Making (Almost) Instant Puppets

CHAPTER 2

MATERIALS, TOOLS, HEADS AND COSTUMES

RECYCLED MATERIALS

Many containers that are useful for making instant puppets are already shaped in ways that may suggest heads, features or bodies. These items were designed not just for their functionality but also to attract shoppers, so they often have inbuilt potential for puppets. Whatever materials are used for making a puppet, ensure that the finished puppet is as clean and attractive as possible, unless the characterisation requires otherwise.

Instant puppets invite creativity and divergent thinking.

It is a good idea to have a collection of empty containers of all kinds and to sort them into labelled boxes. When selecting a container for a particular purpose, consider whether it is strong enough in itself or whether it needs a supporting structure inside it.

Keep off-cuts of wood, rods and tubing, whether cardboard, plastic, foam rubber or even metal. Galvanised wire (coat-hanger wire) and other types of wire are useful for joints, controls and shaping of flexible materials. Blocks of foam rubber and other packaging from boxed items are useful for making puppet parts or for padding other items to the required shape, and sponges can become heads, features or bodies.

The shapes of cartons and containers immediately suggest all manner of heads and bodies.

Rods and tubing are quickly turned into a range of body parts or limbs, as well as controls.

Lightweight materials in blocks or layers give puppets shape without making them heavy.

Off-cuts of wood often provide a solid core for a puppet, its limbs and controls.

Note: Although there are examples of polystyrene blocks being used, it is not generally recommended where any significant shaping is required. Breathing the particles from dry shaping or the fumes from hot-wire shaping is a health hazard which should be avoided.

Ropes, cords and twine, ranging from thick and heavy to very fine, may be used for joints, hair, sometimes in place of arms and legs, and for control strings. When threading a cord through a small hole, a darning needle with a large eye is useful. If the ends of the cord are loose, wrap a small piece of masking tape around, and just over, the end and twist it into a point.

Fabrics, remnants, old socks and clothes that young children have outgrown are very useful. Dolls' clothes are usually unsuitable because they restrict movement. Old leather or suede leather garments are handy for joints and trimmings. Make separate collections of things that may be useful for hair, eyes and other features.

From fine thread to thick rope, there is something useful for almost every puppet.

Materials in all sizes are invaluable; even small pieces find a use.

Colourful buttons, beads and balls have various applications, not just eyes and costumes; matching pairs are especially useful.

Balls and beads of all sizes will be useful for puppet parts and for helping to create smooth joints. Interesting-looking buttons are ideal for creating facial features as well as enhancing costumes. Simple buttons help with attaching control strings and rods and sometimes with making joints; they need to be secured firmly to avoid risk of detaching.

Wools, embroidery threads, string, rope, fur, feathers and tissue paper are examples of materials useful for hair and other trimmings.

The way hair shapes the head and frames the face can change a puppet completely.

Materials for Shadow Puppets

Reasonably stiff cardboard, such as a cereal or detergent box, is suitable for opaque shadow puppets and cut-out designs. For shadows in full-colour, good-quality white card (such as Ivory Board) is required. In order to protect all surfaces while cutting, a self-healing cutting mat is a good investment as it will be useful when making all types of puppet.

Further suggestions for useful materials are detailed in Chapter 7, Shadow Puppets.

The materials suitable for shadow screens include polyester cotton fabric (an old sheet), shower curtain material (preferably plain), greaseproof paper/baking paper, artists' or architects' tracing paper, or tracing linen is even better. If you are lucky enough to find a theatre with pieces of unwanted rear-screen projection material, this is ideal. However, the shadow screens in this book used nothing more than a shower curtain and, mostly, greaseproof paper from the kitchen, so do not feel the need to purchase expensive material.

A cutting mat, shown with various shadow screen materials, is one of the most useful pieces of equipment to purchase.

TOOLS

The tools that one might find in a household toolbox are often sufficient for most instant puppet projects and you could manage with fewer than those illustrated here. You may not need chisels, but the odd screwdriver may be handy along with large and small pliers, a tack hammer, a selection of brushes, a measuring tape and a try square or a set square.

There are certain items that are not so common but are particularly useful to acquire:

A paper drill that has interchangeable heads for different-size holes; always use it with a strip of wood or MDF underneath to protect other surfaces (a stationery punch is an alternative but this limits where a hole can be positioned and its size).

A de-burring tool that can be used to enlarge holes in a wide variety of materials (see overleaf).

A fine, round file (and a flat file is often useful too).

An awl or other tool with a sharp point.

Each of these household tools was used during the making of the puppets but it is not necessary to have all of them.

These tools proved useful in making many of the puppets, especially the de-burring tool for enlarging holes. Left to right: paper drill, de-burring tool, round file, any sharp pointed tool.

Occasionally improvisation is required, for example when you need a very long needle with a large eye.

Keep the tools clean, sharp where appropriate, and use them for their intended purpose to preserve their usefulness and for reasons of safety.

To thread cord through any large object or a solid block of foam rubber or polystyrene, cut a length of coat-hanger wire and bend the end into a loop to make it into a long needle. Taping the closure of the loop is not essential but it helps to prevent it catching inside the object.

Note: It is strongly recommended that you wear an apron, other protective clothing or old clothes when cutting, shaping or gluing the puppet parts. It is easy for a large spot of glue to drop unnoticed onto a skirt or trousers or for a rough edge of a container to snag a jumper, so always dress appropriately to protect your clothes from mishap.

Cutting

Always protect any surface with a cutting mat unless you are using a work bench.

It is desirable to have at least two pairs of scissors so that you do not cut fabric with scissors used for paper or card.

It is a mistake to try to cut large pieces of foam rubber with scissors as foam rubber is more resistant than it appears. An old bread knife, a hacksaw blade, or pulling and tearing pieces off, is much more suitable for the general shaping; if necessary, use scissors for snipping away at the surface for the final shaping.

Craft knives with replaceable blades - one with wide blades and one with finer blades like a scalpel - are among the most useful cutting tools. A metal safety ruler with a finger groove for safe cutting is recommended. When using a knife, never cut towards the hand holding the item being cut.

A coping saw and a junior hacksaw will cover most other cutting requirements but a tenon saw would be a bonus.

Tin cans and cut edges in plastic bottles may need protecting with a little foam rubber or masking tape, especially if fingers or hands are to be inserted into them.

Drilling

To make small holes or to start a hole for a drill-bit to grip, an awl or other sharp pointed object can be used. Alternatives are a bradawl or gimlet, but you could manage with any pointed tool. A de-burring tool is particularly useful when you want to enlarge a hole gradually.

You may not need to do much drilling, so a power drill may not be needed, but a hand drill is useful to have, with a variety of twist drills and spade drills (or points).

Shaping

While a rasp or files are useful, for most of the puppets included in this book a few grades of glass paper were sufficient. Large corners in wood can be removed with a saw, and glass-paper around a sanding block can be used to round off or smooth any uneven patches.

To hold items while shaping, drilling or other work on them, a vice with wooden jaws is desirable, either permanently attached to a workbench or one that can be clamped to any suitable work surface.

Please note the warning above about cutting foam rubber. The same issue applies to shaping it.

ADHESIVES

It is always a good idea to test any adhesive on a small, inconspicuous part of the surfaces or materials with which you plan to use it as some adhesives will eat into or dissolve certain materials. To improve adhesion on shiny surfaces, it may help to roughen them with glasspaper first.

Strong contact glues like UHU and Bostik are very useful as general, all-purpose adhesives, as is PVA or wood glue. Copydex or special fabric...