My favorite thing about this type of puppets is how in the hands of an skilled puppeteer (or team of puppeteers depending on the scale and complexity) they can be made to act extremely lifelike even in live performances; so lifelike that as the audience you start unconciously seeing them as living creatures that just happen to have some rods stuck to it, the puppeteers either turn into handlers or blend with the background.
Reminds me of the shadow puppets from Thailand and the Japanese theater art of Bunraku (I think) where puppeteers all in black manipulate the large puppets, or even Italian and French marionettes....I loved puppets as a child and made my own as well as using my hands as puppets that required imagination to see, but once you saw them, you suddenly couldn't stop seeing them, as my best friend and I would draw pictures of how you were to visualize them as we hid behind the sofa and did improvisational puppet shows. Sam and Donald were my character's names and Ducky and Doodle were my best friend's character's names. Great short video.
Angus Lamont - Its better if you use both, using practical effects for the closeup shots, and the CG for the faraway shots (ex: Jurassic Park, Walking With Dinosaurs, Narnia).
+Angus In some cases, CGI or other computerized effects can be cool, but I'm more fond of handmade items. Whether it's toys for kids, crafted art, as long as it's not a new hip or a surgeons-utensil, I think most of the items should just be crafted by humans (that get paid decently.) I have had a discussion with my ex about this, he felt; 'the more modern technique, the better.' He laughed at the idea that humans would benefit more from being surrounded by items that were made with love/care and that it's ridiculous to assume that people could "feel/notice" whether or not an item was painted by a machine or a human. But I strongly disagreed with him. There's a reason why handmade items are often more expensive and more appreciated. People like to think that their object/item is special, because someone took the time to perfectionize it, instead of 'running some material through a factory.' Maybe it's because he worked with computers/3D-design and I work with children and am an "artist" (with clay/paper/paint/crafting) but I remember that this conversation (or better said, fight) lasted a day. The Thunderbirds-series, from the 65's with their silver-painted orange-juicers on the panel..that is adorable. Or with their miniature handcrafted matchboxes, to fit the doll-hands. You can séé that there's more love in that. My opinion stays the same. A belt, carefully crafted by a man that is skilled to work it and punches the holes by hand, is worth more than a belt made in a factory, together with 6000 others.
CGI should be used as last resort if the scene is impossible or too dangerous to do practically. I'd rather have the CGI hidden and used to a minimum. CGI should be used to enhance the scene.
This is the best one yet. I have had my subscription for less than a month but have watched many of the videos. This one covers so many things that I wanted to know plus he uses Rondo and Fiberglass instead of ultracal which is great because I have more experience with those materials. I wish he would have shown adding the clay for the head core as this is something that I would like to see actually done instead of just talked about although he does a great job of explaining it. Great Video!
Thanks. My impression is that they don't include the "how to" as part of the lesson. Rig removal is seldom simple, in my experience, but I don't know the latest in methods. The on line tutorials I've found (so far) haven't been that great, unless I want to buy more programs.
The slick paint job is what makes it look juicy. Actually the best video tutorial we have on our website for silicone painting is the one by Jamie Grove called Realistic Silicone Painting Techniques. Check it out. - David
I don't really know anything about making puppets but I think you should have put a lead weights inside of the head to stabilize it because that fast shaking movement really gives out how light and so by how small that thing is.
Damn! this way looks better and real than cgi! just remove the rods on computer and voilà. i don't understand the mouth mechanism but i'll try to do a creature some day =)
If it's for a film, video or web project, digital tools have made "rod removal" a fairly easy thing to achieve with inexpensive effects in the computer. Otherwise, for bunraku puppetry, we just paint the rods black, keep them thin with a black background, and let the suspension of disbelief do the work. - David
how was the komodo dragon made?was it also sculpted,molded and casted like the alien creature? BTW i've watched several of your tutorials and they are great!
I've been in love with rod puppets since ADI's work on Alien 3. I'll be getting this tutorial. One question, though. Does the lesson include rig removal in post, possibly in After Effects?
Well, Davidwentworthart, for a more detailed discussion of cable basics, check out Richard Landon's lesson on that topic, but essentially the wire goes inside the sheath and connects to the pulley, or pivot or lever which makes the cable go up/down and/or turn, thereby operating an axis of the puppet. - David
Super magnificent work colleagues I love this field very much in everything related to scale modeling effects etc. I admire them a lot they are fantastic my friends 💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎👌👍👌👍💗
Awesome! So life like! Im making a short film with puppets, so not a stop motion, what is the best way for then to appear speaking? I started making them 30cm like ball jointed dolls and realised dialogues will be boring with nothing moving on there face. Had an idea today to make also larger top torso out of some rubber controlled by? rods, hand? and record only dialogues CUs. But not sure of a contrast. A bit confused now..
TripodUniversal, Actually, considering our students are getting access to the knowledge of the top special effects artists and character creators in the world, we feel our prices are quite affordable. Only $19.99 per video stream (our full lessons run from 2-6 hours long), with unlimited views. And if you subscribe for a full year, you get access to our ENTIRE library, on demand for less than $1 per day. -Matt
I'm considering adding more rod manipulation to my cast of puppets, but I have to wonder how you deal with the issue of the rod when it's in front of the subject and visually "collides" with it?
It seems to me that it would be more far more expensive to create a physical creature (not only in man-hours, but also in materials) than to create one in the computer.
I apologize for being so dumb, but I'd like to know how you shape the image you want, so you can pour the clay into it, to get the mold. No matter how I try to word it, I'm not getting it right.
Hello there, The truth is that we are admins here, not artists but feel free to join our forum where you can meet our students and other artists, and you can ask anything from them. Join here, it's free: forums.stanwinstonschool.com. - Balázs
Can you please make a video for a step to step guide of how you made that white duck please if not how do you make the feathers so realistic stan winston school
The feathers are most likely craft feathers or craft hair glued on. You can try use the method on the video with a duck and just glue on the feathers (nothing but silicone sticks to silicone so use silicone to glue them)
Hello Arthur! You can buy materials on our website from our partners. Just click here: bit.ly/MonsterPupYT, then scroll down, and you'll see the "MATERIALS" section. You will find all the materials you need for this course, and also, you can buy supplies from our partners there. Let us know if you have any further questions. - Balázs
Would it be possible to make a dragon like this? But so you don't see the rods. I want to make a dragon puppet that moves but i'm not sure I can't find on what to use for 'cables' on the interior for my puppet. I have till June to make this. Not a wood baby puppet either, those I hate the fur.
hello stanwinstonschool i really like this method of doing puppets and i want to use it on my series project. so i read the information on this method in your web and i think i got the idea. but i have some problems and questions: 1.when i make this puppet, i need to use every item on the list un your web beacause there are many materials which are very expensive and very hard to get in stores.so if i don't have something, i can't make the puppet? 2.do you know or have any tutorials on easier methods of doing puppets in meduim budget that are similar to this one (foam latex casting,other kinds of sillicon casting, using foam and such). i hope you could help me and Thanks in advance.
spinocroc123 you do not need to use all the materials we list for the lessons. Those materials lists are simply there to let people know what the artists use in the lesson and be a guideline. Any of these artists would tell you that you can make really cool things out of toilet paper if you're creative. Use what you can afford, improvise and adapt and you will be able to make whatever you'd like. We also have a 3 part series about making foam puppets with BJ Guyer, which might be helpful to you. Check out our entire library of webcourses here: www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials Good luck! -Maggie
Stan Winston School ok, i have watched the tutorial already but i will use the info from it and also i'm gonna use foam farbication by Ted Haines. so thanks a lot. and also, if i will want to make sillicon puppets: can i just use the sillicon moldmaking rubber without the vaccum chamber or it is not gonna work?and there are other kinds of sillicons that i can use for this method on the video that don't require a vaccum chamber?
spinocroc123 a vacuum chamber is not necessary, it just gives the best results. If you doing have one, a lot of our artists recommend using a "high pour" where you pour a very small stream of silicone slowly from a height. Basically if your mold is on the ground and your standing over it pouring a thin stream of silicone as slowly as possible, you should get good results. The point is to get as much of the air out of the silicone as possible, to prevent bubbles. You should also try and poke out any bubbles you see once you're doing pouring. There are some good demonstrations of the "high pour" in Cynthia Garza's Fake Teeth lesson and in Bruce Spaulding Fuller's lessons, Character Prosthetics, Casting Flexacryl Fingers and Silicone Ears and Character Makeup - Sculpture Breakdown & Moldmaking Part 2 when he's pouring the silicone fingers. Of course, practice makes perfect. Good luck! -Maggie
Stan Winston School hey stanwinstoschool i have some questions: 1.if i want to make a rod puppet with foam latex instead of silicone rubber,how do i cook the fiberglass mold without destroying it?if i use foam latex i should do a different mold technique like ultracal with burlap? 2.as for the casting armature,what wire did you used as the "backbone" of the puppet? BTW i posted also other questions in the videos "foam fabrication texturing techniques" and "garage monsters 2" so can you answer them as well?
Why not make short movies on youtube will be a Sky rocket for the school and the students ill be your fan. Practical FX is back on youtube by Stan Winston, coool eh!
Buy the FULL COURSE here: bit.ly/MonsterPupYT - Balázs
My favorite thing about this type of puppets is how in the hands of an skilled puppeteer (or team of puppeteers depending on the scale and complexity) they can be made to act extremely lifelike even in live performances; so lifelike that as the audience you start unconciously seeing them as living creatures that just happen to have some rods stuck to it, the puppeteers either turn into handlers or blend with the background.
That duck looks amazing!
Reminds me of the shadow puppets from Thailand and the Japanese theater art of Bunraku (I think) where puppeteers all in black manipulate the large puppets, or even Italian and French marionettes....I loved puppets as a child and made my own as well as using my hands as puppets that required imagination to see, but once you saw them, you suddenly couldn't stop seeing them, as my best friend and I would draw pictures of how you were to visualize them as we hid behind the sofa and did improvisational puppet shows. Sam and Donald were my character's names and Ducky and Doodle were my best friend's character's names. Great short video.
The duck is amazing
Totally beats CGI
i thinkthats the duck from aflack
BigOldKok
I totally agree!
Big Old Kok iliiiuii
th-cam.com/video/hw_caPm00vs/w-d-xo.html
I can't remember the last time CG characters really impressed me. But puppets? Love them.
Jurassic Park?
Amazing work! I love this kind of stuff!!!! Long Live Practical Effects!!!! Thanks for keeping it alive!!!!
am i the only one who wants to buy the komodo dragon puppet?
Scorpio Rekt Productions no
Get in line. We all want one.
Nope
th-cam.com/video/hw_caPm00vs/w-d-xo.html
Nope
thank you guys you're all amazing
How does this duck walk so realistic?! I am stunnend and i love these!
Wow guys!! Another home run. Can't wait to watch this one.
This is why practical effects beat CG.
Angus Lamont - Its better if you use both, using practical effects for the closeup shots, and the CG for the faraway shots (ex: Jurassic Park, Walking With Dinosaurs, Narnia).
+Angus
In some cases, CGI or other computerized effects can be cool, but I'm more fond of handmade items.
Whether it's toys for kids, crafted art, as long as it's not a new hip or a surgeons-utensil, I think most of the items should just be crafted by humans (that get paid decently.)
I have had a discussion with my ex about this, he felt; 'the more modern technique, the better.'
He laughed at the idea that humans would benefit more from being surrounded by items that were made with love/care and that it's ridiculous to assume that people could "feel/notice" whether or not an item was painted by a machine or a human.
But I strongly disagreed with him. There's a reason why handmade items are often more expensive and more appreciated. People like to think that their object/item is special, because someone took the time to perfectionize it, instead of 'running some material through a factory.'
Maybe it's because he worked with computers/3D-design and I work with children and am an "artist" (with clay/paper/paint/crafting) but I remember that this conversation (or better said, fight) lasted a day.
The Thunderbirds-series, from the 65's with their silver-painted orange-juicers on the panel..that is adorable. Or with their miniature handcrafted matchboxes, to fit the doll-hands. You can séé that there's more love in that.
My opinion stays the same. A belt, carefully crafted by a man that is skilled to work it and punches the holes by hand, is worth more than a belt made in a factory, together with 6000 others.
“The Thing” shows that perfectly
CGI should be used as last resort if the scene is impossible or too dangerous to do practically. I'd rather have the CGI hidden and used to a minimum. CGI should be used to enhance the scene.
Do you guys still do movie effects? I want to one day become a film director, & the animals shown were nearly flawless.
Can we do this at home? I really want to have a Komodo dragon puppet
Komodo dragon is in my Country! (HELP) BECAUSE IM INDONESIAN
JTBros 1134 same XD but I do like Komodo dragons!
Wow, this is amazing!
Loved it!
very cool. wish I could attend here.
I am going to buy this one for sure!
wow this looks so cool
This is the best one yet. I have had my subscription for less than a month but have watched many of the videos. This one covers so many things that I wanted to know plus he uses Rondo and Fiberglass instead of ultracal which is great because I have more experience with those materials. I wish he would have shown adding the clay for the head core as this is something that I would like to see actually done instead of just talked about although he does a great job of explaining it. Great Video!
I'm already loving this video, can't wait for it. Regards.
Thanks. My impression is that they don't include the "how to" as part of the lesson. Rig removal is seldom simple, in my experience, but I don't know the latest in methods. The on line tutorials I've found (so far) haven't been that great, unless I want to buy more programs.
Hm. Maybe I'll try this course!
The slick paint job is what makes it look juicy. Actually the best video tutorial we have on our website for silicone painting is the one by Jamie Grove called Realistic Silicone Painting Techniques. Check it out. - David
Wow, the realism of the puppets. Just wow.
I don't really know anything about making puppets but I think you should have put a lead weights inside of the head to stabilize it because that fast shaking movement really gives out how light and so by how small that thing is.
Damn! this way looks better and real than cgi! just remove the rods on computer and voilà. i don't understand the mouth mechanism but i'll try to do a creature some day =)
Carlos Eulefí remember those toy dinosaurs you'd get at the dollar store or zoo
Some thing
Carlos Eulefí not realy Good cgi is better....
@@dom9300 Depends on what it's used for, buddy.
Or paint them green and green screen them.
th-cam.com/video/hw_caPm00vs/w-d-xo.html
If it's for a film, video or web project, digital tools have made "rod removal" a fairly easy thing to achieve with inexpensive effects in the computer. Otherwise, for bunraku puppetry, we just paint the rods black, keep them thin with a black background, and let the suspension of disbelief do the work. - David
The video doesn't show this but he explains that a rod puppet is often filmed against a green screen allowing for very simple removal of the rods.
best job ever
Excellent!
Rod removal is what digital effects (photoshop, premiere, after effects etc.) are BEST at. - David
We're working on getting an answer for you on this. We should have the prices on the total cost of materials soon! - Maggie
what is that grey creature he's controlling! It looks so familiar, whats it from..?
Komodo Dragon.
Thats so cool!😎👍
Cool. I like that duck ^^
how was the komodo dragon made?was it also sculpted,molded and casted like the alien creature? BTW i've watched several of your tutorials and they are great!
Thank you.
I've been in love with rod puppets since ADI's work on Alien 3. I'll be getting this tutorial. One question, though. Does the lesson include rig removal in post, possibly in After Effects?
Guys... wow 🤯
AWESOME video
Very cool :-)
Well, Davidwentworthart, for a more detailed discussion of cable basics, check out Richard Landon's lesson on that topic, but essentially the wire goes inside the sheath and connects to the pulley, or pivot or lever which makes the cable go up/down and/or turn, thereby operating an axis of the puppet. - David
th-cam.com/video/hw_caPm00vs/w-d-xo.html
Very cool indeed. We'll consider it. - David
🙌 Géniale
AWESOME!!!
Amazing
That looked like an actual, live, living duck!
Super magnificent work colleagues I love this field very much in everything related to scale modeling effects etc. I admire them a lot they are fantastic my friends 💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎👌👍👌👍💗
Oh cool thanks, I didn't know that
make sure they are greased, also try using smaller cable than the casing
Awesome! So life like!
Im making a short film with puppets, so not a stop motion, what is the best way for then to appear speaking? I started making them 30cm like ball jointed dolls and realised dialogues will be boring with nothing moving on there face. Had an idea today to make also larger top torso out of some rubber controlled by? rods, hand? and record only dialogues CUs. But not sure of a contrast. A bit confused now..
Of course, all our video tutorials are always available, James. - David
Certainly, Captain. It depends on the puppet, but most have skeleton armatures. - David
Could you guys make a video showing how to make a large realistic wolf rod puppet?
How to you make a puppet raptor as seen in the Storyboard Stopmotion raptors in the kitchen scene
Awesome
What is the material poured into the mould? Latex solution?
love it
Would using a rod that's blue help if you're using a blue screen for the rod puppet?
TruGamingReloaded Yes, a blue rod would be great on a blue screen. -Maggie
TripodUniversal, Actually, considering our students are getting access to the knowledge of the top special effects artists and character creators in the world, we feel our prices are quite affordable. Only $19.99 per video stream (our full lessons run from 2-6 hours long), with unlimited views. And if you subscribe for a full year, you get access to our ENTIRE library, on demand for less than $1 per day. -Matt
You know, this whole mold makeing thing, isn’t it the same as Retopolgy digital?
I know what I'm getting for Christmas.
I'm considering adding more rod manipulation to my cast of puppets, but I have to wonder how you deal with the issue of the rod when it's in front of the subject and visually "collides" with it?
🙌👌👌👌
Is there any place to commision stuff like this to be made?
Oh, and how much can I expect to spend in materials, making a rod puppet?
Arghhh i want that lizard, is it a comodo dragon?
Sorry for the dumb question, but, how do you make it look... juicy? I can't see the full video in your web, looks like it was deleted or smthing
It seems to me that it would be more far more expensive to create a physical creature (not only in man-hours, but also in materials) than to create one in the computer.
Watched vid with purest longing then glances at description
-starts crying- SHUTUPANDTAKEMYMONEY!!!
I apologize for being so dumb, but I'd like to know how you shape the image you want, so you can pour the clay into it, to get the mold. No matter how I try to word it, I'm not getting it right.
I want the Komodo where can I get it or the monster? Pls make the price low
What's stopping you, TholvenZ? - David
Do these puppets have a skeletal structure in them?
Hi, How in the world does a mold turn into a moving character? how does it move?
What do you use to make the puppet skin? Like is it silicone or latex? And if so, what type?
Hello there,
The truth is that we are admins here, not artists but feel free to join our forum where you can meet our students and other artists, and you can ask anything from them. Join here, it's free: forums.stanwinstonschool.com. - Balázs
Aflac!
Sketchy Ardvark I'm *HALF BLACK*
th-cam.com/video/hw_caPm00vs/w-d-xo.html
how do you get the bike brake cables to work? i have some cables i want to use on a puppet but i cant seem to get them to operate properly
Hey +Chan Man, That's a Komodo Dragon puppet. -Matt
i think movie makers should go with this fx more..
davy j.y., We do, too! That's why we're here. Thanks for being a member of our monster tribe! -Matt
are you guys doing the puppetry for Jurassic World?
I'm afraid we can't talk about JW. - David
Stan Winston School alright
Does anyone know if you can buy such a realistic puppet like that Komodo Dragon?
I really want to do this, I have a great film idea that requires an animatronic Coelophysis, in the same vein as Alien in Home Alone
Can you please make a video for a step to step guide of how you made that white duck please if not how do you make the feathers so realistic stan winston school
The feathers are most likely craft feathers or craft hair glued on.
You can try use the method on the video with a duck and just glue on the feathers (nothing but silicone sticks to silicone so use silicone to glue them)
th-cam.com/video/hw_caPm00vs/w-d-xo.html
Where can i buy the materials i will need for this project?
Hello Arthur! You can buy materials on our website from our partners. Just click here: bit.ly/MonsterPupYT, then scroll down, and you'll see the "MATERIALS" section. You will find all the materials you need for this course, and also, you can buy supplies from our partners there. Let us know if you have any further questions. - Balázs
Would it be possible to make a dragon like this? But so you don't see the rods. I want to make a dragon puppet that moves but i'm not sure I can't find on what to use for 'cables' on the interior for my puppet. I have till June to make this. Not a wood baby puppet either, those I hate the fur.
How do u do to move the mouth?
That Komodo dragon was in Skyfall, right?
I made a rod puppet :D it's not as good but I made it out of silicone small pecies of metal but it's an allosaurus
Name course ?
Plot twist: That was a real duck with rods
Why are the lessons so expensive?
i really like this. i want to make the same. how do you do this? Mita age 7 1/2 .
hello stanwinstonschool
i really like this method of doing puppets and i want to use it on my series project.
so i read the information on this method in your web and i think i got the idea.
but i have some problems and questions:
1.when i make this puppet, i need to use every item on the list un your web
beacause there are many materials which are very expensive and very hard to get
in stores.so if i don't have something, i can't make the puppet?
2.do you know or have any tutorials on easier methods of doing puppets in meduim budget that are similar to this one (foam latex casting,other kinds of sillicon casting, using foam and such).
i hope you could help me
and Thanks in advance.
spinocroc123 you do not need to use all the materials we list for the lessons. Those materials lists are simply there to let people know what the artists use in the lesson and be a guideline. Any of these artists would tell you that you can make really cool things out of toilet paper if you're creative. Use what you can afford, improvise and adapt and you will be able to make whatever you'd like. We also have a 3 part series about making foam puppets with BJ Guyer, which might be helpful to you. Check out our entire library of webcourses here: www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials Good luck! -Maggie
Stan Winston School ok, i have watched the tutorial already but i will use the info from it and also i'm gonna use foam farbication by Ted Haines.
so thanks a lot.
and also, if i will want to make sillicon puppets:
can i just use the sillicon moldmaking rubber without the vaccum chamber or it is not gonna work?and there are other kinds of sillicons that i can use for this method on the video that don't require a vaccum chamber?
spinocroc123 a vacuum chamber is not necessary, it just gives the best results. If you doing have one, a lot of our artists recommend using a "high pour" where you pour a very small stream of silicone slowly from a height. Basically if your mold is on the ground and your standing over it pouring a thin stream of silicone as slowly as possible, you should get good results. The point is to get as much of the air out of the silicone as possible, to prevent bubbles. You should also try and poke out any bubbles you see once you're doing pouring. There are some good demonstrations of the "high pour" in Cynthia Garza's Fake Teeth lesson and in Bruce Spaulding Fuller's lessons, Character Prosthetics, Casting Flexacryl Fingers and Silicone Ears and Character Makeup - Sculpture Breakdown & Moldmaking Part 2 when he's pouring the silicone fingers. Of course, practice makes perfect. Good luck! -Maggie
ok, thanks a lot.
i really appreciate your help!
:)
Stan Winston School hey stanwinstoschool
i have some questions:
1.if i want to make a rod puppet with foam latex instead of silicone rubber,how do i cook the fiberglass mold without destroying it?if i use foam latex i should
do a different mold technique like ultracal with burlap?
2.as for the casting armature,what wire did you used as the "backbone" of the puppet?
BTW i posted also other questions in the videos "foam fabrication texturing techniques" and "garage monsters 2" so can you answer them as well?
Why not make short movies on youtube will be a Sky rocket for the school and the students ill be your fan. Practical FX is back on youtube by Stan Winston, coool eh!
Comodo From Indonesia
lol the duck looks so real...
The end looks like Venom
También hizo una maqueta sobre el Godzilla de Jand De Bond
I want a komodo dragon puppet
Komodo dragon😍😍😍🤩😘🥰
make a howto make a rod puppet