Eyebrow Mechanism Help

[BartyBlue]

Hello! Can anyone explain to me how the mechanism at 5:28 works? I have a general idea, but I don't quite have it down...

And if anyone has pictures or designs for puppet mechanisms in general that they'd like to share, I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[D'Snowth]

There's multiple threads on the subject here (believe me, I've looked, because I too wanted to know how the mech worked for a puppet with a big eyebrow), but nobody here can seem to agree on how it works, and different people seem to have different opinions/theories about it. I asked Terry Angus recently if he knew anything, but even he doesn't have any idea on how it's done; Adam Kreutinger hasn't tried it before either; I tried contacting Jarrod Boutcher, it's difficult to contact him, let alone get a response.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

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 illustrates the fact that there is no one *right* way.

What's really needed to make mechanisms is a solid understanding of mechanical movement. Once you acquire that, instead of just copying what other people have done you start creating original ideas. I would really recommend checking out the Stan Winston School's videos on mechanisms, they will teach you all of the basic concepts to design almost any kind of mechanisms (they even have a specific video on puppet mechanisms now).

I've also collected a lot of resources for puppet mechanisms on Pinterest.

 

[D'Snowth]

Pinterest won't let you view anything without registering an account.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

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.