How to Make A Puppet That Bites And Wags When Held

[MAXIMUMGODZILLA45]

Does super sculpey work good with it too? I mean I know there isn't much difference between the two except super sculpey is chip resistant I think or as I know dries translucent. I do allot of my sculpts out of super sculpey but will it work for the same thing?

[gryphern]

@MAXIMUMGODZILLA45 Sculpey Premo is stronger than Sculpey III which is stronger than Super Sculpey which is stronger than original Sculpey. So based on what YOU need, pick your Sculpey. If it's going to be super thin and delicate, go with Premo. If it's going to be big and thick and take a lot of material, go for one of the bulk blocks of Sculpey III or Super Sculpey to save cash. Make sense?

[MAXIMUMGODZILLA45]

but wait if you bake it again and again wouldnt the oven burn the clay that you already just put in the oven? i mean you said bake it after each time but i didnt know you could do that with sculpey over and over again in pieces like that.

[gryphern]

@MAXIMUMGODZILLA45 You only burn it if it gets too hot, or you leave it in for waaaay too long. I stick a candy or meat thermometer in the oven with it to be sure I'm not over cooking it. Also, I'll make a little tinfoil tent over the Sculpey because it stops it from getting burned by being directly over/under a heating element. If you use a convection oven, for the love of all that is holy use a thermometer. Convection ovens do a much better job of transferring heat and over heating.

[PhiliPinoKo]

Thumbs up if your keep pressing 5?

[akumabito2008]

Really cool stuff - love it how you guys come up with these great looking projects for people with more down-to-Earth budgets.. :) Keep up the good work!

[UndeadDragonEmpress]

You know what's weird? The teeth on the puppet look like a rooster's spurs... O.O Okay, I know you didn't use that, but it almost looks like it! lol.

[vtheawesome]

i am subscribing becuse i'm into making props and costume & i have to say yours are the best ive ever seen

[gryphern]

@vtheawesome Thanks!! I use the videos to try and get people to network about this stuff. Like, we did the MidSouthCon convention, and that was really great to share knowledge.

[jgantner1]

@vtheawesome search coolest werewolf costume tutorial on youtube there are better ones

[UndeadDragonEmpress]

Hey Gryphern, do you think I could make an undead baby dragon out of this? It might have wings, but those will just be still and not be animatronic. So what do you think; can I do basically the same thing except instead of fur, scales? I might be a Mother Undead Dragon sometime for either randomness or a haunted house. What do YOU think?

[gryphern]

@UndeadDragonEmpress Wings are easy to add, You'd just put them on a pull lever. The easiest puppet wing designs are children's wooden toys, flapping bird mobiles, where pulling on a center string make wings on pivot shoot upward. I say go for it and use movement when people don't expect it--when props "come to life" people scream bloody murder.

[UndeadDragonEmpress]

@gryphern lol okay! In that case, I'll favorite this so I can reference back to it! Thanks!

[orangecorgi]

Hi i noticed at 1:41 (the diagram) that there is a dotted line that connects the upper and lower jaw. if you don't mind me asking, what is that and how does it work? :)

[orangecorgi]

@orangecorgi or is that just the the mechinism on the inside of the head, that you showed?

[gryphern]

@orangecorgi Yeah, just the mechanism represented by arbitrary lines.

[gyrrakavian]

So, basically we put the already baked sculpey back in the oven with the unbaked sculpey?

[gryphern]

@gyrrakavian @gyrrakavian Yeah. you want let it cool a bit before putting it back in, when it gets too hot it will poof, burn, etc. This is the only way I've found to work thin (less than a quarter of an inch) and large without having the Sculpey collapse. Putting Sculpey over a mold-form is kinda dumb because then you have to sculpt your design twice.

[Stalfos23]

ya know I have always wanted to make a hobby out of mask making and things like this but, I just never knew what I needed or where to get it then I just so happened to stumble across the videos you've posted and they help out a lot. on knowing how to do this. Thank you.

[L8nightproductions]

Great Vid.

[L8nightproductions]

you bake the sculpey.

[Twilightmia]

I should try that out!

[DoReMiMiFaSoLaTi]

What exactly was the purpose for this puppet? It's really cool, though...

[SkulduggeryPleasent]

Thanks! :D

[SkulduggeryPleasent]

um how do you control the tail and the mouth diffrently even though there on the same string? do you just put pressure on one side and less on the the other? please tell me thanks :P also love your vids ive made almost everytyhing you got ^^

[gryphern]

Yeah--you're right, just wiggle it one way or the other. You can tranfer motion other ways when two points are connected too. A disk with a finger hole in it can be rotated. Stuff attached near the center moves a tiny amount, stuff near the edge of the disc moves a huge amount.

[spiderbatguy]

You should make the eyes move.

[mouseelin]

love all of your videos, but if you could try to make some dragon limes. like face ferters. try some work great but need a better idea

[keytoafterlife]

dayam...you are so amazing...

[Torakat]

Very neat puppet ^__^ The layering to use less idea for the sculpey is an interesting idea, but aren't you overbaking it or are you baking it for a shorter amount of time?

[gryphern]

Once Sculpey is hardened, it doesn't mind being baked normally over again several times. I was digging through some craft books and there's several techniques where it's easiest if you bake Sculpey then apply liquid Sculpey to it during a second bake, or even a third bake to build up layered effects. The puppet head, despite being cooked 4 times, was not brittle or discolored. Using the Sculpey Premo variety also helps stuff be strong.

[Torakat]

Thank you very much. This information will be very helpful for my next project. I had no idea that you could do that with Sculpey without it burning or turning colors. Much appreciated!

[gryphern]

It'll burn when cooked too long, but repeated heating and cooling as long as you follow directions is fine. The key is to not mess with it while it's cooling (brittle when hot) and not second guess the directions, or use an oven that's too hot. A lot of Sculpey gurus cook their Sculpey in little foil tents to guarantee even heating.

[gnarkill096]

I WANT ONE!

[gnarkill096]

thats creepy

[quaboe68]

kinda ugly lol

[mcblanket]

dont really get the hindgingness but ok cool lol

[WHITEBEANERBOY]

tiight =P

[ChaosKittenFilms]

is thier an optional clay that you don't have to bake?

[gryphern]

YES! While not as good for making tiny details, and not as tough, the beginner may find "crayola model magic" or the slightly more expensive "model magic fusion" a lightweight option. Model magic melts when it gets wet, but puppets don't usually contact water, so that's OK. If you have any questions about how to work with craft or art materials drop me a youtube message.

[RabbitDance]

subscribed!

[Adom]

ditto. it;s nice to see a tutorial I actually understand.

[NoobUBoob]

having been an umemplyed artist for over 10 yrs, the 'head in the oven' suggestion would be a bit tempting during these trying time... although the other side of me is asking you if its a microwave or a convection or a gas one. good luck to you all in your endeavors in the artistic community.

[gryphern]

Yeah, you gotta get creative in order make creativity work right now. Like I designed embroideries for aprons for a restaurant within walking distance and bartered for a big-ass gift certificate. So now have nice evenings out with friends all summer, but I don't have to buy gas or pay for it.

[Kazekage1995]

about how much time do we leave the head in the oven?

[gryphern]

That will depend on what polymer clay you use. The major brands of Sculpey (US) and Fimo (European) each require different baking time--I've never seen a brand, even the weird specialty ones, that require more then 40 minutes baking, usually it's around 20 minutes. The instructions on the back will work fine for this project. The only time you really need to differ from the directions on the packaging (or the websites) is for very thing, like coin thin, sheets of clay.

[gryphern]

Those only need a few minutes, or they will literally smoke and turn black and bubbly if you cook them for the amount of time on the packaging.

You can also bake the same piece of clay over and over, no problem.

What IS a problem is seriously under cooking the clay, then it will be brittle and bendy, not like happy rubbery bendy, but like snapping dry twig brittle bendy.

[FlamingSpartanHead]

This is an awesome build!

[eltobo123]

i made 1 and i threw it out a window and scared my lil bro lol he sliped on the ice and the monster survived lol

[vouzavez]

lol thats sasori from naruto shippuuden!

[skypheonix07]

That is a charming little creature and I can't wait to make one. Thank you sooo much for sharing!

[Luchastyle]

you are amazing. this build has some great applications and may have to show up in some form in a no budget sci-fi series i'm trying to do =)

[PokemonLoverRee]

Cool! Thats one fancy puppet!

[artemisfair]

Aww, he's so ugly he's cute. He has so much character! I love him.

[chidori568]

wow you cirtenly like hot glue dont you? i perfer duck tape =3

[SuicuneGirl]

wow, that's really cool. You are so awesome <3

[wlofjaw]

cool

[BanjoPoet]

Another cool video. You would be a blast to have as a neighbor. Werewolves in the parking lot. Biting puppets. Beautiful hand decorated cookies. I'd be stopping by for coffee at least once a week.

[ogunshi]

Aaronindiana81 I am well aware of the fact that it is used for a presentation. I am asking what kind of presentation was done that required a puppet like that. Also Do you really feel cool using such language to try to make you look better then other people. How about showing some maturity every now and then rather then running off at the mouth and looking stupid.

[psychobro]

Yeah! Preach it my brother! Hahahahaha

[cerveroz]

this is really nice

[vintageproduction]

Amazing Great work

[RedHandedFilms]

that looks confusing, but really awesome, can you put maybe some build plans up somewhere?

[Aikachi]

You are really amazing. I love your tutorials!

[ogunshi]

That thing is so ugly it is almost cute. What did you use it for?

[jugglman]

i would use it for scareing toddlers wouldnt that be fun!

[suicide19915]

yeah

good thinking

mmfwcl

[5Bijou5]

YA!!