own fleece pattern, does anyone have any tips? or any steps for the whole process?

There is a good video that explains how to do this called "From Sketch To Show: Patterning A Puppet Part One" that is available from Playsoup - http://www.playsoup.com