Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 14:53:39 -0500
Subject: Re: PUPT: Riding a pig body puppet


on 2/18/02 7:21 AM, The Mask (& Puppet) Studio at dhell-AT-ozemail.com.au
wrote:

> While I fear this is outside my construction skills I'm keen
> to tackle the project...
> 
> I have been asked to make a large pig puppet that two
> people ride such that their legs become the pig's feet. This
> is a variation of the two men in a horse...the difference
> being that the performers are exposed as riders from the
> waist up. With various devices(false legs, a hole for each
> performer, etc) the body is pretty straightforward and the
> head, as such, is a common everyday garden variety
> sculpting job. But they want to have a head that turns,rises
> & falls, opens its mouth and maybe(!) blinks its eyes.
> While such options can be expressed through vent figure
> techniques I'm having trouble working out how I can join
> the head to the body so that  I can get the movement I
> want.
> 
> I'm thinking that perhaps I can put a bridle and reins on the
> pig for the head control, utilize gravity weighted eyes that
> open and close  and leave out the moving mouth option
> (with a bit in place that makes sense).
> 
> A ball and socket join would carry this head  but surely
> there is a form of cable -- like a coaxial cable -- that is
> strong enough, and flexible enough to allow the head to be
> moved  with a bit of tension on the reins.
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
Actually I think you may be making this a bit more complex than need be. It
sounds very similar to some things we used in the circus. I "rode" a giraffe
in the circus much like this. The head was supported by rod reins controled
by me. It would have been very simple to add any of the bells and whistles
you mentioned with out much trouble by running a bicycle cable along the
rods, one for the mouth on one rein, and one for the eyes on the other rein.
Make sense?



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