How to Make Cable Puppets

Cable controls help bring puppets to life.

Used for theater, film productions and storytelling, puppets have been a part of cultures around the world for centuries. Many different types of puppets exist, with one of the main differences between them being the way that puppeteers make them move. While hand puppets and rod puppets can only be operated at close range, cable puppets rely on a system of cables to control different parts of the puppet from a distance. The use of cables allows puppets to have more intricate, realistic movements.

Things You'll Need

• EPS foam
• Hand saw or foam cutters
• Water-based paint
• 3/16-by-18-inch wooden dowels
• Power drill
• Needle
• Thread
• Fishing line

Instructions

1. Carve the shape of your puppet out of foam using a saw or foam cutters. Carve multiple pieces for complex puppets that will have several moving body parts, such as a head, arms, hands, legs and feet. Paint the outside of the puppet with water-based paint.

2. Hollow out the inside of the areas where the you'll place the dowels to use as rods. When carving the foam, the outer layer should remain about 1/2 inch thick. Place a dowel into each area as you go to determine if you’ve carved out enough foam. Carve carefully so that you won’t break the foam.

3. Drill holes in the ends of the dowels. Place the dowel inside the hollowed out area of foam. Check that the connecting rods will fit together with the other parts before attaching sewing the thread or wire.

4. Sew through the foam, taking the thread through the hole in the dowel, to attach the dowel to the foam. Thread fishing line through the bottom hole of the rod. Loop and knot the line so that it’s attached to the rod.

5. Connect the separate puppet pieces using dowels. The head, arms and legs will connect to rods coming out of the body, with each hand connecting to an arm rod, and each foot connecting to a leg rod. Hollow out more foam if needed to make the rods fit securely, so that the pieces stay in place.

6. Loop and knot wires around the body joints to create exterior wires that will control large areas such as the head, arms and legs. These body parts will be able to move up and down, sideways and in circular motions as the wires they’re attached to move in those directions.

7. Run the cables from the head, hands and feet through the hollowed out body to conceal them. Run the wires from the bottom back of the puppet to your control area where you can pull and release the cables to move the pieces up and down.

References

• Puppet Studio: Types of Puppets

Resources

• Puppetmaking.net: Awesome Cable Controlled Puppet
• The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry: Puppetry Construction Methods