Puppet theater characters are always vibrant. When they appear from behind the screen and speak with the audience, it seems that the dolls are alive. The use of special techniques in the manufacture of dolls will allow them to "revive".
You will need
- - plasticine;
- - wrapping;
- - gauze;
- - PVA glue;
- - fishing line;
- - wire;
- - wooden beams4
- - wooden pole;
- - dry putty;
- - water based paint;
- - sandpaper.
Instruction manual
1
Reed dolls got their name thanks to the mechanism for controlling them: metal rods made of elastic wire are attached to the hands of the dolls. A cane doll is designed to work behind a screen. The main parts: the head, shoulders, arms with canes and a gapit, which is a long cane that runs through the entire body.
2
First, mold the head of the future doll from plasticine, respectively, in a conceived manner. Smooth evenly and apply a thin layer of vegetable oil. Cut the newspaper into small pieces and, wetting them in water, apply in one layer on the head from all sides using papier-mâché technique. Then cover with three layers of brown paper, then five layers of gauze. Coat each of the listed layers with PVA glue. After all the layers are completely dry, cut off the back of the head of the doll’s head and free the mold from plasticine.
3
As eyes, depending on the size of the doll, use wooden or tennis balls. Drive the brackets into them for later attachment to the head. Fix the balls in front of the eye holes on the metal axis. Bend its ends in the form of spectacle frames and sew from the inside of the head to the temporal areas. Tie a fishing line and an elastic band to the brackets.
4
Throw the fishing line through the bracket located at the top of the head and withdraw through the hole in the gapit. Tie a ring to the end of the line through which you can control the doll’s eyes. Fasten the gum below. Tightening the gum, the eyes can be held open. By pressing the ringlet, the eyes will close. Instead of fishing line and elastic, you can attach a small weight to each eye. The movements of the doll will make them hesitate, which will create the effect of living eyes.
5
Now you can make a mechanism for opening the mouth of the doll. Mark the line of the mouth with a pencil and carefully cut. Glue to it vertically the sidewalls of several layers of brown paper. Sew a joint made of sheet metal and wire to the back of the resulting box. Sew its ends on both sides of the neck. The mouth should be kept closed by an elastic attached to the top of the head, opened by pressing the little ring at the end of the fishing line.
6
For a hapit, take a wooden rod that will become the backbone of the doll. On it, install a wooden block - shoulders. In the middle of the bar, make a hole so that it rotates freely on the hapite. The mobility of the shoulders will allow you to turn the doll's head in any direction. The puppeteer with one hand should hold the hapit, while controlling the eyes and mouth of the doll. In this case, the thumb closes the eyes, and the index opens the mouth. The other hand immediately controls two or one cane (hand) of the doll.
7
Check the eyes and mouth of the doll and glue the back of the head. To give smoothness, cover your head with a dry putty, adding water and PVA glue to it (a quarter of the total amount of the mixture). Sand after drying with sandpaper and prime with skin-colored water-based paint.
