I just started in the thinking process for my puppets. I want to make mouth puppets. three puppets are in my head, each one in the process to form the character, how he or she looks, fur or not, round head and so one. ping-pong Ball eyes or spoon or ..... Looking for pictures on the internet. On paper I put notes in writing.......put the picture there too Piece by piece the puppet is coming, I bought material on the market I saw a fur and had one puppet almost made (in my head of course) It will be a blue bear, friendly, kind, wise and his name is brommel (dutch, brommen is the sound bears make). Now I'm looking for picture his face must be like. Yesterday a saw a bear in the store what has the face I want. I couldn't buy it .... grrr  I don't if he hands will be gloves or rots.
For the second I bought animal fur of 3 different kinds, (zebra, panther and giraffe, I hope the names are the English ones too) I going to mix the different matrial and that is what I know of this one. O his name is Job the panzeraf (panzeraf is a combination of the 3 animals)
The third one will be Gompie, he will be a creature with fur that has rainbow colors in stripes. His hands has to be gloves. He will be used at home but also with groups of kids. He will be I don't know what kind of creature a not recognisable animal or human being. All three busy in the proces...............

But I was wondering how another puppeteers design their puppets I can't draw whats in my head. ......

Actually, most of the time I don't draw designs. I made a Lego city puppet (there's pictures in my gallery here on this site) but didn't do any designs or scale drawings. I thought out how each part of the puppet was going to work, down to the nth degree, and then just started building.

Same for my first muppets (the one you see as my profile icon, the doctor) - I had an idea in my head, but really designed as I built.

It works for some people and not for others; if you find it easier not to have plans or designs, then just get stuck into building straight away. However, if you start building, and find yourself getting stuck, then I suggest sitting down and drawing out how you want the puppet to work/look, to help you find problem areas.

I don't recommend the 'build first, plan later' strategy on your first puppet, unless you have REALLY thought out as much as possible what you're going to do.

I think through the character and have a clear picture in my head of how I want it to look and how I want it to work.  Then I sit down and draw a smiple line drawing of it.  Often times its just a profile view sometime it is both the profile and the frontal view.  then its into building.

I'm not sure that it is absolutely essential that you do the drawings but I do feel that having them helps me to settle some issues of proportion before I'm working with building materials that cost money.  and It reduces the the amount of adjustments I have to make in the process of the build.

If you don't know how to draw there are a number of good books that help you learn cartoon style drawing that would be helpful if you wanted to learn.

the most important part of the design process is what happens in your head.  Everything else are tools that help you take whats in your head in make it into a puppet.

Hi Gompie,

For me, i always do a small sketch on paper. Really crude, not too detailed, and then i go from there. Often, i will change my design as i am going, but i always have a general idea. You see, i have so many puppets lurking in my head that it helps to sort them out on paper.

And i dont always proceed the same way for every project because i do different kinds of puppets. When i do a string puppet, i completely draw it on paper and try to respect my design since it is very complexe for me to do. But when its a hand puppet, i tend to change it as i go.

Good luck in your building process.

Puppet hug,
SHould

the most important part of the design process is what happens in your head.  Everything else are tools that help you take whats in your head in make it into a puppet.

That is my idea too On the internet I see the most marvelous drawn pictures and when you see the finished puppet it looks like it too. But when I make one the puppet is what I want but it changes in teh building process a little  bit...............

Don't forget that even those people who draw out plans of their puppets also change things as they go. The whole point of drawing plans is so that you keep as much of the character/design as possible when building, and that when/if things go wrong, it can be fixed easier. I would say that doing drawings are more for figuring out issues with manipulation and building techniques, than to do with creating a character.

I don't know if this will help you at all, but what I usually do is write down what the puppet's personalty will be like then go from there.

I'm busy with that but with 3 kids around me I haven't much time left to think about it. But at the another hand because they are kids and talk and play I get some ideas.

and Na you are wright..... and when you made a few puppets you know better what kind of puppet needs that form of head/mouth etc etc...

I'm still trying to get the foam book......a local bookstore is trying to order it. And I think that book will help too.

Yes, the book should definitely help clear some things up. I love it!

I orded the book tonight I only have to wait for two or three weeks before I have it. Hopefully sooner.....