Pattern free! (or 'Loosening the training wheels!') Posted by kelso on Jul 23, 2012
That's right, I'm working on building my first puppet without a pattern... or without someone else's pattern, anyway!
Wow, this is both stressful and exhilarating!
Here's where I'm at thus far:
http://puppetbuilding.blogspot.com/2012/07/beak-plate.html
I started with the shape of a soda bottle for the head, though you can hardly tell due to a few small errors along the way. And tonight I fashioned the beak plate through good old fashioned trial and error (and cursing)! But I think I'm off to a good start!
I'm winging it here and trying a lot of things I have never before attempted. So any advice would be greatly appreciated! The plan is to make him a glove arm puppet. That doesn't worry me too much as it seems fairly straightforward... but I am apprehensive about covering him with fabric.
Wow, this is both stressful and exhilarating!
Here's where I'm at thus far:
http://puppetbuilding.blogspot.com/2012/07/beak-plate.htmlI started with the shape of a soda bottle for the head, though you can hardly tell due to a few small errors along the way. And tonight I fashioned the beak plate through good old fashioned trial and error (and cursing)! But I think I'm off to a good start!
I'm winging it here and trying a lot of things I have never before attempted. So any advice would be greatly appreciated! The plan is to make him a glove arm puppet. That doesn't worry me too much as it seems fairly straightforward... but I am apprehensive about covering him with fabric.
Re: Pattern free! (or 'Loosening the training wheels!') Posted by Rikka on Jul 23, 2012
I don't know why it is just called "try and error"- I think the cursing is part of that process, too... 
. You seem to be doing nicely on your own, though1
. You seem to be doing nicely on your own, though1Re: Pattern free! (or 'Loosening the training wheels!') Posted by Lola on Jul 24, 2012
Looking really good so far!
The only thing I would mention is that the mouth seems to be closed "at rest". It might just be pinned for the pic (can't tell), but I know for most people, it's easier to "close" the mouth while they are controlling the puppet (i.e. the mouth naturally hangs open at rest, and you use your hand to close it) than it is to "open" the mouth (i.e. the mouth is naturally closed at rest, and you use your hand to open it.)
It's totally up to you, but it's something I forgot when I was trying to make my first pattern on my own, which is why I'm throwing it out there.
The only thing I would mention is that the mouth seems to be closed "at rest". It might just be pinned for the pic (can't tell), but I know for most people, it's easier to "close" the mouth while they are controlling the puppet (i.e. the mouth naturally hangs open at rest, and you use your hand to close it) than it is to "open" the mouth (i.e. the mouth is naturally closed at rest, and you use your hand to open it.)
It's totally up to you, but it's something I forgot when I was trying to make my first pattern on my own, which is why I'm throwing it out there.
Re: Pattern free! (or 'Loosening the training wheels!') Posted by kelso on Jul 25, 2012
Thanks for the encouragement guys!
Wow, good call. That's something I hadn't considered. I checked this evening and you're spot on- the mouth is closed when at rest. I'll have to take that into consideration when I'm designing the next one. Thanks for the tip!
Tonight I covered the beak in fabric. Whew. What an experience that was. In order to keep the beak as seamless as possible, I cut the fabric to the appropriate shape and used the hot glue gun to attach it.
http://puppetbuilding.blogspot.com/2012/07/covering-beak.html
In retrospect, that may not have been the best approach. The points of the beak are bunchier than I would have liked and on the right side of the top beak (pictured above) the yellow fleece and black felt didn't quite meet, due to a miscalculation on my part. I nearly threw it out and started over from scratch, but my fiance talked me out of it. It turned out pretty well... though not as well as I might have liked. I have to keep reminding myself that this is my first attempt and a learning experience.
Posted by: Lola on Jul 24, 2012
Looking really good so far!
The only thing I would mention is that the mouth seems to be closed "at rest". It might just be pinned for the pic (can't tell), but I know for most people, it's easier to "close" the mouth while they are controlling the puppet (i.e. the mouth naturally hangs open at rest, and you use your hand to close it) than it is to "open" the mouth (i.e. the mouth is naturally closed at rest, and you use your hand to open it.)
It's totally up to you, but it's something I forgot when I was trying to make my first pattern on my own, which is why I'm throwing it out there.
Wow, good call. That's something I hadn't considered. I checked this evening and you're spot on- the mouth is closed when at rest. I'll have to take that into consideration when I'm designing the next one. Thanks for the tip!
Tonight I covered the beak in fabric. Whew. What an experience that was. In order to keep the beak as seamless as possible, I cut the fabric to the appropriate shape and used the hot glue gun to attach it.
http://puppetbuilding.blogspot.com/2012/07/covering-beak.html
In retrospect, that may not have been the best approach. The points of the beak are bunchier than I would have liked and on the right side of the top beak (pictured above) the yellow fleece and black felt didn't quite meet, due to a miscalculation on my part. I nearly threw it out and started over from scratch, but my fiance talked me out of it. It turned out pretty well... though not as well as I might have liked. I have to keep reminding myself that this is my first attempt and a learning experience.
Re: Pattern free! (or 'Loosening the training wheels!') Posted by Rikka on Jul 25, 2012
Look at it this way: for a first try this is pretty cool. Here we say: "Es ist noch kein Meister vom Himmel gefallen!" -No Master has ever fallen from heaven/sky (in German we have only one word for both)- This is something I need on the wall, too!
Re: Pattern free! (or 'Loosening the training wheels!') Posted by Shawn on Jul 25, 2012
Always cut your fabric a bit larger then you need it. You can always trim off the excess once you get it in place. In the case of a mouth what you can actually do is wrap the skin (yellow fleece in this case) around the edge and onto the mouth plate. When you are rounding a curve like on the tips of your beak you can cut small little triangles in the edge of the fabric. This reduces bulk and lets you get a smooth edge. Now since you have wrapped around the edge onto the mouth plate you need to put your black felt in last. The thing is it is easy since it is a flat surface and you can cut your black felt exactly the shape you need!
In the case of a mouth what you can actually do is wrap the skin (yellow fleece in this case) around the edge and onto the mouth plate. When you are rounding a curve like on the tips of your beak you can cut small little triangles in the edge of the fabric. This reduces bulk and lets you get a smooth edge. Now since you have wrapped around the edge onto the mouth plate you need to put your black felt in last. The thing is it is easy since it is a flat surface and you can cut your black felt exactly the shape you need!
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