Puppeteer's Resources Links

[propologist]

Hi Staceyrebecca,
Go look again. The yellow one is the largest I have made so far, And yes that is 18 1/2 inches long

 

[staceyrebecca]

at that point, its not so much an eye as a pregnancy belly




(just imagine all the cute little puppets inside!)

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Thanks for helping us all, Propologist! (Hope all things are going well for you!)

 

[Blinky_Fish]

Does anyone here use hot wire to carve polyfoam for puppets? Just looking for some pointers.

 

[staceyrebecca]

Buck Beaver had posted not too long ago that cutting polyfoam with any sort of heat device will give off toxic fumes...so...dont?

At JoAnn Fabrics they use an electric Knife. At home I use scissors.

 

[Teenager's]

yea....I've done it....it smells really bad (actually kind of sweet) and a lot of smoke comes from it.---if you were to do it, do it outside and with a respirator.----I've done it in my closed off puppet room in my basement with the door closed & no windows.....you can stand it....but it isn't fun afterwards....

but on the upside it's definitely easy & fast---and I'd probably do it again---but outside with a respirator.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

yea....I've done it....it smells really bad (actually kind of sweet) and a lot of smoke comes from it.---if you were to do it, do it outside and with a respirator.----I've done it in my closed off puppet room in my basement with the door closed & no windows.....you can stand it....but it isn't fun afterwards....

but on the upside it's definitely easy & fast---and I'd probably do it again---but outside with a respirator.

I hate to be the nag here, but I have to emphasize DO NOT cut foam with a hot wire indoors or without a respirator. Even if you can "stand it" the fumes are toxic and potentially cancer-causing. I know puppet builders and other artists who didn't take safety precautions when they were younger and now have a variety of low grade health problems and weakened immune systems that they attribute to exposure to various chemicals.

 

[Blinky_Fish]

mmm... Toxic

About the Hot wire - I do have a vent system in my workshop. (I am so SMRT) I was more intersted in the result of carving with a 45 PPI foam. Seems like there would be a lot of collapse in the cells. Just wanted to know if results were better than cutting with blades - Just looking for a better way to give my designs life.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

For small projects I would be surprised if you could carve foam more accurately with a hot wire than a blade, but then I haven't done much carving. The hot wires are very good (and fast) for doing rough cuts on large blocks. Once foam gets thicker than 1" I have always found it difficult to cut without a hot wire or one of those electric cutters.

 

[BenjaminaGunn]

Wacky Stacks.....

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum. I love seeing what you all have to say and I hope to contribute my own pics and such to the forum very soon.

The reason I am posting is because I read about how Muppet eyes were made of "Wacky Stacks" and how they were nearly impossible to find these days....well, I think I might have found some. Can anyone tell me if this is the right thing?

Thanks for your help!