One of my goals this year is to work my way through the collection of courses I’ve bought on Domestika and it’s been a good way to jump back into a creative practice after such a long break. So far in January I’ve been focusing on Introduction to Puppet Making for Stop Motion which is something I’ve been interested in learning for a long time. I’ve always loved stop motion movies and behind the scenes footage of how they create the puppets and miniature worlds. I was so excited when I found this course that walks you through the basics.
Here’s a peek at what’s on my work table. It’s been really fun so far, incorporating some techniques I’ve used for dollmaking as well as new techniques like whittling wood for portions of the armature and using Miliput for creating the bones. My past wire armatures didn’t have bones so the limbs would move like spaghetti noodles instead of bending realistically at the joints. Big improvement!
I decided I wanted to make an anthropomorphic cat which I’ve never attempted before so fingers crossed I didn’t bite off more than I can chew. I’ve got a basic shape going so we’ll see how well I’m able to refine it. I think the next step is to layer on foam and fur and it will really start to come to life. I have an idea of how I want to dress her, but that will come last. The miniature boots are another thing I’ve wanted to try making for a long time and will be a whole project in itself that I’m looking forward to digging into when I get there.
It’s slow going. I made and trashed a pair of arms then made the new set above. It felt good to get into that flow, lose track of time on a weekend afternoon and create. Hopefully she looks more cat and less baby dragon soon!
Little Stream Studio 