Marionettenbau filigranes Handwerk engl

Taking the example of a cat we illustrate our working method: before a puppet is built we spend a great deal of time on the anatomy of the creature we intend to design. Here, we research the characteristics of a cat and then decide to which movements it can be limited without losing the essence of its character.

Limewood is an ideal material for constructing puppets since it is light and can easily be carved. Here you can see how boards are sawed out from a seasoned plank of limewood that are then planed off at exact right angles. The respective thicknesses of the boards are determined before with the help of drawings of the puppet from the side and in profile.

When sketching the parts to be cut out we take the grain of the worked wood into consideration. We pay special attention to those parts that will later be tapered because we will otherwise run into problems when carving the wood. Thinner parts are more prone to breaking, and the joints could get warped.

All the drilling is milling is done while the piece of wood is still rectangular. Once the wood has been carved it is very difficult and time-consuming to drill and mill precisely. Therefore the points for the joints and the drill holes must be determined already in an early stage of the planning process.

Only after this preliminary work is finished will the individual parts be sawed out with a ribbon saw.

The weights for the gravity centers are made of lead. Already in the planning process their exact positioning and the respectively required weight were determined.

To keep the head as light as possible we rasp the basic shape from a lightweight base material (cork, Styrofoam, etc.). Afterwards we cover this core with wood modelling clay and in that way shape the cat's head.

The head was precision-ground, then primed with latex paint. After that it is painted with poster color from dark to light.

When "dressing" the puppet we are particularly careful not to limit the puppet's movements by the costume used.

In the meantime the control bar has been built. Its shape arose from the figure. Because of the physical necessity that all strings must go up vertically the control bar to a certain extent reflects the creature that is fastened to it.

When fastening the strings for the first time we only loop them around the control bar. We explore the movements that the puppet can possibly make and try to find out what it can and cannot do. Thanks to its asymmetry a creature becomes an individual, and this asymmetry forms part of its personality. A puppet player does a good job when he or she respects this personality

Here you can see the different steps in the construction of a puppet taking the example of a cat.
Something we cannot show you here is often just as time-consuming: coming up with creative ideas, studying the motions, exploring anatomical aspects and facial play. Simply click the steps of the working process to see pictures and explanations.