Steampunk Puppet

For our second term we had to create a puppet loosely based on the Steampunk style. I have never really been a fan of Steampunk, so I found this project a bit of a challenge; but a challenge is always a good thing! It got me to think outside of the box. I decided instead of creating a human puppet, I would create a puppet based on two things that I love. Pirates and robots! For this I took inspiration from my favourite game: Rayman 2 - The Great Escape. 

As you can see, they are quite angular in their design. I wanted a more rounded look. I cracked on with designing my puppet.

"Think of the head as a vessel to encase the brain." 

This is what I was told to remember when designing any puppet or character.The top part of the design was made a little bigger, where as the bottom half remained the same size. 

After finalising my design, I sculpted it out of plasticine. This was done so we could make a mould of it later on. I didn't want to spend too much time on the sculpture, as I knew it would get damaged in the process of casting.

I was right about it getting damaged...

After the latex mix was put into the mould, it was left for a few days to dry. This is how it looked when it came out of the mould.

After many hours work, paint fume inhalation, glue spills and pricked fingers; here is the final result! 

I am very pleased with the outcome, but I do wish I had had the time to add more metal onto it. I lost a lot of time over Easter due to not being able to collect it from University. Also, I would have liked to add togs onto the left side of the coat, but they were so small I couldn't sew them on. In hindsight I wish I had added cogs to match the right side. 

The coat is made of red velour, lined with thick black cotton material. The hat is made from black felt. I designed the pattern for the coat myself, that is probably what I am most proud of. The coat and hat were both hand stitched. This resulted in many pricked fingers!

It was most definitely a learning curve for me. Next time I will manage my time better, so I add everything to the puppet that I want to. I look forward to making my next puppet!