The Messy Little Artist: First year projects 2014

Puppet Scenery

We had to work in a team to create a background for our puppets to be photographed against. We were given another student's work to scale up and paint.

This is the design we were given. inspired by the short play Triffles by Susan Glaspell.

To we put tracing paper over the design and drew a grid.

Which is then transferred to the canvas by charcoal lines that can be flogged off.

We painted the canvas with emulsion with a watercolour style.

Distressing vest and samples

Starting off with a plain white vest we used images from "Die Another Day" to influence our distressing techniques. First thing is getting rid of the bright white, I used a mix of black MX cold water dye and water.

the bullet holes and rips are made from rough sandpaper and cutting then pulling at the rip and sanding the edges of the holes.

Sweat marks are made from petroleum jelly and button polish.

. Blood effects were created by using Terracotta MX cold water dye.

Coffee and tea was used for creating mud/urine stains, though I elected not to use them.

, I found using the dummy instead of working on a flat desk meant a more natural flow of “Blood” from the bullet holes I cut.

Distressing coat collaboration

DISCLAIMER; No Emily's were hurt during the distressing or photo shoot of this garment.

Pupper research and making

In this unit we have been tasked with designing and making a character puppet from the one scene play “Trifles” Susan Glaspell. The character I chose to create was Mrs Peters.

In this diagram I have outlined the basic characteristics of Mrs Peters. As the first woman to enter the kitchen set she shows her status as sheriff’s wife above the farmer’s wife, she is described as thin and wiry and of a nervous disposition. We can gather from the dialect thought the scene that she is a shy uncertain woman who is overpowered is most likely uncomfortable at the crime scene.

Continuing on with reading the text I found a few physical attributes of Mrs Peter’s clothes. The characters are described as “bundled up” referring to winter apparel, later a fur tippet is also mentioned. We can assume from the mention of winter clothes that she could be wearing other winter accessories such as Hat Gloves and thick boots.First performed in 1916 I chose this time period give or take five years or so.

Silhouettes of woman's day wear from 1911 1913 1915 and 1919

Looking at the images below from around 1915, there seemed to be thick and thin styles of tippet otherwise known as a capelet. The thin tippet is slender (3-4") much less showy than the fuller tippet (5-7") in the black and white image. I feel like the shy Ms peters would be understated and go for a thinner more subtle style.

Images from Experiments in Elegance blog (I do not own these)

Right picture from "Decades of Fashion" (ISBN 3-821280-2)
Left picture from "Titanic Style dress and fashion on the voyage" (ISBN 978-0-9539561-8-0)
The coat on the left is is a dark brown silk coat with fur trim 1912-13. I think this dark brown colour is perfect for Mrs Peters, brown evokes the feeling of safety and warmth, which is something she would want to feel on a cold morning at a crime scene.
The photo on the right is a neat tailored suit, perfect for the middle class woman (1914)

Pictures from "Decades of Fashion" (ISBN 3-821280-2) These two images i looked at for the skirts and shirts. Below a picture from 1913, modern style high empire waistline, high collars were replaces at this time by stiffened lace collars which fastened at the back. The sweeping skirts of 1906, which required a maid to help put on was replaced by the more streamlined skirt that the woman could put on themselves. This time was when woman started fighting more for their right and attempting to be more independent.

Left, this hairstyle shows the clean neat presentable style expected of woman at this time.
Right, four shoes from a 1912 catalog, all the shoes were available in leather and velvet. I believe Mrs peters to be of a simple but quality style, the second from the top shoe seems like

A puppet is defined as an inanimate object that is manipulated by a puppeteer to give the illusion of life, since the ancient Greeks puppets have been used, records of puppetry can be found in the works of Herodotus and Xenophon, dating from the 5th century BC. The Greek word translated as "puppet" is "νευρόσπαστος" (nevrospastos), which literally means "drawn by strings, string-pulling".

This is an image of terracotta puppets from National Archaeological Museum in Athens, thought to be from the 4th or 5th century. Since then Puppets have gone in and out of popularity from Punch and Judy at the beach to the stunning work of Handspring Production puppets of War Horse in 2007 at the National Theatre.

From the Handspring Production website.

Handspring were established in 1981 and is based in Cape Town South Africa. I spoke to a props maker from The National Theatre, he was able to explain to me how they were made and how the physical construction is only half the job of bringing puppet character to life.

This video from TED Talks with the founders of Handspring Company, illustrate their point perfectly.

For more than 50 years of television and film there has been a very popular green frog hand and rod puppet. The one and only Kermit is the creation of Jim Henson (pictured below) who is responsible for a group of puppets we know as Muppets. According to some sources, including Jim Henson's wife Jane, "Muppet" is a combination of the words "Marionette" and "Puppet." (A marionette is a specific type of puppet with strings attached to a control bar, operated by a puppeteer from overhead.) However, Henson himself always said that he came up with the word "Muppet" because he liked the sound of it. Although most of the puppets are hand and rod (one arm inside the main body controlling head and mouth and the other with one or more rod controlling the hands and by extension the arms), there are over 2,800 puppets and they are all completely unique and have their own personalities, some having their own movies and back stories.

Henson originally made all his puppets by himself, he experimented with cardboard and other materials before finding that foam is a lighter to bulk out the main body of each puppet. Thin back plastic or wood rods attach to each hand for the puppeteer to control discreetly.

Although in this project we have been given pre-made male and female templates, i'd just like to run through some things to think about when designing and creating your own puppets.

1. Determine who your audience are, from this you can work out other factors.

2. Once you know who you're making the puppet for you can ask yourself questions like, "Does it have to be suitable for young children?" "What restrictions do I have with the audience that will see my puppet?"

3. Size and Proportions, if you have a limited budget then size matters, a larger puppet will cost more. Also thinking about proportions, if you want a realistic puppet go for as human proportions as you can, if you're looking for a more comical puppet try exaggerating one or two features of the puppet like the head, legs or eyes.

4. Once you've got your basic puppet designed on paper, start thinking about the materials you can use to make it. Going for the Muppet style? Henson used fleece for his puppets because it hides seams well due to its fluffiness, use foam blocks to bulk out areas if necessary. If you're on a tight budget, take a look around your closet for old clothing you could use, also charity shops are a treasure trove for old coats, bedding and even curtains for a reduced price. If your puppet is a one use deal and doesn't have to withstand multiple uses you can afford to use cheaper materials that will begin strong but weaken over time like plaster of Paris bandages and cardboard also things like cotton wool or stuffing can be used to bulk out areas but will loose their shape over time.

5. Joints and movement, to allow your puppet to act as natural as possible there needs to joints. They are many types of joints, for instance your knee and elbow joints are called "Hinge Joints" this means they can only go so far (unless you're double jointed of course). Your neck is on a pivot joint, while your shoulders have a ball and socket joint that can move in more directions. For a puppet their joints must have the same restrictions as your body does.

This is my tutors final puppet frame, its the male template so it is a little different to the female I had.

These are the templates used to make the puppet, we used spray adhesive to temporarily attach the paper template to the MDF and plywood. Using my University's workshop resources to cut each element out (ban-saw and sander up to the lines).

Arms are the most free moving element of the puppet, the best way to achieve this movement, we used two pieces of PVC pipe, threaded over some manila rope. Manila rope is reasonably cheap natural fiber, it's not effected by heat and is quite strong. Using PVC pipe for the arm gives it some durability and makes the arm more ridged. The hand on my puppet is MDF wood, however a hand can be made from practically any light reasonably durable material such as polystyrene, card or a light kids clay. The rod for controlling the hand can be anything, I was supplied with Copper which is very strong but you can use things like garden sticks (the ones that are used to hold up plants), or if the puppet arm is very light a kebab or long cocktail stick. A strong adhesive or a hot glue gun should be used to attach the hand to the rope, if you can make a hole in the hand and insert the rope in with the adhesive then it will be neater and stronger. (H&S-When using a workshop with dangerous machinery, take care to wear protective overalls and glasses ans steel toe-caped shoes.)

For the legs it's more crucial to make the "hinge joint" because when the puppet is "walking" having this restriction allows for more natural movement by not letting knee invert. Drilling or piercing a hole through (excuse my diagrams misspelling) both pipes and threading wire though keep both pieces together and lets it bend.

Here is my finished puppet (sporting the Robin Hood look), you can see here the arms and legs as described above. This style of puppet can be controlled by one person via one hand on the handle of the main body controlling the weight of the form and by extension the legs, the other hand holding the rod to the arm(s). The head of controlled by a simple pulley and pivot system, the bent copper on the back of the neck is controlled by the thumb of the hand holding the main body handle, it pulls the string making the head go up and can also turn the head which is supported into the main body with a stick that can swivel.

Next is where the character comes in. If like me you already have a character, then its good to analyse any text or descriptions you have. My character is Mrs Peters from "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell, below are descriptions from the text of "Triffles". Mrs Peters is a middle class woman, married to the Sheriff, she is described as thin and wiry, she is also described as nervous looking which would probably be the cause of her thin figure.

Seeing as this puppet for my course is not being used for a show I could use a slightly less durable material to create the body shape of Mrs Peters. The image in the center is my half size tailors dummy I covered this in cling film and made three layers of Plaster of Paris bandages, leaving a hole in the back for the puppeteer to hold the handle. If this were for a full time use puppet I would have used foam to bulk out the shape, it would be softer and more durable over time. Another alternative is vacuum forming a front and partial back if you have the equipment for it. Alternatively you could take inspiration from Handspring Company and make it from wicker, wicker is a sturdy wood the bends when it has been soaked and stiffens back when its dry.

Here is my puppet head, the first image above is a polystyrene attempt, its not my strong point but is the perfect material for puppet-work if its sealed afterwards using a heat gun. Polystyrene is light and reasonably durable, it can be shaped to many intricate forms if needed. In the center picture is my clay sculpted head over a small block of polystyrene, this sculpt is simply a base for me to get the main shape I need. I protected the clay with cling film and made two layers of Plaster of Paris bandages.

Here is my final puppet head, to finish after the plaster of Paris bandages I inserted the eyes (grey buttons with black marker pupils then gave it a layer of Latex and PVA glue, this gives it strength when it is fully dry and also a good skin colour for Mrs Peters. Unfortunately I squashed her nose a little whilst she was drying and i think her lips are a little to large but otherwise I was very happy with the structure.

So here is Mrs Peters, thin, nervous looking and wrapped up warn for a winter day at a murder scene.

(But not with my Iron Man pillow...)

Here my puppet was sat in front of the group made

Titanic sign

In this project we were tasked with re-creating the life boat sign for the Titanic. This involved making a mould of a replica out of silicone and making "Bronze" cast of that, that can be used again and again.

Original S.S Titanic plate from a life boat.

Image from Christies New York.

The lettering is made from 3mm MDF, laser cut using CAD (computer aided design)

The base is made from 6mm thick 33cm long 5cm tall MDF, the three lines shown are guidelines for the sanding and placement of lettering.

Using the belt sander I sanded the corners to a rounded shape and the edges up to the first line. (H&S-When using a workshop with dangerous machinery, take care to wear protective overalls and glasses ans steel toe-caped shoes.)

Stick the letters into the base with Super glue or PVA.

Because of the sanded edges the lettering does not lay flat. Like in the original design the letters are built around. For this I used car body filler and a pallet knife to create a slanted surface from the edges of the letters to the base.

Once the body filler is dry it's time to build the box around the sign. First attach double sided tape neatly on the bottom of the sign and stick it to a clean piece of MDF that's an inch or two larger than the sign.

Create sides to contain the silicone (like below) and use a hot glue gun to seal in the outside edge and prevent leaking. The Silicon rubber (part A and B) measure the two parts using a digital scale in clean plastic containers. and mix together thoroughly (see instructions on packet for measurements and instructions).

Before you pour it in the mould its essential to get rid of all the tiny bubbles.

This is the vacuum de-gassing machine. It's made of steel with a thick clear

plastic lid and a vacuum pump that sucks the air out of the container and also out of the silicone.

Make sure that the container holding the silicone is not more than 2/3rds full so it doesn't over flow and make a mess as the air expands in the liquid.

Once the silicone has lost its air bubbles its time to pour it into the mould, its important to avoid air bubbles. Tip the mould up with one hand so it's slanted and pour the silicone into the corner and as it fills slowly tip it back so its flat and pour from a height.

Depending on which silicone you get it can take different amounts of time to cure this one took 3-4 hours. Ensure all surfaces are clean and tidy before and after you do this, we had plastic sheeting on the tables of the resin room. Pots and string sticks are disposed of properly.

Once the silicone has cured you can pull the sides off the mould and peel it off the MDF sign. You now have a negative than you can use many times to recreate this sign in a number of materials.

To create the resin "Bronze" plate from the negative, dust the bottom of the mould with Bronze metal filler

Push the powder into the mould, and tip the excess back into the pot.

Fast Cast polyurethane resin part A and B (mix according to instructions on packet), measure on a digital scale in a clean dry pot. Pouring it over the mould starting in the corner and allowing the resin to move into all the areas. When the two components of the resin mixed together create heat, so you know when its done when the heat is gone.

Ta daa, the titanic resin name plate in all its bronze like glory, to polish it use wire wool to scratch the top surface away a little. After that apply a metal polish and buff with a soft cloth. To bring out the little details such as scratches and holes cover the plate in black emulsion paint and rub with a cloth, this will remove most of the paint but leave the details black.

Image courtesy of Shona Mcallister.

Octo-case polycarving

In theater TV and film prop making , polystyrene is some of the cheapest lightest material to use. In this project we were given two random words drawn from a selection, from these two words we had to make a usable prop from polystyrene.

Here are my drawings, I found pictures from the internet on my phone for inspiration.

I had a large slab of polystyrene, first carving the head using surformers(which are very similar to cheese graters) scapels and sandpaper. The surformer takes the most off and leaves a rough surface, the knife creates a clean smooth cut but the blade is only so long and the sandpaper smooths rough surfaces and can create thin lines when folded. (H&S-When using cutting and forming tools, take care to wear protective overalls and glasses ans steel toe-caped shoes)

I made the eyes out of two smaller pieces and attached them on with sticks. I used a craft knife to cut out the handle/octopus mouth-and sanded it down.

The legs of the octopus, some stay as octopus legs and some meld into the buckles of the suitcase. To keep the prop from damaging to easily, it should be covered in plaster of Paris bandges, when dry it strengthens the shape and covers the bobbly polystyrene texture.

With painting i first covered the who thing in a light pink/peachy colour in a watery form, brushing on the watery paint allowed for a natural change in colour when more layers are applied. In this image you can see the speckles that make up the octopus' skin texture. I did this by getting and old paintbrush who bristles had separated and gradually built up these colours.

Because this is a theater prop, the colours have to be bold, this can look quite messy up close but the further away you are the less detail you can see. The audience is usually quite far from the stage so there is no point spending time on small details. Small details are what I am fond of most so this was a challenge and an experience for me to create.

These are the final images of my Octo-case, I had fun making this and I'm happy with the results. If I were to do it again, I would make the colours much simpler, because most of the detail you couldn't see from a large audience's view. Thats something i can improve on next time.

Gravestone making

Polystyrene is a the perfect material for TV,Theater and film props and scenery. for this project we have been tasked with the creation of a gravestone. Gravestones are made out of a variety of stones from concrete to marble, this time however we will be using polystyrene. Polystyrene is light and shapeable,in the video below shows how the Sculpture Studio team created gravestones for the BBC series "The Mystery of Edwin Drood".

Polystyrene / styrofoam carving of three gravestones for BBC series: The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Before making a prop research is necessary, take a trip to your local cemetery and find the oldest graves older than 70-80 years old is better, make sure you're as respectful as possible. Gravestones can be made out of many stones, early grave markers were made of Feildstone which is basically any stone found in a field with little or no decoration. Marble became a popular headstone material in the early 19th century though it was costly, Marble is a recrystallized form of limestone (which can also be used), though mild acids in the rain can wear both away over time making any inscriptions unreadable. Sandstone was a common material in England, sandstone is durable yet soft, water can cause the stone to delaminate, which means water getting into the stone freeze and expand in cold weather and the layers flake off.

This is the gravestone I chose to take inspiration from for my work. You can see the back of the grave has become delaminated.

As my favorite character EVER I chose Sherlock Holmes to theme my gravestone around. Sherlock Holmes has been around for nearly 200 years and has been portrayed by over 80 actors in that time. First published in 1887 and most recently portrayed in 2014 I've put these dates on the gravestone.

First things first, figure out what you're making, using your reference material and text. When shaping your gravestone use a template so that it can be a symmetrical shape. I used a ban-saw to cut the shape but you can use a craft knife or a hand saw if you have one. (H&S- make sure you take reasonable precautions when using saws and knives, use a cutting mat and support your polystyrene properly).

To create the engraving on the headstone print out the lettering as big as you need and use adhesive spray (sometimes called spray mount) to temporarily attach the paper to the polystyrene. Get a sharp scalpel an cut from the edge of each letter in to the middle, if you use a blunt object it will only rip it and you'll loose the clean shape of the lettering. (H&S-When using a workshop with dangerous machinery, take care to wear protective overalls and glasses ans steel toe-caped shoes.)

When you have cut all the lettering out gently peel off the paper. Next is giving the polystyrene the appearance of a weighty stone, making it stronger while keeping it light. Artex is a substance similar to plaster, plaster was designed to be applied with skill and to smooth finish. Artex however was designed to create a textured finish. Apply slightly watered down artex to the plaster, watering it down allows it to enter the details without clogging them up. For my gravestone I applied the layer with a brush, allowing me to use the bristles to stipple stony effect. Once the artex is dried (which may take several hours) clean up any areas you need to with a scalpel or sandpaper.

Next up is painting, Start with a light base coat and work to dark, Natural sponges, old brushes and cloth dipped in paint can create a wide variety of textures. Watering down paint and allowing it to drip from the top down the sides and front mimics the dirt build up moved by the rain.

If I were to do this again I would do some carving on the back or perhaps age it a bit by adding cracks or chipped details to make it less flat and bland.

Overall I am pleased with how my gravestone has come out, in situe on a stage or on a set I think it would blend in nicely.

Princess and the frog wicker puppets

Documented use since ancient Egypt, wicker is a process using natural stems and weaving or attaching them. You used can be any part of a plant, such as the cores of cane or rattan stalks, or whole thickness's of plant. In this project we used willow and soaked them over night so they became malleable. (H&S-When using cutters, take care to wear protective glasses.)

Having the guest tutor Allan Edwards coming in from the National Theatre's Prop dept is always valuable, we were taught about the construction of wicker puppets and how puppet doesn't have to include every single aspect of the animal/object it is based on, e.g. if it’s a wolf or dog the puppeteer can move it in such a way as to give the natural illusion of legs without the puppet actually needing them. This is the technique my group used for one of our puppets, the princess (who I was given to make) was made of head and shoulders, on one main pole. Blue sheer material was draped over the shoulders to partially hide the puppeteer while their left hand played the part of the princess and their right held the central pole. For the frog, it was a little more complicated; it required two puppeteers, one for the head and front legs and one for the back legs. Making the frog jump involved teamwork, and timing to get the most realistic movement. The tutor taught us the importance of narrative and how it should affect the puppet and performance; in our story the frog falls for the princes, who is initially disgusted but then agrees to kiss him, but her breath is so bad the frog faints and falls on his back. Once we had created the story, we made the puppets around it. Heart eyes for the love sick frog, he was originally going to have kissy pouted lips but we thought they made it look overly strange. If I were to do this project again I would aim to make the two puppets more similar, I would make the frog much simpler by removing the legs and employing the same fabric technique of the princess.

To fix the willow shapes together, I used a mix of cable ties and string.

Electrical box

This project is the construction of a film prop, the picture below is what we're going to re-create. Its an electrical box originally painted red but due to exposure to the sun, rain and time, it as become weathered and old looking.

First is the main body of the box, its made from MDF and held together using super glue and a quickening agent. (H&S-When using a workshop with dangerous machinery, take care to wear protective overalls and glasses ans steel toecaped shoes.)

This hole and the recess is for the pipes on the bottom of the box, a small pipe goes through the hole and the larger sticks directly onto the wood.

For the lid, I used a router to angle the edges of the 18mm MDF, on top of that is plastic that has been vacuum formed over some wire mesh to create this effect. The oval cut in the center and the frame around the plastic is simple card, this covers the sharp edge of the plastic.

After the box is complete, it needs to be aged and weathered. To break up the clean lines of the box, I used artex and a pallet knife to apply it roughly over the surface to imitate peeling paint.

The paint in the picture we had to re-create showed an red-orange for the main box, dirt is brown and black, white is wear and bird excrement.

Wood graining

Wood Grain Painting is very satisfying to do, creating a natural surface from paint. Over this year I have learnt two ways to paint a wood effect, but they both start off in the same manner.

Step one- paint a base coat over whatever you're using, white is best. At uni we paint over other peoples old work so we need to go over anything you don't want showing through.

The wood base is a mix of white, Burnt umber and yellow ochre. you're after a light yellow/brown

next up is glaze, you can use matt glaze or gloss, you can also use button polish, using a glaze adds depth and also allows the grainer to move smoothly over the surface.

Ok that's the basics. This is where the two parts appear, either you use a graining tool with slightly watery paint or you paint it by hand (or indeed by brush)

research