What materials do you use for muppet-types?
As mentioned in my short post about what materials to use when making a puppet, there’s no hard and fast rules as to what to use when building a puppet. However, there are some industry standard products out there that you can use.
For building a muppet-type mouth, many people use a thick cardboard or illustrators’ board. The good thing about it is that illustrators’ board is strong and sturdy, allowing a lot of use from the mouth. Some people may think using a paper plate is a good idea: but after some use, a paper plate will crumble, and you’ll lose the ability to manipulate the mouth well. Cover the illustrators’ board with some cloth material; any is ok, but cotton tshirt material works well for me.
The basis of the head, arms, legs and bodies, is made using foam. Most puppet makers prefer Scott foam (reticulated foam), which is a tough and durable - but flexible and easy to use - material. For those Aussies, check out my post on where to buy reticulated foam. I’ve had trouble buying reticulated foam in Melbourne, so I purchase plain foam sheets from Spotlight for $AUD1 each. I don’t recommend using styrofoam for building muppet-type puppets. Styrofoam will simply deteriorate too quickly and won’t stand up to the vigorous work outs it will get during performance.
Gluing your foam pieces together, you’ll want to use a non-toxic glue, and most puppet makers recommend Green Contact Cement, or Crafter’s Pick Ultimate. I’ve recently discovered a Foam Glue (literally the name of the product) on sale at Riot Art and Spotlight. It works really well for muppet-types
Next, you want to cover your muppet-type with material. Most people want the professional look used in The Muppets, etc, and for that you need to buy antron fleece. This type of cloth is particularly loved because it hides the seams of the material; more info about what antron fleece is can be found here. Again, for those Aussies; I haven’t found antron fleece yet, but I can recommend the antipill fleeces on sale at Spotlight, which cost about $AUD 14.95 per metre. The have some great plain colours, as well as some really fab design fleeces, one of which I used for my latest blinking eye experiment.
For joints on your muppet-type, you can use doll or teddy bear joints, although some puppet makers use velcro or key chain-type objects to create removable limbs.
What to use for rods? Well, coathangers make a perfect cheap rod, and I particularly keep my eye out for ones covered in black plastic, as it makes less work for me when I need to have black rods - no need to paint them black yourself! Adding the wire to a doll’s joint makes for an easy-to-use rod, as described here.
For facial features, you can use any number of materials: eyes can be made from spoons, marbles, clay, etc. Hair can be made out of wool, wigs, dolls wigs, or any other materials you’d like. Clothes are generally handmade for the puppet, using the cloth that best suits your budget, tastes and the character of the puppet. Puppet noses are discussed in more detail here.
These cover some of the more important materials needed for muppet-type building. If you think something is missing from this explanation, or would like to know more about the materials used for muppet-types, please leave a comment and I’ll add it to the post.
You may also want to check out my post on buying antron fleece in Australia, and learn how to make a muppet puppet here or here.
This post AKA what material used muppet puppets, AKA what tools do you need to make a muppet, AKA materials for making foam mouth rod puppets, AKA materials used to make muppets
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