How to Make a Puppet With a Clay Face & Cloth
Puppets are players in the world of imagination. Lumps of plastic, latex or clay surrounded by swatches of cloth become Sir Galahad, Joan of Arc or Lumpy the Grumpy Hippo. Anything can become a puppet. From raw materials like bits of clay and cloth, you can make a creature of your imagination come to life.
Things You'll Need
- Armature wire
- Plastic wrap
- Styrofoam block, ball or egg
- Polymer clay
- Modelling tools
- Old baking sheet
- Oven
- Cloth or felt
- Multi-purpose glue
Instructions
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1
Cover the Styrofoam form in plastic wrap and wrap the armature wire over half of the Styrofoam form. Pick the shape that roughly matches the finished shape of the face of your puppet. Wrap the wire into a weblike pattern over half of the shape.
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2
Smash or roll out a base layer of polymer clay corresponding to the main color of your puppet’s face. Drape the layer over the form.
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3
Add features to your face. For the nose and ears you can choose either the same color as the base or a contrasting color. The eyes should be of a contrasting color. Leave a one-eighth-inch border around the lower edge of your face — that is, the edge closest to your work surface.
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4
Separate the Styrofoam form from the armature and clay face.
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5
Put the clay face on the baking sheet and bake according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not overheat or overcook, as the clay will burn and darken.
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6
Cut cloth or felt to complete the remainder of the puppet’s head. You may choose to start with a base of a tube created from a scrap of an old cotton sheet, then sew or glue colored material to represent hair, hats and clothes.
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7
Glue the cloth around the rim of the face. Make a bead of glue along the one-eighth-inch rim of the face, then attach the material. You may want to hold it in place with a rubber band until it is cured.
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Tips & Warnings
There are dozens of different ways to make puppets with clay and cloth. You can build a Play-Doh head around the end of a paper towel tube, or design a full head in modelling clay on a wooden stick — there are as many ideas as there are people, so don't be afraid to try your own.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
