A pair of bunraku 'style' puppets for NTU students

Commissioned by Nottingham Trent University for puppetry and animation students, these figures stand at 730mm , 28 1/2" high. and each is made for three operators.
The materials and techniques used for construction are based on a bunraku type figure I made years ago for the Theatre Design students, which seemed to stand the test of time.
By clicking on the text below you can see a series of workshop pictures to give you an idea of the various stages of construction.
The brief was to have white figures with no character. They have been finished with white (hand made Indian) paper. The wood has been washed with white gesso. However no attempt has been made to disguise the tool marks or materials used.

Showing the plywood skeleton Note the lower leg in jelutong and the feet of birch. The acetabulum of the hip joint is the inside of a hard plastic ball, with the head of the femur being a turned jelutong ball. The spine is woven nylon cord.

Showing some of the styrofoam blocks being glued in place using expanding foam as an adhesive. Note the collar glued back onto the plastic hip ball.

Both figures being shaped up from the waist down, to make sure the movement is still good before alterations become too tiresome.

Modeling the upper body movement. The neck from white plastizote tube and the body bend and turn from plastizote sheet.

Showing a full length of both figures with their carved faces (which can be easily altered)

A hand and arm detail. I decided to shorten the upper arm and alter the elbow. The lower arm is mounted on an aluminium tube (which can rotate in the 'elbow') and the hinged hand made from Foamex board (modeled over a heat-gun).

Showing the wrist and hand control. The handle is mounted on the aluminium tube and the wrist action is made with the figure of 8 control. Note the wooden grommet behind the elbow sleeve, holding it all together. This control also is used for angling the shoulders and upper body twist.