The Foam Book & Videos

CaptCrouton

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I just bought the foam book and respective videos. I rather like it, but was a little disappointed that both videos had the same footage for most of the time. I understand that the production costs are cheaper and that much of the construction is the same. But it would've been nice to do a completely different project on both videos.

It's interesting that they started with the foam and covered it (In the 3 piece version anyway). In my One Way Street pattern, if I recall correctly, they start with the fabric and stuff it with a foam insert.

The foam book was pretty vague in technique for covering foam with fabric. I haven't used the od yet, and was wondering what other people thought. Has it turned out better either way for you?

Thanks
Markus
 

Buck-Beaver

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Most puppet builders I know start with foam and then cover it. There are certain types of puppets (usually ones with very little foam in them) where you might pattern the puppet in fabric and later add a foam insert.

Not to knock the good God fearin' folks at One Way Street, but I'm not a fan of their construction methods, patterns, etc. They are OK for their intended market (Churches and Christian puppet ministry) but but the methods discussed in the foam book will probably serve you better if you are serious about puppet building.

As for techniques for covering foam with fabric, this is one of the hardest things to explain because how you do it really depends on what you are covering. The easiest way to make a fabric pattern is usually to just trace the foam pattern you used. You can also look at Teddy Bear and stuffed animal/doll patterns to get an idea of how to make shapes to cover foam in fur or fabric.

Tztz is right though, as frustrating as it is to hear when you are just starting to figure things out, you really should experiment with different things and develop your own style.

Finally (warning: shameless self-promotion to follow) I'll be discussing one covering approachin my next update to my ongoing puppet building tutorial The Tumbles P. Bear Project. I'll probably have the update posted by Wednesday so maybe that will help you out.
 

CaptCrouton

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Buck-Beaver said:
Most puppet builders I know start with foam and then cover it. There are certain types of puppets (usually ones with very little foam in them) where you might pattern the puppet in fabric and later add a foam insert.

Not to knock the good God fearin' folks at One Way Street, but I'm not a fan of their construction methods, patterns, etc. They are OK for their intended market (Churches and Christian puppet ministry) but but the methods discussed in the foam book will probably serve you better if you are serious about puppet building.

As for techniques for covering foam with fabric, this is one of the hardest things to explain because how you do it really depends on what you are covering. The easiest way to make a fabric pattern is usually to just trace the foam pattern you used. You can also look at Teddy Bear and stuffed animal/doll patterns to get an idea of how to make shapes to cover foam in fur or fabric.

Tztz is right though, as frustrating as it is to hear when you are just starting to figure things out, you really should experiment with different things and develop your own style.

Finally (warning: shameless self-promotion to follow) I'll be discussing one covering approachin my next update to my ongoing puppet building tutorial The Tumbles P. Bear Project. I'll probably have the update posted by Wednesday so maybe that will help you out.
Yeah, after I posted my question, I read a few posts down to the Bear Project. I'm really fascinated by that wedge method. My real problem is that I've never hand sewn anything in my life, always a machine. This is probably the crowd One Way was heading at with their pattern.

I have to give OWS credit though, if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be in puppetry to begin with. They do festivals all over the U.S. with some neat competitions that have really fueled the passion for puppets with my team and I.

I guess though the more sources I can check out in the construction dept, the more I building blocks I have to create my own thing. Thanks for the input Tztz and Buck.

Markus
 

Buck-Beaver

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Hand sewing is actually very easy. You can start with simple stitches. There are probably lots of books on the subject in any good library. There are probably lots of web sites too, but I am to lazy to check for URLs at the moment.... :wink:

Like I said, I'm not knocking the folks at One Way Street, it's just that a lot of their products are aimed at a certain audience (and serve it well) but aren't really intended for professional use. It's like music....a professional German $3,000 violin is a better instrument than a $450 starter violin. Is the latter a good violin? Not really. But that doesn't mean you can't learn to play on it and eventually graduate to something better. :big_grin:
 

Jivepuppet

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The Foam Book Rocks!

I've bought both the Foam Book and two One Way Street patterns from where I work (major book/music/movie retailer). The Foam book really is the way to go. It's the best book around for foam puppets, since most puppet making books just breeze over it in a chapter or less (I have a huge collection of puppetry related books). One Way Street's patterns are cool, especially if you're a beginner. The People Puppet pattern and The Human Arm-Shirt Pattern are the two I have and would recomend them to anyone who is curious about puppets, but not wanting to go the pro looking way. There are things to be taken from any book or video out there and applied to what you're doing, it's just a matter of interpretation. But, to make a long post a little longer, I highly recomend The Foam Book. I've had it for 6 years and still go back to it all the time when in a pinch!
 
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