I started by taking a drawing of a dog’s skeleton and enlarging it to fit the skull that I had. I simplified the basic shapes to come up with the pattern for the dog. Next I carved a spine of polyethalene, which is a very light and firm foam. Notice how I made the ribs […]
Building the dead dog Read More »
My skull arrived day before yesterday! I am astonished by how beautiful it is. I’ve spent the last two days building the dead dog and have process shots for you, but at the moment, you’ll have to content yourself with this one of the skull. I will tell you that we have dubbed the dog
Alas, poor Rover, I knew thee well Read More »
With Halloween fast approaching, it seems like a good time to do a little project. Check out Skull-A-Day, which has a Papercraft Skull that you can make at home. The jaw moves via a tab that sticks out the back. Via Puppetbuilding Edited to add: Peterbilt spotted this “…amazing paper interpretation of Transformers’ Bumblebee, complete
Papercraft Skull (with Articulated Jaw) Read More »
Bizarre. I designed these puppets years ago and evidentally they are being used in a remount now. Willamette Week reviewed the production and had this to say about my work. The puppets, designed by Mary Robinette Kowall [sic] ((Oddly, I only ran across this because, for the first time, I ran a search on a
Willamette Week reviews Cinderella Read More »
Puppetry isn’t all fun and games. It’s got a long history of being used as a means of political satire and in Burma, that got two puppeteers and comedians arrested back in 1996. U Pa Pa Lay and his cousin U Lu Zaw, “The Moustache Brothers”, spent seven years in jail, while Amnesty International have
Puppeteers arrested in Burma Read More »
I’m starting by using a real skull for the dog head. I’d planned on just getting a resin dog palette, but lo! There’s Skulls Unlimited has a giant collection of dog skulls. Now, I’m not going to be using the Chihuahua skull in this picture, but had to share it with you. Does that not
Making the dead dog Read More »
This is beautifully animated, but there’s one detail which makes me go a little buggy. Watch the baby’s eyes. They are so real, compared to the rest of the figure, that it edges into the uncanny valley. This is a problem that crops up in a lot of different forms of world creation, from set
e-baby and the uncanny valley Read More »
I dropped the moth off today and they loved it. As I was leaving they were having trouble with one of the other effects in the show. A key plot element revolves around a young man who has, um, trouble with his manhood becoming alert when he isn’t expecting it to do so. The member
You thought Mothra was funny… Read More »
I got a phone call last night that went something like this. “You were recommended to us and I’m calling to see if you had time to build a giant moth this week for our show.” “Maybe. What’s the actual due date?” “Tomorrow.” I laughed, knowing what the last minute pressure of a show is
We finished the fish today. Got good work done on the crocodile and leopard. Best of all, an old friend came into town and dropped by to help out. (Hi Rob!) Afterwards, Rob and my Rob and I went out to catch up. Life is good.
The fish are out the door Read More »
I thought you might be interested in seeing what the to-do list on a puppet build looks like. This is the one for the fish. Bear in mind as you look at the list that we have to build sixteen of them. Things in bold mean that anyone can do them. Ask office about painting
Fish: The to-do list Read More »
I think the crocodile might eat us alive. The fish are well on their way to completion. We had a bevy of helpers today, including the wonderful Kris Dikeman who had responded to my call for volunteers. I’m at home now and Rob has made me a gin and tonic. This and then bed are
Long day, many fish and a crocodile Read More »
Emily DeCola has been hired to create puppets for the African Children’s Choir. She started with these design drawings and has hired me to help her build the puppets. My primary job on the fish is to take her drawings and translate them into patterns that can be quickly reproduced for the sixteen fish puppets
I spent the day shopping for fish supplies. You know, the usual stuff: bathmats, spray adhesive, tarps… It took far, far longer than it should have, in part because I needed 16 very specific bathmats and had to hit two different stores just to get three. I will post photos, but for the moment, I
I met with Emily DeCola today to talk about a building gig that I’ll be working for her on next week. I’ll be helping her build 16 fish and a crocodile. Now… if you have an interest in puppet building and are in the NYC area, we can use some volunteer help. You’ll be fed