Shadow puppetry

Comment by Naomi Guss on August 17, 2009 at 11:53pm

I saw that there was no group for shadow puppeteers, so I added one! My main interest is in shadow puppetry... the photo I used for the group is from a class I taught earlier this year on making shadow puppets. (Incidentally, the pattern for that fish is also something I sell)

Comment by brian on October 30, 2009 at 6:38pm

Hello Naomi. I do not make shadow puppets exclusively, but I have made and performed with them and would like to learn more. Hope we can share some ideas!

Comment by puppetlady on October 31, 2009 at 5:04pm

I use shadow puppets, mostly for workshops and residencies, but am revising one of my shows to include shadow puppets for underwater scenes. Do either of you work with lexan to make puppets? Museum board? I have made prototypes of the puppets I want to use for my productions from simple cardstock and matte board - next I need to step up to lexan and museum board or plywood for sturdier and durable puppets to travel, a new endeavor. Any advice in working with these materials (what not to do, etc.) appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Comment by brian on November 4, 2009 at 12:24pm

Puppetlady - I have used lexan before. Not an expert. This is what I do...I get a clear sheet of lexan then cover it with black contact paper. I use a white grease pencil to draw my image on and then use a sharp x-acto knife to cut the puppet parts out. A neat thing about the contact paper is that you can make much more intricate shapes and cuts by ONLY cutting and peeling-up the contact paper. You leave the clear lexan underneath to support the designs you cut in the contact paper. The construction that I have done is then very similar to the cardstock puppets you are already using.

Neat ideas that I haven't tried yet ( so tell me if you do! )....

Colored plastic or scenic lighting gel in addition to / or in place of the contact paper to make colorful puppets!

Printing images directly onto the lexan or some other plastic. Either by hand or by using a fancy printer at Kinko's or something like that.

I saw Nightshade Shadow Theatre do some amazing 3-D shadows during their show. They actually constructed a forest and a sitting room on top of a sheet of cardboard with all 3-D objects glued on top. By slowly revolving the cardboard "set" they were able to get some amazing shadow imagery and movement through the forest. Also by moving the forest towards and past the shadow light we actually seemed to be walking through the forest! In the case of the room they had just had a few simple pieces of furniture, from a doll house or some such and then walls made out of lexan. On the walls they were able to "hang" picutres, a clock and wall sconces. The effect was amazing and I would love to experiment further with it.

That's all I have for now. Please let me know if you have any more ideas as well!

Comment by Naomi Guss on November 6, 2009 at 3:41am

I haven't tried lexan. At the moment, I am using a combination of cardboard, translucent papers, and 'fantasy film', a product used in making fairy wings on clay dolls. I laminate the pieces together for the best results.

I am currently asking a local Aussie what she used recently - it was a plastic with black backing, which you can cut and peel away, leaving a clear plastic visible. She said it was very good. I do recall her telling me that a material she tried was difficult to work with, but can't remember if she meant lexan. I will also find out about that.

I'm also tending to steer clear of large shadow puppets, as these are harder for me to sell/ship.

Colored plastic (cellophane) or lighting gels do work well, although the latter is more expensive. The fantasy film I use is more expensive than cellophane, but is better for me, because the colours are better: it's not just one colour, but many depending on how the light hits the film. This gives greater depth I think... as well as just being prettier.

I haven't used matte board, but for my tastes it's too thick. I've recently discovered that a thin cardboard (not sure of the thickness, but I can find out if you're interested) can be painted and lit from behind and the paint will still show through. This works REALLY well for making blacklight shadow puppets. (I'll post some pics later of ones I've just finished making)

I would think that the heavier the material - plywood, etc - the harder it would be to hold them up, given that puppeteer's arms get tired after a while.

I'd love to see Nightshade Shadow Theatre! What a pity I'm in the wrong country ;)

Comment by puppetlady on November 6, 2009 at 12:26pm

If you are using lighter weight puppets, what is the sturdiest method of attaching the rod to the puppet? I use the design from the Curell book - tab of paper, bend a wire in an L shape, and with translucent puppets, build the control into the design of the costume, etc. so it isn't too visible. Do you sew yours on? Is there a better way, particularly with lightweight translucent puppets?

Comment by brian on November 6, 2009 at 5:01pm

Hiding the control attachment in the costume or another part of the body is a good idea! One attachment I've made is to take a heavy-duty wire and make a small loop at the end of it. then where I'm intending to attach the control rod I punch two small holes in the plastic. I also take some left-over scrap pieces of plastic and cut out two small circles (just a bit bigger that the loop I've bent on the control rod). Then I poke two holes in each of the small circles I just cut (They will look kinda like buttons!) Next I will line up the holes with the pieces in this order: 1 small circle, the puppet body, another small circle and the control rod. Then I sew it together with heavy-duty thread. The hope is that the small circles will protect the puppet from the friction of the control rod. That's just one way, I'm sure there are many others....

Comment by Naomi Guss on November 7, 2009 at 2:42am

My friend got back to me and said she uses polycarbonate sheeting - sold by the metre here - and used black contact to block the light (cutting it and removing sections of contact to allow the light to show through where necessary).

I have actually created my own attachment method for rods. Because I laminate my shadow puppets, I use one of two methods. The first, used on my translucent puppets, is similar to Brian's: I punch holes in the pieces through which I run the hooked end of my rod. See the first pic below. This will probably be changed soon as I have recently updated my second method..

The other way I do it is to cut two slits parallel to one other in the puppet piece. I then thread through a piece of strong black elastic (my updated version is to use clear plastic, the type used in clear bra straps), and then sew it together. The result is a loop of plastic, which allows me to hook the rod in the loop for 'reversible' rods. See second pic. With the clear plastic, it will negate the issue of having holes in my design.

I've found that the elastic is VERY strong, especially with some good tight and small stitching.

Brian's method sounds interesting, it's sort of what I learned from Richard Bradshaw, only using plastic to attach the wires.

Comment by puppetlady on November 9, 2009 at 7:42am

Hi and thanks for the detailed pictures! I will have to checkout the Nightshade shadow theatre - I love the idea of the revolving background, too. I use posterboard - a heavy duty cardstock, paint with acrylics, oil, which is translucent. And the laminate would help solve the problem of durability, especially at the rod attachment area, so they don't tear. I was wondering if that would work! I have used Brian's method of attaching the rod - but still had probs with tearing, or hole enlarging on the matte board. I have to wait til Jan. to really work on this project - too busy with the holidays. Naomi, do you ship to the USA? Thanks!!

Comment by brian on November 9, 2009 at 12:22pm

Since the puppets I make have been plastic I haven't had a problem with tearing or the holes enlarging, but I HAVE had a problem with the string becoming frayed after some vigorous use. After looking at Naomi's designs I think I need to try a change! Thanks Naomi!

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