Thanks Na, well I won't be at work till evening on Fridays, now if I can loose the kids... (won't happen this week!)

No worries. Hope you can lose the kids (um, excuse the phrase ), it's great to participate.

30 April is Queensday (birthday of the queen, to be exactly of the mother, the queen her birthday is 31 of January, very cold to do a lot of thing outside) here in Holland. Big party and a lot to do everywhere in the country

Hey Darryl, what about a blinking eye mechanism, (no I'm not cursing, an eye mechanism that blinks...) I've had a quick attempt at this one...
http://puppeteersunite.com/?page_id=588
but I mounted it on a flat head and perhaps I was asking too much of it, on second viewing he has it in a fairly round head pattern. Perhaps the angle isn't so demanding of the mechanism.
Of course if you know of a completely different method I'd be very interested!
Love the Doe suede/ faux suede idea, I've been using faux suede on the other side of he hinge for durability and it feels good an your hand.* but I've glued the head fabric to the felt inside the lip so I don't know how long that will last!
* Another topic, mouth plate finger grips or tubes, I started with faux suede, felt nice but too slippery, now I put a poly foam ridge and a retaining layer, very snug and of course rubber is perfect for grip. I have had the pleasure of using a professional puppet in a musical production and they use finger tubes. It's a great positive feel but it can work off the end of your fingers occassionaly, you need points where you can put your hand over the face and push it back on, not always ideal!
So how do you do finger grips in mouthplates and why?

Scuba, you might want to check out my site. I also tried Tom's (Puppeteers Unite's) blinking eye mech, and he left a lot of really good informative comments about what I did and how to improve it. (Just search my site for 'blinking eyes'... can't be bothered finding the correct link at the moment) It may help you figure out some things.

As for finger grips, there are a number of methods depending on how you make the mouth. For mine, I just add tubes of foam on either side of the back of the mouth (ie. one for the fingers on the top/back of the mouth, and one for the thumb on the underside of the lower jaw) and glue them onto the mouth. Why you use them? Some people find that having grip helps move the mouth. Kind of like having straps on your shoes to keep your feet in place; stops your fingers from slipping and allows you to have more control. As you mention though, it's not always ideal.

Thanks Na, Yaeh I think I got that link from your site in the first place (months ago) how great that Tom gave you pointers directly! Imagine watching better homes and gardens then having the gardeners/chefs/decorators spend the time to help you with recreating their methods! I'll check that out!

Yeah I can see how the finger grips/ tubes work and I'm pretty happy with my recent puppets, the rabbit stays on my hand better than the VERY expensive puppet that I use at work that was sent form London! Though hey are made by the guys who made the puppets for "Spitting Image" in Britain, a late 80's/early nineties  satire done with caricature puppets. A lot like "Rubbery Figures" in Australia part of the problem (I think) is that the Clay sculpted, latex cast puppets are so much heavier and would be difficult to grip regardless of the mouth plate. I have a long term project that is will be cast in latex one day!!!! so different ways to deal with mouth grips will be handy (pardon the pun)
Scoob

Notes taken on those topics......They will be coming in the future show.  Thanks for letting me know.....keep topic idea's coming!

BTW I will say that there are some topics that I (among others) have knowledge of making puppets that we can't share because they are idea's from other puppeteers and they sell the "how to" either book form or video......as well privately shared their knowledge with me knowing that I would keep it that way (private).  I will not cover or allow any of that information out of respect and ethics on allowing them to make a living.  However I know that I can provide a basic eye blinker that is somewhat common knowledge.....BUT I would recommend that you purchase for $5.00 US a video made by Dr Puppet (Jay) on a blinking eye mechanism.  It is an amazing video and a great mechanism.  It is truly a steel at the price and worth each and every cent. 

I hope that people understand......I DO know that there is still lots of knowledge that we can share with each other......so let's go and learn.

Here is Jay's link to the videos......
http://www.drpuppet.com/video_tutorial_page_1.html

 

Thanks for your understanding and lets keep moving ahead.....

Daryl H

Fair enough Darryl, I have a lot of respect for that.

Thanks Na, Yaeh I think I got that link from your site in the first place (months ago) how great that Tom gave you pointers directly! Imagine watching better homes and gardens then having the gardeners/chefs/decorators spend the time to help you with recreating their methods! I'll check that out!

Ah, have I repeated myself?  
Yeah Tom's advice really does help. That's why I love all these puppet makers here, and elsewhere. The criticism helps so much and next time I can improve immensely.

Yeah I can see how the finger grips/ tubes work and I'm pretty happy with my recent puppets, the rabbit stays on my hand better than the VERY expensive puppet that I use at work that was sent form London! Though hey are made by the guys who made the puppets for "Spitting Image" in Britain, a late 80's/early nineties  satire done with caricature puppets. A lot like "Rubbery Figures" in Australia part of the problem (I think) is that the Clay sculpted, latex cast puppets are so much heavier and would be difficult to grip regardless of the mouth plate. I have a long term project that is will be cast in latex one day!!!! so different ways to deal with mouth grips will be handy (pardon the pun)
Scoob

Oh yeah, I know those puppets (the Rubbery Figures). They would be incredibly hard to grip. As far as I know, the figures themselves were *only* latex, but molded in a way that would have fitted to the hand. But yeah, they would be really hard to work. I think finger grips in general are a good idea, but some people go with 'bumps' instead.

Were on tonight for another show many of you have dropped by and hope to see many more tonight (Thursday) at 6 PM (PST)  9 PM (EST).

  I am still open to having a co-host with a workshop idea for tonight, if you don't want to show your face you can keep the camera on what you are doing but we can still talk and record your video........just PM me and let me know.  

Some topics tonight.....

Tool of the week.
Product of the week.
gluing fabric to mouthplate with a glue gun.
Making a quick/portable stage for workshops/kids/or practice at home.

Anyother suggestions for topics please post here, PM me or ask on the spot....but it works better when I can prepare a little.

Daryl H

Another week I can't make it! I'm really hoping you archive all of those segments, seems such a lot but they all seem interesting, wether as new techniques, or to compare and improve my own.
"Chookas" is an Australian theatre expression, like "Break a leg" (hoping all goes well, never say "good luck")
Chookas with the broadcast from down under.
Scoob