Through these 8 video capsules Natacha Belova will guide you through the process of making a human-arm puppet; from the original design to the first stage appearance.  

The human-arm puppet is attached to the puppeteer’s waist and their legs and hands become those of the puppet. The bodies of the puppet and puppeteer combine into a single unit. 

Fabrication method: the head will be sculpted out of clay and finished in Worbla (thermoplastic resin) and the body will be made from foam. 

In these 8 video capsules, Natacha will be making a puppet for a project that she intends to stage. This is not just about sharing the secrets of puppet-making step-by-step, but it also involves serious considerations of meaning and form; which are an essential part of the process of making a puppet. 

The process is divided up into the following steps: preparation (project, visual palette, outline sketches, materials); clay sculpture of the head (pattern, volume, proportions, the character’s personality); the eyes (either sculpted in the clay or made separately and added later); sculpting the hand; finishing the head in thermoplastics (covering with sheets of resin, finishing touches, fitting the eyes, fitting the control rod); making the body (cutting out the torso, the arms, assembly); making the neck, hair, painting; costume; stage testing with the actress/puppeteer Tita Iacobelli. 

 

For this first workshop the puppet’s mouth will not be articulated. 

 

You will have access to the information and videos over a period of one year as of your registration for the workshop. 

Warning! Before registering, check that you can buy Worbla finest art thermoplastic in your country.  

 

To get English sub-titles for the videos, click on the CC button and select English