How to Build Parade Float Puppets
There's nothing like a good parade float to not only entertain gathered viewers, but to give your organization favorable visibility during a community festival. One excellent way to make your float stand out amongst the others is using puppets. You can build your own oversized two-person parade float puppets with a minimal budget and no special artistic skills in order to make your float the center of attention. Build just one puppet or create a whole team of characters, depending on your group's needs.
Things You'll Need
- Sketch paper
- Pencil
- Modeling clay
- Chicken wire
- Duct tape
- Newspaper
- Old clothes
- Long, thick dowel rod (at least two inches by four feet)
- White glue
- Old gloves
- Hot glue gun
- Small dowel rods
- Jewelry, clothing wigs and other accessories for puppet
Instructions
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1
Sketch the puppet. Even if you don't consider yourself much of an artist, do a rough sketch to give you an idea of what you want the finished product to look like. Pay attention to size ratios and to any accessories you want the puppet to have, such as hats or props. Draw just the upper body, arms and head of the character.
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2
Build a miniature mock-up of the puppet. Use modeling clay to make a small sculpture of the puppet in order to get a physical sense of the design you want. This will let you see if any of the physical design elements are fragile or unbalanced as well as giving you a chance to show others involved in the parade float to see what you have in mind before you build it.
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3
Create a hollow frame for the puppet. Form chicken wire into a shape resembling the clay model, minus the puppet's arms and any textured features and details (such as facial features, hair and clothing). Secure the chicken wire with duct tape. Make this frame life-sized or larger to ensure that those viewing the parade can see it.
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4
Make the puppet's handle. Stuff the inside of the puppet's head with newspaper or cloth. Insert a long dowel rod (long enough to protrude out the bottom of the puppet) into the stuffing, then pack more material around it. Secure the stuffing and rod in place with layers of duct tape.
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5
Coat the frame in papier-mache. Cut many small strips of newspaper and coat them in a solution of one part craft glue and two parts water. Apply at least four layers of newspaper strips and let them dry overnight.
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6
Build the puppet's features. Make a mash of finely shredded newspaper and glue solution and use this as to sculpt details like ridges of clothing and facial features, just as you would sculpt with clay. Let dry for several hours.
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7
Make the puppet's arms. For each arm, cut a sleeve from an old long-sleeved shirt and glue the arm end to the puppet (for large puppets, use a pant leg in the same way). For the hand, stuff a glove with newspaper and glue or sew this to the loose end of the fabric arm. Attach a thin dowel to the puppet's wrist with hot glue in order to operate it.
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8
Paint and decorate the puppet. Use acrylic paint on both the puppet's body and arms. Attach any cloth, jewelry, props or other accessories using hot glue.
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Operate the puppet. Have one operator hold the puppet up while another sits or crouches below and operates the hands to wave at the crowd.
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