Moving Mouth Foam Puppet Pattern
S. Once you hm all the daru of the face halves
�lurd. appl�· n•mem to the renter seam edge. of ihe· i:Jii1�S a·,·1c1·i t'11::·11w·
... !!2,E: ?r.� �.·.��
straight edge.)
Once tacky. you can now puc che face halves together to form a complele face (Fig·ore 6) Make sure any pen marks are on the IN·
SrDE of the face. This is crucial for a nuorescent puppet. And put tile seams wgNher CAREFULLY!
Take your time. and cry 10 gt>t as smooth a seam as pos�iblc.
Figure 6 6. Once you've got a facE'. look at the mouth care
fully. Fig 6A s
h
ows wtm tht· 11 1vulh )hould look�
ike right now. To allow the mout hplatcs to glue into thf' foam easier and better.v
ou'
ll nt-ed to re·move somt! of the foam in
s
ide.
the edge of themouth. This is called a l>e\'el cut. You can do this with a new razor blade or razor knife. Simply push the blade dire
c
tly into the foam inside 1he mouth edge. Push it straight back from the front. and thenp
ull it to one side of the mouth. cuuing the foam so that it levels our and opens up the mouth.Lt1 oxm M-8lackli9ht
naun z
Repeal this for the other side of the mouch. until you have a nice even edge (Fig.
68�.
Compare t.hese b('fore and af1er photos and you It see the differ.. . . �� • >O NOT CUT rh-:-outer edge of the mouth
foam. You are only cu tung a new anKle fnside rttC' mouth edge. You·re now ready to glue the mouth into the foam.
Phase 3: Gluing the Mouth Assem
bly into the Foam Head I . Take 1hc foam head you've just created and grasp ii from behind. whh each hand near oppo
:iltr edgf's of 1 lu.• mou1 l1. In ont? motion, turn the he<id i nside-out. Now the marker side is on the OUTSI DE. Take a CAPPED pen and prop the mouth open wilh it (Figure 7 ) . l\pply contacr ct•
ment ro the mouth edges. starting in the corners and working out to the renter seam. Make sure you get
g
lu
e into the corners.Ftgu
...
72. Take the mouth assembly and o
p
en up the mouth. Using a compass tool. sec the compass to a width of 1/2" inch ( 1 3mm) . Carefully pull the compass along the edge of the mouthplates. tractng a l/ZM ( l 3mm) line a\1 the way around the inside f!dge of the mouth (Fi
g
ure 8) . Using a metal�i�i;;:�r�·;;J�''li��.'"
lu rhr mouthplates on the out-3. On Lhe mouthplate assembly. use the pattern�
lea roam o •.r�
ark.
the cent�rs. Carefully and hne up the center seams with the take the insidf'·Oul center mark!.:
on�h:
muuthplales. Make sure that the TOP hand grip is being auached to the top of t.he sun face (the one with two darts). Slowly, press27
flgure 8 thf' top foam onto the mouthplatc at the center scam. Now match one corner of the mouth foam into the corner of the rnouthplate. Continue at
taching lhe foam from the cornl'r to the CC'ntcr scam. trying to folJow the gluP line as dosely as possible. Repeat this process for the rest of the mouth (Figure 9). This is a Dlt'HCULT step. and your first efforts won't lie great. Do 1he best you can. and you 'll get better with practice and the next puppcl.
i nto place. and now you have a half-turned head (Figure 1 0) . Repeat this step for the lop of the head.
making sure you're not pulling the foam away from the mouthplatc. Figure 1 1 shows what the turned head should look like. Often the foam has gaps. especial ly in the comers of thf' mouth. You can u� a roothpir:k to put small amoun1s of con·
tact cement into the gaps. Let 1hem dry at leas!
five minutes. chen reattach lhe foam.
Phase 4: Painting the Head I . You're now ready to pain! 1he sun ran• a fluo·
rescent yellow. We're using spray painc for this, so you· 1 1 wane to mask the hack of the sun wilh masking tape. (Don't mask the inside or the 4. You're now ready to TURN rhe foam head to its mouth. The tape will tear the paper surface.) The normal position. Fig. 9 shows what the heart looks only thing we're really worried with is the 1 ··
like while still turned inside out. Grasp the bot- (2. Scm) back edge of 1hc> foam that will glue to tom jaw of the head. and at the same rimf" push the sun rays later. Use small lengths of masking against the bottom mouthplate with your other tape to cover this edge. Spray paint tends to hand. Continue pushing the mouthplate through weaken the masking tape glue. so makC' sure the as your other hand TURNS THE HEAD FOAM tape doesn't fall off OVER THE MOUTHPLATE. The foam should pop as a precaution. by pinning it into the roam
28 LH &xeae ae_ Blacklight
Z. Ir you haven·t pr"pcircd a 111t1!>ked spraying area y1>1 . do w now (see MCreate a Spraying Area-.
page 14). Also. !>t'l up a blcicklighc In a dark circa, so you can check for dull spots as you paint. Al
way� w('ar old clothes when painting. and I highly recommf'nd some rubber gloves to pro1ect your hands from overspray. A cheap alterncuive ·is to cape a trash bag to your arm.
3. Clean any line or dire from che surrace of the face. UsinK a good Ouorescenr yPllow spray painl.
spray a light coat of paint ontu the foam. scarcing with the inner edges of the mouth and working outwards. Try to use straiglll strokes. and don't stop while spraying or the paint will puddle.
When the enlire puppet has been rovrred. let it dry for a few minutes.
4. Check the foam under blacklight. Make a note of where the streaks and dull spots are. (If you can paint in UV light. 1his will be a much easier task.) Apply a second coat as evt-nly as the first, and then go back and spray the areas you noticed again. You may or rnay not need a lllird coat. More paint will make the puppe1 brigh1er. hut know this: no amount of fluorcsccm paint in the world will cuver uneven seams or excess glue. Take heart however. you'll get beuer wich experience.
5. The final step in painting the face is to M re
hfac-kPnH the imide of the mouth. We couldn't mask it earlier. so it's a dull yellow now. Take a good small arlist's brush and a tube or bottle or black acrylic or latex paint. Don·t use enamel model paint! The solvent will weaken the glue seams. Carefully paint thr entirf' inside area or the mouth (Figure 1 2) . Make sure ifs dry before continuing.
Lil 'Xtll 11-Blocklight
Phase 5: Sun Ray Assembly
I . Enlargt> and cut oul two copies of th� ray pat
tern and tape them together to form a whole. Pin the pattern to the 20· x 20· (5 1 cm x 5 l c m) sheet or 1 12· foam. so it doesn't move as you trar.e it.
Carefully trace the pauern onto the foam. Then cut out the foam rays in one complete piece as shown in figurr 1 3 .
Flgu..., 13 2 . Since you·re going c o paint the ray piece before gluing it to the face. and you c:an't. glue efrectively uver painted foam. you MUST mask the ray pat
tern. Take your compass tool amt �1 1 he distance between the two points at rive and onf!-eighths inches ( 1 :3cm) . This will give you a traced circle 10.25" (26cm) i11 diameter. Find a piece of paper, poster board or cardboard big enough for lhis circle and trctt:e It. Cut uul ti 1t> drcle.
3. Carefully set the circle omo the U NTRACED side or the foam. This will be the front when the puppet is done. so you don·t want any pen marks on it. l .iherally pin the circle to the roam. making
29
s_m:1·
! h a t 1 1 w cirdC' is (>\'t•nlydislributed inside rhe
r<1_v P•1f rf'm (Figure 1 4) .
4 .. Rl•peat lh<' pairn ing proct:'ss for !ltt> ray foa1 1 1 us111g n uores:e111 or<1ng1' o r red pai111 for !he
r;1ys:
lie �ure. to pa1111 hoth si<lf'!o. <ind to gC't !->on1c pai111 down mto the crrvicC's hC'l wt>Pn ihe ravs. Two cu�ts shou l�I bt> mon• than t'nough . \\'iwn t l w paint has dned. rf'1110\'t' thf:> cirdp <J 1 1 d vc>u !->l iould haw a dPan foam edge 10 glw· to f f igu n• 1 5)