Animatronics — Stan Winston School of Character Arts Forums

Where Do I Start?

Nicholas Garcia — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:01:59 +0000

My name is Nicholas Garcia, I'm currently working on making a 2019 Buddi Chucky doll but I'm having issues on where to start. I'm unsure of which specific videos to watch to help me along in my journey. Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Speakers and audio.

Joel Goodpaster — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 18:33:29 +0000

I'm starting to look into solutions for adding sound to my animatronic.

My first thought is to put a couple small full range speakers in the head. Size wise, they are pretty thin, and could easily fit inside. But, the down side is the sound would probably be muffled by the skull and silicone skin.

Another possibility would be an external speaker setup in whatever base the animatronic is mounted on. Something like a 2.1 computer speaker set. This would allow clear sound with great volume, but the sound perspective would be off (voice coming from base instead of from mouth).

We have some store bought Halloween animatronics that use a single speaker in the torso's, and they do OK, but they aren't very loud.

Has anyone had any experience with something similar? I know a lot of creatures like this are used in movies where sound is added later by voiceovers, and such, but there are those (like on Disney rides) that use sound directly... maybe?

Ideas, thoughts, experiences?

Keep creating!!

Plastic Forms around Anamatronics ?

Christopher — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 14:54:39 +0000

How come some Anamatronics have areas with plastic around the mechanical part. Is this in the case of the appearance of muscles or tissue sliding on the animatronic character ? If not what is it's purpose and is there a tutorial on when to place such plastic around the mechanical part of the character ?

Parallax BS2x

Andrea Forzoni — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 23:19:55 +0000

Good evening,

I am sourcing parts for the course on animatronic brains. The Parallax BS2X board is now EOL from Parallax. I was wondering if anyone had any experience in using the BS2 board and if it is fairly straight forward to use one instead of the other?

thanks
Andrea

Deep Blue Sea animatronics

John Terebetsky — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 09:52:38 +0000

Hello, I was curious about the sharks used on the first Deep Blue Sea. Is there any way to find out how the artists made those? What techniques were used? Thanks!

Help! Pololu/Radio Transmitter interfacing Question

Jordan_D — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 20:01:44 +0000

CONTEXT:
I have consulted ChatGPT, and feel unconfident in its advice, so I figured I would bring my question to the pros. I am in the process of planning my next build--an animatronic bird. After watching a number of the amazing courses here, I get the impression that in order to control my servos, I have two simple options. I can either (1) pre-program a pololu maestro to move the animatronic in an 'autonomous' sort of way (with fine control over things like timing/acceleration to make movement smooth), but I can't 'puppet' it live; or (2) connect the servos to a receiver/radio controller and puppet the bird in real time, but in a way that might be 'jumpy' and unnatural--since there is not much control over things like timing/acceleration.

MY QUESTION: is there a way to interface the pololu maestro with a radio transmitter controller/receiver that would enable me to (1) puppet the animatronic in real time, and (2) (with the help of the maestro) control the acceleration of the movement to make it less robotic and more natural when I move the joysticks?

I glanced at the course by Rick Galinson and David Covarrubias, and am a bit intimidated by the amount of hardware/programming required in the systems they use. I was hoping that the transmitter/pololu maestro combo would require less in-depth programming skills than the suggestions offered in those courses.

If this is possible, could you explain how I would wire the receiver to the pololu maestro, (this is where I think ChatGPT was full of bologna) and how would I program the movements on the radio controller? Would it be any different than programming it without the use of the pololu?

I appreciate any help!
Cheers,
Jordan

Foam Latex VS Silicone Skin

kiaras_workshop — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 15:21:50 +0000

Hi everyone!

I'm planning a Pikachu animatronic build. My main hang up right now is the choice of material for skin. I'm torn between the choice of foam latex and silicone, since both have pros and cons. My main concerns are:

1. I'm reading that foam latex degrades over time. I would be completely covering the foam latex skin with fur using the fur transfer technique, as well as flocking shorter areas like the entirety of the face, hands, and feet. I'm worried about the possibility of the foam latex degrading over time, especially because this is something I plan on using more frequently (I plan on bringing him to events, so he will be running more often, as well as being handled a bit). It also makes me sad to think about putting a ton of hard work into this, for it to give out on me in the future haha. I'm wondering how the professional animatronics, especially used in the course videos, held up over time.
2. Foam latex is pretty hard to actually get right and working, especially because you have to bake it, and it can be a complicated process to mix and inject it into molds. I'm not totally sure I'd have the space to mix and bake it, especially in a temperature controlled environment.
3. If I went a silicone skin route instead, weight has been brought up as an issue. I'm not sure how much of an issue this would be if I just made the skin a bit thinner, keeping in mind that the entirety of the skin will be covered by fur/flocking anyway.
4. Silicone is a pain to glue down to things, and I'm wondering how I would attach it to my 3D printed mech and glue tabs underneath. I also am unsure the prosaide cream for flocking would still work on the silicone skin, and I don't know what glues would be a substitute for silicone. I read on another forum post that Deborah Galvez is still trying to crack the code for working with fur on silicone, which introduces a lot of doubt in my mind that I would be able to pull it off.

I've seen a few people flock silicone skins with prosaide, but they haven't reported in on the results of how it held up over time. I've also seen people use silicone skin for animatronics online, but struggle to glue it down to their mechs effectively. I know the folks at Stan Winston recommend foam latex for the skins, and that was what I was planning on using to begin with, but I have to admit I'm getting a bit nervous about it the more I research - the main concern being the fact that it may not hold up over time. Does anyone have any input on which material I should go with, advice on any of the methods/concerns I listed above, or an answer to how well a foam latex skin would hold up? SOS haha

Want to learn all I can about Telemetry Controls and Telemetry Costumes!

Y BC — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 04:59:17 +0000

Hello! This is my first post here, so please forgive me if I did something wrong-

I've really been enjoying all these courses and, while I haven't been able to make anything yet, feel like I'm learning a whole bunch! Though I will say that there is one subject that I haven't been able to find too much about on here that I have a big interest in, and that's Telemetry controlled systems. More specifically, Telemetric controlled suits and costumes.

The idea of eventually being able to possibly have the telemetric controller/Waldo actually inside the costume intrigues me and has been sort of simmering in a pot in the back of my mind for the past few months. But I feel like I've hit a roadblock on learning about this and thought that I might as well go ahead and see what other info I could possibly be missing! (Which I will admit, is probably quite a bit, my brain still has trouble wrapping itself around potentiometers!)

Any info on this is appreciated!

Aflac Duck

Rarebird — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 01:07:54 +0000

Hello
I am a new student to stan winston and was curious if any of the instructors could provide some information about the eye mechanisms inside of the aflac duck.
Thanks
Thom

simplest tentacle/hand Richard Landon cable mechanism basics

Adam Bradley — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 13:59:22 +0000

I bought some Nylon Tubing from McMaster Carr, and it doesn't move like Richard Landon gets his to move. This that I have almost seems, brittle, like its going to stress break at the joints. I don't see Nylon tubing at Home Depot. I think what they have is Vinyl, which is too rubbery, and Polyethylene, which doesn't really spring back.

Does anyone know where to get, and, well, WHAT to get, that has a good return like what is in the tutorial?

Thanks,

Adam

Making Skin for Joints

Victor_E — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 20:35:45 +0000

Hi! This is my first real realistic animatronic project. The goal is a costume for a character with super long fingers. I’m trying to make giant puppet hands that’ll be manually controlled via mostly internal strings to match the movement of a person’s hand inside of them. I’ve got what’s essentially a working hollow plastic skeleton, but I have no idea how to give it realistic skin! I’ve done a ton of research, and I can’t seem to find any information for how to give realistic human-like skin to animatronic joints. I need a stretchy material that won’t wrinkle weirdly, and a way to mold it and attach it to the skeleton. Does anyone have any advice on what material and process to use?

Here are some photos of the skeleton of a finger, before I've added the internal string mechanism and proper joints (I used clothespins as a placeholder for joints during construction).

Large Tentacle Advice

Scenario — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 20:34:35 +0000

Hi, brand new here, making my first tentacle mechanism. Loved the tutorial with Richard Landon. My idea is for a body puppet that has a fairly large 4-way tentacle that goes vertically over the actor's head, with an eye on the end of it adding some weight. So tentacle itself will be about 3 ft long, eye will be a 10 or 12" painted acrylic dome, lightweight ripstop nylon fabric for skin.

Since this is my first time I'd love advice on materials and sizing so that its plenty strong, yet as lightweight as possible since will be carried by actor via backpack. May decide to do 2 stage for more nuanced maneuverability.
Will need to withstand wear and tear over time.

Questions:
*Is spedometer cable strong enough for such a large, upright, weighted tentacle? If not what other materials are better?
*I have read on some forum posts that you don't need to anchor each disc to the center cable, can just use spacers in between -is this true? What disadvantages come with this shortcut?
*How large diameter do vertebrae discs need to be?
*Cable sizing - how large do I need to go?
*Disc material - will delrin or nylon hold up for heavy use? Can I use acrylic or whatever is around and just glue to speedometer cable?
*Advice where to buy Delrin, Nylon, the internet is confusing!
*What pitfalls should I be aware of making a large tentacle with weight on the end?
*Any advice appreciated!

Thank you so much
Scenario

Animatronic Pupil for Eye

David Boccabella — Tue, 26 May 2015 11:57:21 +0000

In one of my flight of fancy I was pondering how a inexpensive dilating pupil could be made for an animatronic eye, and I think I have a solution.

1. Firstly make the half eyeball but do not paint the iris on it. Mark where you want the iris to be, and the center of the pupil.
2. Drill a hole through the eye at the center of the pupil - the hole being the minimum diameter of the pupil. Bevel the edges so that it is a slight funnel shape.
3. On a disk of thin silicone paint the iris and pupil. The pupil should be the maximum diameter you want.
4. Behind the silicone and at the center of the pupil glue a thread. Make sure it is secure and that the fixture does not distort the visible side of the pupil.
5. Carefully feed the thread through the hole in the eyeball and then glue the outer edge of the iris to the eyeball.

Operation.
1. At rest the silicone is undistorted and so you have the maximum pupil expansion.
2. As tension is put on the thread it draws the center of the thin silicone disk into the funnel.
3. This causes the iris to be pulled in towards the funnel thus giving the impression of the pupil dilating.
4. When pressure on the thread is reduced it causes the silicone to relax and thus withdraw from the funnel and make the pupil look larger.

Very sorry - I suck at drawing, and can visualize things easily.. Bit I hope this give people some idea's of a way to do this. One should only nee a small servo to enact this

Enjoy
Dave

Voice interaction features in My robotic Head

Saad_Ali — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 10:10:42 +0000

Hello everyone,
I am making a realistic Animatronic Robot Head. I have used 16 servos for the movements of my Head (Eyes,Neck,Jaw, Eyebrows). These are control by PCA9685 module and Arduino Mega.
Now I want to add some voice interaction features in my robot like Sound localization feature, Voice recognition, Audio Playback, movements of mouth with audio playback.
I want to add only some of commands for interaction.. I am using elechouse v3 voice recognition module with DF Player Mini.
Can anyone suggest me throughout the steps that how can I achieve this.

Name of the brass part from Animatronic Characters - Organic Mechanics course

Matt Bliesner — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 23:01:29 +0000

Hi all,

I've been chasing the name of the brass coupler use in the jaw mech pictured below.
Does anyone know the specs / what it is called and or where I would find in Australia?

Thank you.

Smile/Frown Mechanism for Canid/Wolf/Anthro Heads

Fe2O3 — Sun, 16 Jun 2024 22:50:24 +0000

Hello, I have been working on an animatronic wolf head for some time now, but have hit a roadblock with the smiling/frowning mechanism. I am struggling to find a way to make the test fabric I'm using for fur move in the way I want it to. Despite me adjusting the length of the arms multiple times, It seems I either get too much range of motion, which causes the fur detach the servo arm, too little to actually convey the intended expression, or both simultaneously (where the fur is unable to pull into a smile or frown without binding. Can anyone recommend an alternative solution/ share inspiration that might help. My goal is to just raise or lower the corner of the lip, being able to pull it back or push it forward is an added benefit, but not necessary for the amount of additional mechanical complexity (I have run out of space on my current servo driver and have ditched the bottom smile servo).
Thanks

Here is a video link to the skull without fur running an animation loop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAXPD83Mm2Y

Lip synch

Seapeace — Mon, 20 May 2024 19:39:34 +0000

Hi everyone,
I am making a robot head having moving eyes and mouth and speaking through DfPlayer mini Mp3. My problem is to synchronize the lips movement with the audio. It is not important to follow exactly the phonems, it is OK if the mouth makes random movements while a sentence saved on a SD card is read by the loud-speaker attached to the DfPlayer and arduino UNO. In all my attempts, arduino is executing Servo.write() command and Mp3.play(n) command one after the other. How can I make them simultaneous ?

2 stage 4 way tentacle HELP lol

Caitiwb — Wed, 01 May 2024 20:15:03 +0000

Hi all! So I’ve decided to build a 2 stage 4 way tentacle. It’s built out of aluminum discs it’s about arms length with half way being the end of the first stage. I have extension spring going through the first stage and motorcycle conduit coming from the end of the spring to the controller. The distance I have right now from controller to tentacle is approx. 14-16 ft. I do realize that’s far from the tentacle but was hoping to be able to have the distance to hide the puppeteers off camera.

The last stage of the tentacle is moving great, but the first stage I can’t get to do too much before contorting on it. My theories are length of cable, spacing of discs, and perhaps just learning how to puppeteer properly but any help would be appreciated!

Face Mask Sculpting for Animatronics

Gustavo Alcantara — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 23:05:17 +0000

Hey guys,

I'm about to start sculpting a new face mask for an animatronic head. And I'm thinking, which one is best, to sculpt the eyes lids and the mouth closed, so that after casting it in silicone we cut the eyes and mouth open or if is better to sculpt it half-way open, or even fully open?

What do you guys think it is the best approach? I'm trying to figure out how it will work after the casting...

How does one make realistic silicone mask eyelids for attachment to animatronic mechanism?

David Xanatos — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 01:15:46 +0000

Looking for some direction - videos, tutorials, etc. I have created a mold and my first mask from this original form:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuildingWestworld/comments/exdyx3/host_face_development/

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuildingWestworld/comments/f0muq8/demolding_the_first_host_face/

However, the eyelids were - of course - too thick, and I discovered the hard way that Exacto knives work but are somewhat inelegant (note roughness, jagged lines, huge gaps between mask and eyeball):

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuildingWestworld/comments/fcm5gr/better_hair_makes_a_difference/

Since I have the mold, I can make new masks easily enough. I am planning to make an internal impression in the mask to set thicknesses properly so that things should fit, but I need to be able to create eyelids that are soft & stretchy enough for the small servos I have in my occular assembly to be able to blink them realistically:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BuildingWestworld/comments/f7mfj1/testing_v03_of_the_host_visioncore/

I saw your video of using Slacker encased between the two mask components layered with something like DragonSkin, but I could really use some much more detailed help with the eyelid making process, especially since the original lifecast is - of course - closed-eye.

Thanks very much for what help you can offer. This certainly looks like the best place to find answers to this issue. I'm really wanting to make this look amazingly life-like and realistic. I've learned a lot in the past year or two, can't stop now!

Dave

How should an absolute beginner learn mechanics?

Morgan A — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 13:35:30 +0000

I've been a bit intimidated even in the design basics course because I realized I'm in a catch 22: I've never made anything so none of my designs are clear enough to be blueprints, yet because I have no clear blueprints I don't know what materials to buy and how to make anything. Are there any books or resources you'd recommend for learning mechanics as an absolute beginner for stopmotion & animatronics?

Where is a good place to find speedometer cable or the like for tentacles?

Michael Baird — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 20:19:21 +0000

Hello,

I recently purchased the fantastic DVD tutorial on tentacle creation (along with a couple others) and I was wondering if anyone knew of a good source for purchasing speedometer cables or other cables/materials that would function in the same manner. I really appreciate everyone's assistance with this. Thank you.

Michael

Animatronics metal junction (electric power) box

wolf1428 — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 21:30:11 +0000

Hello all, I am a new member here.
Could someone maybe tell me what this metal junction (electric power) box is called? (or maybe what model it is)
It has cables on it that are connected to servos for animatronics.

Thank you.

Advice for where to begin. for a young man

GeorgeErobotics — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:59:59 +0000

Hello, thrilled to be here. i am old school and cut my long teach in the old methods. BUT my son is new school and loves animatronics. We were fortunate enough to get a couple of large ones to restore. But we really need to start from the beginning. We had talked about doing a course with Aaron Fechter, but he does not do them right now. Then when I saw Stan Winston, I was so excited. My boy is 12 years old, and he needs to start in a beginner course then come here. What or where would you recommend? He is ready to sign up for these classes today, of course! Ha!

Type of solder for cables?

Cory Moosman — Wed, 10 May 2023 07:56:20 +0000

In Rick Lazzarini's Organic Mechanics Part 1, he shows some techniques for "stepping" down a braided wire cable by clipping off outer strands and soldering the transition. What kind of solder is best to use for this application with braided wire cable, 7x7 and 7x19?

Blueprints for animatronics?

JAMES WOLF — Mon, 08 May 2023 20:24:14 +0000

New guy here, loving the classes! I'm finishing up the basic animatronics course and getting ready to do some practical applications. I was wondering if there is a good resource for mechanical blueprints I could mess around with while I wrap my head around making my own.

Foam Latex Alternative?

Jeffrey Mahon — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 20:07:38 +0000

Hi, was wondering if there is a Foam Latex Alternative in the Polyfoam family? Something that self skins and catalyses between the mold and the core?

Thank you!

Best wire for simple lip curl?

Jeffrey Mahon — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 08:27:53 +0000

Hi,
Was wondering if there a preferred wire type for a simple lip curl mechanism in a silicone mask?

Thank you

Jeff

Animatronic Eye-stalk Tentacle

David DeMattia — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:57:55 +0000

Just wanted to share a project I started about 15 years ago inspired by the "eye bush" in the movie Labyrinth. I guess I was making tentacles before I new they were called tentacles! Click on the link for more pics. David

http://sleepingdragonstudios.com/eyestalk/

Neck Mechanism for Animatronic bird

Praise Kelechi — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 07:55:51 +0000

Is there anyone who has built an animatronic bird here, how did you do the neck mechanism?. I have made one before but the movement was not natural and it only moved along one axis. I'll link it below, Thanks the response in advance

https://youtu.be/-kM2xoD2xY8

https://youtu.be/91J7XScB6xo