Re: 8 Marionettes Posted by Abdolos on Jul 27, 2011
Thanks for all the comments and questions. I'll try to answer them now.
-The foam rubber and wood method is one that I've been working out on my own since I started building marionettes. I've always worked out of a spare room in an apartment block, so heavy power tools were not available to me. I also began working on puppets with almost no tools, so every step in my construction was developed to use only the most basic tools. My first marionette, Inkin, was built without power tools except for a glue gun. I think it was in 2006 that my parents got me a dremel for my Birthday, and it changed my life. Then in 2007 my brother got me a scroll saw for Christmas, which has also proven to be very useful. And just this last Christmas my parents got me this great little chop saw:
Which is really handy for cutting consistent angles, as you can see in the main torso spine piece in my last post. But the point is that the whole wood and foam rubber method was developed out of necessity. I didn't have the tools to do fine woodwork, nor the money to outfit a workshop, so I used the materials that were easy to work with. At one point I was even cutting dowel with the saw on my Swiss army knife. I knew that thing would come in handy! Also, I did take some puppet making workshops when I was about ten years old. We didn't make marionettes, but we did carve rod and hand puppet heads out of foam rubber, so I had some experience with that. Inkin's head, hands, and feet were made out of polymer clay, so he was already very heavy when I started making the body. The lightness of foam rubber suggested it as the construction material, and I went from there.
-I'm not sure what your concern is with the waist/hip mobility, Shawn, but there are definitely things that the puppet won't do. It's spine doesn't really twist, and it's back only curves a little. But I think it works well enough. I look forward to posting a video of my finished marionettes. Actually, I'm thinking about making a video of my prototype right now. Here's a couple of pictures of the prototype, which should have been included in this thread at the beginning:
-I do add a little weight to the marionettes. Actually, before you mentioned it I had forgotten to add the weight in the puppets' rear ends. I add a gram or two in the rear, and I've also added washers around the dowel for the upper arm near the elbow. The great thing about foam rubber is, as most of you know very well, that it is super light. Because of the low weight of the body, a small amount of weight added adjusts the centres of balance appropriately.
A picture I promised earlier of the simple tools I use to carve the foam-rubber:
-The foam rubber and wood method is one that I've been working out on my own since I started building marionettes. I've always worked out of a spare room in an apartment block, so heavy power tools were not available to me. I also began working on puppets with almost no tools, so every step in my construction was developed to use only the most basic tools. My first marionette, Inkin, was built without power tools except for a glue gun. I think it was in 2006 that my parents got me a dremel for my Birthday, and it changed my life. Then in 2007 my brother got me a scroll saw for Christmas, which has also proven to be very useful. And just this last Christmas my parents got me this great little chop saw:
Which is really handy for cutting consistent angles, as you can see in the main torso spine piece in my last post. But the point is that the whole wood and foam rubber method was developed out of necessity. I didn't have the tools to do fine woodwork, nor the money to outfit a workshop, so I used the materials that were easy to work with. At one point I was even cutting dowel with the saw on my Swiss army knife. I knew that thing would come in handy! Also, I did take some puppet making workshops when I was about ten years old. We didn't make marionettes, but we did carve rod and hand puppet heads out of foam rubber, so I had some experience with that. Inkin's head, hands, and feet were made out of polymer clay, so he was already very heavy when I started making the body. The lightness of foam rubber suggested it as the construction material, and I went from there.
-I'm not sure what your concern is with the waist/hip mobility, Shawn, but there are definitely things that the puppet won't do. It's spine doesn't really twist, and it's back only curves a little. But I think it works well enough. I look forward to posting a video of my finished marionettes. Actually, I'm thinking about making a video of my prototype right now. Here's a couple of pictures of the prototype, which should have been included in this thread at the beginning:
-I do add a little weight to the marionettes. Actually, before you mentioned it I had forgotten to add the weight in the puppets' rear ends. I add a gram or two in the rear, and I've also added washers around the dowel for the upper arm near the elbow. The great thing about foam rubber is, as most of you know very well, that it is super light. Because of the low weight of the body, a small amount of weight added adjusts the centres of balance appropriately.
A picture I promised earlier of the simple tools I use to carve the foam-rubber:
Re: 8 Marionettes Posted by Shawn on Jul 27, 2011
If you ever decide you do want more movement in abdomen area, might I suggest that you replace the center foam piece with a none stretch fabric. It looks top me like the backdrop you used for shooting your prototype might be muslin cotton which would be perfect for this and what I use. Using fabric in this area would allow the spine to both twist and bend over more. If the movement you get is satisfies your needs then there is no need to change this though. 
You are doing some amazing work and the fact that this is all happening in a small spare apartment room is even more impressive! What I really like about that fact is that it shows you don't need a bunch of fancy tools to create something great. It is one thing I try to impress on folks who are just starting out that you don't need to invest a ton of money to get things going. You just have to do it. The added tools like your scroll saw and chop saw do make things easier and faster but they are not required to do good work.
You are doing some amazing work and the fact that this is all happening in a small spare apartment room is even more impressive! What I really like about that fact is that it shows you don't need a bunch of fancy tools to create something great. It is one thing I try to impress on folks who are just starting out that you don't need to invest a ton of money to get things going. You just have to do it. The added tools like your scroll saw and chop saw do make things easier and faster but they are not required to do good work.
Re: 8 Marionettes Posted by Na on Jul 28, 2011
Great work as always - marionettes confuse the heck out of me, so I always enjoy seeing your posts and the processes you go through to make them. Makes me feel like I actually understand how they work
Re: 8 Marionettes Posted by Abdolos on Jan 18, 2012
Finally!
All the arms!
So just a quick review of this project: Make eight marionettes in 2011. 2011... Yup, last year. I blew the deadline, but I'm still working. I have a gallery show in May, so I've extended my own deadline a bit. I have started working on the legs for the marionettes, but I was delayed in the arms by the skeleton, for which I had to sculpt each finger separately.
Anyhow, here are some of the details of my recent work. You can see the construction of the elbows in my last post in this thread, so let's move right to the hands. For six of the marionettes, the hands rotate around the wrist 180 degrees, and look something like this:
It's different for the baby, who is designed primarily to crawl. The baby's hands bend back and forth to stay flush with the ground, and look like this:
Finally, and most complicated, the skeleton arms. Like the standard arms, they are designed to have rotating hands, but I wanted the bones to work like those in an actual skeleton, where it isn't the wrist that rotates, but the bones of the forearm:
And one last detail: The skeleton is going to break apart, so here is the shoulder with the pass-through strings that hold the arm in place:
That's that for now. As I said, I'm working on the legs now, which include feet that flex, so I've got lots left to do. Now that this post is up, I think I'll get to work.
All the arms!
So just a quick review of this project: Make eight marionettes in 2011. 2011... Yup, last year. I blew the deadline, but I'm still working. I have a gallery show in May, so I've extended my own deadline a bit. I have started working on the legs for the marionettes, but I was delayed in the arms by the skeleton, for which I had to sculpt each finger separately.
Anyhow, here are some of the details of my recent work. You can see the construction of the elbows in my last post in this thread, so let's move right to the hands. For six of the marionettes, the hands rotate around the wrist 180 degrees, and look something like this:
It's different for the baby, who is designed primarily to crawl. The baby's hands bend back and forth to stay flush with the ground, and look like this:
Finally, and most complicated, the skeleton arms. Like the standard arms, they are designed to have rotating hands, but I wanted the bones to work like those in an actual skeleton, where it isn't the wrist that rotates, but the bones of the forearm:
And one last detail: The skeleton is going to break apart, so here is the shoulder with the pass-through strings that hold the arm in place:
That's that for now. As I said, I'm working on the legs now, which include feet that flex, so I've got lots left to do. Now that this post is up, I think I'll get to work.
Re: 8 Marionettes Posted by Angel in Tx on Jan 18, 2012
I can't even comprehend this! 
So amazing!!! 
So amazing!!!
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