Nice work! I really like how the colors show up! The rod attachment is an awesome idea! Do you make the rods out of wire similar to clothes hangers? Again - nice work and I love the movement!!

Can't wait to see some of the other characters. And by spin, I think I was meaning the reversing you referred to. Very cool.

Nice work! I really like how the colors show up! The rod attachment is an awesome idea! Do you make the rods out of wire similar to clothes hangers? Again - nice work and I love the movement!!

Thank you

I love the colours too. I just went a bit crazy at a local supermarket and got a couple of different kinds of document folders. I aimed for vibrant colours as much as possible.

The rod attachment, I worked out this morning, is an idea I came up with two years ago! It was at the National Puppetry Festival in Atlanta. It's interesting that I've spent a whole year thinking about how to improve something that I invented 2 years ago; maybe that's a sign that it can't be improved upon

The rods are coathanger wires inserted into a thin piece of dowel. About 16cm of wire to 20cm of dowel (non-metric I can't calculate at the moment). The end of the coathanger wire is bent into a flat loop - more like a thin rectangle than a loop. This inserts into the elastic loop that runs through the puppet. The rod is also coated in a matte black paint, although I'm not sure I'll paint the rods for this next batch of puppets.

Can't wait to see some of the other characters. And by spin, I think I was meaning the reversing you referred to. Very cool.

I have half of my characters already worked out, and there's some good ones in there. I even have a couple of super-heroes planned!

Ah, spin = reversal. Maybe I should create a handbook with terminology in it Honestly, I just love sitting there flipping the puppet back and forth. I think it's just a great added feature that's not only practical on a performance level, but also just plain fun to do

Do you think you might be able to get some nice movement in between two silk sheets? Spining would not be possible, of course, but maybe some little stuff... I don't know, just an idea. And I REALLY wish there was a way to increase the speed of "broiling down ideas"...

Do you think you might be able to get some nice movement in between two silk sheets? Spining would not be possible, of course, but maybe some little stuff... I don't know, just an idea. And I REALLY wish there was a way to increase the speed of "broiling down ideas"...

I'm not sure what you mean - the puppet is operated directly from behind, so the only way to insert it between two sheets is to work from below. And that's not how I want the puppet to be operated.

... In other news, I have found a local supplier (in the same state even!) of plastic sheets. I received the order yesterday, and they're very cheap (a few bucks per sheet, and they're like, 1m long X 50cm wide), thin but flexible, and come in a range of colours (white, black, opaque colours and transparents). I've been playing with a small cut off piece all day and am really happy with it. I'll be able to start making these new puppets very soon!

Cool! They will be great as always, I am sure.
 Sorry, I thought all shadow puppets were operated from below. I was wondering how you did it... So it does make more sense. And of course, the idea with 2 sheets would never work.

Cool! They will be great as always, I am sure.
 Sorry, I thought all shadow puppets were operated from below. I was wondering how you did it... So it does make more sense. And of course, the idea with 2 sheets would never work.

Most Asian ones are worked from below, and I think some of the European traditions do too. However, I'm using a modern method, which means the puppets are attached to rods at 90 degree angles to the body (hold your arms out in front of you like you're a zombie, that's basically the best way to imagine it).

This makes the rods/arms less visible, as well as giving more control over the puppet. However it does make the use of scenery slightly more tricky; having the puppet between two objects might be possible, but I've never thought about it before. The only times I've seen this same rod method used before, I've not seen background scenery used in conjunction with it, so I'm not even sure how to do it.

Maybe with a frame and strings?

Maybe with a frame and strings?

You mean a backdrop? That could be done if I had something to fly backdrops with, like a booth or a theatre. But again, the issue is the puppeteer - I'm not sure if they'd be seen or not because of the lighting. If I had the opportunity and time, I'm sure I could think of a solution, but right now I don't have either.