Where do you get sculpting foam?

[PiggyLover13]

you know the sculpting foam to make the base of the puppet, where do you get it? and how much does it cost? cuz i am going to make my first puppet, and i am gunna need some tips , anyone have any good websites that have a instruction guide orsomething to make a puppet? thanks.


piggy lover

 

[Buck-Beaver]

What kind of puppet do you want to make? I'm unsure what you mean by "sculpting foam"...are you planning to sculpt a puppet from foam? Or do you want to cut foam patterns and glue them together? In either case if you search the Puppetry forum you'll find losts of information on how to get started.

 

[PiggyLover13]

sculpt the foam into a puppet, i am still like trying to balance my idea out on what exactly it should be but i am thinking like my first ones as a grand ma and grand pa type figures, you know? just something simple...

 

[DPuppets]

There are many types of foam. If you are wanting to carve a head like Miss Piggy then you would use a closed cell foam and it would be a block of it. If you are more into a pattern type. Then you can use a sheet of foam. I use 3/4 foam from Bestway Foams in IN. Also they do carry some big blocks of foam too.
Darren Casteel
www.dpuppets.com

 

[Puppetplanet]

There are many types of foam. If you are wanting to carve a head like Miss Piggy then you would use a closed cell foam and it would be a block of it. If you are more into a pattern type. Then you can use a sheet of foam. I use 3/4 foam from Bestway Foams in IN. Also they do carry some big blocks of foam too.
Darren Casteel
www.dpuppets.com

Hey Darren, what do you suggest for making teeth? I've posted this question before, but the suggestions didn't produce the nice looking realistic teeth I've seen on David's puppets. The Foam Book Videos suggested some type of plaster coat, which I can't find in any local stores. Davids videos didn't cover teeth at all. Can you help?

Thanks,
-Michele

 

[Buck-Beaver]

If by "plaster coat" you mean Sculpt or Coat (which Drew Allison uses extensively I believe) it can be purchased from:

Sculptural Arts Coating, Inc.
501 Guilford Ave. Greensboro, NC 27401
1-800-743-0379
​

They also have a website - http://www.sculpturalarts.com (click on the "puppet" page)

Other alternatives would be to use white tool tip or plasti-dip, which is carried by hardware stores or rubber latex which can be purchased from almost any art supply store. I'd recommend going with Sculpt or Coat or tool tip rather than latex, if only because latex tends to add a lot of weight to a puppet and it's really, really stinky.

With any of these products it is usually a good idea to do several thin coats as opposed to one thick one to get the best results. Some of these are toxic as well so you should be sure to observe the proper safety proceedures.

 

[Puppetplanet]

oh, stinky teeth = stinky puppet breath.



Thanks Buck!

 

[DPuppets]

Hey Darren, what do you suggest for making teeth? I've posted this question before, but the suggestions didn't produce the nice looking realistic teeth I've seen on David's puppets. The Foam Book Videos suggested some type of plaster coat, which I can't find in any local stores. Davids videos didn't cover teeth at all. Can you help?

Thanks,
-Michele

I have used what Grey Seals use but not that satified with them. Now I take raw foam and cut them to look like teeth I need. Then I take liquid latex and white paint and mix them together. Then I put about 7 to 10 coats on them. They come out looking great. Hope that helps!

 

[Puppetplanet]

Oh thank you Darren! Is there any particular brand or type of liquid laytex and paint that I should plan to purchase?

 

[PiggyLover13]

yeah i want her to be like a cloth puppet with a base of foam, like this cube of foam, can i hollow that out? cuz i want her to have like a nice firm head and not like kermit who is just cloth you get what i am saying? thanks for helping!

Piggy Lover