Stop Motion Puppet Making Video 4: Wire Armature for Foam Latex Puppet Making

In this video you will learn how to make a Wire Armature that will be the skeleton for your Foam Latex Puppet.

What you'll need:
-1/8th inch aluminum wire (we use Arcor brand)
-Fast Steel Epoxy or Propoxy
-Super Glue
-Nuts and Bolts for tie downs
-K&S Aluminum tubing that fits the 1/8th wire
-Very thin Steel wire for fingers
-Tools

Please feel free to leave your comments and questions below.

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Thanks for Watching!!!

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Stop
• Motion
• Animation
• Magazine
• Foam
• Latex
• Wire
• Armature
• Puppet
• making
• claymation
• rubber
• ultracal30
• hydracal
• mold
• tutorial
• instructional
• howto
• make

[haddeox2347]

Hey there great tutorial! but i doubt i could get this done well at least the foam latex casting part. By any chance do you know if there are persons out there willing to do the casting for me if i sent then the clay figures second armatures molds and ingredients for the foam latex?(along with the right price of course) Really hope so i really want to start doing stopmotions with elaborate characters.

[stopmotionmagazine]

@haddeox2347 Sure, I'm willing to help out a little. Have you sculpted the puppet out yet. Send me an email at the magazines email under editor at stopmotionmagazine . com. I might be able to help you out if the design is done right.

[kforcool]

where can you get this arco 1/8th inch aluminum wire? i havent had much sucess with armature wire when im making a scupt of puppet im using this chavant clay to make it and when it hardens the legs on puppet im scuplting crack and it hardens like candle wax are there any other types of plasticine that i can use for scupting puppet for a mould that is more forgiving for foam latex puppet or maybe they wire im using is not strong enough. where u get yours from and do they deliver to australia?

[stopmotionmagazine]

@kforcool You can get the Arco wire from art stores like Pearl Paint, or you might try Dick Blicks Art Supplies. You can also order it online through Pearl. The Cracking may be due to the sculpts weight. In those cases you need to make a support out of threaded plumbing pipe and integrate your wire at the chest area with the pipe. I'll see if I can put a tutorial together in a few months for this issue.

[haddeox2347]

@stopmotionmagazine yes it's 5 figures 4 of them are quite basic each are a about "6" or "7" inches tall human-ish figures varying size but all pretty much the same hieght. on the other hand the other figure is about "8" or "9" inches tall it's a dragon really already detailed. the tail is a bit long would i have to take the tail off for it to be casted properly?

[kforcool]

@stopmotionmagazine cheers that would be great

[stopmotionmagazine]

@wilsonrussell44 You can!!! Infact I know some pro studios that use Toaster Ovens. Only problem is the size of the puppets has to be small so the mold can fit into the oven.

[wilsonrussell44]

@stopmotionmagazine Could you use any toaster oven or any custom oven because im getting one that is for baking clay .

[stopmotionmagazine]

@wilsonrussell44

Mold Shock happens when you mold has been removed from the oven and not given enough time to cool down slowly. Basically, if you take it out of the oven with the foam in it you'll need to remove the foamed puppet and then place the mold back in the oven while the oven cools down. Or you could wrap it in a towl but this doesn't always work.

[wilsonrussell44]

@stopmotionmagazine does the mold suffer from mold shock before or after you bake it ?