To celebrate the 5th anniversary of the site, all patterns are $5 and every purchase puts you in the running to win an iPod Shuffle! Grab one of the foam patterns here or here or the ebook on teaching puppetry to win!

New puppet seller added

I have updated my puppet sellers list as I have been informed by Steve from Festive Factory in Victoria that he also does commission work.

...

Hi Rose,

This is a great question! It's something very rarely discussed online but the basic rule of thumb seems to be:

1. Puppets tend to be caricatures. Personal choice more often than not comes into play when making puppets, and this also comes in the form of how to proportion puppet sizes. For instance, a clown-like character who is clumsy could have larger-than-normal hands for its proportions (ie. in comparison to the rest of its body, the hands seem too big). It could actually be part of the character design - or simply a preference of the puppeteer - to make hands too big or too small. Of course, it also ties in with what the puppet needs to do within the performance. Puppets that need to hold things or move things with their hands, will need to be of a size to suit any object it interacts with.

2. More realistic puppets will be more realistically proportioned. This means we take a look at the human, animal or other character we're making and size the hands according to an average proportion found on said beings. Let's take humans: hold your hand up to your face with your fingers spread out. (This is perhaps easier in front of a mirror) You will notice your thumb and last finger reach each side of your face or thereabouts. The base of your palm should roughly reach your chin; the tip of your middle finger should roughly reach your forehead. Your hand is proportionally sized with your head! So when designing the 'Human Foam Puppet Pattern' for instance, I designed the pattern for the head, and then made the hands to match that size. Of course, you can still go smaller or bigger according to your personal choice still, but in this case it will largely depend on the character you're making, what the puppet needs to do, and how far away from realistic proportions you want to get.

There is one more thing I'd mention and that's the number of fingers. Many puppeteers do that thing they do in 'The Simpsons'... puppets often only have four fingers. This is partly because it's easier to make hands with fewer fingers, and partly because it caricaturises the puppet further. Some people prefer to do it; others don't. However, the choice to use four vs five fingers can also affect the appearance of size. As with cars, puppets appear smaller on stage than they do up close.

I hope that helps, and good luck with your puppet projects!

... School of Puppetry on What are muppet-type puppets?