Well built. The hand/arm movements are so responsive to the rods--and, the puppeteer is in graceful control. Thank you for this clip. I am learning much!
Thanks, and you're welcome. I learned a lot while working on this and the other two puppets for that show. Mostly: we didn't NEED to make the armature sturdy. I mean, it was still comfortable enough to perform, but a lot of the budget and weight were taken by both the welded and bolted aluminum backpack-style frame extension (mounted on a hunting rigid backpack system), and the cast resin head and arms. We could have built the same in lighter materials like PVC tubing, bamboo, and paper mache, but time was VERY short, and the budget was high, so we went with the Hollywood approach: throw money at it, hire some talents to speed things up. These tougher, pricier yet much faster approaches made it possible to deliver on time. Most of the time saved came from hiring a pro mold maker and caster who specialized in large public statues. Note the arm rods (extra long ski poles) are connected to the bottom of the wrists, as a pivot point. It helps a lot with raising the arms without having a weird angle and a need for overextending the arms. I wish I had more footage and images of the end results, but hey, sometimes too many obstacles, and too little time!
@@lordsofthewildwood7553 Hi, for the shoulders, we used rope, and for the elbows, it was bolts connecting upper and lower arms, which were built out of square aluminium stock. They worked well, but now I know better: one should not let parts of the same metal rub against each other. They will wear out faster. So, now I would use plastic washers between the parts, or even just use hinges or thick rubber as joints.
+bigbroable I'm sorry this comment escaped my notice for so long! The frame was mostly aluminum, the head and forearms were cast urethane resin. The black stuff is a lightweight foam called Plastazote. That approach worked, but in my opinion, it was much heavier than it could have been, and way more expensive. We were rushed by time, so these options were the best for that project. If I ever build giant puppets again, I'm going for paper mache, cardboard boxes, rope and bamboo poles. The hunting backpack frame would likely be the base, as it was very stable and comfortable.
Rope is the trick to getting a lot of nice, quiet movement. The shoulders are blocks of hard wood connected (with nuts and bolts) to the top of the metal frame that's connected to the backpack. The shoulder blocks have holes just big enough for a very strong braided rope to fit through. A knot on the rope prevents it from falling off. So each arm is supported by that rope.
Well built. The hand/arm movements are so responsive to the rods--and, the puppeteer is in graceful control. Thank you for this clip. I am learning much!
Thanks, and you're welcome. I learned a lot while working on this and the other two puppets for that show. Mostly: we didn't NEED to make the armature sturdy. I mean, it was still comfortable enough to perform, but a lot of the budget and weight were taken by both the welded and bolted aluminum backpack-style frame extension (mounted on a hunting rigid backpack system), and the cast resin head and arms. We could have built the same in lighter materials like PVC tubing, bamboo, and paper mache, but time was VERY short, and the budget was high, so we went with the Hollywood approach: throw money at it, hire some talents to speed things up. These tougher, pricier yet much faster approaches made it possible to deliver on time. Most of the time saved came from hiring a pro mold maker and caster who specialized in large public statues.
Note the arm rods (extra long ski poles) are connected to the bottom of the wrists, as a pivot point. It helps a lot with raising the arms without having a weird angle and a need for overextending the arms.
I wish I had more footage and images of the end results, but hey, sometimes too many obstacles, and too little time!
Sooo Good!!!! So well built!
Wow, this is an excellent puppet!
Thanks!
Whoa! Passion.
Wow! That's so cool!!
Thanks! We all worked hard on it.
Hi 11 years later. What types of joints and sockets did you use for this please ??
@@lordsofthewildwood7553 Hi, for the shoulders, we used rope, and for the elbows, it was bolts connecting upper and lower arms, which were built out of square aluminium stock. They worked well, but now I know better: one should not let parts of the same metal rub against each other. They will wear out faster. So, now I would use plastic washers between the parts, or even just use hinges or thick rubber as joints.
Man that is awesome :)
are those all metal?
im planning to make one but i wonder if a strong wood would be enough for the pole of the body reply please :) ty
+bigbroable I'm sorry this comment escaped my notice for so long! The frame was mostly aluminum, the head and forearms were cast urethane resin. The black stuff is a lightweight foam called Plastazote. That approach worked, but in my opinion, it was much heavier than it could have been, and way more expensive. We were rushed by time, so these options were the best for that project. If I ever build giant puppets again, I'm going for paper mache, cardboard boxes, rope and bamboo poles. The hunting backpack frame would likely be the base, as it was very stable and comfortable.
How are the arms connected to the torso? :)
Rope is the trick to getting a lot of nice, quiet movement.
The shoulders are blocks of hard wood connected (with nuts and bolts) to the top of the metal frame that's connected to the backpack. The shoulder blocks have holes just big enough for a very strong braided rope to fit through. A knot on the rope prevents it from falling off. So each arm is supported by that rope.
Thank you :))