During my final year at Norwich University of the Arts, I was tasked with developing a technical dissertation that explored audience responses to various puppetry styles, with a particular emphasis on how individuals perceive character personality and role within a narrative through visual style, texture, and puppetry techniques. For my study, I selected two distinct puppet types: a traditional hand and rod puppet inspired by a character from Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock, and a marionette stop-motion puppet influenced by Wes Anderson's work and the models from Arch Model Studios in Isle of Dogs.
How was i made? The Fraggle
1) Combine characteristics from existing Fraggle Rock characters to create a unique design.
2) Create a custom head by molding polymer clay and covering it with tape to make a paper pattern.
3) Construct maquettes to test different head shapes and body-making processes.
4) Use reticulated foam pieces to create the three-dimensional head and body shape.
5) Construct the mouth plate using plastic and felt, securing it with glue and adding loops inside the head for finger slips.
6) Cut and stitch blue fleece material over the foam base for the body, head,limbs and tail.
7) Attach ping-pong balls to the head for eyes and use ostrich feathers for hair to create light and flowing movement when head turns.
8) Use synthetic fur material for the body, experimenting with color contrasts for a combination of wood and fabric dye.
9) Construct arms with aluminum wire fingers and rods from bent steel clothing hangers.
10) Attach limbs and tail using the Hanson stitch to complete the puppet.
Through the integration of traditional Jim Henson puppetry techniques and insights gathered from interviews with Iestyn Evans, co-founder of Talk to the Hands Puppet Studio, I meticulously crafted and constructed my Fraggle puppet. By blending these time-honored techniques with contemporary approaches, I was able to bring to life a Fraggle puppet that embodies the essence of both classic puppetry and modern craftsmanship.
Design blueprints and fabrication
The second part of this project was that I created a stop motion amateur based around the Wes Anderson movie Isle of Dogs and was lucky enough to interview the Puppet studio behind the film Arch Model Studios. for more information on this part of the project please go to the next page.