How to place eyes on a puppet

First you need some eyes. Learn how to make them here.

To attach eyes, you can either sew or glue the eyes on. To glue, you can use contact cement – puppet makers recommend Green Contact Cement, or Crafter’s Choice “Ultimate” Glue. For Australians, buy some Foam Glue (on sale at Spotlight). Additionally, a puppet stand is ideal for when you are working with the head of the puppet, so you’re on the same eyeline as the head. Read the theory behind eye placement, then follow the steps on your own puppet.

Basic concepts

• The eyeline of the puppet tells the audience where it is looking, and what it is looking at. Get it wrong, and the puppet may stare incomprehensibly at the audience - even though it’s talking to a fellow puppet on stage - and even the smallest change in angle can greatly affect the direction of the eyeline and even the emotion of the puppet!
• Because the eyes of a puppet are so important, you must make sure that they are positioned correctly on the face of the puppet.
• The eyes should be easy to see from a great distance, and from a range of angles. The audience will need to see the eyes from different sightlines, and unless there is a reason in the script for it, you should avoid having facial features (ie. long hair, huge eyebrows, etc.) that cover the eyes.

An excellent description of eye placement is given at Puppets and Stuff.

Basic expressions

Custom-made puppet eyes, using foam balls, paint, gloss, felt, fleece and glue. Note the neutral focus.

• If the eyes are close together, the puppet will look ‘shifty’
• If the eyes are further apart, the puppet will look dim-witted
• Even further apart, and the puppet will appear froglike
• Making the eyes slightly crossed gives the appearance of greater focus – that is, that the puppet is looking more intently at the audience
• Too cross-eyed and the puppet will seem unfocused
• Whiter pupils (walleyed) makes the puppet seem blind
• A wider eye (larger pupil) gives an air of innocence or surprise
• Smaller, darker eyes make the puppet scary or sinister

Now that you know a few basics, let’s get started!

1. Head to head

Make sure you have your puppet’s head at the same eyeline as yours. Don’t stand over the puppet, or sit below it, look at it straight on. This ensures that you attach the eyes at the correct height and angle.

Pinning the eyes in place temporarily allows you to judge the angle and location. Puppet made using the Human Foam Puppet Pattern [link to be added].

Think about eye placement in terms of your puppet’s character, the shape of the body and head, the general expression you want the character to have, and the action onstage.

2. Pin in place

What you want to do is have the puppet looking straight out – temporarily pin the puppet eyes in place and take your puppet to your bathroom or wherever you have a mirror. Have the puppet face the mirror, standing straight. Does the puppet appear to look at itself in the mirror? If not, adjust the angle or placement of the eyes, and try again. You may notice that even a millimetre (0.03 inch) will change the expression of the puppet. Does the character come to life when you look at it? Try changing the eyes – you’re aiming to make the puppet seem expressive and full of life. Dull eyes can make the puppet seem dead.

3. Adjust the angle

Let’s try a few things… Turn each eye so that the outer edge of the eyelids are higher than the inner edge:

The angle of the eyes changes the expression.

Notice the eyes seem to be angry?

Now do the opposite: turn the eyes so that the inner edge of the eyelids are higher than the outer edge.

Notice how not only does the direction of the eyeline change, but also the expression. With the eyelids angled differently, the character changes from neutral to sad.

The angle of the eyes changes the expression.

Once you’ve figured out the best placement for the eyes and have them pinned in place, it’s time to attach them. You may want to use a dressmaker’s pen (water-soluble felt marker) and lightly trace onto the puppet’s head where the eyes will go. If you’re worried about the markings not coming off, simply encircle the area of the head where the eye is with some pins.

4. Attach the eyes

You made need to think of a way to detach the eyes later if they get damaged. If you think you’ll need to replace the eyes at any time, glue a piece of scrap cotton cloth to the back of the eye, with a margin of cloth around the edge of the eye. You can then sew the eye onto your puppet, and hide the margin with the puppet’s ‘skin’ material.

However, for easy and secure attachment that is durable, get out your contact cement and apply it to the back of one of the eyes.

Follow any safety guidelines and instructions when using the glue.

Place the eye back onto the puppet head, making sure to adjust it as necessary if the angle seems wrong. Insert a pin or two to hold the eye in place while the glue dries. Take a step back, keeping yourself still on the same eyeline as the puppet’s head, and double check your work. Adjust the eye if necessary. Follow the same procedure, and attach the second eye to the head. Again, adjust if necessary before the glue dries.

A last few points: remember to add your own flourishes! Add eyebrows for an angrier expression; change the distance of the eyes to create a frog-like look, or play with the angles of other facial features for a more Picasso style!

This post AKA how to put eyes in a puppet