File puptcrit/puptcrit.0702, message 224


From: =?Windows-1252?Q?Mathieu_Ren=E9?= <creaturiste-AT-magma.ca>
To: <puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:16:39 -0500
Subject: [Puptcrit] Punch carving helper: the foam skull


Hi all.
I am building my first Punch Puppet ever, for the same NY customer that ordered the Jerome 2.

Such fun!
I've been wanting to do my own version of the ugly old rebel for quite a while!

In order for time-saving on later hand puppet orders, I decided to carve a "standard" skull for the puppets of this size.
This one is for a final head of about 5.5 inches high from chin to top of head (same basic measurements were used for Jerome 2). It is directly carved into a piece of dense insulating foam (styrofoam, the dense blue, not the soft), with a craft knife and smoothed with files. It will be covered in masking tape, to prevent any foam bits from sticking to my precious plastalina (I got the Chavant now!!!).
The model is to be defined with plastalina. When smooth enough, either a mold can be made, or paper mache can be aopplied directly onto this positive, provided a layer of plastic wrap is there as a release.
Plastic wrap is the best release I've tried yet for paper mache.

The skull includes the neck, which continues longer than the real neck, to ensure a good grip while working.
 It has wide eye sockets, the mouth area was left hollow so as to permit more mouth shaping, the nose is nonexistant, and the chin is at its smallest. This will enable me to model a wide variety of characters, following, at last, the same basic measurements, and being just as symmetrical as I want it!
Of course, this skull must be as even and symmetrical as possible in order for it to nbe efficient.

I might also make cone "skulls" as well, just the cone part without the hand, so as to save time in the same manner.
I could not find a good way to make a "skeleton" for the hands, so the faster way is for now to sculpt them directly in the foam, cover just the cone area in plastic wrap, then cover the entire arm/hand with multple layers of paper mache strips. Very strong, and once dry, the cone area is fairly easy to scoop out (thanks to the plastic wrap).
The foam hands remain permanently into the paper mache shell, making the hands even stronger than the already wonderful paper mache shell. This way is faster than it looks. I just carved a pair in less than two hours. They need a bit of smoothing before I apply the paper mache.


TIPS for faster hand making: 
I drew one hand, no arm cone, on a piece of 2 inch foam. I cut its silhouette carefully, and even on both sides (top, bottom). Then I sliced the foam hand in half, in the thickness, making two hand silhouettes of the same contours!
then I just needed to glue each hand onto a cone-shapes piece of foam, and cut until seamless.
I used hot glue, but if I was working in a better ventilated room, I would have used contact cement. It cuts much better at the joints than hot glue lines.





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