#puppet mechanism

[rhiannayates-puppetry]

Jaw mechanism:

Once i had built up the structure of the head with withys enough I used the jaw template from my paper pattern to cut jaw peices from ply wood. I used a threaded bar to act as the hinge point and drilled a whole for it to sit on the top part of the head. I realised i needed a way to stop the jaw sliding from side to side as the threaded bar would move too easily through the hole. So i got 2 small bits of dowl drilled holes through them too add to the bar as spacers so the jaw would stay firmly fixed centrally. Once i was happy with the placement i painted each peice with wood stain and fixed into place.

I drilled wholes in the jaw to thread withys through to build up the shape of the jaw a bit . This also gave me something to tie elastic too as the trigger mechanism. I strated out this way, pictured above, using elastic to keep the mouth closed with a peice of sting acting as rhe trigger, that when pulled would open the mouth. Once attaching this i realised i needed to carry things in his mouth so id need to hold the mouth shut with the trigger and use the elastic the other way to pull the mouth open so he could drop things when i released my the trigger. All i did was swap them over and added a peice of worbla to the trigger to make it easier to grip.

[rhiannayates-puppetry]

I added a larger exstended peice of withy to act as the spine of the bear to show how he will stand. I wanted him to look like he was hunched or even walking on all fours when lower then could rise up and appear on his hind legs to create a dramatic change of stance. So having a flexible spine like this was essential.

[rhiannayates-puppetry]

I found a plasterzote polar bear head from a past project, in the paint shop. I used this to block out the shape of a bear like in my design to see if it might work.

It looks like it could work i just have to figure out how the legs would function to make it believable. In this persission id have to exstebd the head much further and lean over alot more to get the desired shape.

[rhiannayates-puppetry]

Final images of finished bear in costume:

Im so so so happy with the way he turned out and he looks so good while in costume the whole thing works so well together and matches beautifully! If i had more time with id like to maybe make a withy paw to hold on my other hand to connect the bear to the rest of the body a little more. Obviously he isnt a realistic bear so im not worried about that but i think the arm sits well where his arm would be and adding another element to another area of the body would make the illusion that bit stronger when convincing and audience.

[rhiannayates-puppetry]

Starting the head!

I was originally going to make a plasterzote head for the bear like the polar bear head example, but Marc said I was a dab hand at the whitys and i was really enjoying the process so i decided to make the head whithys too. Now he would be a basket woven bear which i was really excited about. It meant he fit the natural, from the earth, specification and made the construction part of the render which i thought was really exciting. This meant i wouldnt have to cover the skeleton and reduce its movements.

To make the willow woven head i needed to make an internal wooden frame to stretch the withys aroubd. So i colated all my reference images and the polar bear head for a rough size guide and drew out a front and profile outline of the shape. I then cut the pattern out and used it to make a cardboard maquette to offer up to the bears body to ensure it was the right proportion before cutting it out of ply wood.

[rhiannayates-puppetry]

To make a better connection at the wrist, i cut more off the foam to make a more gradual slope. I made an elastic bracelet for each wrist and cut the tip if tge foam in half to glue it in. Since i had shaved the foam down so thin i was worried the wrist would rip when performing so i reinforced the inside of the foam with some scrap calico fabric as reinforcement. I then sandwiched the elastic between the 2 halfs and glued shut.

[rhiannayates-puppetry]

Body test

The form is finally cured and i removed it from the form. Im pleased with the size and shape so far obviously its not attached to anything at the moment so is still flopping about but its really effective and im excited.

[rhiannayates-puppetry]

Design concept

Here ive tried imagining how the monster might attach to the body to be seamless. The issue i had with this style of puppet while making the boyfriend was the join between puppet and puppeteer was too bulky and unrealistic. I think this was because i was sculpting from foam, ive always sculpted with clay or paper building up my form rather than carving it down so i found it really hard to get my head around this and it ended up not being seamless like i hoped.

For this project i knew i needed the belly where the performer and puppet join to be practically flat, made from fabric or a cast of the puppeteer? Ive added a pair of shorts on this design to hold the puppet to the body making it something you wear to keep it aligned with the body.