Puppet arm question

[Keith]

Hi,

I’m a ventriloquist from Florida, and I recently had a beautiful puppet made by Jarrod Boutcher. As I’m practicing with my new puppet, I have a question about arm position. I’ve emailed my question to Jarrod, but I believe he’s currently on vacation. So, while I await his response, I'm interested in the collective wisdom from the crew here!

I'm considering how to best position his arms. I'm planning on performing with him on a vent stand, and do not plan on using arms rod. So, I'd like his arms to look natural without flopping around.

Any ideas about the best way to keep his arms in a natural position, such as they are in the attached pic? I don't want to alter him in any irreversible way, but would something like small magnets or Velcro work? I'm open to any suggestion you all may have.

Thanks!

 

[ReallyNotACylon]

I'm using neodymium (aka rare-earth) magnets in my Cylon puppet. I put some in the hand and on the body so I can use one control rod and not have the other flying around. They're extremely strong, in fact you have to be careful with some because you can get pinched by them if you have some too close to each other. You'd have to hide under the fabric, but it would be a little less noticeable than velcro.

The ones I use can be found at any craft store, Wal-Mart should have them as well. They're about the size of watch batteries and a lot stronger than normal magnets like you stick to a fridge. So you don't have to worry about it coming loose, but it isn't so strong that you have to pry it off. Although they do make them that strong.

You could probably use magnets throughout the body and be able to position the arms in different ways like put them in the upper arms so he can cross his arms.

 

[Keith]

Thank you for your kind reply! I'll certainly consider your idea. Much appreciated!

 

[Animal31]

A simple method would be the long pins you would find in a craft store in the floral department. Pin it thru the underside of the finger or thumb to the body, most come with a pearl ball on top so it would less noticable....

 

[Slackbot]

That's how I do it. I just pin things into place. Usually with safety pins so I can be sure they won't slip out of place and/or stick someone (I use puppets as walkaround characters). However, it can be tricky to conceal safety pins.

 

[Rymoore21]

That is how many of the professionals do it: with pins. I am acquainted with a few people at Sesame Workshop and we discussed this once. just pin on the underside. The longer the pin, the better. small pins come undone and can even become lost inside the puppet.

 

[Keith]

Pins sound like a great solution. As I am not talented in the building/sewing of puppets, this is something I can handle. Very do-able for me.

Thanks folks!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Another idea - and this a neat trick I'm embarrassed I've never thought of myself (I saw David Stephens using it last week at a puppet festival) - is to use monofilament (fishing line) to attach the arm to the puppet's jaw. This is how Big Bird's right arm is usually performed and it creates natural movement that I think looks better than just having the puppet's arm pinned to its body.

 

[Animal31]

The thing with Big Bird is I thought the line is sent thru a hoop under the neck and attached to the left hand, so when one goes down the other goes up.

It's a great effect, but not sure how it would look in this case, may just be an arm swinging in the breeze.....

 

[Buck-Beaver]

No, it looks good! At least in David's shows. Like anything, you probably have to experiment a bit with weight and positioning to get it just right (nothing good comes easily) but it's a great low-tech effect. I was very impressed when I saw it.