Latex puppets

[buckshot]

so after looking at some of the puppets on axtell's website, and reading the recent thread created by Iokitek (Looking for some good links on building puppets), i decided to go ahead and post this.

have any of you builders had much success with latex puppets? pictures would be great if you have them. it seems that the detail with latex is so much greater than foam/cloth puppets.

it's a completely new medium for me, so i'm planning on doing some experimenting (after i clean up some unfinished projects). i had found a decent amount of info on the web, but wanted to see what you guys have done.

 

[Muppetsdownunder]

Latex puppet making seems hard to me! Maybe I'll try it one day though. Does latex last or does it perish like foam puppets often do if they are old especially if they are kept in bad conditions?

 

[buckshot]

i've heard that they last as long if not longer than foam puppets. they seem to be sturdier, and easier to keep clean. but again...i dunno. i've never made one. sculpting is something i've done, but not the mold making/latex pouring part. we'll see.

 

[ravagefrackle]

it all depends on what you are trying to acheive.personally i prefer foamed latex over regular slip casting, since it gives a much more flexible result, slip cast latex can be rather stiff once it has buit up enough of a wall so that the head dosent collapse, it is great for beaks and claws though, but like all natural compounds it does break down, that depends on heat , humidity, and to an extent what sort if tint you use, certain browns for example degrade latex very rapidly, turning them to sticky mush in a few years , and of course foam latex is very delicate, tears easily, and dries out and rotts very rapidly, in a few years maybe,

puppets rarely last for ever you know.

 

[Iokitek]

Welcome to the forum buckshot,

I can't really help you much yet either because much like you I'm still struggling through information. I have various ideas wich I simply need to try out first before I can reccomend any of them. I do have some links for you though.

http://www.smooth-on.com/
this is a company that has every kind of latex imaginable. And they also have alot of info on molding and casting. It is more expensive than regular latex from the arts and craft store though. I'm trying that out first.

http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/building/FoamPuppets.html
A good article on latex foam by Tom McLaughlin. His foam was used to create creatures such as Jabba (Star Wars ofcourse) and if I'm correct the stuff was actually invented to solve some issues with building Miss Piggy. There's a link to his site at the bottom. Aswell as a link to Monstermakers who also have some tutorials on their site.

http://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.11/2.11pages/2.11briertonani.html
Last but not least an article about making stop motion figures. It's not exactly what I'm doing and I guess it's not exactly what you're looking for either. But it might give you some good tips.

I hope it helps and please keep me up to date on the progress. I'm really curious to see how you're experiments turn out.

 

[Muppetsdownunder]

Maybe one day I'll get into that too. but first I better learn how to make traditional puppets properly. Latex would be easier to keep clean, after each performance you just throw it in the dishwasher! lol, it would probably melt!

 

[Iokitek]

actually...

I saw a 'making of' documentary this week on Farscape. That's a Sci-Fi series made by the Jim Henson studios for those of you unfamiliar with it. They were discussing the Rigel character wich is a puppet operated by two people using animatronics. Rigel is made out of latex aswell and they said they washed it after every use and I even saw them take the mask through an oldfashioned wringer! It escaped my attention why they did that actually so I'll have to get back to you on that. I had alot of information to absorb at once so...

I guess that proves that latex can indeed be washed. It's probably got something to do with the smell

edit: I checked it out and it was indeed to remove (I quote) 'the sulfurous egg smell' from the mask. Many additional latex foam skins are prepared aswell because they can crack easily.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I thought I would just point out for those that may not know, there is a difference between "foam latex" and "latex rubber." I posted a brief explanation of the difference and a few links to more info here awhile ago (scroll down to the latex question in bold).

I'm also compelled to play the role of resident mother hen and suggest that anyone who wants to experiment with latex should first make a point of learning all the relevant safety precautions. Some of the chemicals involved are very, very harmful to your health.

 

[Iokitek]

Yes! listen to your mother and wear your protective gear. Always!

Tom Mc Laughlin explains the difference between regular and foam latex in his article:
"Unlike slip cast latex ‘shells’, latex foam is a solid material."
I have been thinking of trying this too perhaps. Or a combination of the two. It's expenisve stuff.

Buckshot, what I try to do is look at how those Monstermaker guys make their masks for people and I try to adapt that concept to puppetry. I'm still working out a few glitches but since there are but a few tutorials online for making latex puppets I guess we're left to or own devices.

I think Axtell's puppets make a great example of the kind of look I would like to create. Only even less comical then. I love the way he used standard muppet tricks like frowning eyebrows and translated this very simply to latex. I know it's just a matter of taste. But I like his puppets better than muppets. Although they still have a muppet look to them sometimes. I especoally like these puppets: http://www.axtell.com/old.html

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I think Axtell's puppets make a great example of the kind of look I would like to create. Only even less comical then. I love the way he used standard muppet tricks like frowning eyebrows and translated this very simply to latex. I know it's just a matter of taste. But I like his puppets better than muppets. Although they still have a muppet look to them sometimes. I especoally like these puppets: http://www.axtell.com/old.html

I believe Axtell puppets are actually latex rubber and/or vynl rather than foam latex. Foam latex eventually breaks down over time, although supposedly the new McLaughlin foam is much improved. I assume that's one of the reasons Steve Axtell doesn't use it for his puppets. Axtell actually has a great "making of" page that explains how they make their puppets.

If anyone is looking to get started with casting puppets you might want to consider starting with latex rubber and than moving on to foam latex later on. Latex rubber lasts quite a bit longer, is easier to find (most art supply stores and hobby shops carry it) and work with. Sculpting/casting puppets requires three separate, somewhat technical skills - sculpting, mold-making and casting (painting too, come to think of it).

I certainly don't want to sound discouraging, but if you've never tackled anything like this before it's probably a good idea to start with a few simple projects to get the hang of the whole process before investing time and money in a lot of expensive professional materials.

Just a thought.