Puppet Making

[Buck-Beaver]

Just on the subject of religion, although I don't think there's a specific policy here, I think debates/discussion about religion are outside the scope of the puppetry forum and not likely to head anywhere productive.

Christian puppetry discussions are great, but what with this being primarily a secular board I think discussion might be best restricted to technique/technical questions to keep everyone clam and happy. There's plenty of Christian-specific puppetry forums on the web for theological debates.

Just some general food for thought that's not directed at anyone in particular...someone much older and wiser than me once said that the surest sign that someone lacks a complete understanding of their faith (any faith) is their willingness to make absolute statements about it.

Just my two cents.

 

[ravagefrackle]

well said , it seems we all have had a few threads go arye latley for what ever reason,much prefer the we try to remain on topic here,

any other puppet concerns "superglue"

 

[practicecactus]

I got a question .
I didn't really wanna start a new thread for it.
Do you guys make the puppet with ergonomics in mind , or can you just make it knowing it'll work and be comfy? Or are they one or the other?
Not really asking for exact details (not asking for tricks of the trade,just curious)I was just wondering ,cause I've been mucking around with foam ,to see what I can do , and I'm trying to make it as comfortable as possible and also trying to get the most out of the mouth,expression wise etc.
If that made sense..

 

[dramaqueen]

Ergonomics and comfort come for me first. I can't very well puppeteer if my hand cramps up, or the puppet is too heavy to use for a long time. A very important thing for me is that the mouth closes all the way. I make sure there is nothing to bind it up. (fabric, etc) I used to just score foam board, but it would bind after I added the mouth fabric. Now I use sintra, duct taped about a pencil width apart. Much sturdier and no binding. I also usually use 1/2 inch foam in the head as opposed to 1 inch because I like my puppets a little lighter in weight. The 1/2 holds up my fleece just fine. I guess I should work out more, and then the weight wouldn't matter right? lol

 

[superglue]

Ergonomics for sure!

Yes, ergonomics for sure. As I stated before, I made a Pannabecker puppet last year (his name is Eddie). He is light weight, very easy to use and manipulate, and much better than any of the other puppets I've used that our ministry has purchased. My husband and I just did a blacklight puppet skit on Easter, and he was using one of the human-arm puppets, and his hand locked up each time we performed (3 times). Same thing happened to me a few months ago. The puppets we've purchased recently with the Pannabecker handisphere are much better... and you are SO right about wear & tear... most of our puppets are used with CHILDREN... so they do wear more quickly. AND, they haven't been stored properly, etc., etc. We're trying to convince our ministry that we need to have a stock of puppets that are handled only by the adults and have a room that stores the puppets that is only accessed by certain people. They've never really had anyone in charge of the puppets... my husband and I have kind of adopted the project. Geez... ramble much? Anyway, thanks everyone for all the great comments and information.

Oh... and sorry about the off-the-puppet-subject discussion earlier. I'm just a little passionate in that area, but I'll save for the proper forum!

 

[Iokitek]

Guy was one of the guys

I don't know, just thought it was funny.

Sorry about the harsh words I said before though It's not like I didn't mean what I said. But perhaps I could've been more subtle in my choice of words. I'm just abit cranky lately That's all.