How to make puppet eyes

You can use a lot of different things to make eyes for a puppet. It really depends on the type of puppet you’re using, the materials, and of course, the character of the puppet. As mentioned in my post on the basics of puppet design, the eyes are the most important features of the puppet, as they convey the emotion and life of the character. This article includes a video tutorial for one method, a list of other suggestions, plus info about blinking eyes (aka ‘blinkers’).

• Video
• Other methods
• Blinking

Video tutorial

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Although this is an example of my blinking eyes, I use this paint job/materials for all my puppet eyes.

The following tutorial will show you how to make puppet eyes using polystyrene foam balls. I like using this material because it’s easy to find and because it’s cheap. A packet of 20 or so medium balls (5cm diameter) costs about $AUD 3 from Spotlight. Cut them carefully in half, and you have two great eyeballs. Leave them whole, and you can use them for blinking eyes. You can make them in a matter of a few hours, just by painting them - most of that time is spent waiting for the paint to dry! They can easily be glued on to the puppet’s head. The disadvantages of this material is that it can be easily damaged in transit, performance, and storage, as the polystyrene is easily dimpled by intruding foreign objects. An alternative is to use table tennis (for Americans, I am referring to ‘ping pong’) balls, cut carefully in half. I prefer polystyrene to the plastic balls, but you may not.

Other methods

The following is not a definitive list of materials that you can use to make eyes, but does cover the most used materials by many puppet makers. For the most part, any materials used can either be glued or sewn onto the puppet.

Some test eyes using Sculpey. I painted each using acrylics.

Sculpey is a brand-name for a type of clay. It’s about $AUD 30 from Riot Art (Super Sculpey; Spotlight carries the normal Sculpey, which I haven’t tried, but assume it’s not as durable), and is a non-chip clay. It may sound expensive, but it’s worth the price. I’ve used about 1/100th of the material and made six eyes so far. It’s very soft, and you can roll it out into different shapes (as I did in the picture above). Stick it onto a tray and put it in the oven at 130° for 15 minutes. Be careful when removing, as the clay will be extremely hot. Let it cool down for a while, and you’ll discover the clay is very hard. It’ll come out an orangey colour, so do give it a good white base coat of paint. I think I ended up doing about 10 light coats of paint, and then moved on to painting the iris/pupil. Use the same principles from the above how-to on painting eyes; keeping in mind that only the iris/pupil should receive a glossy finish, with the whites of the eyes matte. The advantage of using this clay is its durability, as well as being non-chip. I did find it slightly awkward to glue them onto my puppet the first time, but after a little practice, it’s very simple.

Snapping off the handle of a tiny spoon, then sanding and painting it, you can make some great eyes.

Other ways to create eyes include: cutting into the material of the puppet’s head and leaving empty sockets, or inserting the eye material into the sockets; using marbles or beads (or small bouncy balls!), which have wonderful patterns/colours, as well as a good shine to catch the light; some puppet makers prefer not to have eyes at all, but instead have bushy eyebrows, or pipecleaner lines, or pieces of cut felt. Feathers are also a great way to create eyes, and many puppet makers cut off the top ends of spoons and use those. If you’re using wood for the head, you can carve eyes into the shape, and the same can be done using foam. By gluing the strands of pink thread to the puppet’s eye, you can even make your own bloodshot eyes! And here’s a tutorial on making eyes out of cloth from Mini World Dolls. For more realistic looks you can get acrylic eyes used in animatronics and dolls.

One thing that I think you should avoid using is googly eyes (used on dolls and bears, the eyes jiggle when the object is moved). If you haven’t already caught to the hint, it’s because the eyes jiggle: it’s very hard to make the puppet look in a certain direction, or have a certain reaction to something onstage, when its eyes have a mind of its own. It’s much easier to choose one of the other materials above, and retain control of the puppet’s eye movements. (Doll and teddy bear eyes also come in ’static’ form - no googly eye part, just a bead that doesn’t move - which are ok to use)

Additionally, if you don’t want to make eyes, there are plenty of puppet makers on the net who sell pre-made eyes, using a range of sturdy materials. Whatever you decide to use, don’t feel as though there’s a set of materials that you must use; experimentation is what it’s all about, and if you think a particular material suits your puppet and its character, then why not use it? … And don’t forget to consider size and shape! Do you want your puppet to look frog-eyed? Or do you need smaller, beadier eyes? Think about it in terms of your puppet’s character, the shape of the body and head, and the action onstage, and you should be able to come up with an idea of the right size and shape for the eyes.

Blinking eyes

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This post AKA how to make the eyes of a puppet, AKA eyes for puppets, AKA muppet eyes, AKA DIY puppet eyes, AKA make eyes muppet, AKA how to build puppet eyes