The Foam Book

[scottabrown2001]

in regards to buying a tape in pal or ntsc, i moved to the uk from th usa, and i have found that a most of my vhs tapes and a lot of my dvd's will play on my dvd players, now i am not sure if it is my telly that allows them to be played or my players that automatically converts it. but this is not an uncommon occurence as my sister has two vcrs and two dvd players that play the ntsc and pal. and they were cheap players. if your wanna get an ntsc tape just buy it. you more then likely be able to pick up a player on the cheap that will play the tapes.
i hope this is of some use. ciao scotty.

 

[TommyTheMad]

I got my copy of the book today from Amazon. Not a bad book for $20.00 with shipping. I'm looking forward to reading through it.

 

[TommyTheMad]

I read the whole thing, and found that there was very little in it I didn't already know. A bit of a disappointment, but the things I didn't know made me think that it was a worthwhile investment.

 

[staceyrebecca]

Everyone should buy it from the Puppeteers of America shop...

Just a little plug, there.

When Drew actually did the demo for us, it was a lot more helpful. I'd say my 2nd or 3rd generation of making puppets (am I on generation 15 now?) was using the foam book method...i think it was a good starting point & really helpful then, but I know a lot more now & burn my fingers a lot less than I did when I was doing nip-tuck.

 

[Patience]

I thought about buying The Foam Book, but would like opinions first, which would be more useful: The Foam Book or a Pattern from Project Puppet?

Thanks in advance,
Patience

 

[SesameKermie]

Patience, they both have their uses. I've bought both. The Foam Book approaches puppet design from a more 'artistic'/improvisational standpoint, IMHO. They start with a basic puppet mouthplate, and then design the head shape around that, experimenting with placement and widths of darts to create different shapes.

The Project Puppet pattern has already worked out the darting necessary to create certain head shapes, and gives you a pattern to use as a jumping off point--to which you can then add features to create a character.

Hope this helps clarify things.

 

[Teenager's]

I personally thing Project Puppet is more useful. The foam book is nice to look at.....but I've never used the techniques it shows because it's not what I'm going for. It's a nice idea book though.

but project puppet is much more worthwhile. & you could probably find the foam book at a library.

 

[Nojoy]

I use both, and while the Foam Book is great reference material, it really is more of a fly by the seat of your pants approach. If you've never built a puppet (muppet-style) then Project Puppet is where I would recommend starting. Working with those patterns can go a long way towards teaching you basic techniques that you can apply to building your own designs later on.

 

[Conor IX]

Patience, I have both the foam book and a bunch of patterns from project puppet. I would definitely recommend project puppet for a first time, mainly because the results are very professional from the get go, and it's a great confidence booster to know that you can craft something to a high standard. The foam book is ok, but to be honest, i don't like the aesthetics of the puppets, the diagrams are really just rough drawings. It's very loose ended, and that can be a double edged sword, on one hand it's not spoonfeeding you ideas, which is nurturing for the imagination, but it might leave you with too much of a blank canvas. The project puppet patterns are a good spring board and starting point, and the patterns are great.

The foam book authors should get a designer in to revamp the look and feel of the book. The paper and everything isn't up to standard with other books out at the moment.

 

[Patience]

books

ConorIX

Thanks for the reply! Do you have other suggestions for books and/or patterns?

I have a PP Pattern. I wasn't as excited or impressed as many others here have been. The directions are lacking! I had to have the pattern and the directions in front of me (which takes up a lot of work space). in order to put the thing together. The hole is way too small! I could go on, but that wouldn't be nice.

I took 2 years of Fashion Design (you may think one has nothing to do with the other, but the details are much the same), so I know plenty about Pattern Drafting and Construction, (just not to do with puppets). But my skills as a Dress Designer/Maker are very transferable. If I had the time, I could do my own pattern drafting (now that I know they all start off like a glorified ball).

Patience