How to start making puppets?

[charlynoa]

Hi everyone!

It's a real dream for me to make puppets myself.
I know how to use a sewing-machine and I've tried out modelling foam and stuff...
What do you use for the "filling" of the puppets?
PU-foam?

Where do you get your stuff?
Is it very expensive?

I am sorry if my questions are "typical" questions and frequently asked, but it's too confusing to me to use the "search" because I English is not my mothertongue and it's hard to read through all the topics for me. *justbeashamed*

Thank you and greetings from Germany,
Charly

Moderator's Note: Of interest to this thread should also be:
http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=21416

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Hi Charly, welcome to the forum.

I've written two articles that may be helpful as a starting point, a guide to puppet building resources that includes lots of information on puppet building books, kits, videos and links to web sites with lots of information.

I've also written a tutorial on foam puppet construction (the way I do it anyway) called The Tumbles P. Bear Project.

I hope that is helpful.

 

[charlynoa]

Thanks a lot!!
That is really great

Wow, I can't wait to start.... but read first *grin*

Charly

 

[Iokitek]

I noticed you're from Germany. This is a Dutch company. But they also ship to Germany if I'm correct. Atleast the site is also in German so I guess that speaks for itself then. Here's the link:

http://www.aff-materialen.com/

Note that this is for sculpting, molding and casting materials. I don't think they sell regular sheets or blocks of foam though. But that really shouldn't be hard to find anyway.

 

[charlynoa]

Thank you, Iokitek!
I'll take a look!

 

[Aus Muppeteer]

Hey! I'm glad you started a new thread about this! I've been working on my puppet for about 5months and it's still not finished. Over here in Australia, we just finished Summer Holidays. So I thought I'd get it done then, but no luck. I was quite suprised, my brother who I thought would know nothing about sewing and craft, actully did all the hard sewing, he shaped my puppet's head to make it unique. It's now got a Mohawk!!

For the stuffing, we made an inside bag that when inside the puppet, we filled that up and sewed the bag to the puppet. if that makes sense.

My only question is about eyes. Say if you're using ping pong halves, how would you stick that to the head? sorry if it's a stupid question. I'll look at those articles!!! Thanks

 

[charlynoa]

Hi!

Perhaps you could glue anythink into it and then sew that onto the head.

Sorry I don't know to express it better.

charly

 

[Buck-Beaver]

To attach the half ping-pong balls eyes the best thing to do is cut a square of 1" foam that is aproximately the same size as a ping pong ball, then put hot glue inside the half ball and squish the foam inside. Once it dries you then glue the foam to your puppet's head.

Does that make sense?

Just be sure that the glue gun is not very hot when you do this, the temperature of many glue guns is to high that the glue will melt or distort the ping pong ball.

 

[practicecactus]

I love those little bit's of advice man.
I'm putting that one in the back of my head for later use.

..what about super glue?
Do any of you guys use it?

 

[doctort13]

The eyes have it

Thanks for the glued eyes tip, I'll have to try that out sometime.