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!

How to make a puppet

Writing a ‘how to make a puppet’ article is simply impossible. Every time I see "step by step guide to making puppets" appear in my web stats I roll my eyes and think "what kind of puppet?" There’s no right or wrong way to make a puppet, there are a huge number of different methods and techniques, and this doesn’t include the numerous styles, characters, or materials that one can use. Asking ‘how to make a puppet’ is kind of like asking ‘how to paint’ or ‘how to play music’; expecting a one-size-fits-all answer is quite naive. Making puppets can be easy, but it seems daunting at first. Maybe you first need to step back and read the Beginner’s Guide to Puppetry before diving in.

...

As for the eyeline, it might depend on where you sit. For stage though, I think the puppets' eyelines should be at the height where it makes sense for them to interact with each other. If the audience members are all watching it from differnet angles, it's probably hard to make everyone happy. I like how you go into more technical aspects like puppeteering, lighting, and set design. I dug out the old review I wrote two years ago when the tour came to Los Angeles. I think I quite enjoyed it, heh. http://www.puppetkaos.com/2007/10/avenue-q-review-ahmanson-theatre-los-angeles/Ban I might go watch it again when it comes back to Los Angeles in January if my friends or family want to go.

... Kelvin Kao on Review: Avenue Q, Australian tour