From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Mathieu_Ren=E9?= <creaturiste-AT-primus.ca> To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org> Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:45:52 -0500 Subject: [Puptcrit] Parrot puppet tips? Hi all. Today I landed an express pupetbuilding contract that comes at a great time. First, I really want a puppet like that (and I get to keep it afterwards), and second, it's a nice opportunity to design a puppet from an actual animal. It's been a while! The mouth puppet (with full body, moving wings on rod, posable but unarticulated claws) is to be a parrot, to be sidekick to a pirate Lady who will be hosting between dance numbers in a multi-cultural dance show. I'm to be the puppeteer for the parrot. Which is exciting, as I've been planning to get more stage experience. I'll finally get a character that can be wilder than I ever could be. My questions to you all is: .Has anyone here ever made/used a bird puppet with articulated wings that fold neatly on its body, like the natural resting position? The puppet is for a solo puppeteer. .What are some easy ways of making it look good, without actually making an actual bird wing skeleton and flocking it? My parrrot will be cartoon-like, so simplifications work well. .Have you any online pics of parrot puppets I can look at? Don't worry, I'm not into copying designs, I just want clues as to technical solutions. So far, I've seen the Squackers toy, and the Folkmanis puppet. The previous bird puppets I made were a Fartosaurus, from a local illustrator's design (with all official authorizations), and a weirdly interpreted Canada Goose (colors all wrong, but made for the project, which was about "outcast puppets rejected from an audition for an Air Canada publicity campaign". You can see my past bird puppets here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61428267-AT-N00/2350396062/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/61428267-AT-N00/2350396062/ Farty has elastic-loaded wings (of foam, fleece and feathers) that flap, while Caporal has generalized cartoon wing shapes (same materials, no springs) moved by rods. Neither seems to have the right solution for my parrot. I don't want him to have half-open wings when he's at rest on his branch... Any suggestions? Thanks! This has to be built in at most three evenings (within a week, but Iwork days), starting Monday...which I've often done for other puppets, but not with unfamiliar wing making. I work fast and well under pressure, but a few tips can go a long way into keeping the mind slightly sane.. And for this project, I can post all the pics I want, and share about the process, because it's to be my puppet!! Yay! _______________________________________________ List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit Archives: http://www.driftline.org
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