From: "Bear Town" <beartown-AT-bear-town.com>
Subject: PUPT: Re: Re: Help: puppetbuilding crisis!
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 19:55:04 -0500


I've found that some of the cheaper doll joints can break - mostly the $1
ones you find at Wal-Mart. I started buying more expensive ones (that I'm
told) are better quality from a doll making shop and I haven't had those
break on me. I guess you really do get what you pay for.

I discuss one approach to making armatures (for a hand and rod puppet) with
dowels in the puppet building tutorial I've been writing at
www.bear-town.com/backstage_pages/tumbles_intro.htm. Making the puppet's
arms are discussed in part two if memory serves.

- Andrew


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rebecca McNulty" <orrenflam-AT-rcn.com>
To: <puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 12:42 PM
Subject: PUPT: Re: Help: puppetbuilding crisis!


> Mathieu---
>
> An interior armature would have prevented this problem-giving a secure
place
> to attach the arm through the shoulders, and then covering the armature
with
> the fabric to achieve the look you want. You're asking fabric to take all
> the stress that movement provides. To fix this, you want to transfer the
> stress from your fabric and threads to something more durable.
>
> Doll and teddy bear makers use a joint made of two plastic discs joined
with
> a heavy-duty elastic or some other strong string. (Actually, newer ones
are
> a plastic joint that is made the same way.) You can sometimes find these
> joints at fabric and craft stores.
>
> You can create a similar effect with two buttons and elastic. Embed one
> button in the fabric arm, with the elastic piercing the fabric and secured
> to the other button, which is inside the shoulder---or you could go
through
> the entire shoulder piece and join it to the other arm's button. The
button
> spreads the stress out over the fabric, instead of pulling in one spot.
>
> The best long-term solution is to eventually rebuild the arms--it looks as
> though you could easily add a dowel rod into the torso--and join the arms
to
> the rod with leather or any other marionette joint. You'll find that the
> armature will give you a better performance, as well.
>
> Good luck!
>
> --Rebecca
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mathieu Rene" <uubald-AT-magma.ca>
> To: <puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 9:54 AM
> Subject: PUPT: Help: puppetbuilding crisis!
>
>
> > Hi Jim, and all,
> > here are more precisions, concerning my puppet ordeal.
> > Besides this one, all the other steps of the other puppets are going
> great.
> >
> > The puppet I have the most trouble with is the nude lady.Her
> > shoulders,specifically, since she is going to be seen nude.
> >  She will be manipulated by two puppeteers, "unraku" style, which means,
> > from our late 2003 dicussions about puppet definitions, that it will be
> > Bunraku manipulation inspired, seen by the public. For this specific
show,
> > one might say it's a tabletop-unraku style, as they perform on
adjustable
> > platforms.
> >
> > She has rods in her hands, a dowel behind her head, and the rest of the
> body
> > will be in direct contact with the puppeteer's hand, for a better
control.
> >
> > Her one-piece shoulder-chest-belly-pelvis is made of celluclay over
> > newspaper.
> > Arms and legs are fabric packed tight with polyester fiberfill.
> > you can see the problem area on my website:
> > http://www.magma.ca/~uubald/willcock.jpg
> >
> > What we need the shoulder to do: rotate as much as a real shoulder as
> > possible, without looking too crappy, or the arm looking completeley
> > detached from it.
> > The main concerns:
> > -looks crappy
> > -arm joint too fragile and prone to need heavy and complicated repair(a
> > no-no for during the shows)
> > -fabric gets destroyed too quick when threaded through..
>
> > Mathieu René Créaturiste
> > Marionnettes, masques, etc...
> > Puppets, masks, etc...
> > uubald-AT-magma.ca
> > http://www.magma.ca/~uubald/
> > (514) 725-5821
> >
> >
> >
> >   --- Personal replies to: "Mathieu Rene" <uubald-AT-magma.ca>
> >   --- List replies to:     puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> >   --- Admin commands to:   majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> >   --- Archives at:         http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~spoons
> >
>
>
>
>
>   --- Personal replies to: "Rebecca McNulty" <orrenflam-AT-rcn.com>
>   --- List replies to:     puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>   --- Admin commands to:   majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>   --- Archives at:         http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~spoons
>



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