colouring foam.

[Randy]

I am now entering the novice stage of puppet building and have a few questions. Its my friends birthday coming up soon and I want to make a video for her, by making puppet versions of myself and our friends, I am also submitting this film as my final media production piece. Anyway the questions...

1. how would I go about colouring foam to different skin colours?

2. I want to make them in the Crank Yankers style, so can I make that kind of puppet with sheet or do I need to mould the foam?

3. What is the material that I should use for the white part of the eye?

thanks

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Somewhere here or on the old forum there is extensive discussions about colouring foam. I generally avoid it (a lot of foam won't take dye anyhow). A good way to colour the foam would be to spray paint it.

"Crank Yankers" style puppets can be patterned out of foam. For eyes you can use ping pong balls, cut out pieces of white fun foam or spray paint clear X-mas balls. FYI, the Crank Yankers eyes might well be vaccu-formed from plastic.

*Molding foam can be dangerous! Make sure you consult with someone who is experienced before trying it and take all the appropriate safety precautions.

 

[Randy]

ok so if colouring foam is a no no what else can I do to obtain skin colours? Are there any sites about that A(something) fleece that I can dye?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

It's not that dying foam is a no no, it's just that I don't like to do it and not all types of foam will take dye. Many of the Muppets from the 70s (including many of the original Electric Mayhem Band puppets) were made from coloured foam.

The Crank Yankers puppets are Antron Fleece I believe. You can colour Antron fleece, you can dye it just like any other fabric. Find dye (RIT is best I've found) at Wal-Mart or a pharmacy and follow the directions on the box. Antron Fleece can be ordered through Georgia Stage - call 1-800-211-8217 and ask for Kathy. I think it sells for $12 - $15 / yrd and it's cheaper if you buy it in large quantities. Before you jump in with Antron it's often a good idea to experiment with making puppets out of polar fleece first.

Good luck!

 

[Randy]

the only thing is that can you dye polar fleece? and another thing, where can I get a good range of dyes?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Depends on the polar fleece. If it is cotton then it should take dye very easily, if it is a synthetic material (like polyester) it probably won't. Antron fleece is one the exceptions to this rule because it's a synthetic, but it can be dyed. That doesn't happen very often.

If you have one of those fleeces that are some kind of mutant cotton/polyester hybrid, well....like I always say, it's always fun to experiment! Heh heh.

Seriously though, if you are buying any material in a fabric store they should be able to tell you whether or not it can be dyed and if it requires a special treatment before dying. Be sure to check BEFORE they cut the material for you.

Most pharmacies, Wal-Marts and K-Marts should stock a good selection of dye. Even some corner stores still sell dye. I recommend RIT Dyes - the brand we use most often - if you can find them in your area.

 

[Randy]

do they make skin coloured dyes?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Peach Cream is the closest to "skin tone" (if you mean Caucasian skin tone) there is, but you want the one made by Tintex, not RIT (the RIT one is too dark and peachy). Usually you mix different dye colours to get the exact tone you want.

Time to get out that old colour theory textbook from High School!

 

[Randy]

actually it would be mostly browns, So I guess they should be easy to get right?

 

[officermom]

(This is going to sound like testimonials but I REALLY do not work for either Georgia Stage or RIT...)

First, Georgia Stage may still have available some lighter-weight antron fleece (9.5-oz. compared to 12- and 14-oz.). Kathy was going to offer it at around $8 per yard. A reasonable concession to using polar fleece (many brands not taking dye too well).

Secondly, RIT has its own website and offers "recipes" for various colors including flesh and camel. www.ritdye.com When using dye to color Antron fleece, follow RIT's suggestions regarding nylon.

Hopefully these few pieces of information will be helpful to you.

--Melissa