Puppet Snake Help
in Puppets
Hi Community! I am building a puppet snake and would appreciate a little input on the body construction since I'm very new to this process.
I've been trying to go extremely carefully, watching and rewatching BJ's courses, then careful designing my pattern as I go. The courses are great, but the issue I've run into here doesn't seem to be addressed.
Basically, I need to make a body that's more flexible than a classic puppet chest body, but still holds some basic shape.
I drew a diagram explaining the issue I'm running into, and then will give more context below.
This morning I created a chest body out of 1/2 inch reticulated foam. The shape looked nice, but my fist couldn't fit through the neck opening. I could alter my pattern and expand the whole chest so my fist slides through, but I don't think that would look as good.
What I think I need is a chest structure that can stretch a little for my fist to slide through, but hold some decent structure around my wrist and forearm. I also want the tail of the snake after the hand opening to be pose-able.
Therefore, I'm trying to think how I could create a flexible structure for the snake body that still holds shape without the fabric sagging.
A few options I am considering: (feel free to skip if you already know what I should do:)
Poly fil -- Cut and stitch the fleece body, then simply stuff it with poly fil. I'm inexperienced at this and am concerned I won't get quite enough support for the shape of the body and the puppet's skin will fold or sag inward.
Boning? Could I create an under structure of boning rings to supplement the poly fil? Main concern there is the fabric sagging between boning rings.
Other option I can think of is a different foam. I saw Swizzle Productions use a flexible, open cell soft foam for hands on a video.
My preference is whatever option is simplest and cheapest, and would love the community's input here! Thank you!
I have a few other questions if any of the veterans on the forums would be able to chime in, but one thing at a time!
I've been trying to go extremely carefully, watching and rewatching BJ's courses, then careful designing my pattern as I go. The courses are great, but the issue I've run into here doesn't seem to be addressed.
Basically, I need to make a body that's more flexible than a classic puppet chest body, but still holds some basic shape.
I drew a diagram explaining the issue I'm running into, and then will give more context below.
This morning I created a chest body out of 1/2 inch reticulated foam. The shape looked nice, but my fist couldn't fit through the neck opening. I could alter my pattern and expand the whole chest so my fist slides through, but I don't think that would look as good.
What I think I need is a chest structure that can stretch a little for my fist to slide through, but hold some decent structure around my wrist and forearm. I also want the tail of the snake after the hand opening to be pose-able.
Therefore, I'm trying to think how I could create a flexible structure for the snake body that still holds shape without the fabric sagging.
A few options I am considering: (feel free to skip if you already know what I should do:)
Poly fil -- Cut and stitch the fleece body, then simply stuff it with poly fil. I'm inexperienced at this and am concerned I won't get quite enough support for the shape of the body and the puppet's skin will fold or sag inward.
Boning? Could I create an under structure of boning rings to supplement the poly fil? Main concern there is the fabric sagging between boning rings.
Other option I can think of is a different foam. I saw Swizzle Productions use a flexible, open cell soft foam for hands on a video.
My preference is whatever option is simplest and cheapest, and would love the community's input here! Thank you!
I have a few other questions if any of the veterans on the forums would be able to chime in, but one thing at a time!
0
Comments
Boning rings, as you suggested, could be a good option. Especially combined with poly-fill to help visually soften things.
Could always make a prototype to see how it would look/perform.
/Chris
/Chris