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MOTHMAN BACKPACK PUPPET
I will edit this post as I finish Mothman... kinda my way of journaling his progress, and also getting advice and feedback, all in one go. He is my first super ambitious project, so lets all hope I don't screw up
--06/JAN/2026--
*Mothman is in blueprint stage (writing this from not my house, so I don't have my folder of Mothman [puppet] stuff [i have two folders of Mothman stuff so I had to specify]. I will update w/ blueprints page and notes as soon as possible).
As of now, Mothman is planned be six-and-a-half to seven feet, with a ten-foot wingspan (size-accurate) I want Mothman to look as realistic as possible, so unlike most backpack puppets, which are most basically a pole, a mask, and a sheet, the puppet will require a frame of sorts. This will be made sculpture-style with steel armature covered in apoxy sculpt/more armature, and covered with fur. This frame will be attached to a pole, and a harness. Instead of hands, Mothman will have wings. HOPEFULLY, I will be able to devise a mechanism that allows the wings to fold up-- though that might have to be a replace-the-wings-in-the-future kinda deal, and I'm not too focused on it.
The technical challenge now, is to figure out how to attach and move the wings. I am well aware that with backpack puppets, there is a loss of motion involved, but the way Mothman needs to be generally inhibits much more than normal. That and the challenge of the sheer size (and likely weight) of the wings makes for... quite the issue. Anybody got any ideas? Right now I'm thinking either just hang fabric from pvc pipes and make them like regular (if a bit long) arms otherwise, or cut holes in the sides of the frames so the wings can move. Additionally, if anyone's idea's also allow me to fold up the wings somehow, I would be very grateful. (wings are, by the way, bird-like. If we're all being honest here, Mothman is more of a bird than a moth.)
I will edit this post as I finish Mothman... kinda my way of journaling his progress, and also getting advice and feedback, all in one go. He is my first super ambitious project, so lets all hope I don't screw up
--06/JAN/2026--
*Mothman is in blueprint stage (writing this from not my house, so I don't have my folder of Mothman [puppet] stuff [i have two folders of Mothman stuff so I had to specify]. I will update w/ blueprints page and notes as soon as possible).
As of now, Mothman is planned be six-and-a-half to seven feet, with a ten-foot wingspan (size-accurate) I want Mothman to look as realistic as possible, so unlike most backpack puppets, which are most basically a pole, a mask, and a sheet, the puppet will require a frame of sorts. This will be made sculpture-style with steel armature covered in apoxy sculpt/more armature, and covered with fur. This frame will be attached to a pole, and a harness. Instead of hands, Mothman will have wings. HOPEFULLY, I will be able to devise a mechanism that allows the wings to fold up-- though that might have to be a replace-the-wings-in-the-future kinda deal, and I'm not too focused on it.
The technical challenge now, is to figure out how to attach and move the wings. I am well aware that with backpack puppets, there is a loss of motion involved, but the way Mothman needs to be generally inhibits much more than normal. That and the challenge of the sheer size (and likely weight) of the wings makes for... quite the issue. Anybody got any ideas? Right now I'm thinking either just hang fabric from pvc pipes and make them like regular (if a bit long) arms otherwise, or cut holes in the sides of the frames so the wings can move. Additionally, if anyone's idea's also allow me to fold up the wings somehow, I would be very grateful. (wings are, by the way, bird-like. If we're all being honest here, Mothman is more of a bird than a moth.)