Easy Dancing Marionette

This blog entry is about making a simple marionette.

Your basic materials needed are the following:

Duct tape black

wire 24g

upholstery thread

1 square yard of fabric

large bolts

glue gun

2 ping pong balls

dowels for control device

two big google eyes

1st glue the ping pong balls together: using the google eyes by cutting out the pupils and gluing them to the ping pong balls. Use the black tape to make eyelids.




2nd: take the fabric wrap them around the eyes (use the hot glue to keep the fabric to the eyes.
) Under the eyes wrap a couple of inches of the wire to make the neck...leave enough wire to stick up behind the eyes to make antennae. (length is your call depending how long you want them to be)



Now the head is done: Take the bolts and slide them on each of the four corners of the fabric and tie knot with the fabric so the knot does not come off. (you may reinforce with duct tape as necessary. This will create the hands and feet.







The hardest part is the control and stringing. You want to make sure that the stringing is balanced and gives the puppet good movement...

1. I used a very simple control device for the puppet...use the dowels, three sticks should be good. The first dowel should be straight with two perpendicular dowels spread apart from each other (one for the arms and the second for the legs.



2. String the arms to the control device... Take the thread tie it to the fabric in front of the blot on the arms and legs. Now tie it to the control device and take the time to adjust it to your height for comfort and movement. Also tie a string from the head to the center of the control device. This prevents sagging of the head.

When your are done you should have a very simple marionette puppet. Now practice, practice and practice!!!

Here's how mine came out...




So have fun... Until next time , Spoon out!!!

Spoon's World of Puppetry

OK.. So my biggest hobby is that of puppetry. It started off as a Halloween thing, where I was building a puppet as a Halloween project each year...I still do that, but now its grown into videos, school projects and just for fun as well. I love puppets and i have several and have built others... This blog entry is to show off some of the puppets I have built!

We will start with the first one I built... Duncan the Green Dragon
He was built in October of 06. He has gone three variations since then:
10/06:


A few months later I modified him to be a little bit bigger:
12/06



At this point Duncan was turned into a half puppet however I still wasn't happy with this version. So a year and half later Duncan was modified again into his final version:
2009:




Next on the list is a puppet that I made from the left over green felt:

Zorbmania: ( this puppet is based off an old cartoon character I used to draw)



The next puppet was also made from the left over green felt as well:

Lava Lamp:



He's not used that much.


My next puppet was Emerald the Baby Dragon:
He's made from a green microfiber fabric and my son's old black long sleeve t-shirt!



Emerald has been used multiple videos on you tube.

My next puppet is probably one of my most popular puppets: Uno Die
There are currently Two versions of Uno Die




Uno Die has his own show on You Tube called: The Uno Die Show @ www.youtube.com/rcdspoon

The next few pics are of puppets I have made in order to increase my puppet making skills:

Next on my list is one of my personal favorites...technically not a puppet, but still a favorite...It is the robotic dog from the old TV series Dr Who. K*9 is his name...within the history of the show there has been 4 models or versions...Mine is a copy of the original from 78. I use to have one that was made from cardboard when i was in the 6th grade...



Now here's a few pics of K*9 beating me at chess...





The next puppet is called Scorpi: I was attempting to do a scorpion insect.



By October of 07 I was ready to make a new puppet for Halloween and I came up with my first human puppet "Capt'n Hook".




After Capt'n Hook was done I started on my next project Nigel...A young dragon currently attending college.
Nigel also has been a part of many videos as well. He makes occasional appearances on The Uno Die Show.



Next on my project list was the demonic opera singer known as Minion!!!
His favorite opera was of course Phantom of the Opera




My next project was another dragon by the name of Raif!




My wife was the creative consultant on this puppet... Her name is Ella:





In the beginning of 2008 I got into marionette puppets...I made three different ones... An alien marionette, a dragon for my girls birthday party and one did for a Christmas video. That character was based on a Skesis character from the dark crystal.

Dragon Marionette from my girls 5th birthday party:



Alien Marionette: (there is a separate blog entry on how to make this very simple marionette)



I do not have a picture of the Skesis inspired marionette character so here is the video I made with him.




In October of 2008...It was time for a new Halloween puppet...This year's theme was Little Shop of Horrors...
So I decide to build my version of the infamous Audrey II:





My next puppet was a simple construction job of a cartoon fish that I used to draw...His name is Mo'gly (Because he his more ugly than the last fish we had)



A couple weeks later I found a great piece of fabric at Jo-Ann's Farbics... I decided to build my next dragon... Flame.



So with the left over fabric from Flame...I then created for the 2009 Halloween Project: "Zero" inspired puppet from The Nightmare Before Christmas.



So, there is all or at least most of the puppets I have made in the past 3 years... It's has been loads of fun making them and plan on doing tons more!

Oh, before I go... Let me show you my first puppet (I did not build this one) and a picture of a Halloween in front of a Yankee Candle Store during a Halloween in 2002 with Mr Fuzzy. he is now retired and sits in my office downstairs.

My mother-in-law had made his wizard outfit...

Anyway, there is my blog on my hobby of puppetry. Thanks for checking it out!

Sincerely,

RcdSpoon

Until next time Spoon out!

The Magic Wands of Spoon...

Alright,

So here is another halloween project I got interested in... making magic wands.
The actual process is so easy its scary.

Materials:
Hot Glue Gun with glue
8 1/2''x11 1/2" white paper 2-3 sheets
glue stick
Acrylic paint

Misc: other items can be used from string, cord, small gems, tiny skull heads and etc...

First: roll the paper nice and tight... then unroll it... Take the other end of the rolled paper and secure with something heavy so it doesn't roll back on you. Take your glue stick and rub it on the rolled paper and begin to roll it so the glue is being rolled over the paper (on the inside). Make sure the roll is tight on not unraveling.

Second: From the other paper cut a strip (longwise) as big as your hand from pinky to index. Roll the strip like you rolled the wand. Now same process as before, use your glue stick to wrap the strip around the bottom of the wand to make your handle.

Third: Once dried cut both ends of the wand. Take the hot glue and shot hot glue down both ends of the wands holes to add strength. On the outside of the wand make a design with hot glue. Do the top, bottom or middle (whatever you feel like doing)

Fourth; Now time for painting...be creative in this process... it makes wand more personal and creative!!!


Here are some examples...








My kids love their wands to play with..(and I like mine too).

Until next time....Spoon out!

Halloween Alien Specimens

Okay...So this blog is not about how to make something. It's more about showing off some alien critters I made for a halloween display. Although I will briefly describe the process.

Materials:
Hot glue gun with glue stick
22 gauge wire
multi tool
acrylic paint
foil



First: using the wire create a wire frame: then cover the frame in hot glue (remember to be careful when using the hot glue gun) once it's dry then you can paint. I try to use the metallic colors cause they hold to the glue and they look really wicked.

Here are some of the examples...







Here are some other examples as well...






Each of these critters were put into see through containers. The display was set up like a roadside stand with signs to come see the new alien specimens. The problem was, Halloween night it rained and the display had to be cancelled...oh well, maybe next year!!!

Until next time...Spoon out!