Crafty Tuesday: I Made Fish!

[puppetmaker]

Caroline’s school is performing the Little Mermaid in a little over a week .

Yesterday I build two fish puppets for them.

I started at 8 AM and got them both done about 2pm.

When I mean started as in no pattern existed for these fish or anything. This was a from scratch project.


The Fish
(For the VI: I am wearing both fish. On my right arm is the Red Fish and on my left is the blue fish. They have ping pong eyeballs with a black dot in the middle)


The Fish head on
(For the VI: This is a face shot of the two fish. Blue on top.)

I started with a piece of craft paper and worked out the pattern pieces from my initial sketch. I had a few things I had to work with. The puppets had to be big enough to read from stage. They had to be operated with one hand. And they had to be operated by children so the head had to not be too big.


Rough Outline for the fish
(For the VI: This is a piece of brown craft paper with my rough drawing for the fish pattern)

I broke the pattern down to body, fins (three) and tail. I decided to make the fins and the tail a different color from the body of the fish to give it some contrast.

Sewed all the piece up and attached the foam skull to the mouth plate.

I made a foam pattern for the body to fill it out but keep the puppet light.

Put the whole thing together and voila Fish.

Today is making clams. I have done this and am hoping I don’t have to create the pattern but feel like I am going to have to anyway.

I am grateful that I can make patterns out of my ideas.

Comments

[hergrace.livejournal.com]

I *love* the fish, Kath. I hope you'll post pictures from the production.

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Hey! That would make a neat children's book! :)