hey all

it feels like im having a mental breakdown at the moment this is my problem. im in my last year at uni and creating my finale project witch is all well and good, but the problem im having is that i come up with the great idea that i will use puppets. i made a rod puppet with  half body. but was unhappy with the way the arms moved but i like to play around with the movement of this type of puppet but it has not got legs for a walk cycle and if it did have legs how would it walk anyway im the only one who is controlling the puppet so its got to be a one man show. then i tryed to make a marionette but its a art form to move in a convincing human way.

i dont know it just fills like im having a mental breakdown at the moment

if anyone has any ideas it would be cool

Rod puppets don't normally "walk".   They do often have legs attached but these legs are not normally articulated for walking but used to sit the puppet on the edge of the play board.

Is it a requirement of the project that our puppet walks?  If not then don't sweat it.

not at the moment but i think i mite stay with rod puppet i was just reading about a hand you can pose that has wire in it mmmmm gets me thinking 

Jovak

Shawn is right don't sweat it, Just make a puppet that your happy with and do the best that you can,don't worry about it being so perfect. You are not having a mental breakdown................ you are just a little stressed. Take your puppet go to the local coffee shop and relax. You two talk things over and I'm sure you and your puppet will come up with the perfect solution. Have you posted pictures of your puppet or puppets yet?

Billy D.

I am not sure what you are doing with your puppets.  Are you behind a stage?  Usually if you are behind a stage only the puppets body and head are showing.  If you have rods on the arms, it is easier to start with just one rod and doing hand movement that way.  Handling two arm rods at once takes practice.  There are some good videos on youtube that talk about puppet movement.  Usually to walk a puppet onto stage you slowly move your puppet in from the side in a small up and down motion so he looks like he is walking (i.e.  don't just pop him/her up) same goes for walking off the stage. 

I knew nothing about puppets a month ago.  I learned all I know via youtube videos and this board.  Relaz, breathe deap and do your best.  Nobody becomes an expert over night.  One other option you have is to pre-record your puppets voice.  This way you can do a one man show.  Either you hide behind your stage and just concentrate on the mouth and hand movement or you can interact, having the puppets parts pre-recorded and have your puppet on your lap (just build legs and add them on) and talk (leaving blank spaces on your tape) where you speak.  This takes some practise to make sure you have your timing right but it is doable. 

Good luck.  Let us know how it goes.  Who do you have to perform your final project in front of?  If these are people who know nothing about puppets you can worry far less.  They don't know the right and wrong way to do puppetry. 

Perhaps you are needing a 'tabletop puppet', which is a sort of Westernised bunraku puppet. However, these puppets are usually operated by more than one person.

Like the others say, don't fret. There's always a way around things, and if you think enough about it, you should solve the problem. Just have a break first, and come back to it when you're not as stressed.

OK after a cup of coffee or two with my puppet (don't give your puppets coffee he went all HYPO on me )  so this is what I'm going to use. I'm going for a rod puppet and make him with legs if i need a full body shot then i can have one and put Velcro around his waist for removal of his waist if needed.

I'm an animation student so it will be filmed in front of a green screen and then edited out and put into a 3d background

I would suggest/have you heard about  building a bottom half of the body and do leg shots. Putting rods in the upper legs and make him walk from above and they will seem more real.

Just something to think about....over another coffee. 

Daryl H

all ok now with help from you lady's and gents i went to uni and told the tutor the problem we sat down the 3 of us that's the puppet in clueded and worked it out im now doing a old British folk tale called samuel's ghost its going to be so cool.

Glad to hear you worked things out.  Good luck.