Because blacklight works for pretty much any puppet type, I decided to give you a tutorial on a somewhat scary rod puppet for halloween. It’s a skeleton, with a moving mouth and it’s very very easy to make! So easy, the kids can do it! I’m also going to add this as a kit for sale later on.

Materials and tools

• Download and print out my pattern (pdf format) - you don’t have to resize it, but you can if you want. Just remember to resize all of the parts if you do choose to make it bigger - you definitely shouldn’t make the puppet smaller than what is given
• One white Foam sheet (I used a Foamie - brand name, you can get them at Riot Art if you’re Aussie or Joann’s in the US), A4 sized is fine
• Some black hat elastic, about 10cm (4 inches) should do fine
• Three black rods (coathangers that are covered in black plastic might work; straighten ‘em out with some pliers)
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Masking tape or some sort of strong tape
• A blacklight
• OPTIONAL: Black gloves

 

Step One

Cut out the parts from the paper pattern along the hard black lines. You should end up with: one skeleton head, one jaw, and an arm. Cut out the eyes and nose from the head.

Step Two

Trace the patterns onto your white foam using a pencil. Don’t worry about the green circles from Parts A and B just yet.

Cut out the parts from the foam, using a pair of scissors (I found a scalpel or box cutter created rough edges, whereas scissors didn’t); be sure to cut out the eyes and nose from the head.

Step Three

To attach the jaw to the head, we’ll create an elastic join.

To do this: take your Part A and overlay it on the foam head. Use the tip of your scissors to poke two holes through the green circles. Be careful not to rip the foam too much. Do the same with the jaw: create two holes, as marked on Part B.

Now take your hat elastic and cut it in half. Thread one end into the left hole on the head of the skeleton and tie a knot in it on the other side. Thread the other end of the elastic through the left hole of the jaw, tying a knot on the other side. The knots should be tied on the back of the head/jaw. Do the same for the two right holes. (The image below shows the back of the puppet) Test the tension? Too tight and the jaw won’t move much; too loose and the jaw will dangle. I found a good couple of centimetres (an inch or so) was enough tension for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Step Four

 

Attach a rod to the back of the head, right between the eyes. I used masking tape because I’m reusing rods. You might want something more permanent, so you can use glue if you prefer.

Now attach a rod to the back of the jaw, roughly in the center (I ran out of black rods, so I simply used some clear fishing thread and attached one end to the bottom of the jaw, the other end to a bead. The rod method might work better…)

Step Five

Trace Part C onto the rest of your foam: you can make two arms if you prefer, I just made one. Cut out and attach a rod to the back of the hand.

And you’re done! Yep, it’s that easy!

Play!

To operate the puppet, you can do it by yourself or grab a friend (this is why I made one arm - I didn’t have enough hands to operate two arms and the head). Put the rod for the skeleton’s head in one hand, and the rod for the jaw in the other. By pulling the rod for the jaw, you can flex the elastic joints and make it appear as if the skeleton is talking or laughing. Hold those two rods in one hand, and the rod for the arm in the other; try doing lots of different movements! Hey, you could even add more limbs or other features if you like. Here’s a short video of how my puppet turned out:

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