How to Make Shadow Puppets Out of Construction Paper
Making shadow puppets out of construction paper is a fun activity you can do with your children. As with drawing, the best way to create a realistic representation is through observation and by using reference materials. You can create fun animal shapes, as well as buildings, trees, plants or any other basic object out of construction paper, using images from books or found on websites. Read on to learn how to make shadow puppets out of construction paper.
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Things You'll Need
- Construction paper
- Scissors or Xacto knife
- Matte board or piece of cardboard
- Ruler
- Animal images for reference
- Sticks or straws
- Tape
Instructions
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Find photos of animals or other objects to use as a reference. This is very easy to do online with a simple search, but you can also find photographs in books. If you do use a photograph from a book, you should scan or copy the image as you will be using it as a guide.
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Print out images close to the size you will want your puppets to be, and then using your scissors, cut out the shape of the animal on paper.
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Place a piece of construction paper on your matte board or cardboard piece. This is important, so you do not scratch the surface of your table.
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Using your X-acto knife, carefully cut out the basic shape of the animal, using your original paper cut-out as a guide. Alternately, if you are making the puppets with children, animals should be traced with a pencil, and then cut out with a blunt pair of scissors.
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Depending on the level of detail you are trying to achieve, you can use the X-acto knife to cut out eyes, fur patterns, teeth, spots and other features. The more you cut away from the image, the more detail will show up in shadow form.
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Tape a straw or stick to the back of each animal using scotch, masking or packing tape.
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To create a simple stage for your construction paper animal performance, hang a regular white, or other light colored sheet from the ceiling. You can do this using thumbtacks for minimal impact to walls and ceiling. Be sure to leave enough room to direct a lamp or flashlight at it from behind.
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Hold the shadow puppet up by the stick between the light and the sheet and let the show begin.
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Tips & Warnings
X-acto knives are very sharp and not suitable for use by children.
Do not touch the paper to a light source such as lamp. It could catch fire.
