Papier mache in a mould

This shot shows half of a puppet head that has dried in situ in the mould. Note the border of papier mache overlapping out onto the mould body. This is deliberate, as the overlap gives you something to lever out the moulding once it is dry, without pulling or levering the moulding itself, and acts as a handle.
This means you are less likely to break it or distort it when you pull it out. The picture shows two modelling tools slid under ready to start levering out half of Judy's head.

Papier mache shrinks as it dries, and for this reason you should not pull the moulding out if it is not completely dry. If it is still wet and it dries out of the mould, it will distort.
Just because the overlap is dry, do not assume the whole moulding is. The overlap will almost always dry faster than the rest of the moulding, especially if it is a deep mould, or you have layered many layers in one go.

Small puppets, big hands

Having set up a challenge to make Punch and Judy smaller than they should be, it now falls to me to make them work.

However, I can't use my hand to control a glove puppet in the same way if it is too small to get one's hand in. Normally, a glove puppet is controlled directly by the forefinger (inside the head), and the thumb and middle finger (one inside each arm) . This gives an immediate and very subtle level of control, and instant reaction and expression.

The question is how to keep the expressive nature of a glove puppet when you can't get you hand in it? Stealing from hinged shadow puppets, it would seem some sort of jointed skeleton is required...

Here is an initial drawing of how this might work

New video available about putting a puppet head together

The latest offering is this video that shows the process of constructing one of the puppet heads, the Salesman. It shows the technique starting from two halves of a head made as mouldings from a plaster cast of the original model, cut in two. It shows how the moudlings are trimmed, the edges cleaned up, and how they are put together to make the head.

This follows on from the video that shows mould making for the Salesman, and is about what to do with the mouldings from it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaqORRfZ7Aw

First pass at making Judy

Here is the initial Judy head. I am trying to capture the continuous sense of shock and exasperation here.

New video available on mould making

This video shows how to make a single plaster mould from an original puppet head modelled in plasticene, which involves cutting the head in half, then making a single plaster moulding block from the two halves.

WATCH VIDEO NOW ON YOUTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIrE3gjt4Gw

The picture here is of the finished mould. The heads appear solid, but are actually the mould recesses.

Scientists

I now have a model for the scientist. I think it captures a degree of the intended features it is pillorying. i.e. conceipt, arrogance, aloofness, trusted authority hiding selfishness, slightly obsessive air.

New video on making crocodiles snap

I have now managed to get a working jaw mechanism for the crocodile. Bicycle cables! The complete video is now available here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7ZbKjea9Dw

Crocodiles

Crocodile mouth parts have been occupying me, and I have finally got the ideal remote control, which is a bicycle gear cable and sheath linked up to its mouth.
Here is a pictures of the croc head before being cleaved in tow to insert the mechanism
Video and more pictures to follow...

Salesman

I have now just about got the finished model created in papier mache. It is pretty close to what I had intended from the intial rough drawings, and possibly even pouts more disturbingly leerish than the original concept, which is a bonus!