Styles and types of puppets / puppetry Posted by Pletoo on Mar 23, 2010
I am working on a project and need to make a series of trading cards. The subject matter covers a wide array of material, and I thought types of puppets and / or styles of puppetry might be an interesting category. Each series includes 8 - 20 cards and each card has a picture and 2-4 interesting facts or trivia.

I was thinking about types of puppets such as finger, hand, human arm, marionette, shadow, vent...any more suggestions? Also where might I find some pictures of examples (especially well known ones) and some information to pull trivia from? (Someone else has already done several series of Jim Henson characters doing the Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock so I don't want to use those characters.)

Thanks a bunch
Re: Styles and types of puppets / puppetry Posted by Abdolos on Mar 24, 2010
I'm guessing that what you mean by a "human arm" puppet is the muppet-style of puppet that is most popular around here, but I always thought that this kind of puppet was referred to as a Hand and Rod Puppet.  Sock puppets are a kind of hand puppet, of course.  Rod Puppets are their own class, usually operated from below, though there are ones operated from behind or above.  Some people count Body Puppets in there, while others would say they're just costumes.  There are puppets you wear on your head, called Head Puppets, unsurprisingly.  Bunraku Puppets are a sub-class of rod puppets operated from behind, sometimes referred to as Full-View Manipulation Puppets.  Limberjacks are those dancing wooden men, and I've seen a dog version of this type, too.  Object Puppets are simply things that you manipulate like a puppet.  That last one amuses me, because you could have a picture of pretty much anything you wanted on the card.  As for the other pictures- Google it, baby!
http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=Puppet+pictures
Re: Styles and types of puppets / puppetry Posted by Na on Mar 24, 2010
'Human arm' does usually refer to muppets, with a glove instead of foam/stuffed arms (usually because it's easier for a human to pick up objects with their hands than to try to make the puppet's hand do it)

You may wish to check out my section of descriptions of various puppetry types:
http://www.schoolofpuppetry.com.au/tutorials.php/what-types-of-puppets-are-there
Some include pictures, or links to sites with pictures.

You may also wish to look at the geographics; each puppet type can differ depending on where it's used and the history behind its use in various countries/cultures.

I love the idea of trading cards! Great way to teach the younger generation about puppetry too
Re: Styles and types of puppets / puppetry Posted by Pletoo on Mar 25, 2010
Wow - great list, thanks, Na!
Re: Styles and types of puppets / puppetry Posted by LJ on Mar 25, 2010
I agree - GREAT list! I printed it off!
Re: Styles and types of puppets / puppetry Posted by Na on Mar 25, 2010
Glad you like it - worth mentioning that there's a glossary there somewhere too, that I've been adding to over time. Maybe worth a look too.
Re: Styles and types of puppets / puppetry Posted by Nikole H. on Mar 26, 2010
Don't forget Rod, Bunraku, and Shadow puppetry. :D

xoxo,
Nikole
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