How I did it: Building my latest Puppet (picture heavy) Posted by jaysmith on Jan 25, 2010
Hi Everyone,
When planning for my latest puppet, I decided to try to document the building process. I thought you might be interested in seeing what I did. I'm never sure if it's the right way to do it, but it seemed to work.
Part I: Making the Skull
I found some 6' long triangular pieces of foam at a local scrap supply shop. I had never tried carving foam before, but at the price, I couldn't pass up the chance.
A few liberal passes with an electric knife, and I have something like the skull shape I am looking for.
Next I hollowed out some of the inside of the skull, added more foam for the beak and some trim pieces.\
I then added some more trim as wells as some covering for the inside in the form of an piece of t-shirt material (if you look to the side, you can see the beginning of the mouthplate).
I then began hollowing out the area for the eyes (I had an idea I wanted to try; more on this later) and adding the top to the skull to give it a rounder shape. The mouthplate (which is upside-down in this picture) is foam-core lined with felt on the inside of the mouth and 2mm craft foam on the outside. The thumb tube is made of 6mm craft foam.
I then glued in the mouthplate, added the lower jaw/head assembly, and added some eyebrow ridges,
Next was the process of covering the skull. For this I used charcoal anti-pill fleece. I used a spray-on contact cement on the inside of the fleece to adhere it to the foam. *Be sure to only use a light coating, otherwise it will be very difficult to sew through later.
(Notice the head-tail. This has to do with the eye experiment. Still more on this later)
A ½” wide piece of fleece is used to cover the lower inside edge of the mouth, and a ¾” piece for the upper.
Next came the covering of the nose section. The difficult part of this was the shaping of the nostrils. I used a shaped thick pipe cleaner to do this. I then wrapped and tucked the fleece around it. This design works well, as I can still tweak and mold the shape of the nostrils even on the finished puppet.
The next step has no pictures, but let’s just say it involved about 2500 muppet stitches done all by hand.
More to come in Part II.
When planning for my latest puppet, I decided to try to document the building process. I thought you might be interested in seeing what I did. I'm never sure if it's the right way to do it, but it seemed to work.
Part I: Making the Skull
I found some 6' long triangular pieces of foam at a local scrap supply shop. I had never tried carving foam before, but at the price, I couldn't pass up the chance.
A few liberal passes with an electric knife, and I have something like the skull shape I am looking for.
Next I hollowed out some of the inside of the skull, added more foam for the beak and some trim pieces.\
I then added some more trim as wells as some covering for the inside in the form of an piece of t-shirt material (if you look to the side, you can see the beginning of the mouthplate).
I then began hollowing out the area for the eyes (I had an idea I wanted to try; more on this later) and adding the top to the skull to give it a rounder shape. The mouthplate (which is upside-down in this picture) is foam-core lined with felt on the inside of the mouth and 2mm craft foam on the outside. The thumb tube is made of 6mm craft foam.
I then glued in the mouthplate, added the lower jaw/head assembly, and added some eyebrow ridges,
Next was the process of covering the skull. For this I used charcoal anti-pill fleece. I used a spray-on contact cement on the inside of the fleece to adhere it to the foam. *Be sure to only use a light coating, otherwise it will be very difficult to sew through later.
(Notice the head-tail. This has to do with the eye experiment. Still more on this later)
A ½” wide piece of fleece is used to cover the lower inside edge of the mouth, and a ¾” piece for the upper.
Next came the covering of the nose section. The difficult part of this was the shaping of the nostrils. I used a shaped thick pipe cleaner to do this. I then wrapped and tucked the fleece around it. This design works well, as I can still tweak and mold the shape of the nostrils even on the finished puppet.
The next step has no pictures, but let’s just say it involved about 2500 muppet stitches done all by hand.
More to come in Part II.
Re: How I did it: Building my latest Puppet (picture heavy) Posted by jaysmith on Jan 25, 2010
Welcome to Part II!
When last we left our intrepid puppet construction, I had just finished thousands of muppet stitches. (did you know that the eye of a needle can pierce your thumb just as easy as the point? Remember what I said about using only a light layer of spray adhesive to attach the fleece)
Now onto the facial features:
I started by forming the ears. This is the first time that any machine stitch has been used on this puppet. I used the same charcoal fleece for the outside, and a tan colored fleece for the inside. After the sewing, and turning the ears right-side out, I inserted two pieces of 2mm craft foam to give the ears form. The ears where then sew shut.
Next I test fit the eyes. For the eyes I am using orange ping-pong balls. The eyelids have been made of 2mm black craft foam hot glued to a piece of fleece, which is then stitched (by hand) into the eye socket
Here is the stitched together head with the eyes in place.
*Now for the secret of the eye test! During the skull construction I dug a tunnel through the back of the eye sockets. I then dug (dremel tools are a wonderful thing) another tunnel in from the back of the skull. The head-tail then covers the opening at the back of the head. The reason for doing this is so that I can insert a small LED flashlight in the back of the skull (I am still searching for the right light to use). This allows me to turn on the flashlight externally, which in turn makes the eyes glow a sinister orange. It looks pretty cool. Alas, no pictures… yet!
I continue on working on the ears. I add a 3/8” strip of white fun fur to the top of the ear, fur side down. This is hot glued in place. The ear is then folded down (using the gap between the two pieces of craft foam in the ear as a hinge. The fold is then sewn in place where the ear will meet the head.
I then sew the ears onto the head.
Next was one of the most painstaking processes, but it turnout just the way I wanted! I used a segment of a feather cuff bracelet to make the hair. This took a while to sew on due to the elastic in the feathers. The beard is two black ostrich feathers with half of the feather trimmed off, and then carefully sewn around the curve of the lower jaw. Took a while, but I think the results are worth it.
Soon, Part III!
When last we left our intrepid puppet construction, I had just finished thousands of muppet stitches. (did you know that the eye of a needle can pierce your thumb just as easy as the point? Remember what I said about using only a light layer of spray adhesive to attach the fleece)
Now onto the facial features:
I started by forming the ears. This is the first time that any machine stitch has been used on this puppet. I used the same charcoal fleece for the outside, and a tan colored fleece for the inside. After the sewing, and turning the ears right-side out, I inserted two pieces of 2mm craft foam to give the ears form. The ears where then sew shut.
Next I test fit the eyes. For the eyes I am using orange ping-pong balls. The eyelids have been made of 2mm black craft foam hot glued to a piece of fleece, which is then stitched (by hand) into the eye socket
Here is the stitched together head with the eyes in place.
*Now for the secret of the eye test! During the skull construction I dug a tunnel through the back of the eye sockets. I then dug (dremel tools are a wonderful thing) another tunnel in from the back of the skull. The head-tail then covers the opening at the back of the head. The reason for doing this is so that I can insert a small LED flashlight in the back of the skull (I am still searching for the right light to use). This allows me to turn on the flashlight externally, which in turn makes the eyes glow a sinister orange. It looks pretty cool. Alas, no pictures… yet!
I continue on working on the ears. I add a 3/8” strip of white fun fur to the top of the ear, fur side down. This is hot glued in place. The ear is then folded down (using the gap between the two pieces of craft foam in the ear as a hinge. The fold is then sewn in place where the ear will meet the head.
I then sew the ears onto the head.
Next was one of the most painstaking processes, but it turnout just the way I wanted! I used a segment of a feather cuff bracelet to make the hair. This took a while to sew on due to the elastic in the feathers. The beard is two black ostrich feathers with half of the feather trimmed off, and then carefully sewn around the curve of the lower jaw. Took a while, but I think the results are worth it.
Soon, Part III!
Re: How I did it: Building my latest Puppet (picture heavy) Posted by jaysmith on Jan 25, 2010
Part III: Hands!
I decided to try something interesting with the hands. Rather than using two pieces of foam for the hands, as I do on most of my puppets, I decided to make the thumb sit lower on the linear plane of the hand resulting in a more realistic looking hand. This required three pieces of foam. You can see the pieces required for one hand, including the wire aperture.
Here are the top pieces glued together, with the lower thumb ready to be attached.
After the hands are completed, I rounded the edges by pinching them together with contact cement. The pic is one before and one after.
I then added small pieces of foam to act as knuckles (in the final product, it didn’t turn out as well as I wanted, but it does give the hand more character than if it wasn’t there). The hands were then covered in fleece.
Another few hundred muppet stitches and the hands were sewn up.
Coming soon, Part IV!
I decided to try something interesting with the hands. Rather than using two pieces of foam for the hands, as I do on most of my puppets, I decided to make the thumb sit lower on the linear plane of the hand resulting in a more realistic looking hand. This required three pieces of foam. You can see the pieces required for one hand, including the wire aperture.
Here are the top pieces glued together, with the lower thumb ready to be attached.
After the hands are completed, I rounded the edges by pinching them together with contact cement. The pic is one before and one after.
I then added small pieces of foam to act as knuckles (in the final product, it didn’t turn out as well as I wanted, but it does give the hand more character than if it wasn’t there). The hands were then covered in fleece.
Another few hundred muppet stitches and the hands were sewn up.
Coming soon, Part IV!
Re: How I did it: Building my latest Puppet (picture heavy) Posted by jaysmith on Jan 25, 2010
Part IV: The Body!
For the body I decided to just go with a cylindrical body with some accent modifications. I started out by using 1” foam for the body. A ½” deep cut/trench was made in the length of the foam at the bottom of the body. The neck opening was widened, and everything was glued in place. ½” foam was used to make the shoulders, arms, and a hemisphere for the hump on the back. A ring of tubing was formed for the base of the body.
The hump was then glued to the back using contact cement. Before finally sealing the hump to the back, I stuffed the hump with some poly-fill to give it structure and help retain its shape.
The body ring was then pressed into the ½” trench along the base of the body. This was then rounded and sealed by pinching it together with contact cement.
The shoulders were then attached and the unfinished edges crimped and rounded.
I wrapped the body in fleece, pining it to form around the shoulders and hump. This was then sewn together on the machine, making sure to leave extra material to wrap inside the neck and body. The body and arms were then covered with fleece.
I used another piece of tubing and the fleece to make the neck for the puppet.
The final part is yet to come!
For the body I decided to just go with a cylindrical body with some accent modifications. I started out by using 1” foam for the body. A ½” deep cut/trench was made in the length of the foam at the bottom of the body. The neck opening was widened, and everything was glued in place. ½” foam was used to make the shoulders, arms, and a hemisphere for the hump on the back. A ring of tubing was formed for the base of the body.
The hump was then glued to the back using contact cement. Before finally sealing the hump to the back, I stuffed the hump with some poly-fill to give it structure and help retain its shape.
The body ring was then pressed into the ½” trench along the base of the body. This was then rounded and sealed by pinching it together with contact cement.
The shoulders were then attached and the unfinished edges crimped and rounded.
I wrapped the body in fleece, pining it to form around the shoulders and hump. This was then sewn together on the machine, making sure to leave extra material to wrap inside the neck and body. The body and arms were then covered with fleece.
I used another piece of tubing and the fleece to make the neck for the puppet.
The final part is yet to come!
Re: How I did it: Building my latest Puppet (picture heavy) Posted by jaysmith on Jan 25, 2010
Part V: Putting it all together!
Next, I had to look at attaching the hands. I knew I wanted to use arm rods, but I wanted them to be removable. So I decided to use the method that I had on some of my recent puppets. *There has been some discussion lately on how to do removable arm rods, so I’ll go into a bit of detail.
I used a segment of 1/8” polystyrene tube. You can get his at most of the better model/hobby stores. Place like JoAnns & Michaels do NOT carry it. I glued a smaller piece of styrene in place, closing off one end of the tube. I then hot glued the tube to the inside of the hand, making sure to place the open end to the bottom of the hand and allowing it to stick out just past the fleece covering. For arm rods I use 1/8” steel rod (spray painted black) epoxied to a ½” wood dowel that has been coated in plasti-dip.
The neck was stitched by hand onto the head. The arms were then glued (foam to foam) to the shoulders and likewise to the wrists. The fleece was then muppet stitched together at both the shoulder and wrist respectively.
Claws were then added to the hands. These claws were made from clear plastic spoons. Each spoon was cut half lengthwise and then trimmed down to 2/3 of their length. They were shaped using a dremel tool and then covered with four coats of black paint on the inside of the claw, leaving a shine to the outside. They were then hot-glued in place.
More of the feather hair used on the head was then added and stitched onto the wrists.
The puppet was now finished. I added more white fun fur to make eyebrows. A cloak made of crushed velvet was added to dress up the puppet that I decided to call Dracolith. (my wife thinks he looks like a dragon, which wasn’t necessarily my original intent, but he did kinda of turn out that way)
Thanks for taking the time to read through this. Please feel free to post any thoughts, comments or questions you have. I look forward to hearing what you think, so please, don’t be shy.
P.S. I’m thinking that I may need to go a different way in his cloak, something to offset the charcoal color. Maybe a red or a burgundy, I’ve even considered burlap.
Next, I had to look at attaching the hands. I knew I wanted to use arm rods, but I wanted them to be removable. So I decided to use the method that I had on some of my recent puppets. *There has been some discussion lately on how to do removable arm rods, so I’ll go into a bit of detail.
I used a segment of 1/8” polystyrene tube. You can get his at most of the better model/hobby stores. Place like JoAnns & Michaels do NOT carry it. I glued a smaller piece of styrene in place, closing off one end of the tube. I then hot glued the tube to the inside of the hand, making sure to place the open end to the bottom of the hand and allowing it to stick out just past the fleece covering. For arm rods I use 1/8” steel rod (spray painted black) epoxied to a ½” wood dowel that has been coated in plasti-dip.
The neck was stitched by hand onto the head. The arms were then glued (foam to foam) to the shoulders and likewise to the wrists. The fleece was then muppet stitched together at both the shoulder and wrist respectively.
Claws were then added to the hands. These claws were made from clear plastic spoons. Each spoon was cut half lengthwise and then trimmed down to 2/3 of their length. They were shaped using a dremel tool and then covered with four coats of black paint on the inside of the claw, leaving a shine to the outside. They were then hot-glued in place.
More of the feather hair used on the head was then added and stitched onto the wrists.
The puppet was now finished. I added more white fun fur to make eyebrows. A cloak made of crushed velvet was added to dress up the puppet that I decided to call Dracolith. (my wife thinks he looks like a dragon, which wasn’t necessarily my original intent, but he did kinda of turn out that way)
Thanks for taking the time to read through this. Please feel free to post any thoughts, comments or questions you have. I look forward to hearing what you think, so please, don’t be shy.
P.S. I’m thinking that I may need to go a different way in his cloak, something to offset the charcoal color. Maybe a red or a burgundy, I’ve even considered burlap.
Re: How I did it: Building my latest Puppet (picture heavy) Posted by LJ on Jan 25, 2010
I'm speechless!! What a treasure to have these pictures of your fabulous puppet and the process of building it!!! THANKS for sharing!! Please keep sharing with us!!!!! 
Re: How I did it: Building my latest Puppet (picture heavy) Posted by Kai2010 on Jan 25, 2010
Awesome Job 
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