Wilting leaves.... zip tie hands.... Ok there is an image in the Gallery that shows the zip tie hands and how they are done... I just saw it the other day.... now who's was that?  Any how they glued a long zip tie to the foam and then at each "knuckle" they glued a small piece of tubing about 1/2".  You run a line/string through these tubs and when you pull on it the piece of foam "wilts". Ahhh... I found the picture! Thought it was from Out of the Box Puppets.


I know a lot of folks use pvc pipe to make the base structure of Audry because it is cheap and easy to find at the hardware store. About the only other thing I can think of would be aluminum pipe or strips but it is hard weld and work with and cost more.

Thank You!

I too am very proud of our little community here.  Each and everyone of you make it a great place to be a part of! 

Have you tested the scarlet on the nylon yet?  It might be just right. Isn't there a Cherry red?  I would think that would be a good candidate.

While you can dye nylon often with rite dyes this site suggest that you use Jacquard Acid Dyes.
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/nylon.shtml

This site shows the differences of how Tangerine in Rite effects some different fabrics. http://www.ritdye.com/dyeing-techniques/tips-success

They are called counter sink bits. Here is a listing of them on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=552396 There are different types depending on what you want to do.  Notice that some have a "normal" bit as part of them. Those are common sizes for counter sinking screws in stuff where you want the head to be flush or set down a bit in the wood or material you are working with. I would imagine you are looking for one of the larger ones you see on the page if you are looking to set the eye flush with the foam ball.  You just have to figure out the diameter you are needing.

Love the new site!  I only have one complaint. You did not list P&S on your link page.

I bet it it more a matter of "demand".  I am sure the ratio of Muppet type puppet builders to shadow puppet builders is pretty big.   I wonder if you would have more luck selling a package or book of patterns vs the individual patterns. A Muppet type pattern is pretty generic and thus can be used for the base to a multitude of characters. Your shadow patterns are very specific characters. Let's say the average beginning shadow puppet builder is looking at creating puppets for a show. Firstly you would need to have all the specific characters they where looking for and secondly if you do the cost to buy all of them may be beyond their means.  Any time I have built a shadow show we have had between 25 to 100 puppets in the show.

I think also that it is easier for folks who build a shadow puppet to "see" the pattern. They may not feel they need a pattern. The resources I looked for when building shadow plays where silhouettes.  It was the outline I would often struggle with.  Once I could find that the actual puppet was easy for me. I have several books of silhouettes in my library.  The total cost of those would be perhaps that of 3 or 4 of your individual patterns. Each book has anywhere between 500 to 1000 silhouettes. Granted they are not all usable for anyone show. 

I think the big thing though is back to the demand thing. There are just a lot more demand for Muppet type puppets then there is for shadow puppets. You you are doing things right in this regard with the way you have been marketing thing I believe. By doing the videos and teaching people about shadow puppetry you are in essence creating a larger base of clients that might want to buy from you.

I don't think you need the ones you fine in a hardware department. They are normally designed for power tools and the PSI settings are most likely much higher then you need for airbrush work.  You would have to check your airbrush manual to see what PSI it wants.  A compressor that does allow you to change the PSI would be a good thing. A reserve tank is also nice since it only runs when it needs to refill the tank. Wish I could give you specifics on brands but I don't know them well enough.

Looks great! Beatriz is really great at this.  She really captures the puppets very well!

Luck!   I feel your pain Billy.  I think the best thing to do would be to try and build a jig that could hold the ball on each side then have a couple pieces of wood on the top and down that created a groove you could cut down.  The blade would be guided down the groove so you did not cut on a diagonal.  Does that make sense?  I never built one but that is how I would approach it if I had to do a lot of them.  I normally just try to eyeball it as best I can. 

Another idea that came to mind as I typed would be to find one of the clear plastic ornaments that the ball fit into real sung. if you placed the ball in 1/2 of the plastic ornament you could draw a line to cut on or use it as a guide to cut along.