Please help

[Zoot The Saxman]

I was looking for help on making Darts to form a head. I am going for a Oval/round head like Zoot, but with no success. Any help? Anybody?

teddyhalek@sinatra.as

 

[buckshot]

the only places that i've found to be helpful online are Buck-Beaver's tutorial page, and the blue boy pattern. i think trial and error is a huge part of figuring out exactly where you need darts for the specific head you want to make. good luck!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Read over the first part of the tutorial Buckshot mentioned. For a head like Zoot's you probably need 6 or 7 wedges that are four times as long as they are wide. It's hard to say exactly, most puppet building requires a certain amount of trial and error.

I hope that helps!

 

[Show and Tell]

Read over the first part of the tutorial Buckshot mentioned. For a head like Zoot's you probably need 6 or 7 wedges that are four times as long as they are wide. It's hard to say exactly, most puppet building requires a certain amount of trial and error.

I hope that helps!

If you make the wedges with 2 different angles inside each wedge I wonder if you might be able to make a rounder head. Like say the inside wedge(wedge closest to the center of the foam) is 15 degress and then the outside wedge (wedge closest to the outer edge of the side) is say 25 to 45 degress. I will try it on paper first. Lest me know what you think. Those are just guesses at the angles of the wedges.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Actually, the wedges need to have perfectly straight edges (cut at a 90 degree angle) to make the head as round as possible. Eight wedges with straight edges (if cut properly) should make a round ball. You can vary the angle of the cut to get different shapes and effects. I've usually found varying the angle the wedges are cut at is more trouble than it's worth unless a specific effect is needed. If the angle isn't exactly the same on each wedge the head may not be symmetrical when it's glued together.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

I found that if you do cut the wedge edges at angles and then vary the direction of the angles (facing in, facing out, etc.) the head will be very smoothly rounded.

 

[Show and Tell]

I wonder if I'm explaining myself correctly. I think maybe if you glue half of the wedge together from the cnter and then made the wedge wider for the outer half of that wedge. doing the same for each wedge. (am I making any sence?) then glue that half of the wedge together. wish I had a scanner, I'd draw you a picture of what I mean. Larry do you have a way you can show me what you mean? hey buck what if you used a template to cut perfect wedges then they couldn't be wrong could they?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Larry - that will work, you're right but it's exactly the same as cutting straight edges. The problem is usually that the wedges are not pinched together properly (I'm assuming that contact cement is being used - the whole wedge thing doesn't work well with hot glue). Pinching foam together is a real art I'm not very good at it. Many times I've been frustrated by the shape of something and I'll take it apart, hand it over to wife (who's a very experienced builder) and she glues the exact same pieces together and the shape comes out perfectly.

It's very annoying. lol

Puppet Builder - by making one end of the wedge wider the shape of the head will be narrow at one end and wider at the other. I use that trick a lot.

 

[FISH'N'WOLFE]

Instead of doing the "Wedge Method" you could just carve the head out of a solid chunk of foam thats anywhere from 8 1/2"-11" square, and save yourself from a lot of work. Get an electric drill, a 3M rotary disc sanding pad which mounts in the chuck of the drill, some sanding disc pad sheets, 50 grit grade. Then take your foam, trace the shape out that you want on it, facing the front of the head first, then cut that out with a hacksaw blade. (If you dont have a bandsaw this will work fine.) Then trace out your profile and cut that out. Cut off the excess edges, then round out the head with the rotary sander and you're good to go!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I'm not partial to carving puppets myself, but there is more than one way to go about this. How long does it take you to carve a head? Just the shape, not all the finishing details like eyes, fleece or flock, etc. I can usually produce a "wedge head" in under an hour and I've found carved heads tend to be not as flexible as properly built patterned heads, which are hollow. How do you deal with that?