From a quick crash course of youtube tutorials, I've found that alcohol inks can be used on non-porous material like glass, metal, and acetate/transparencies - which is what I'm going to try out.  You mix drops of ink with an alcohol solution (or just rubbing alcohol, it seems). This tutorial gives a pretty good overview and covers what i think could be adapted for shadow puppetry design.

I wouldn't be using as much ink; I'd just aim for an "ink-wash" so hopefully light would still pass through it and maybe try to create some sky/seascapes, or just to add some accents of colour where I'd otherwise use cellophane or similar.  It'll probably take a bit of trial and error to get right, but I reckon it's worth experimenting with.

Wow, I love this idea of using the inks. The video is ideal for me, as I've been working/thinking on a way to do a wayang kulit or Chinese shadow puppetry tutorial, using paints on acetate. Do let me know how you get on - I'd be *very* keen on seeing the outcome.

I'm pretty sure it would work too. I've done watercolours on thin white cardboard and the colours come out well, although you have to make sure they're strong colours as they 'dim' depending on how thick and opaque the material is. See below. I actually think inks on acetate will achieve a much better outcome.

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https://youtu.be/0RII68Y_JmI

WOW, Na, that is totally awesome! I love the misty look and the illusion of etheralness. And the music fit so well. GREAT! Thanks for sharing!

She's beautiful, Na!  & I love how expressive she is. 

I think the opacity of your goddess is great and gives her that illusion of etheralness as Rikka says. 

It'll be interesting to see how inks compare to watercolours so I'll give it a go over the next couple of weeks and keep you posted.

Thanks guys, glad you like it. It was my first puppet using that technique and I have to say it came out really well. The colours work especially because I painted it both sides (not as easy as it sounds), which also boosted the level of strength of colour.

Can't wait to see your first example!

Are you planning to do more puppets in this style, Na?

No, I'm moving into other areas based on lowering costs and time to produce. Making this puppet - not inclusive of time to find an image and make a 'pattern' to work from - took about 16 hours. My new lot of puppets will be more durable, more professional, and cheaper/easier to make.

EDIT: Incidentally, and just because, here's a pic of another puppet I had intended on selling. There were problems with the design in terms of the articulation and location of rods, and it never quite worked the way it was supposed to. But you can see the puppet side-by-side with the pattern I used, which was both an outline and location of joints, as well as a guide for where colours would go and the strength of shading. Again, this puppet was painted on both sides. As you can see, it's more complicated than it looks, hence the change of direction to simpler designs.

Wow, I imagine! The goddess and this guy look chinese?

Yes, that was the point. The technique was inspired by the Chinese shadow puppets. Instead of using animal hide and paints, I used cardboard and watercolours.

Although personally I think the male puppet looks too much like Santa

Maybe because he is clad in red? But I figure that red is the colour that shows best, blue or green hues would probably tend to get blurry.