File puptcrit/puptcrit.0805, message 458


Date: Thu, 22 May 2008 09:48:25 -0700
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org, <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org>
From: Steve Axtell <steve-AT-axtell.com>
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Teeth


On some puppets like rabbits and squirrels I 
sculpt teeth first then mold them.  Then I inject 
opaque hot melt glue into the mold.  The teeth 
look great, never chip and you can find a wide 
variety of off white colors out there.  It also 
has the advantage of melting the mount side of 
the teeth to the puppet head.   There are some 
real intense ways of insert casting white resin 
or polymer teeth into pink polymer gums for full 
sets of creatures that the special effects houses 
doing regularly.  Jim Boulden is a great go-to 
guy for realistic processes like this.
Ax


   At 08:50 AM 5/22/2008, Mathieu René wrote:
>Hi all.
>
>How do you make teeth that are chip and break resistant, easy to paint in a
>durable fashion, and lightweight?
>Speed of execution is also a good selling point...
>Let's share, to see what people do.
>
>Here's one approach:
>
>I was thinking about various ways of making teeth for a mouth puppet, but
>each method implied problems either in strenght (chipping, breaking),
>painting, or weight. As is often the case, a natural material is the best,
>simplest solution. So...
>
>I'm carving some teeth out of wood for two mouth puppets I'm building. These
>puppet heads will be hard paper mache strips shells, articulated.
>
>I found that I don't really need hardwood, the soft wood is as strong as I
>need it to be for teeth, especially considering I'm going to improve surface
>strenght with the sealing. I'll seal them either with Shellac(diluted with
>methyl alcohol) or Weldbond(diluted with water). The sealing step will also
>be the coloring, as I will tint my sealer with pigments or paints. Using the
>soft wood also makes it possible for me to work twice as fast. It carves,
>sands and cuts faster. I use my craft knife and a piece of sandpaper to
>carve a dowel end into a tooth, then using a saw in a vise, I cut it to
>lenght. Carving the tooth on the dowel provides a better grip. I would be
>even faster if I had a belt sander, or a sanding disk on my bench grinder.
>No time to get one, but soon, for a future project.
>
>I'll only intall the teeth once the paper mache skull is assembled and
>functional. That way, teeth will have a strong support underneath, and I can
>make sure they don't get in the way of closing the mouth.
>
>I'll use a very small drop of hot glue underneath each tooth, to hold  them
>in place while the paper mache twists sets around their base, acting and
>looking like gums. The paper mache twists are just a lenght of paper, pasted
>on both sides with diluted white glue, then twisted and pressed in place
>around each tooth. A smooth metal tool is used to press it tighter and
>burnish it smooth. It dries fast, and really hard.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
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Steve Axtell
Axtell Expressions, Inc.
****************************************
  http://www.axtell.com


The original content of this email or attachments is =A9 Axtell Expressions, Inc.
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