Introduction and question on SS puppet

[hackdroot]

Hey all,

First off, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eric and I live in northern California. I am just entering the world of puppetry and have spent many hours reading through the forums here and associated links. I have been making latex masks and various props for a few years and am now switching gears to puppetry. I figure my sculpting, molding, amd latex work should carry over well. I have links to pics of some of my work, but probably cant post here until my post count increases, so if anyone would like to help out, let me know and I'll PM/email them over.

Although I have just ordered the glorified sock pattern to get me rolling, I have several projects I am anxious to try out. Unfortunately I don't know how to sew, so thats my first challenge.

There is one puppet from Sesame street I'd like to take a crack at. It's the 'Yip-Yip' martian(s). I have links to pics and video which I can, once again, provide to someone to post for me. The mouth movement seems like a mechanism operates it from below, but it's hard to tell how the internals work. If anyone could shed some light on the best way to go about what type of materials and an explanation, or guess, of the mouth mechanism, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

-Eric-

 

[GabeFirestone]

hey eric! nice to meet you! i would be glad to post links for you if you PM them to me...

also, you can post links like this.... instead of typing out:

www.notArealSITE.com

you can write:

www [dot] notArealSITE [dot] com

that seems to work

 

[hackdroot]

Email sent Gabriel!! Thanks.

Cant send PM's either until 10 post count is reached (WooHoo only 8 more )

 

[GabeFirestone]

This is me posting for Eric... (his work!)

Some of my recent work. Here's a Michael Myers sculpt I did a few
months ago:

http://home.comcast.net/~vectrex23/pheer2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~vectrex23/pheer3.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~vectrex23/t1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~vectrex23/t2.jpg


Here's My Burger King sculpt and resulting mask. The Crown is a
separate appliance.

http://home.comcast.net/~vectrex23/kingdone1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~vectrex23/k1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~vectrex23/k2.jpg


And finally some youtube links to the Yip-Yip martians I want to make:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlDgI6x4ocY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmzWXoJObAQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uriYIMa35Hg

-Eric

 

[GabeFirestone]

haha thanks for those! funny videos! also, i love your burger king!

 

[puppetsmith]

Hey hackdroot! Great work. Though I've never seen the Martians from Sesame Street in person, it looks to me like they are very basic rod puppets. One rod goes up to the eyes on top of the head and the other rod goes to the center bottom lip. Hope that helps!

 

[gfarkwort]

Neat stuff!.....What kind of clay do you use?....I've been playing around with Roma Plastilina #4

anyway....the Yip Yip martians aren't your typical puppet....they are operated with two rods. One for the back of the head...and one for the front of the mouth......there is no hand inside there...just rods.....So I think that would be a fun first puppet building expierience....

 

[hackdroot]

Neat stuff!.....What kind of clay do you use?....I've been playing around with Roma Plastilina #4

anyway....the Yip Yip martians aren't your typical puppet....they are operated with two rods. One for the back of the head...and one for the front of the mouth......there is no hand inside there...just rods.....So I think that would be a fun first puppet building expierience....

Thanks for the tips on the rod mechanism guys. I thought it was something simple, which is a relief.

I use WED clay (water based) for my sculptures now. It's not only cheaper than roma, you don't need to use alcohol like you would on oil based. Oil based clays, like Roma, need to be heated to soften and they put off sulphur fumes which can irritate your respiratory system and nervous system. Couldn't use that stuff safely inside since I don't have an adequate ventilaiton system. Most of the pros I know suggested WED, but it's all personal preference. WED is great stuff, but since it's water based doesn't keep too long so you need to sculpt in a shorter amount of time. Keeping the sculpture moist and covered will keep it workable for many weeks though. It's also superior for larger sculpts since you can move large amounts of it with ease.

-Eric

 

[RubbeRoomStudio]

i love the sculpt work... That michael myers is awesome...

when i saw the martian yip yip clips i laughed like i did when i was a kid... they do seem like would be easy to do...
Oh, and Welcome... Good luck with your puppetry adventures!