Hi, I wanted to stop by and introduce myself after weeks of lurking this site!

My name is Lizzie and I'm a massive puppet enthusiast. I have always adored puppets and have always collected ventriloquist dolls, marionettes etc. I have spent the last few years designing characters for my business, Lizzie's Lair, but could never get my head around how to make my designs speak. After trawling web sites, I finally designed and completed my first puppet. As a consequence, I've realised I have much to learn! I am really excited to discover what techniques other people use and how I can improve my designs.

If I could ask one question to start with... I am looking for a product to create arm rods for my new puppet. All the wires I've seen mentioned are too light for my puppet given his size/weight. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could use?

Also, (and I apologise if this is a stupid question) I can't work out how to upload a photo to my profile. Any advice on how I do this? 

Many Thanks!

Lizzie

Shawn will be along soon to explain all the forum stuff, but in the meantime: welcome!

There are other threads discussing how to make rods and what to use. I note you're in Australia - so am I! What I do is use a short piece of dowel, drill a hole at one end, then insert/superglue some coathanger wire. Coathangers do tend to bend a little, but I've found it's easier and cheaper than searching for piano wire, which seems to be the most recommended (search the forums for piano wire, there are already good explanations as to what it is).

There is another way to think about it: maybe the puppet is too heavy for the rods. What kind of puppet is it? If it's something like a muppet, you shouldn't need to worry too much about the rods having to hold up the puppet.

PS. Please do post some pics once you've gotten used to how this site works. We love sharing pics!

Hi Lizzie, as Na said, shawn is the best to explain the ins and outs of the site, but one thing that's handy is that if you want to be kept in the loop on a subject you make a comment, even a short and simple one, then you get notified by email if there i a reply. It saves you missing something if you don't have time to "lurk."
That's part of what I'm doing right now as I'm looking forward to seeing more of this puppet and learning more about a fellow Australian puppet enthusiast!
Welcome
Scoob

Hi Lizzie, as Na said, shawn is the best to explain the ins and outs of the site, but one thing that's handy is that if you want to be kept in the loop on a subject you make a comment, even a short and simple one, then you get notified by email if there i a reply. It saves you missing something if you don't have time to "lurk."
That's part of what I'm doing right now as I'm looking forward to seeing more of this puppet and learning more about a fellow Australian puppet enthusiast!
Welcome
Scoob

You can actually also subscribe to the RSS for the site. Even if you don't comment, you can still follow along.
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php?type=rss;action=.xml

Welcome to Puppets and stuff

Welcome Lizzie!

To upload an avatar for yourself you need to go to your Profile. There are a couple ways to get there. In the left column on most pages you'll see a box that says "Hello Lizzies Lair" when you are logged in. In that box is bold link to "Profile".   Also to the left of each post you make it shows your name and some info about you. Your name leads to your profile.

Once you get to your profile page click on Forum Profile Information under the Modify Profile heading. At the top you select "I will upload my own picture:" and then browse for it on your computer.

P.S. I noticed you had uploaded images to the Gallery.  I went ahead and picked one and used the "I have my own pic:Specify your own avatar by URL." option in your profile to use it.  You can change it if you want.

He is so cute- a koala baer? I use the strongest florist wire (black steel) but then again my puppet is much smaller. Welcome here!

Many thanks for the warm welcome! I know I am going to enjoy hanging out here and getting know each of you and your puppets. Thanks for suggestions re. my first puppet. I have taken your advice and am working on the rods this afternoon.

I'm really excited to see some Aussies on here! I bought more fur today for my next puppet (yes, I'm that keen!) as I can't source Antron fleece locally. It will be awesome to learn who your suppliers etc are.

Scubasteve, I have uploaded a couple of pics to my gallery and will upload some more shortly. I note their is a cloth doll section here... Is it okay to upload some pics of my other designs too?

Rikka, I was thinking he's more of a yeti type character. A koala is a cool idea though. Maybe one for later!

Shawn, thank you so much for fixing my picture. I did try those options however all I got was a teeny box where the avatar should have been. I don't profess to be awesomely techno savvy so thanks again!

Really looking forward to getting to know you all better!

Lizzie

He looks great, and HUGE, I love the scale of him! He might make a good bunraku puppet too. Does he open at the back of his head or half way up his back?
I like the three headed dog too.
Scoob

Lizzie,
Your welcome. Sure we would love to see some of your other creations. We have a few other doll makers on the site also.