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Best Puppet Making Ideas For Simple, Inexpensive Puppets

Written by admin in How To,Uncategorized

Puppets can be made from a wide variety of materials including paper bags, socks, toilet brushes, spoons, foam, fleece, wood filler, latex, paper mache and anything else you want to bring to life.

Puppets can be made out of a wide variety of materials. You are some puppet building materials to collect and be on the lookout for. 

Some of the materials, such as bandanas shirt towels and socks may need to be washed. Others like plastic bottles containers will need hot water and soap. Mold will not make puppets look better.

Materials you can use to make puppets:

  • Plastic soda or water bottles
  •  PVC pipe
  • Wooden dowels
  •  Scrap paper especially construction paper
  •  Old or worn-out shirts or towels 
  •  Bandanas
  •  Buttons
  •  Cardboard
  •  Popsicle sticks pipe cleaners and other wires
  •  Cardboard tubes especially aluminum oil tubes and toilet paper
  • Tennis balls
  • Old medicine bottles

Some of the tools and materials you will need to build your puppet include:

  • Contact cement
  •  spray adhesive
  •  hot glue
  •  Scissor
  •  Raise
  •   needles and thread
  •  needle-nose pliers with wire cutters
  •  a ruler

 Tennis Ball Puppets

 Materials:

  • Tennis balls
  •  Sharpies or other markers
  •  utility knife or razor blade

Tennis ball puppets are easy to make and use, but there is one step you must do. Each tennis ball must be cut along the middle, using your knife or you or razor blade.

Make a straight cut along the center of each tennis ball. The cut should go a little more than halfway around the ball. And it is best to cut with the seams of the ball, rather than across them.

The cut serves as a mouth. Squeeze the sides of the tennis ball to make the mouth open. Release tension to make the mouth closed. If you find it difficult to open the mouth, make the cut go a little farther around the ball, but do not overdo it.

Future can be added with your Sharpies or other markers. You may be tempted to glue on buttons for eyes and ribbons for hair but I have found things glued on to round surfaces don’t tend to stay there for long. Markers may not be as Dynamic, but the features will last.

This is a fun classroom project. Give each student a tennis ball with a mouth and a few assorted markers. They can then add facial features to the tennis balls. When the students are finished, they can practice making their mouth open and close.

 A good practice exercise is to divide the students into pairs. Then have each pair use the puppet to tell knock-knock jokes. Knock-knock jokes provide a simple, predictable form for learning how to synchronize mouth movement with dialogue.

Rod Puppets

Rod puppets are easy to make and leave plenty of room for creativity.

Materials:

  • Tennis ball
  •  Utility knife or razor blade
  •  16-inch length of 1/2 inch PVC pipe or wooden dowel
  •  Bandana
  •  1 wire coat hanger
  •  Needle-nose pliers with wirecutter
  •  Two rubber bands
  •  Black Sharpie marker

Rod puppets are controlled from below usually by three rods. One rod controls the head and supports the body while the other two rods control the arms.

Since most rod puppets do not Bend at the waist, it’s most do not have visible legs and feet, movement is slightly more limited than a marionette. But puppet head and arm gestures can be very fluid, dramatic, and intensely meaningful. They are also easy to learn to use.

 There are many different ways to make Rod puppets. The steps that follow are for a very simple version along with some ideas for how to make them more complex. Just remember the more time you spend making the puppets, the less time you have to play with them.

  1. Cut a 16 inch length of PVC pipe or wooden dowel
  2.  Make a 1-inch by 1-inch X shaped cut in the tennis ball using your knife or razor blade. The first cut is easy but then all the air pressure escapes from the ball, and the second cut will be more difficult. Be careful!
  3.  Place the bandana over the top of the PVC pipe so that it hangs over evenly in each direction.
  4.  Slide the tennis ball over the bandana covered PVC. The x-shaped hole in the tennis ball should be firm enough to hold everything in place
  5.  You can use the Sharpie to give the tennis ball facial features or leave the figure without a face. Convincing eyes will not make the puppet come to life nearly as well as the convincing technique.
  6.  Cut a wire coat hanger into 2 equal lengths using the wire cutters.
  7. Using the pliers, make a very small loop at one end of each rod and a longer loop at the other end of the rods. The longer loops will serve as handles for the puppeteer
  8.   To make hands, tuck of one of the rods into a corner of the bandana and secure it tightly with a rubber band. Do the same for the other hand.

 To operate Your Rod puppet, one hand will hold the head stick and move the head. Your other hand will hold the two arm rods and manipulate the hands and arms. This will take practice, but soon you will be able to create life with your puppet.

Wooden Spoon Puppets

Spoon Puppets

Wooden Spoons can often be found at thrift shops and yard sales. You may also find them at Dollar Stores for as little as 3 for a dollar. 

 Gluing google eyes or drawing eyes on the spoon along with other facial features you have created a simple Rod puppet. Yarn or pieces of fur can be glued to the top of the spoon as hair.

 This is now a puppet but you may want to add a body to your spoon pop it. By wrapping a bandana or piece of cloth around the Stick of the spoon and attaching it with thread or glue you know have a little body for your puppet.

Spoon puppets are simple, but they can be a lot of fun and with imagination can be used to tell stories and engage your audience.

Sock puppets.

Sock Puppet

Sock puppets are very common and easy to make. They can be a little more detail than the rod puppets mentioned above.

To make a sock puppet, you will need:

  • A sock
  • Cardboard
  • Duct tape
  • White glue or other  spray adhesive
  • Googly eyes or construction paper
  • Yarn or fur
  • Felt
  • Pom-poms

To make your sock puppet 

  1. Turn your sock inside out.
  2. Trace the toe of the sock unto the cardboard. you will want a U-shape about 3 in Long. You will need two of these.
  3.  Tape the two cardboard pieces together. Join the square ends and use the tape to make a hinge. This is your mouth plate.
  4. Glue just the toe edge into the hinge of the mouth plate.
  5. Turn the sock right side out, forming a mouth around the mouth plate. You should now be able to place your hand in the puppet and create mouth movements.
  6. Make yes out of construction paper, or felt and glue to your puppet. You may also use google yes if they are available.
  7. A pom-pom can be attached for a nose.
  8. Animal ears may be made from felt or construction paper and glued on.
  9. Yarn or fur can be used for hair.
Royalty-free photos from Getty
Sock Puppets

Use your imagination and you can create some fun and interesting sock puppets.


Medicine Bottle Puppets.

Materials:

  • 2 medicine bottles
  • Construction paper or craft foam
  • Cardboard
  • Felt
  • Cloth

Take two medicine bottles of the same size and tape or glue them together. Slide your fingers into the two bottles. Using your thumb as a mouth, you now have a puppet.

  • Cover the bottles with construction paper or cloth to cover the labels.
  • Glue two pieces of construction paper or craft foam to the ends of the bottles for eyes and add pupils with a marker, or by gluing on smaller circles of paper or foam. You could also use googly eyes. Your puppet just got fancier. 
  • Take your cardboard and make two U-shapes about the width of the bottles and just as long. Using duct tape, create a hinge, joining the square ends of your U’s together. This is your mouthplate.
  • Take a 1 inch strip of construction paper and make a tube that fits around your thumb. Glue this to one half of your mouth plate.
  • Glue your mouth plate to the medicine bottles.
  • You can now slide your fingers into the eyes and move the mouth plate with your thumb.

You may wish to glue felt , construction paper or cloth inside your mouthplate and even add a tongue.

Everything is a puppet!

As you look around, you will find everything can be a puppet. My daughters once turned the plastic centers of scotch tape dispensers to make two eyes, and with felt, toilet paper tubes and cardboard made a simple, yet pretty cool puppet. They were 6 years old at the time.

How To Sculpt A Puppet Head In Clay For Casting In Latex

Written by admin in Latex Puppets,Uncategorized

The first step to making a latex puppet is to sculpt the had in plasticine clay.

To sculpt a puppet head in clay, you will need:

Clay Modeling Tools royalty free image from shutterstock
Clay Modeling Tools
  • Five pounds of plasticine.
  • Clay modeling tools
  • A kitchen knife
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • A brush which is just a regular paintbrush
  • Cardboard with a hole cut in it.

To sculpt our head, we’re going to be working with oil-based clay, like plasticine using modeling tools, and sculpting a realistic face. It’s a good idea to wear an apron when you’re working with oil-based clay because your hands can get very greasy.

I’m recommending five pounds of Plasticine because with that you can build a basic head shape that’s comfortable for you to get your hand inside because remember your hand goes inside the puppet head and you will be operating the mouth from inside.

Sculpting the head for a puppet. shutterstock royalty free picture
Sculpting the head for a puppet.

First, you’re going to put the plasticine together in a basic head shape. And as you do that, put it together with small pieces at a time.

Push them together to compress them so that there are no air bubbles or air pockets trapped inside the Plasticene. This can cause difficulties. When you get into casting your head with plaster of Paris, it will create bubbles in the plaster so you keep building up your head with plasticine and until you get a basic head shape.

Save half a pound of your Plasticene to use for features and building up the chin and cheeks.

Now the neck size is very important. I cut a hole in a piece of cardboard. I want to make sure that when I model the head, the neck is large enough to take my hand.

You can make the neck wider, but you can’t make it any smaller because what’s the point of making a wonderful puppet head that moves if you can’t get your hand into it?

After you have the basic head shape, use the half a pound of plasticine you saved to add the features.

You are now ready to sculpt the head with the features. Sculpting the head is the most important step in building this kind of puppet.

Remember that whatever you model in the plasticine will be replicated in the plaster mold that you’re going to do next. So you want to make it as smooth as you want to make it or if you want it textured, that’s fine too. Whatever you model in the clay, you will get in the plaster.

So the first thing to do is to determine where the features are going to go. It’s a good idea to draw a line right down the face so you know the center of the face. Then draw a line where you want to put the eyes. The eyes generally are in the middle of the height of the face.

So you have a general idea of where the features are going to go. And as far as the ears are concerned, usually they go on an angle, they don’t go straight up and down, they sort of go on a tilt at the side of the head.

Start by taking away some Plasticene here across the forehead at the bridge of the nose and also a little bit at the side where the temples are. The face is generally a little bit flat on the side of the head.

As you go along, you can keep picking up the pieces of plasticine that you’ve been taking off and reusing them.

Scoop out where the eye sockets are going to be. You scoop out the eye sockets and you do it on both sides.

Add some Plasticene on for the brows across the top of the eye socket.

Add some eyelids to the eye sockets. Just take a little bit of Plasticene to shape the eyelids and press it into the Plasticene. Build your eyelids above and below the eye socket.

Once you have the brows on, you are going to put a nose on. You want to be building up the cheeks and the chin a little bit at a time. And if you don’t like it, you can start all over again.

And the whole time you want to remember to work the Plasticene into the main body of the head so that everything is anchored there and it’s not going to come off.

When you’re working with Plasticine, you just press it into the plasticine that it’s going onto. Then just kind of work it into the basic head shape with your thumb and press it down or take it away. You can add and subtract all the time with plasticine. It’s a very forgiving medium.

When you work with the Plasticine, it gets very warm from the heat of your hands and much easier to work with.

All the time that you’re modeling, the character is starting to come out. The look of the puppet helps establish the personality of your puppet.

Sometimes it’s helpful to look in some reference books of photographs just to get some ideas. But you don’t need to have a fixed idea when you’re building your character.

Sometimes, it’s just interesting what comes as you add another feature or another contour. It takes your puppet into another dimension or direction. Sometimes it’s great just to start with a totally open mind and see what happens.

A kitchen knife is very, very useful in smoothing down the plasticine as you go. It really, really works and makes things a lot faster. You can just use the flat edge of the knife and just push down that Plasticene and things will go a lot faster.

Remember the whole time to turn the head and look at it from all angles.

Add more Plasticine for cheeks and build them up. Do it a little bit at a time. Building up with little bits of Plasticine.

Somewhere along the way to make things easier and because we’re going to cast the head this way, we’re going to take the back of the head off.

When you’re casting it, you put the head with the crown of the head down into the bucket and then pour plaster over it.

Do the top lip and then do the lower lip. This is the most important part of the puppet.

Because it’s a rubber headed puppet and you want the mouth to move, it has to be modeled open.

It doesn’t have to be in a big gaping open expression, but it has to be slightly open so that the rubber will go into the inside of the mouth. And when you open the mouth, there will be actually rubber inside the mouth.

You can add your teeth and tongue to the inside of the mouth if desired. Teeth should be solid on the back and slope into the top of the mouth. Straight up and down teeth may not cast well, particularly if they are large.

Create a right triangle with the Plasticene, with a long side and a short side. The front side will be your teeth and the long side (not the hypotenuse, will be against the roof of the mouth.

You can keep adding to the cheeks and chin to get the look you want.

To make an ear, make a circle of plasticine, which you will flatten into an ear. It doesn’t hurt to put on these shapes in a rough state because you are going to smooth the features out before you cast it. Remember the ear goes on at a slant.

Make sure it’s well anchored onto the head. And then behind the ear, you can put in a little extra bit of plasticine so that it’s built up at the back.

To smooth the head, use rubbing alcohol and a brush. Dip the brush into the alcohol and brush it onto the plasticine. You can smooth it out using the rubbing alcohol and your fingertips.

You can still add some little wrinkle lines or little detail lines, but when it’s pretty smooth, it’s ready to be cast in plaster of Paris.

Sculpting the head is the most important part of creating a great latex puppet head. Take your time and be sure to get exactly the look you want.

You can use this exact same method for sculpting hands, paws and feet for your puppets.

FOR DETAILS ON CASTING YOUR CLAY HEAD IN LATEX AND CONSTRUCTING YOUR PUPPET, CLICK HERE

How To Make A Latex Rubber Arm and Rod Hand Puppet Head

Written by admin in Latex Puppets,Uncategorized

Latex Puppet Head

Building a latex rubber puppet is not difficult. Latex creates some opportunities to make puppet characters that fleece and foam do not.

There are eight steps to building a latex puppet head.

  1. Sculpting the head
  2. Casting the head
  3. Pouring the rubber
  4. Preparing the head for painting
  5. Painting the head
  6. Wigging the head
  7. Building the body
  8. Costuming the puppet

MATERIALS NEEDED:

  • Hydrocal – this is a quick setting plaster. It sets harder than plaster of Paris
  • Mask Making Latex – you will need roughly 2 1/2 cups. It should have a medium viscosity.
  • Acrylic Paints – you will need black and white and then other colors of your choice
  • Contact Cement – You will need contact cement to attach things to the latex head
  • Brushes – Use acrylic brushes. Size numbers 2,4 and 6 are excellent choices for painting the head
  • Electric heater with fan – This is optional but can speed up drying time for the latex rubber

The eight steps are sculpting the head, casting the head, pouring the rubber, preparing the head for painting, painting the head, wigging, building the body end, costuming.

Detailed instructions are available and each section will contain a link to those instructions.

STEP 1: SCULPTING THE HEAD

For this step you will need 5 lb of oil-based clay, such as Plasticene, sculpting tools, a kitchen knife, rubbing alcohol, a brush, a piece of light card and scissors.

This is the most important step in building a latex puppet head. Take your time and you will do fine. If something doesn’t look right, you can always do it over.

This is the step where you define and refine your character.

You may want to pick up a few library books on sculpting. With a little practice, you can make what you want.

Be sure to look at your sculpture from all angles. Your puppet needs to look as good from the sides as from the front.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SCULPTING YOUR PUPPET HEAD IN CLAY: CLICK HERE

STEP 2: CASTING THE HEAD

For casting the head, you will need plaster, water, a bucket for mixing,
a cardboard box, an electric heater (optional).

The back of the head of the clay sculpture is cot off to allow the sculpture to lay flat in the cardboard box.

Plaster is poured over the sculpture and allowed to dry. An electric heater may be used to speed drying.

Once the plaster is solidly set, the mold is removed from the box and the clay is removed. The inside of the mold is then rinsed with water and is now ready to cast the latex head.

STEP 3: POURING THE RUBBER

The mask-making latex is poured into the mold. Fill the mold and rotate the mold to get latex into all the nooks and crannies. You want the fine details of your sculpture to be filled with latex. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

Pour the latex out of the mold and back into its container. Latex will remain in the mold. Allow this to dry. An electric heater may be used to speed up the drying process.

Repeat the above process 3-4 times. Each time you do this, your puppet head will get thicker and thicker. You want a nice thickness for a durable puppet.

You may now remove the head from the mold. Start y shaking the mold and this will release most of the head. Then carefully peel out the rest of the head.

TIP: Before pouring the first layer of latex, you may want to color the latex with water-soluble acrylic paint. Only the first layer needs to be colored.

STEP 4: PREPARING THE HEAD FOR PAINTING

After you remove the head from the mold, you will need to prepare it for painting. Rinse any plaster that remains from the head.

Trim away any excess latex from the head. Cut the neck open so your hand can come up from the bottom.

You will need to fill in the hole where you cut away the back of the head to lay it in the box. You can use 1/2″ upholstery foam and make a shape like you would a foam head puppet.

You may prefer to get a 4″ cube of polyfoam and trim it down to shape with scissors. Attach your head piece with contact cement.

STEP 5: PAINTING THE HEAD

To paint your head, use acrylic water-soluble paints. You can airbrush or hand brush your puppet head.

You can do a base coat all over the head and then add to that your darker and lighter skin tones.

You want to put the paint on in thin layers. Dip your brush in water to thin the paint a little as you apply it. You don’t want to put it on thick because the rubber is flexible and the paint dries like plastic, and, it has a tendency to flex off it applied too thick.

STEP 6: WIGGING THE HEAD

Royalty free pic Yarn hair
Yarn puppet hair

You have your painted head and you’re going to wig it. So what you need are a variety of wigging materials to choose from.

You can use an actual wig, which can sometimes be found at thrift stores or you can use costume wigs.

You can also use feathers, fake fur, yarn or angora wool.

Additionally, you can add eyeglasses, jewelry, fur eyebrows, moustaches and beards at this step.

feather puppet hair
Feathers as hair on a puppet.

STEP 7: BUILDING THE BODY

Now to make a foam rubber body and arms. And make rods for the arms, making the body. You need:

  • One inch thick foam sheets
  • Contact cement
  • Straight pins
  • Coat hangers for arm rods

The basic body will be a tube of foam roughly 12 inches tall. After you make the tube, cut 2 V-shaped notches directly across from each other on what will be the top of the body.

The notches should be about 1 inch wide and in the shape of an equilateral triangle, all sides being one inch.

Using contact cement, glue the notches closed. This will give you a bit of a taper at the top of the body. Your arms will be attached at the notches.

Make the arms of your puppet by making tubes from the foam. The tubes should be roughly 1″ in diameter. The arms should be the same length as the body.

Put a notch in the arm tubes where the elbow should be. This will allow your arms to bend. Attach the arms to the body with contact cement. You may want to taper the top of the arm before attaching for a better fit.

Posable puppet hands
Wire inside hands allow fingers to be posed.

Attach the hands to the arms. FOR COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS ON MAKING PROFESSIONAL HANDS AND ARM RODDS, PLEASE GO HERE.

STEP 8: COSTUMING THE PUPPET

You may cover your puppet body with fabric if desired. If you will be putting clothing on your puppet, a fabric body covering may not be needed. Only exposed parts of the body need to be covered with fabric.

You can make your own puppet clothes or you may purchase toddlers clothing. Thrift stores have a wide selection of 18 months to 2T clothes you can choose from.

If you made an animal puppet, you may choose to cover the puppet with fur and you will not need clothing.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SCULPTING YOUR PUPPET HEAD IN CLAY: CLICK HERE

What Are The Different Kinds Of Puppets?

Written by admin in Arm&Rod Puppets,Latex Puppets

What Are The Different Kinds Of Puppets

There are many, many kinds of puppets. Puppetry is the art of bringing inanimate objects to life. Almost anything can become a puppet in the hands of a creative person.

Types of puppets include:

  • Marionettes, which are full-body puppets controlled from above with strings
  • Hand Puppets where the puppeteer’s fingers operate two hands and the head. Mr. Rogers made these popular
  • Shadow puppets where silhouettes are projected onto a screen
  • Stick puppets. Here, a picture is glued to a tick and may or may not have moving parts.
  • Sock Puppets are made out of socks decorated to look like animals or people.
  • Hand Bag Puppets are basically a stick puppet placed through the top of a small bag. One hand controls the stick, the other becomes the puppet’s hand.
  • Rod and arm puppets. These are the Muppet style puppets where the mouth is controlled by the puppeteer’s one hand while rods control the arms.
  • Your Hand. Wenceslao Moreno, better known as Señor Wences, made a puppet out of his hand for his ventriloquist act. He put eyes and clothing on his hand and used it as a puppet.
  • Finger puppets. These are small puppets that slide onto your fingers
  • Glove puppets. These are puppets where your fingers control 4 legs and the head. They are basically a glove made to look like an animal.
  • Ventriloquist hard figures. Charlie McCarthy is the classic example of this. They are carved out of hardwood and the mouth, eyes and other features are controlled by a stick coming down from the puppet’s head.

Not only is puppetry a very fascinating art form, but it’s also a unique communication tool. Whether you’re a performer or a teacher or a therapist or somebody who just wants to have fun.

Speaking through a puppet can be a very effective way of expressing yourself. You can say things as a puppet that you wouldn’t say as yourself.

Puppetry is an art form has been around for a long time. It’s this oldest storytelling. In fact, it’s quite ancient. Ancient.

Puppets can be as appealing to adults as they can to children and they can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be.

What is a puppet?

A puppet is an inanimate object, which a puppeteer moves in such a way as to give it life.

There are many, many kinds of puppets. In fact, because it’s a folk art, anything’s possible.

Let’s look at some basic types of puppetry.

Hand puppets Pixabay stock photo
Hand puppets are easy to make, easy to use and kids love them.

Hand Puppets

The simple hand puppet is a type of puppet which is operated from below with one hand. Usually, it’s the index and third finger in the neck, the thumb in one arm and the fourth hand, little finger in the other arm.
This means that if necessary, the puppeteer can perform with two characters at the same time and the hand puppet can pick up things.
It’s a good type of puppet to choose. If the audience is very young, the body stops mid-arm or at the wrist.
Hand puppets are easily transportable and can be easily stored.

Marionettes Pixabay
Marionettes

Marionettes

The marionette is a full body puppet, which is animated from overhead with controls that move strings attached to its body parts.

The controls can be quite complex and practice and skill are required to bring the Marionette to life.

This type of puppet can be very delicate or complicated in detail and is appealing to a more sophisticated audience.

Although the Marionette should be as light as possible for the sake of the puppeteer, it’s necessary to weight some parts of the body, particularly the feet, because while it’s the string that lifts the legs. It’s gravity which lowers it.

Shadow Puppets

istockphotos shadow puppets
Shadow puppets of mermaid and sailing ship and shadows of kraken and deep sea fish.

Shadow puppets involve backlighting and a screen of fabric or paper.

The puppets are usually two dimensional and operated in silhouette from behind with rods.

Colored Cellophane used in the design of the shadow puppets can introduce color into the puppets for a pleasing effect.

This type of puppetry can be very effective in presenting simple tails, magical illusions or abstract imagery.

Rod and Arm Puppets

Purple Puppet
A Rod and Arm puppet is controlled with one hand operating the mouth and the other hand operating rods attached to the arms.

The rod and arm puppet is usually operated overhead, although it can be used on a platform or table. This kind of puppet has rods attached to its moving parts like arms and legs.

The puppeteer’s hand is inside the head to make my mouth move. It takes both hands to operate this puppet and sometimes a second or even third puppeteer is needed to help out if you want everything to move at the same time, this puppet lends itself to large scale puppet characters.

Sock Puppets

Adobe stock photos
Sock puppets are fun to make and easy to use.

Sock Puppets are made out of socks decorated to look like animals or people. They are usually made from an actual sock.

A sock puppet will have a mouthplate inserted into the stock to make the mouth action. Eyes, hair and other accessories and decorations are added to create interesting and colorful characters.

Sock puppets are easy to make and an excellent craft for children. Couple the puppet building with some puppet performance and you have a fun afternoon for the kids.

Glove Puppets

Glove Puppets, like the Bee Puppet above, incorporate all four fingers into operating the puppet. These can become very animated and very entertaining.

Small children like them because they are so easy to operate. Yet, professional ventriloquist Taylor Mason uses a small pig glove puppet in his act.

Finger Puppets

istockphoto royalty free finger puppets
Small finger puppets can be a story teller’s best friend.

Finger puppets are often purchased as toys, but they can be great for storytelling. n imaginative storyteller can have several characters on his or her fingers to illustrate a story.

Stick Puppets

istockphoto stick puppets royalty free
Fun Popsicle Stick Animal Puppets

Stick puppets are just pictures glued to a stick. These are the easiest puppets for children to make.

You will be surprised how much fun it is for children to draw pictures for their puppets or cut interesting photos out of magazines.

Make a small stage from a shoe box and the kids will have fun all afternoon.

stock photo ventriloquist
Ventriloquist Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney

Ventriloquist Hard Puppets

Ventriloquists have traditionally used carved wooden puppets in their acts. Today, soft puppets are becoming more and more popular with ventriloquists.

Hardwood (and even paper-mache) ventriloquist figures have a rod coming down from the head and into the body of the figure. The puppeteer places his hand through a hole in the back of the figure and operates the controls.

The controls open and close the mouth. Other features which have been incorporated into various ventriloquist figures include moving eyes, blinking eyes, moving eyebrows, wiggling noses and even water squirters to make the puppet spit. Ewwww!

The popularity of the Muppets has made soft ventriloquists puppets more popular, as many different characters can be created than can be carved out of wood.

istockphoto finger puppets
Even your hand can become a puppet.

Your Hand As A Puppet

Your hand can become a puppet. Just opening and closing your hand creates a puppet movement. You can make your hand talk.

Wenceslao Moreno, better known as Señor Wences, made a puppet out of his hand for his ventriloquist act. He put eyes and clothing on his hand and used it as a puppet.

Make a fist and your thumb can become a puppet mouth. Add eyes and lipstick and you have a puppet.
Make a fist and your thumb can become a puppet mouth. Add eyes and lipstick and you have a puppet.

Anything Can Be A Puppet

Spoons, toilet brushes, stuffed animals, and anything else can be a puppet.

An object becomes a puppet when you impart life and personality to it. Parents sometimes make a toy animated to entertain and quiet an unhappy baby.

A blanket folded to resemble a baby in a blanket can become a puppet when held over your shoulder. Movement and baby noises can create the illusion you are actually carrying a baby.

Want to make people scream? Once you’ve convinced them you have a baby, drop or throw the blanket.

Those are just a few of the puppets that are used. There’s many, many more. Building puppets is only limited by your imagination.

What are puppets made out of?

Puppets can be made out of cloth, latex, foam and even spoons. Almost anything can be turned into a puppet if you have imagination.

A latex head puppet has a very flexible face. When the mouth moves and the puppet speaks in sync with the puppeteer’s voice, the audience finds it very easy to believe that it’s a person and not a puppet.

A puppet character whose head is made out of latex rubber is a very good type of puppet for both theater and television.

A foam head puppet, like the Muppets, has a foam rubber head, foam rubber body, a hinged mouth so that the most can open and close. It’s usually covered with a fabric, such as Antron Fleece.

It can be either be a hand puppet or a hand and rod puppet. It can also become an animal character or a human character.

It has a movable mouth and the face is flexible. The body is made out of foam rubber and the arms are on rods. It’s a hand and rod puppet.

The real secret to puppetry though is not what the puppet is made of or how it is constructed, but the performer’s ability to bring it to life.

Be sure to check out these articles on puppet manipulation.
Puppet Training – Learn the 5 Basic Skills for Great Puppetry HERE
How To Create Life With Your Puppets: Puppet Manipulation HERE

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How To Make A Puppet Mouth

Written by admin in Arm&Rod Puppets,How To

The mouth of a puppet must be strong to ensure your puppet will hold up to continued use. The shape of the mouth defines the character of a puppet.

To make a great puppet mouth, you will need:

  • A pattern
  • Foam Core Board or other thin strong material
  • Contact cement or spray adhesive
  • Felt for the inside of the mouth
  • Cloth for the inside of the puppet
  • Foam or elastic for finger tubes
  • Craft foam for teeth and tongue
  • Gaffers tape to connect mouth plates

Your Pattern

All great puppets start with a well-built mouthpiece. This will consist of top and bottom plates that are hinged together with gaffer’s tape or duct tape.

If you buy a puppet pattern, it will include the pattern for the mouth plates. If you make your own pattern for the puppet, you will also need to make a mouth pattern.

Once you have assembled your head, you can place cardboard or craft paper inside the mouth where your mouth plates will go. Trace the shape of the mouth and you have a pattern.

If you don’t have a head pattern and are building up your puppet head from the mouth, you can easily make a pattern. Take a square of craft paper and fold it into quarters.

Draw a quarter circle on the paper and cut out. This will give you a circular or oblong shape when unfolded. Cut the shape in half and you will have your top and bottom patterns.

You can then trim one of the pieces to make an underbite or overbite. This will add character to your puppet. You may also just leave them identical for a more symmetrical mouth.

Cut Out Your Mouth Plates

Mouth plates cut out of foam core.

I usually use foam core board for my mouth plates. It is rigid, yet light and easy to cut to shape.

Other materials you can use for your mouthplate include corrugated plastic like they make signs out of, plywood and rubber gasket. Some puppet builders use cardboard, but in my opinion, cardboard is a horrible choice. It can break down so quickly and overs little strength to your build.

You can also use plastic from storage tubs or plastic coffee can lids.

Trace your pattern onto the foam core, or whatever material you are using. Foam core can be cut with scissors or a razor blade. Always mark the center point of both plates on the edge. This will help align the mouth when you attach it to the puppet.

Connect The Top And Bottom Plates

You will use gaffer’s tape or duct tape and fabric to hinge the mouth plates.

When attaching the top and bottom plates, leave about a 1/4″ gap between the pieces. This will leave room for the felt you will place inside the mouth later. It also allows better movement of the mouth.

Lay the pieces out flat, with your gap and apply a piece of tape across. Then fold the mouth shut and tape the other side.

You must have the mouth closed when you add the tape to the part of the mouth that will be inside the puppet. If you leave it flat when you tape, the mouth will not close properly.

Mouth plates covered with denim. Notice the gap between the two plates.

Once you have the plates taped, you will want to cover the mouth plates with fabric. I like to use denim from old jeans, but Tshirt cloth or any other material will work.

Spray the part of the mouth that will be inside the puppet with spray adhesive. With the mouth closed, wrap your fabric over the mouth and let dry.

Once the glue has dried, you can trim the edges of the cloth evenly with the edge of the mouth. This layer of cloth makes a stronger mouth and also protects the foam core from sweaty hands.

Apply The Inside Of The Mouth

Adding the material which will be the inside of your puppet’s mouth is easy.

Spray the inside of the mouth with spray adhesive. Place this on a square of felt that will be the inside of the mouth.

After the glue has dried, trim around the edge of the mouth and voila, you have a perfect mouth.

Attach Finger Tubes Or Elastic Bands

Finger Tubes

Finger tubes can be made out of foam. Make a tube from a piece of foam about 1″ wide and 5 ” long. The length of the strip will depend on the size of your fingers.

Place two tubes side by side on the top of the mouth. These should be glued together and glued to the mouth plate.

When using this set-up, the puppeteer puts his/her first and third fingers in the tubes and the middle finger on top of the tubes.

Put another tube on the bottom plate for your thumb. This tube will usually be a little bigger than the finger tubes.

Finger Straps

Instead of the tubes, you may decide to place straps across the top of the puppet mouth. 1″ elastic works great for this.

Attach the elastic band to the top of the mouth with contact cement. The band should be slightly longer than the width of the mouth. You do not want the strap flat across the mouth plate. Rather, you want a slight gap to slide the fingers in.

You may also use an elastic band on the bottom plate. for the thumb.

As an alternative, you may decide to use a strip of foam for your top strap. Make it loose enough to easily slide in your hand, but tight enough to give a good grip. The foam will have some stretch and should fit tight.

The advantage to straps of foam or elastic is that puppeteers with various size hands can use the puppet. On a custom build, this is especially wise. Your customer probably does not want a puppet with finger tubes sized for your fingers, unless they have the same size hand.

Leather and Plywood.

Some builders make their mouthplates out of craft plywood. This is the thin birch wood sold for model airplane building.

Once the plate is cut out, leather straps are cut for the top and bottom plates. Holes are drilled and the straps attached with rivets. The plates are hinged together with a strip of leather. This makes a very strong mouthplate.

Strengthen Mouth With Fabric

Thumb tube glued in place and covered with cloth.

Once you have your finger tubes in place, Spray adhesive over the top of the mouth and lay a stretchy fabric, like a T-shirt over the top. This will help keep everything in place and give you a very durable mouth.

T-Shirts can be bought very cheaply at a yard sale or thrift store. The cotton material works great for this step. You can also use scrap fleece.

MAKE A LONG-LASTING MOUTHPLATE WITH SCULPT OR COAT® To make a long-lasting mouthplate for your puppet, cover the finger tubes and entire mouthplate with a stretchy fabric. T-Shirts work great for this. THEN apply a thin layer of Sculpt or Coat®. Make sure the Sculpt or Coat® soaks into the fabric. This will triple its strength for a long-lasting mouth mechanism.

Puppet Teeth
Puppet teeth and tongue made from craft foam.

Add A Tongue

To add a tongue to the inside of your puppet’s mouth, cut a heart shape from felt or craft foam. Round the bottom of the heart. This can be attached with spray adhesive or contact cement.

You can also carve a tongue out of a piece of soft foam. This can then be colored with a sharpie marker.

Add Teeth

You may or may not want to add teeth. Teeth can be carved out of 1/2″ or 1/4″ foam or cut out of craft foam. If using craft foam to make the teeth, glue a piece of 1/4″ foam on the back of the teeth. This will give you a place to put glue to glue the teeth to the inside of the mouth.

For detailed instructions on making puppet teeth, see my article HERE.

Attach The Mouth To The Puppet Head

You can use hot glue or contact cement to attach the mouth to the puppet.

To attach the mouth, line up the center of the mouth with the center of the puppet. Attach the mouth here first. Then, you can work the puppet foam around the edge of the mouth, lining it up as you go.

Depending on the look you want, the mouth plates can be glued to the inside edge of the foam head or flat onto the 1/2″ edge of the foam. I prefer to place it on the inside and leave a little lip area. This is personal preference, though.

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Puppet Training – Learn the 5 Basic Skills for Great Puppetry

Written by Dennis Regling in Puppetry,Uncategorized

Good puppetry requires mastery of basic puppeteering skills. Proper handling of your puppet during a show will create life and believability. This will create a more interesting and memorable program for your audience. Great puppeteering is engaging and fun to watch. Poorly handled puppets are not.

The five basics to puppeteering are:

  • Entrances and Exits
  • Height & Position
  • Lip Synchronization
  • Eye Contact
  • Believable Actions

Entrances and Exits

The first important basic of puppetry is entrances and exits. A puppet should appear to walk up on stage just as a person would.

If you start your puppet towards the back of the stage, held low, and gradually raise the height while moving the puppet to the front of the stage, it will appear to be entering from afar. This is very natural.

If you just have the puppet pop up at the front of the stage, that is weird. Very unnatural.

The puppet can also come in from the side, raising it one little hop at a time as if climbing stairs. With each little bounce, the puppet will finish “one step” higher. You can exit the same way, wiht the puppet going lower with each bounce.

The bounces should not be large but should convey the idea the puppet is taking steps. Unless you are Neil Armstrong, on the moon or Tigger of Winnie The Pooh fame, you should not be bouncing high when you walk.

Always put a little hop in the movement to create the illusion that the puppet is taking steps.

Older puppets will move without a lot of bounce while younger puppets will move a little faster and bouncier. Lots of energy is what a little girl or boy should have. Not all puppets enter the same way.

Animals move differently than humans do. So animal puppets should move differently than human puppets. Animals will be bouncy, if they are puppies and move slowly if they are larger animals.

Strange entrances and exits like elevators, escalators and trap doors are distracting and detract from your performance. Your entrances and exits need to look like entrances and exits. Anything else is just bad puppetry. The only exception to this is if the elevator, trap door or escalator is pertinent to your script or the puppet’s personality.

Height And Positioning

The next basic is height and positioning.

If the puppet is too low, it looks bad and it usually means someone’s arm is getting tired. You need to keep your puppet at the proper height. How high should it be? Belly button level. If the puppet had a belly button, it should be even with the level of the stage. That way we can see the entire puppet.

If the puppet is held too low, you can end up with just a head peeking over the stage. If held too high, the puppeteer’s arm may be exposed. Puppets of the same age should be on the same eye level, as in a child talking to a child. If one puppet is older, like a grandfather to a child, the younger would normally be a little lower.

The puppet should never lean on the stage. It’s distracting. It looks bad. It doesn’t allow them to move their arms and the stage could fall. Try to keep the puppet about a foot back from the front of the stage.

Tired arms are usually the reason for leaning the puppet against the stage. I know I have been guilty of this. Regular rehearsal and exercise will help you strengthen your arms and hold the puppet up longer. Good arm strength is important to good puppeteering.

Knowing how quickly arms can tire when puppeteering, there are a few things you can do to help your team.

  1. Keep skits short, or work in spots for puppets to exit the stage and return later.
  2. When lip-syncing to music, keep the songs short. A one to two-minute song is great, but a four-minute song or longer can be grueling.
  3. Upbeat music can allow the puppet to move around more. Even when holding the puppet up, the ability to move the arm around and even up and down a little helps prevent fatigue.
  4. Use appropriate size puppets. Larger puppets are heavier and wear out your arm quicker. Adults can use large heavy puppets, but children may not be able to. My 9-year-olds prefer a 14″ puppet with no foam in the body. They are light and easy to use. My wife and I use larger 20″ puppets, but even then, my wife often switches to a lighter puppet to do songs.

Lip Synchronization

Our next basic is lip synchronization or lip-sync correct. Lip Sync is opening a mouth one time for each syllable.

Lip sync or lip synchronization is moving the bottom jaw for each syllable. The mouth is closed before the word begins and that it stays closed when the word is finished. Don’t leave your mouth open or you will bite your words. You need to open your mouth on the syllables. Not Close it.

Avoid flipping the lid. When puppet speaks, we should drop the lower jaw and keep the head stationary. People talk by moving the lower jaw, not the upper pops.

One way to control the movement of the top of the head is to place your middle finger on top of your index finger inside the puppet. Try it now without a puppet and move your hand as if a puppet is speaking. Notice how the upward movement is naturally restricted by this hand placement.

Do you always open your mouth the same amount when you speak? No question here. I move my mouth a lot more when I yell. Your mouth movements need to be appropriate to the words that you are saying.

For yelling or laughing, the mouth should be wide open. For normal talk, about half way and only a slight opening for whispering.

Eye Contact

Proper eye contact is looking where you’re supposed to. You have to see who you’re speaking at. Focus on the audience. The eyes will be pointed down at the audience if the audience is lower than the puppet stage. You don’t want to be staring at the ceiling. When two puppets are on stage together, they need to look at each other and the audience.

When one puppet is speaking, the other puppet should be looking at them. The puppet doing the speaking will be looking at the audience. When the non-speaking puppet looks at the speaking one, this cues the audience to also look at the speaker.

If the speaking puppet is looking at the non-speaker and the non-speaking is looking at the audience, the audience will be subconsciously drawn to look at the one facing them.

Believable Action And Movement

The fifth and final basic is believable action and movement.
Believable action is bringing your puppets to life. Everything your puppet does should be believable and he should look alive. Keep your movements very expressive.

You can throw back the head and open the mouth wide to laugh or hang the head down to show sadness. Looking up and away can signal the puppet is being evasive and avoiding answering a question.

Arm rods allow a puppet to point or clap. The puppets we build also have articulated hands that can hold props. Hand and arm movement can convey information and emotion.

One of the keys to bringing life to your puppet is to keep moving. Don’t stand still like a statue. A nonmoving puppet is a dead puppet. Little nods of the head while listening to the other puppet speak, or slight movements keep the puppet alive. A dead puppet is very distracting.

So those are the five basics to good puppeteering. Be sure to share them with your team and be sure to practice them every time you pick up a puppet.

If you want hands-on training for your puppet team, I am available to come to your church.

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