Hello all,
I have a question about arm weight. When I am building a puppet I like to add wireinside the hand so that the hand can be put into different poses as required. I usually use foam or stuffing in side the arm, and attach the arm rod on to the wire inside the hand.

The only thing is that if one arm rod is not used (or dropped by me as I'm new to this whole puppeteering business) then the arm hangs straight down. Is it assumed that the puppeteer will never drop the arm rod? or is it important for the arm to be lighter weight so that the arm doesn't look so bad if one rod is not being used? Or should I just always only use one rod till I get a bit better and safety pin the other one on to the body while not in use? and if so then should I also make the arm rods detachable so that if one arm is not being manipulated then it doesn't have an arm rod on it?

 

There is nothing wrong with one arm hanging to the side of the body in my opinion. Pretty common really.  I think it is better to have the arm free rather then pin it to the body.  The more movement and animation there is the better. The arm that is hanging is still going to move some when you move the puppet and that is a good thing!

Is there something to the thought that maybe it's the way the arm is attached - that a certain positioning might let the arm hang at a more natural-looking position? For instance, it might not be about weight or the rod, but about the shoulder?

Na,  Yes I guess that could make a difference. If anything I think you want the arm to hand straight down or slightly to the back of the body.  Most methods I can think of attaching an arm would result in this. If you made the connection too tight or if the costume is restrictive that could affect things also.

On a marionette you have more control because of stringing and I normally would string so that the arm in it's nuertral position is to the side with just a slight bend to the elbow. This is accomplished because of the elbow and hand strings.  I guess you could try and accomplish the same with a hand in mouth puppet by using the technique they use on Big Bird to string the "dead" arm so it hanging off the bottom of the chin/beak. You could try an run through string to the other hand.  I think that perhaps both methods might restrict things when you did want to use the arm though.

If you perform behind a stage you should not lean your arm weight on the stage but you can rest the puppet wrists on the stage top so that the rod holds the arm down in place and then as you move the puppet side to side you get implied movement that looks very nice.  I usually rest the wrists on the top and then I can pick up one rod or the other as needed from that position. Think about what you would do with your arms if you were standing behind a fence, you would probably have your hand on the fence and not straight to your side.  Play with it and see how you like it.

Na,  Yes I guess that could make a difference. If anything I think you want the arm to hand straight down or slightly to the back of the body.  Most methods I can think of attaching an arm would result in this. If you made the connection too tight or if the costume is restrictive that could affect things also.

On a marionette you have more control because of stringing and I normally would string so that the arm in it's nuertral position is to the side with just a slight bend to the elbow. This is accomplished because of the elbow and hand strings.  I guess you could try and accomplish the same with a hand in mouth puppet by using the technique they use on Big Bird to string the "dead" arm so it hanging off the bottom of the chin/beak. You could try an run through string to the other hand.  I think that perhaps both methods might restrict things when you did want to use the arm though.

Thanks. It's what I thought, and actually I just remembered that I probably did attach shoulders incorrectly on one of my moppets, so it hung kind of awkwardly. I guess it's worth tacking the shoulder or using removable joints, and that way you can re-adjust if necessary?

thanks for replying folks!
yes, I've let this question ubmble about in my head for a while now, and I think you guys are right to question the shoulder fastening. I think I need to bulk up the shoulder, perhaps add some foam construction in there in order to get the arm to hang down, but not straight down like it looks dislocated or something.

I do have some doll joints to try out, but I think that would make the upper arm stick close to the body, so... maybe I won't use them, or maybes i'll try it and see and then re-do if I don't like it...

and I get what you mean about sitting the arm on the fence, but the problem on my puppets would be that the arm isn't springy enough to look natural.

Thanks for the input guys! great help!

In The Foam Book, they recommend adding a shoulder to the body, and the arm hangs underneath. Imagine a shoulder-pad pinned to the body area and you've got the basic idea. That may help make the arm look like it's sitting more naturally and perhaps help with the way you're attaching them.