I’ve never done anything with puppet creation before but found one at the thrift that i would like to try “reskinning”. Im struggling to find anything on the best way to go about it, any good sources?

It’s a hand & rod style puppet person if that helps!

I'm going to be doing some performing in the next few weeks, and I've gotten fascinated by the Kazakh art form of playing the Dombyra with a string tied to your finger to control a dancing horse puppet/orteke.

I don't have a ton of time to find something, so figured I would ask here... Anyone have any advice on where to find a simple dancing puppet I could find that would be either controllable by my feet or by a string tied to my finger? No worries if not, I know its a weird ask!

Hello, I would greatly appreciate any advice for a pokemon puppet that I am currently making. I'm making Joltik right now, and i'm making it life size. The issue I have come across is trying to make all 4 eyes blink. I honestly cant think of a way to accomplish it right now. Any advice on how to get all 4 eyes to blink would be greatly appreciated, (or should i just give up on all 4 and settle for 2?)

Hello! I'm working on a creature puppet for a short film, this is the first time i've ever tried to create a puppet, I'm a cosplayer by nature, but I was wondering how I could go about creating an articulated eye mechanism.

The creature only has one eye, located o the side of his head. The eyeball itself is about 28mm in diameter, it's flat on the back end but allows a screw to be inserted. I'm thinking of just sticking a dowel in the back of it, But I'm unsure what mechanism exactly I'd use to keep the eye in place while rotating it. I was thinking I could 3d print something, but I'm not sure if theres an STL available for what I'm looking for, and I'm not a 3D designer. Any help/ideas would be much appreciated, thank you!

Hey! I'm teaching a puppet making class for 9-12yr olds in October.

I was wondering if there were any things you folks wish you'd known earlier about making puppets? (Other than how expensive it can get lol!)

Thanks!

I've been training my arm for a couple years now, long holds, arm circles, shoulder presses, grip strength while in the air, and the best I've been able to do is increase my endurance from about 1 minute to five minutes, still far too short for my ambitions. (And those last couple minute are trembling, drooping, burning pain, NOT conducive to a good performance)

Also of note, I've recently had a clean physical and bloodwork so I don't think there's any underlying health issues that would explain it.

My shoulders are pretty tight, I've been doing stretches to try and help with that.

Anybody else who managed to overcome similar struggles would be really welcome info

Hey so ive been looking more into other Henson Works like Labyrinth and Dark Crystal and this other REALLY obscure movie called Mirror Mask, and the Puppets in this movie are less about them looking like Muppets (Debateable of course for Labyrinth) and more just like regular Creature Design, but how can i do the same for my works instead of just really Aping off of Muppets? let me bring up my examples

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0K5T0AqVlY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiUt5HuW3xc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DPU2w_XCAk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaH6cOR8NKc&pp=ygUVZGFyayBjcnlzdGFsIHB1cHBldHMg

I’ve had an idea, and need a sanity check. I have been thinking of creating an animatronic shoulder puppet that has a Keep-alive/automatic animation mode, and a “puppeteer” mode where I can control the character in real time. Something like a parrot or a fire lizard. I’ve also thought of making Devil and Angel shoulder demons as a possibility once the kinks are ironed out and the bugs squashed.

The puppet would be used with cosplays and fairly close up interaction, like wandering through a crowd. I’m thinking a Bluetooth remote, perhaps emulated with a phone app as well. The remote would need to fit in a pocket or otherwise concealed with the costume.

I’m one of those “make it do all the things” guys, but I know it’s unrealistic with my other constraints and available technology.

My questions:

1. I’m a maker on a budget so I want to go as cost effective as possible. What kind of components would you recommend that blend quality with a low price?

2)puppet mechs abound; so it’s likely just a matter of connecting said mech to a servo, hanging it on an appropriately sized skeleton, and covering it with cosmetics. I’ve got a working knowledge of the puppetry side, but I’m a little light on the electronics and programming. What free-ish courses would you recommend as a starting point?

3. practical concerns— how can I maximize the performance aspects while keeping the weight down? Do I need to worry about overheating? What about batteries and maintenance?

Hey there! I’m looking for any resources for how to build larger scale puppets. Ones that you can wear or use puppet arms to move. Preferably, no 3-D printer use Thanks in advance!

You can find the video of my progress so far here for context.

I'm basically reaching out for advice or suggestions:

(1) What should I make the body from? It will probably be a simple sleeve that I graft onto the head somehow, but I'm torn about what materials to use. Cloth? Cloth, but with some carefully placed foam clay for details? Plastic? A combination?

(2) How would I seamlessly graft the body to the head, since no matter what it's probably going to look like the head and the body are going to be made from vastly different materials?

(3) Around the back-edges of the mouth, as I mention in the video, I'm trying to make some kind of musculature, or give the appearance that the two jaws are joined by some sort of stretchy material that is mimicking musculature. Scientifically I've heard them referred to as "carsonines" or "buccal flaps." I'm trying to figure out what the best way to go about this is. I don't want to make it like they did in Jurassic Park, where it's just a piece of plastic that folds in the middle and gives the illusion of stretchiness, I actually want to see if I can replicate that look inexpensively. I've trying to use something like nylon or maybe upholstery foam, but I'm not having a lot of luck.

(4) I think I've going to make the tongue, and the back of the throat, from strips of upholstery foam, so that it's squishy and has some springiness that allows the puppet mouth to still open and close with ease. Is that a good idea, or does anyone have thoughts on that, like alternatives or something?

(5) I'm basically open to any other suggestions you might have.

Middle is original character.

I played with this beautiful puppets on the top floor of the Plzen (czech republic) puppetrymuseum. Would really like to recreatie him but have no idea where to start.