The puppets that we use are inspired by Japanese Bunraku Puppets. Although
the materials and construction methods vary greatly, and the look of the puppets
is not usually Japanese. However, our larger puppets are often over a metre
in height, similar to the height of Bunraku puppets and they are fully operated
with three people: one on the head and the left hand, one on the right hand,
and one on the feet.
The size of the puppet is largely driven by character and the context in which
the puppet will be used. We have puppets ranging from about 25cms to 1.5 metres
in height. The larger the puppet gets, the more difficult it is to operate.
I think the puppets are more interesting when they are smaller than human
size and in some cases considerably smaller.
Depending on how impatient I am to begin, I may do a full size plan of the
puppet. This is more important if I am making several puppets for one show
which have to relate in scale to one another. I often do technical
drawings for some parts of the puppets, particularly the arms and legs, in
order to work out the shape of the limbs and the positions of the pivot points
for joints.
I tend to make the puppets head smaller proportionally to the rest of the
body than it would be in real life. This is personal preference, for me it
makes the puppet look more elegant and real.
The expression which I sculpt for the puppet head will again be dictated by
its character. I tend to sculpt expressions that are not too extreme, it seems
to allow a wider range of emotion when we are using the puppet. I usually
sculpt the mouth slightly open. Again this is personal preference and not
always the case, but I think it gives more possibility that the puppet is
talking or perhaps just active.
