Marionettes

[Camellia]

Hello all,

I’m a sculptor and mixed media artist specializing in wall murals and toy design. Recently I’ve been commissioned to do marionettes, and I’ll be doing other marionettes for the retail market. For examples of my other art work, visit www.camelliasoftware.com/gina/

It would be interesting to hear what other marionette enthusiasts think. I feel it’s very important to keep in mind performer's and collector's interests and needs.

What type of characters and creatures are you looking for, in what sizes?

What price range do you prefer for an 18 inch tall marionette? A 12 inch, or 24 inch marionette?

Thanks! Email - Mailbox4gina (A^T!-SI&GN) yahoo (D*0#T) com

Sincerely,
Gina

 

[Jivepuppet]

I haven't done a whole lot with marionettes, but am planning a short film with some. I suggest 18 or 24 inches, that way you can get better detail in the face, hands, etc...
An idea I've always thought would be great would be to sall customizable marionettes. A basic male and female that can be "finished" by the customer.
Similar, I guess, to the Muppet Workshop puppets released in 1994, but on a very different (professional) level!

Hope I spelled everything right!

Jon

 

[Camellia]

Hello Jon thanks for the input. Customizable marionettes is an interesting idea.

18 inches seems like a good size for everyone. Since people collect marionettes too, 24 inches might be too big, a storage problem?

I've done research on various websites and ebay, and pricing varies a lot. It can depend a lot on quality and detail. What price range do people here prefer for an 18 inch marionette, assuming that it was high quality and detailed?

Are there specific fantasy or contemporary marionette characters that collectors here are looking for?

Thanks and have fun!

 

[Jivepuppet]

Pricing is very tricky.

Keep it under 100.00 if there are mass produced. But one of a kinds, man, it depends on the amount of work you put into them! When i'm done with this post I'm gonna hit your site!

 

[Camellia]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone owns this book?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18...coding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance&n=283155

Is it a good book for designers?

Does anyone know of any other good marionette design books?


Thanks and have fun.

 

[Punch'n'Judy]

Yes I have it, and it's not great. The best book I can think of in terms of marionettes is Expert Puppet Technique, by Eric Bramall and Chris Somerville. It is out of print but there is an excellent second hand puppet bookshop http://www.puppetbooks.co.uk

The Dwiggins Book is well worth a look, as is Waldo Lanchester's Hand Puppets and String Puppets.

All best,
James

 

[Camellia]

Hi everyone. Thanks for the ideas on books and I hope it helps other people here too.

Do people here have interest in fairy tale characters? Contemporary style characters? Fantasy creatures? Thanks for the input.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

You could try posting over at the Puppets & Stuff message board. There's more marionette puppeteers there I think.

 

[Camellia]

Thanks for the suggestion to try Puppets and Stuff.
Are there other puppet/marionette related forums that people here enjoy? Thank you!

 

[mikebackstage]

Gosh I love marionettes! 18 inches would be good, and concering the price range...it's all about the quality, and it helps if it's a trick marionette. I've seen so many websites that people have and they get away with selling the cheapest stuff for like $30-60 dollars. If you can master the art of trick marionettes though I think that you'll get a much better profit. after all the difference in pricing of a normal marionette and a trick one can end up being a great deal more.